9 arrested in federal investigation into drug trafficking at New Mexico prison - Associated Press
Nine people were arrested this week in connection with a suspected drug trafficking operation at a federal prison in a small New Mexico town, authorities announced Friday.
The arrests were made Wednesday as the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service raided 13 homes across the northwestern part of the state, mostly in Albuquerque, New Mexico's largest city.
Among those arrested were two people currently incarcerated at the Cibola County Correctional Center in Milan, an hour's drive west of Albuquerque. Around 750 people, including some held on immigration detainers, are incarcerated at the private prison.
Authorities in a news release announcing the arrests described the drug-dealing operation as a "significant drug trafficking network" that extended beyond the walls of the minimum-security prison, to include inmates' spouses, family members and associates.
Recently, corrections officers found inside the prison more than 1,000 fentanyl pills, heroin and methamphetamine, according to a copy of the federal government's application to search the 13 homes this week. Authorities said they confiscated 15 firearms, ammunition, fentanyl, methamphetamine and thousands of dollars during the searches.
"The Department of Justice will not tolerate the exploitation of addiction for profit in our correctional facilities," Alexander Uballez, the U.S. attorney in New Mexico, said in a statement.
Trump makes false claims about 2021 Las Cruces beheading - By Justin Garcia, Las Cruces Bulletin
During a rally in Albuquerque on Oct 31, former president Donald Trump falsely claimed that a man accused of beheading another in Las Cruces was in the U.S. illegally, repeating a false claim fabricated by a right-wing media outlet shortly after the 2021 incident.
The falsehood concerns the case against Joel Arciniega-Saenz, a U.S. citizen, who police accused of killing 51-year-old James Garcia at Apodaca Park in 2021.
“They come from Venezuela, they come from the Congo. And they’re stealing countless American lives in Las Cruces, Mexico,” Trump said, omitting the word “New” in the state’s name. “And they’re arrested and released from jail on an unsecured bond; what is an unsecured bond?”
Trump mused on the phrase – referring to a bond that a defendant only must repay if they’re found to have violated their conditions of release – before adding, “was charged with decapitating a man, mutilating his body and kicking his head around like a soccer ball in a public park.”
For the most part, Trump correctly recounted the case’s goriest details.
However, he did not mention the fact the Las Cruces police believed that Arciniega-Saenz knew Garcia and believed Garcia had sexually assaulted Arciniega-Saenz' girlfriend. Police said in the affidavit that they had no reason to think the girlfriend existed.
As Trump said, Arciniega-Saenz was also out of jail on an unsecured bond at the time of the beheading. In that case, police had accused Arciniega-Saenz of breaking into a coffee shop in Las Cruces, trashing the place and inscribing a homophobic slur on the food counter.
Like all defendants in New Mexico, Arciniega-Saenz was entitled to be released from jail as the coffee shop case progressed. And indeed, a magistrate judge in 2021 allowed him to leave jail on a $2,000 unsecured bond.
While out of jail and on bond in this case, police found him at Apodaca Park, covered in blood and confessing to the killing.
Since his arrest, Arciniega-Saenz has remained in jail and undergone multiple competency evaluations. Those records are sealed, so it's unclear whether he's been found incompetent to stand trial.
However, he is set for a trial date in March 2025. Court records indicate that his defense may argue that Arciniega-Saenz is insane and cannot be guilty of murder.
After the killing at Apodaca Park, the right-wing media website Breitbart published an article entitled “Illegal Alien Out of Jail on Bail Accused of Beheading Man, Playing ‘Soccer with his head.’”
The article mostly cited local news, adding, “Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) seemingly confirmed to Breitbart News that Arciniega-Saenz is an illegal alien in the United States with an ICE detainer on him, requesting that local authorities do not release him from jail until they can assume custody,” but provided nothing to suggest this was true.
The Las Cruces Bulletin confirmed on Oct. 31 that Arciniega-Saenz is, in fact, a U.S. citizen and has been all his life. Statements made in court over the last three years by his lawyers and prosecutors, the fact that no deportation process has ever been initiated despite Arciniega-Saenz's long criminal history, and the existence of his driver’s license number, his Social Security number, and his birth certificate all point to the fact that Arciniega-Saenz is a U.S. citizen.
City outlines plans to assist unhoused in cold weather - By Damon Scott, City Desk ABQ
The city has 40 trucks available to plow and salt roads during winter weather events, but what’s the strategy for those who live on the streets? In the midst of some chilly temperatures Friday, officials said they have a plan.
The city’s cold weather approach for those experiencing homelessness is critical, advocates say, as many face significant exposure and potentially dire consequences from storms and dropping temperatures. Risks include hypothermia, frostbite and the spread of colds and viruses.
City officials said the Gateway Center’s first responder receiving area — which features private assessment rooms for those who don’t need medical attention — is a key piece of their strategy.
The receiving area can be used for emergency overnight beds — it has 10 — while longer-term shelter options like those at Gateway West are accessed. Gateway West’s capacity is 660 and as of Friday, it had about 100 beds available. The current capacity at the Gateway Center is 50 beds — all of which were occupied as of Friday.
Officials stressed, however, that they’d find a way to provide an emergency bed to anyone who needs it.
“We just had our first freeze in Albuquerque, and we’re ready to get anyone that accepts help inside to a safe, warm bed,” Mayor Tim Keller said in a written statement prior to the event. “Cold weather can quickly become life-threatening for unsheltered folks, which is why we work together at the city and with our partners to connect people to the services they need.”
Albuquerque Community Safety staff often provide the transportation to the receiving area and to city shelters. During the colder months, the department said it will expand its emergency, after-hours transportation services from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. A ride can be requested by calling (505) 418-6178.
In addition, to assist first responders and others searching for shelter beds and other services, the city launched a new shelter connect dashboard. The site is intended to show updated bed availability at shelters throughout the city.
Meanwhile, the dangers of illegal outside fires — which tend to increase during colder weather — were also on the minds of officials. To stay warm and cook food, some turn to lighting small illegal fires outside, which can result in significant injuries, property damage and property loss.
Albuquerque Fire Rescue Deputy Chief Jimmy Melek said crews were already seeing an increase.
“Preparations are already underway to get our outside fire response truck in service. It is expected to be in service in the next few weeks,” he said.
AFR’s outside fire response truck — designed to be lightweight and agile — is beginning operations about a month earlier this year. When it responds to fires that have been lit by those experiencing homelessness, Melek said crews will offer connections to shelters through Albuquerque Community Safety. If services aren’t accepted, crews will offer blankets and coats.
Last year, the truck responded to more than 1,700 outside fire calls from late December through mid-April.
In final week of early voting, officials watch for election disinformation - Algernon D’Ammassa, Las Cruces Bulletin
“My name is Matthew Metro,” said a man in a video posted to the social media site X. But it wasn’t him.
The real Matthew Metro, a Hawaii resident, found that his name and biographical details, found online, had been used in a video that leveled incendiary accusations against Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, who once taught at a school Metro attended. The figure in the video was an impersonator who did much resemble or sound like the real man.
It is, however, the sort of attack that could become more effective as generative software rapidly develops the ability to convincingly mimic prominent figures or ordinary citizens through manipulated images and stolen information.
The year has seen voters receiving robocalls from a simulated President Joe Biden spreading false information; and a recent study by Utah Valley University found that half of survey participants failed to distinguish a figure in a “deepfake” video from footage of a real person, and sometimes found the counterfeit more trustworthy.
Dissembling and filtered photos are nothing new in political advertising, but the increased sophistication of faked material and the speed with which false information may be spread online has proven effective enough that election officials around the U.S. view it as a serious risk to election integrity.
In the final week before Election Day, New Mexico’s top elections officer said her office continued efforts begun earlier in 2024 to promote awareness of faked images, video and audio and how they might be used to manipulate voters.
Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, in an interview with the Las Cruces Bulletin, said software such as ChatGBT and other generative software, commonly referred to as “artificial intelligence” or “AI,” may have legitimate uses in a campaign operation in need of quickly-produced marketing materials.
This year, the state enacted a law requiring disclosure of digitally-manipulated media by political campaigns and candidates. The law, updating New Mexico’s Campaign Reporting Act, relies heavily on education and voluntary compliance. Although no agency is charged or equipped to monitor observance of the law, the Secretary of State or the State Ethics Commission would investigate reported violations. So far, Toulouse Oliver said she was unaware of any alleged breaches of the law – but also did not recall seeing any disclosures in election materials.
“Unfortunately, in this day and age, the content that we consume, primarily via social media, but also in digital ads, even on TV, text messages, voice mails, things like that, can be manipulated,” she said. “That manipulation, in and of itself, is not necessarily a bad thing. What we're concerned about is when it's done with malintent.”
CHECKING THINGS OUT
Earlier this year, the office launched a “Seeing is no longer believing” education campaign with tips on how to spot digitally generated images.
“We just want voters to, when they see something, pause and take a minute and and double-check whether it's real,” she said.
It is a discipline Toulouse Oliver, a Democrat elected to her second term in 2022, recently practiced herself, she recalled, when a friend texted her a video of former Vice President Mike Pence supposedly endorsing Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. The widely circulated video was deceptively edited, however, as unedited footage makes clear: Pence has not, in fact, endorsed Harris.
Toulouse Oliver said she searched online for articles by reputable news organizations and Pence’s own website.
“The human initial reaction is to want to believe something bad about the other guy or believe something good about your person, right? And it’s just so easy to have that cognitive bias, right?” she said. “I still want to make sure that I am not circulating incorrect information.”
She acknowledged the daunting prospect of asking individuals to adjust their online behavior in the interest of veracity.
“Unfortunately, there's a lot of conflation of feelings with facts that's been happening in the last several years, on both sides,” she said. “And it's work, right? It takes work to stop and go, ‘I wonder if this is actually correct, and I'm gonna go check other sources just to verify.’”
VOTING PROCESS IN 2024
As of Oct. 31, 528,713 New Mexicans had already turned in absentee ballots or voted in person. That’s 74 percent of the total ballots cast in the 2022 election, and 57 percent of total turnout in 2020, the last presidential election year, with early voting continuing through Saturday and Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 5.
Toulouse Oliver said voting had proceeded smoothly overall and that she anticipated heavy turnout in the 2024 election, a year with a presidential election and other federal offices on the ballot as well as the entire New Mexico Legislature. She said there had not been extraordinary concerns about interactions with poll workers and the public, or with authorized election observers.
“Our county clerks have been doing phenomenal work. Our poll workers have been doing phenomenal work,” she said. “Voters have been having good experiences. We have had some lines, particularly on the first day of early voting and the first day of expanded early voting, but generally speaking, things are going well.”
As for the presidential contest between former President Donald Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris, Toulouse Oliver said she anticipated New Mexico’s vote will likely be known “with significant confidence” soon after voting closes on Nov. 5, while other states may not have their election results ready until days after their polls close. That could fuel conspiracism and adverse actions following Election Day, she said - including in New Mexico.
“There does continue to be a deep and abiding distrust of the process amongst a certain small but local group of people,” she said. “They are already saying things online that are concerning, that could be considered harassment or threats towards myself and my team and our county teams; and I'm hoping that the security measures we put in place, which are substantial for this election process, are going to keep us all safe.”
She was also confident that the process of formalizing New Mexico’s election results was also secure.
In 2020, New Mexico was among a handful of states where, despite Democratic candidate Joe Biden winning the electoral vote, Republicans submitted an alternative slate of electors in support of Trump. No one in the group of New Mexico Republicans who signed the unauthorized electoral certificate and sent it to the National Archives was charged with a crime.
“We're going to ensure security of the Capitol building and of the electors,” Toulouse Oliver said. “We, as legally charged, are the ones in contact both with the National Archives, the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, to whom we send the certificates of ascertainment as well as the votes of the Electoral College.”
In the event of another effort to intervene in the election with a false instrument, Toulouse Oliver said, “Even if people try to do the wrong thing, with the system – it sort of bounces off, and only the actual votes of the actual electors will be the ones presented before Congress on Jan. 6.”
Santa Fe City Council will explore relocating controversial obelisk – Santa Fe New Mexican, KUNM News
Santa Fe City Council members voted Wednesday for a resolution that explores if it’s feasible to rebuild and possibly move a controversial monument to a new location.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the Soldiers’ Monument in Santa Fe Plaza was toppled by protestors four years ago on Indigenous Peoples Day. The initial resolution would have directed the city manager to relocate the monument if it was feasible.
But amendments changed that to require the city manager to report back to the council on the feasibility before taking any other actions. It includes a possible option of moving the monument to the Sant Fe National Cemetery.
The obelisk was erected in 1867 to honor Civil War Union soldiers but a plaque on it has spurred controversy because of the words “savage Indians.”
The Hispanic fraternal organization Union Protectiva de Santa Fe sued the city over the obelisk and the parties are waiting on a ruling after a trial last month.
The All Pueblo Council of Governors president sent a letter to councilors supporting moving the monument to the cemetery.
Santa Fe Archbishop John C. Wester called on the city to find a compromise in which Indigenous groups, veterans and others can feel respected. Union Protectiva President Virgil Vigil wrote in an email that the statement was “anti-Hispano and pro-Indian.”
A message from Elmer Maestas included in Vigil’s email criticized the pueblos for speaking out. It advises them to “stick to their Pueblo business and leave it to the real Santa Fe citizenry to rightly deal with Santa Fe.”
Donald Trump gambles with late-stage trips to Democratic New Mexico and Virginia - By Jonathan J. Cooper and Susan Montoya Bryan Associated Press
Donald Trump is traveling to New Mexico and Virginia in the campaign's final days, taking a risky detour from the seven battleground states to spend time in places where Republican presidential candidates have not won in decades.
The former president campaigned in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Thursday and was scheduled to visit Salem, Virginia, on Saturday.
The Trump team is projecting optimism based in part on early voting numbers and thinks he can be competitive against Democrat Kamala Harris in both states — New Mexico in particular, if he sweeps swing states Nevada and Arizona. That hope comes even though neither New Mexico nor Virginia has been carried by a GOP nominee for the White House since George W. Bush in 2004.
Over the past few months in particular, the battleground states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — have seen a constant stream of candidate visits, and residents have been bombarded with political ads on billboards, televisions and smartphones. In the past two weeks alone, presidential and vice presidential candidates have made 21 appearances in Pennsylvania, 17 in Michigan and 13 in North Carolina.
In the 43 other states, a candidate visit is an exciting novelty.
Trump retains fervent pockets of support even in states that vote overwhelmingly against him, and he can easily fill his rallies with enthusiastic supporters.
He has made other recent detours from the states most at play, holding rallies at Madison Square Garden in New York and in Coachella, California — states that are even more solidly Democratic than New Mexico and Virginia. Those events satisfied Trump's long-shot claims that he can win both states, but were also aimed at earning maximum media attention as his campaign seeks to reach voters who do not follow political news closely.
Trump also showed up in staunchly Republican Montana, and both Trump and Harris campaigned on the same day last week in Texas, which Democrats last won in 1976.
Those trips served other purposes, such as highlighting issues important in a state or supporting House or Senate candidates.
Trump said in Albuquerque that he could win the state as long as the election is fair, repeating falsehoods about rigged past elections.
"If we could bring God down from heaven, he could be the vote counter and we could win this," Trump said. He added he's visiting New Mexico because it's "good for my credentials" with Hispanic voters.
Trump's strategy carries risk.
After losing to Trump in 2016, Democrat Hillary Clinton was criticized for going to Arizona late in the campaign instead of spending time in Wisconsin, Michigan or Pennsylvania, states that ended up deciding that election. Arizona is now a battleground, but it wasn't considered particularly competitive eight years ago, when it voted for Trump by a 4-percentage point margin.
"I don't think there's any strategy," said Bob Shrum, a longtime Democratic political consultant who worked on numerous presidential campaigns and now leads Center for the Political Future at University of Southern California. "I think he insisted on doing it. It makes no sense."
New Mexico stop brings Trump to a border state
The planned visit to Albuquerque brings Trump and his immigration stance to a border state with the nation's highest concentration of Latino voters, highlighting the campaign for Hispanic supporters.
About 44% of the voting-age population in New Mexico identifies as Hispanic. Many have centuries-old ties to Mexican and Spanish settlements, while the state has a smaller share of foreign-born residents than the national average.
At the same time, federal and local authorities in New Mexico are dealing with a surge in migrant deaths along the U.S. border with Mexico.
Trump's visit has implications for a congressional swing district stretching from Albuquerque to the border with Mexico. It's now held by a Democrat as Republicans look to hold onto their narrow House majority. Immigration has been a major issue in the race.
Also on the ballot, Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich is seeking a third term against Republican Nella Domenici. She is the daughter of the late Republican Sen. Pete Domenici, who served six terms, from 1973 to 2009 and was the last New Mexico Republican elected to the Senate.
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. remains on the ballot in New Mexico, and roadside campaign signs for Kennedy popped up across the capital city of Santa Fe in late October, about two months after Kennedy's withdrawal from the race and endorsement of Trump.
New Mexico voters have twice rebuffed Trump at the polls, and Democrats hold every statewide elected position, all three U.S. House seats, both U.S. Senate seats, and majorities in the state House and Senate.
"He just brings us back to what the U.S. needs to be," Leandra Dominguez of Albuquerque, 45, said before Trump spoke. "It's just fallen apart. We just need someone to save us."
Virginia was once a battleground
While Virginia was considered a battleground as recently as 2012, it has trended toward Democrats in the past decade, especially in the populous northern Virginia suburbs.
Trump lost the state to Clinton in 2016 and Democrat Joe Biden in 2020. This year, Democrats and their allies in the presidential race have spent nearly twice as much as Republicans on ads in Virginia, data show, though it pales in comparison to the spending in battleground states.
"We have a real chance," Trump said while phoning into a Richmond-area rally on Saturday.
Trump, while in Virginia, is likely to speak about Wednesday's Supreme Court ruling leaving in place a purge of voter registrations that the state says is aimed at stopping people who are not U.S. citizens from voting.
The high court, over the dissents of the three liberal justices, granted an emergency appeal from Virginia's Republican administration led by Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
Speaking to Fox News' Bret Baier on Wednesday night, Youngkin said from what he's seeing on the ground, "Virginia is far more competitive than any of the pundits would have believed."
He noted that two years after Biden won by 10 percentage points in 2020, he won as governor.
"Virginians are ready for strength back in the White House," he said.
Susan Swecker, chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Virginia, said Trump's scheduled visit to Salem on Saturday would only widen Harris' lead in the state.
"Kamala Harris will win Virginia convincingly, as he knows, and any visit from this deranged lunatic will only widen the margin," Swecker said.
___
Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in New York, Morgan Lee in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Olivia Diaz in Richmond, Virginia, contributed to this report. This story has been updated to reflect that New Mexico has three U.S. House seats.
City identifies $5M Gateway West operator - By Damon Scott, City Desk ABQ
It looks like the long wait could soon be over.
After many months of searching, the city’s Health, Housing & Homelessness Department (HHH) has identified a nonprofit to oversee operations at the city’s Gateway West facility — Chicanos Por La Causa. Officials submitted a $5 million contract that will now be considered by the City Council.
The Finance & Government Operations Committee voted in a 5-0 motion Oct. 28 to forward the contract to the City Council for immediate action. The committee members included City Councilors Louie Sanchez, Dan Champine, Tammy Fiebelkorn, Dan Lewis and Klarissa Peña. Although an agenda hasn’t yet been released, it’s likely that the contract will be voted on at Monday’s City Council meeting.
If approved, Chicanos Por La Causa would take over operations at the former Westside Emergency Housing Center from Albuquerque Heading Home. The clock has been ticking, as Albuquerque Heading Home has been working under a $2.1 million emergency contract since July, which expires Dec. 31.
Chicanos Por La Causa would be responsible for the 24/7 operations of Gateway West, an overnight shelter for those experiencing homelessness with a capacity of 660. The facility regularly fills hundreds of beds nightly, with seasonal increases during the winter months.
It’s still unclear how or when Albuquerque Heading Home and Chicanos Por La Causa would begin a transition process if the contract is approved. HHH spokesperson Connor Woods said Wednesday that more information from the department would be forthcoming.
Chicanos Por La Causa works in six Southwest states — New Mexico, Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada and Texas. According to its website, its focus areas are economic development, education, housing, advocacy and health and human services.
It operates more than 30 programs — including for those experiencing homelessness — and has approximately 2,000 employees. Alicia Nuñez was named its president and CEO in April.
It wasn’t immediately known if Chicanos Por La Causa has experience operating a facility like Gateway West.
The nonprofit has worked within New Mexico’s behavioral health purchasing collaborative supportive housing plan — an initiative that creates permanent supportive housing for those with behavioral health disorders and related disabilities. The program provides subsidized housing units for households with income limits and individuals with long-term mental or physical disabilities that require long-term supportive services.
East Mountains residents rail against proposed Diamond Tail Solar - By Hannah Grover, New Mexico Political Report
Residents of the East Mountains area outside of Albuquerque packed into the Vista Grande Community Center in Sandia Park on Tuesday evening to express opposition for a proposed solar farm with battery storage.
The Diamond Tail Solar Project would be built on private land that has been used for cattle ranching and filming movies. Before this can take place, the developer must get Sandoval County to change the zoning from rural residential and agriculture to a special use district. The Sandoval County Planning and Zoning Commission asked the developer—PCR U.S. Investments—to host a community meeting to educate nearby residents about the potential impacts and benefits.
PCR U.S. Investments is a subsidiary of an energy company based out of Argentina. According to its website, PCR dates back to 1921 when it was founded as an oil company. PCR states that it is the “second oldest company in the oil industry” and is actively extracting oil in parts of Argentina, Ecuador and Colombia. PCR later started producing cement in 1952. Then, in 2016, it began pursuing renewable energy.
The Diamond Tail Solar Project would be capable of producing 220 megawatts of electricity and its battery storage facility could store 110 megawatts of energy.
“This is not an innovative design,” Mariano Brandi, CEO of PCR U.S. Investments, said. “This is pretty standard nowadays on these projects, there’s 300 projects in New Mexico right now for renewable energy, and lots of them have storage facilities.”
Brandi said that the company has been working on the Diamond Tail Solar Project for two years. The project would be located off of New Mexico Highway 14. While it is in Sandoval County, the land is separated by mountains from the majority of the county and is near the county line with Santa Fe County.
Brandi said that the location was chosen based on its proximity to a new substation that the Public Service Company of New Mexico built. That will make it easy to tie into the grid and PCR is already working with PNM on interconnection.
PCR does not currently have a contract to sell power to PNM, but hopes to do so.
But getting there will be an uphill fight for PCR.
The community meeting quickly devolved into chaos with community members talking over each other and Brandi unable to answer questions without being interrupted multiple times.
State Rep. Stefani Lord, R-Sandia Park, was among the community members shouting questions and interrupting Brandi when he attempted to answer. She then left the meeting before Brandi had the chance to answer the questions she’d asked.
FIRE RISK
The main concern that community members have is the fire-prone nature of the East Mountains and what it would mean if a fire swept through the solar farm. Fire was the one area where community members said it is a “matter of life and death.”
Toward the end of the meeting, Brandi went over how PCR would prevent potential fires from the battery storage facility from spreading and how its design would limit the ability of wildfires to spread on the solar farm.
Brandi said that PCR has met with Sandoval County’s fire department and incorporated suggestions from the fire department.
Battery storage fires have received media attention in recent years. In May of this year, a fire broke out in the 250-megawatt Gateway Energy Storage Facility in Otay Mesa, California. The fire burned for two weeks and led to evacuations of nearby communities. Firefighters struggled to extinguish the blaze as nearby lithium-ion batteries overheated and caught fire, a phenomenon that is known as a thermal runaway chain reaction.
Then, in September, a fire at a facility near Escondido, California, also led to evacuations, though that fire was extinguished within a day.
And, in 2019, an explosion at a battery storage facility in Arizona injured eight firefighters.
At the same time, the number of battery storage facilities is increasing globally at a rapid rate and the number of incidents associated with these facilities is declining. From 2018 to 2023, the failure rate of battery storage facilities dropped by 97 percent. Not all battery failures result in fires, though some do.
Brandi said that the design for the storage facility at Diamond Tail would isolate any fire that started because of a battery failure in the unit where it occurred. Then the fire would essentially be allowed to burn itself out. This is fairly common for battery storage facilities.
The risk of fire starting from the batteries is only one of the fire-related concerns community members expressed. The East Mountains is an area where wildfires are a risk and community members expressed concerns that a fire could spread onto the Diamond Tail Solar Project, leading to toxic gasses being released into the air.
Brandi showed a design of the proposed battery storage facility and said there will be space for firetrucks to navigate. He said the battery storage facility will also be surrounded by a gravel buffer intended to prevent fire from approaching the batteries.
Vegetation management around the solar panels will also help curb the spread of fires, Brandi said.
PFAS CHEMICALS
One of the concerns Lord, the state representative, brought up was potential PFAS contamination of the aquifer due to the solar panels. She said that if PFAS from the solar panels leach into the soil, it could contaminate two aquifers.
“We can’t afford to lose any water,” Lord said.
While some of the solar panels manufactured today do use PFAS chemicals, there are alternatives that do not.
After Lord left, another community member asked if PCR would use solar panels that contain PFAS chemicals. Brandi said that PCR is looking at PFAS-free alternatives and that the solar panels will be manufactured in the United States. Using panels manufactured in the United States allows PCR to access higher tax incentives.
PFAS chemicals are also frequently used in battery storage projects, though some companies are working to find alternatives. For example, a solid state battery has a solid electrolyte that eliminates the need for PFAS-containing electrolytes.
Future regulations could require solar and battery storage developers to look for PFAS-free alternatives. Several advocacy groups plan to push legislation in the upcoming session that would ban the non-essential use of PFAS chemicals in New Mexico. PFAS chemicals are also found in common household products including upholstery, furniture, space heaters, cookware, and curling irons.
There are tens of thousands of PFAS chemicals, which can cause a variety of health problems including some types of cancer. They are also called forever chemicals because they don’t break down in the natural environment.
Already, PFAS chemicals have contaminated aquifers in New Mexico and have been found in surface waters like the Pecos River and the Rio Grande.
The state Oil Conservation Commission is considering banning the use of PFAS chemicals in oil and gas extraction.
SAN FELIPE PUEBLO
The land where the project could be located is the ancestral territory of the San Felipe Pueblo. Brandi said PCR met with Pueblo leaders and surveyed the land along with members of the Pueblo. He said the Pueblo has specified areas where setbacks are needed to protect cultural resources.
Brandi said PCR is committed to working with San Felipe Pueblo to protect any cultural resources on the property.
NEXT STEPS
Should the Sandoval County Planning and Zoning Commission approve the zone change on Nov. 12, the project will then go to the Sandoval County Commission for consideration. Should Sandoval County decline the special use permit, Brandi said PCR is not looking at any other sites in New Mexico.
PCR will also need to get a power purchase agreement and an energy storage agreement with PNM. These require approval from the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission to ensure such agreements do not negatively impact ratepayers.
Not all solar projects make it to fruition, which is something Brandi acknowledged during the community meeting.
PCR is hoping that the Diamond Tail Solar Project will be able to replace electricity that PNM currently gets from the Four Corners Power Plant in northwest New Mexico. The coal-fired power plant is slated to close in 2031, though it may close earlier.
PNM previously sought to leave the Four Corners Power Plant. When it filed that application with the state regulators, PNM sought securitization—a mechanism that essentially allows the utility to refinance past investments into the power plant using low-interest bonds. Should PNM seek securitization again it will be required to locate at least a portion of the replacement resources within the Central Consolidated School District in San Juan County.
When asked by NM Political Report if PCR would pursue a contract with another utility if it doesn’t get one with PNM, Brandi said that PNM is the most likely utility that will be involved with the Diamond Tail Solar Project.
The Diamond Tail Solar Project could begin construction as early as 2026.
BernCo housing bonds aimed at fighting housing shortage - By Rodd Cayton, City Desk ABQ
Bernalillo County officials have in recent years recognized a need for more housing. They have helped developers secure financial incentives to build and asked state legislators to invest in solutions to the housing shortage.
Now, they’re asking voters to approve $1.7 million in general obligation bonds for public housing projects.
Most of the money — $1 million — would go toward ongoing efforts to improve housing stock in the county. Those include acquiring property and planning, designing, upgrading, constructing, and remodeling housing units.
Those efforts are focused on assisting the county’s low-income, homeless, senior and disabled populations.
The remaining $700,000 is intended for improvements at the Seybold Village and El Centro housing complexes in the South Valley. The former was built in the 1970s and 1980s; the 21-unit complex serves low-income handicapped and disabled residents.
El Centro is a 54-unit gated community and has 140 residents and serves those 55 and older. Each complex is income adjusted, with rents based on residents’ adjusted incomes.
The bond money, county spokesperson Melissa Smith said, will cover some routine maintenance costs; the improvements include upgrades to flooring, countertops and cabinets, interior wall replacement, new painting and full bathroom rehabs.
Smith said the need for affordable housing is severe, as the Mid-Region Council of Governments predicts the area’s population aged 65 and older could reach 140,000 by 2040.
In addition to the bond package, county commissioners this year have approved resolutions seeking $100 million in capital outlay funding from the Legislature and supporting a $500 million funding request for Housing New Mexico, 10% to 20% of which would be earmarked for assisting local governments’ affordable housing efforts.
The package includes another question, seeking $2.5 million for county libraries.
Smith said the money will go toward expanding the materials collection at 19 library branches and needed capital improvements. She said the county is asking for another $2 million from state lawmakers in 2025 capital improvements at libraries.
The library system has more than 500,000 active members who visit in person or use the online platform, Smith said.
Bernalillo County has six bond questions on the general election ballot, seeking a total of about $40.5 million.
The other bond questions are for transportation, parks and recreation, storm drainage and utilities and public safety facilities, fleet, and county buildings.
Early voting is underway and same-day registration is available through Nov. 5.