Laura McGill named new director of Sandia Labs - By Justin Garcia, Albuquerque Journal
Sandia National Laboratories is promoting from within.
Laura McGill, the deputy laboratories director for nuclear deterrence and chief technology officer at Sandia since 2021, will succeed James Peery as director, lab officials said in a news release.
McGill on May 1 will become the 17th director of Sandia, a federally funded research and development center that employs thousands and plays a key role in national security.
“Laura’s extensive experience in defense systems engineering and her proven leadership within Sandia makes her exceptionally qualified to guide the Laboratories into the future,” said Rich DeGraff, chair of the National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia LLC board of managers and president of control systems at Honeywell Aerospace. “Her commitment to national security, innovation and modern engineering aligns perfectly with Sandia’s mission.”
McGill’s previous post as deputy director involved overseeing the safety, security, effectiveness and modernization of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, and guiding Sandia’s contributions to nuclear weapon systems engineering, development and surveillance.
Before joining Sandia, McGill spent the last three decades in the defense industry, notably at Raytheon Missiles & Defense. There, Sandia officials said, she oversaw the development and operational support for advanced weapons systems for the federal Department of Defense and held the position of vice president of engineering.
McGill holds a master’s degree in aerospace systems from West Coast University and a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from the University of Washington.
Her predecessor, Peery, announced his retirement in October 2024. Peery has held the position since January 2020 and will retire at the end of April.
Rail Trail money transfer becomes veto yo-yo - By Elizabeth McCall, City Desk ABQ
After lengthy debates and public comments that spanned two meetings, along with hand wringing over a mayoral veto, the Albuquerque City Council ended where it began regarding funding for two high profile projects.
City councilors Monday night voted to override Mayor Tim Keller’s veto of the City Council’s decision to move funding from a high-profile, multi-use trail project to a planned sports complex project on the Westside. By the end of the meeting though, the council reversed its decision to transfer money from one project to the other.
“This is what our community asked for, restoring funding so the Rail Trail can keep moving forward and become a transformative landmark for Albuquerque,” Keller wrote in a statement Tuesday. “By working together, we’ve kept construction on track, without having to choose between projects or neighborhoods.”
After multiple residents pleaded with councilors to reconsider their decision during a meeting on Feb. 19, Councilor Joaquín Baca said he would work with Councilor Louie Sanchez and Keller’s administration to “figure something out.”
“This has obviously blown up into a lot,” Baca said at the time. “This is something we can work out, myself, Councilor Sanchez and the administration. I don’t think it needs to go beyond that.”
However, after that meeting, Keller vetoed the decision and said he supported the sports complex but not the money transfer. Councilors on Monday overrode the veto, but later in the evening passed a resolution that reversed the money transfer.
“I think that the way this veto occurred is completely inappropriate, disrespectful and enraging is the word I keep using,” Council President Brook Bassan said during Monday’s meeting.
The council originally approved the move during its Feb. 3 meeting. Councilors voted to transfer $500,000 from the ongoing Rail Trail project — a 7-mile multi-use trail that will connect the city’s historic destinations — to the planned Ken Sanchez Indoor Sports Complex.
Shortly after the veto, Keller held a public event at one of the sites for the Rail Trail project to celebrate progress and urge the council to uphold the veto. On Monday night, Bassan referred to the event as a “veto signing party,” and said she found it “really infuriating.”
“The process alone is not okay,” Bassan said. “Especially when I get told that I shouldn’t always go to the media or ‘let’s work together’…I hope that that is something the mayor understands and sees, because it’s not fair to us, as the legislative body, to be treated in the way we were in this veto.”
Chief Administrative Officer Samantha Sengel told the council that the Rail Trail is a multi-phase project which is not fully funded but couldn’t say which phases are funded. Sengel said two phases are underway but there is not a set timeframe for completion.
Former councilor Ken Sanchez, who died in 2020 while still in office, initially presented the idea of the sports complex and Councilor Louie Sanchez continued the plan after he was elected. Louie Sanchez said the transferred money was a miniscule amount compared to how much the Rail Trail project will cost.
“It’s up to us, this body, to make those decisions,” Sanchez said. “You’re looking at less than one half of a cent in the overall picture…I said it before, I don’t have a problem with the Rail Trail at all. It’s just going to be a project that is going to take many, many years and many, many millions of dollars. So this was something we can get going immediately, get Ken Sanchez Indoor Sports Complex built, and get the kids who need the practice facilities, the kids who need a facility to enjoy their sports. That’s what we need.”
Senate passes bill aimed at shielding abortion providers under NM open records law - By Dan Boyd, Albuquerque Journal
Records containing personal identifying information about certain New Mexico abortion providers would be exempted from the state’s open records law under a bill approved Monday by the state Senate.
Backers of the legislation, Senate Bill 57, which passed on a party-line 26-16 vote, called the step necessary due to threats to providers in a state with among the least restrictions on abortion services in the country.
“Asking for an exemption is a big deal,” said Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, during Monday’s debate. “What these folks face is also a big deal.”
But Republican senators pushed back against the legislation, saying it could be used to keep confidential statistics and data about how many abortions are performed in New Mexico.
“New Mexicans rightfully deserve to know how their taxpayer dollars are being spent,” said Senate Minority Whip Pat Woods, R-Broadview. “This bill aims to directly contradict that.”
New Mexico lawmakers in 2021 voted to repeal a state abortion ban that had been largely dormant for decades.
That repeal proved impactful when the U.S. Supreme Court a year later overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling that had legalized abortion nationwide.
While other neighboring states subsequently enacted bans on abortion services, an estimated 21,000 abortions were performed in New Mexico in 2023. Patients coming to the state from Texas made up about 70% of that number, according to a study from the Guttmacher Institute.
New Mexico’s Inspection of Public Records Act already allows for public records dealing with trade secrets, medical examinations and the identities of certain crime victims to be kept confidential.
But some anti-abortion advocates have talked openly about obtaining 911 calls as part of their campaign to gather information about abortion facilities.
The legislation advancing at the Roundhouse would add a new exemption related to records containing “personal identifying information or sensitive information” related to medical providers employed by a public body who perform abortion services.
It would only apply to doctors at the University of New Mexico Center for Reproductive Health, since the state’s other abortion clinics are private and are not subject to the state’s open records laws, Wirth said.
Several first-term Senate Democrats spoke in favor of the bill during Monday’s debate, with Sen. Angel Charley of Acoma citing statistics showing an increase in stalking of abortion providers.
Sen. Cindy Nava, D-Albuquerque, said the bill would address a “gap in provider safety” amid requests for records dealing with their travel plans and other information.
Another senator, Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, said one of his daughters is studying obstetrics in Texas and might eventually return to New Mexico to practice.
If she does, he said her personal identifying information should not be publicly accessible.
“I accept that risk, but she shouldn’t have to,” Cervantes said.
The bill now advances to the House of Representatives with less than three weeks left in the 60-day legislative session.
Mexican gray wolf population increases for the ninth year - Cathy Cook, Albuquerque Journal
The Mexican gray wolf population has increased 11% from the previous year, according to a wolf count report released by the Arizona and New Mexico departments of Game and Fish on Monday.
2024 marks the ninth consecutive year the Mexican gray wolf population in New Mexico and Arizona has grown, after much effort to increase the population by placing captive-bred wolf pups into wild dens. However, some environmental advocates are critical of the wolf recovery strategy and others are concerned Trump administration budget cuts could threaten the recovery effort.
“Each year, the wild Mexican wolf population numbers increase, and the areas they occupy expand. Genetic management using pups from captivity is also showing results,” Chief of Wildlife for New Mexico Game and Fish Stewart Liley said in a statement.
The Game and Fish departments count the wolves annually from November through February from helicopters, remote cameras and scat collection. There are at least 286 wolves in the two states, whereas there were 257 counted in 2023.
The Mexican gray wolf was listed as endangered in 1976 and the recovery effort is long-term. The first release into the wild was in 1998.
The recovery effort includes placing captive-born wolf pups in dens with similarly aged wild pups. Placing the wolf pups is meant to increase the genetic diversity of the wolf population. At least 20 of the fostered wolves have survived to adulthood and at least 10 have produced litters in the wild.
Environmental advocacy group Center for Biological Diversity is critical of the strategy, said Senior Conservation Advocate Michael Robinson. The nonprofit would like to see adult bonded pairs with pups released instead of fostered pups, because they believe adults would have a much better chance at surviving and increasing the genetic diversity of the wolf population.
While environmental advocates have pushed for increased wolf releases, the livestock industry has historically opposed releases over economic and human safety concerns.
Mexican gray wolves killed 99 livestock animals in 2024, with the majority, 77, in New Mexico, according to a final quarter report from the Mexican Wolf Interagency Field Team. That represents a decline in livestock kills, down from 111 in 2023 and 137 in 2022. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services conducted 290 successful hazing events to discourage wolves from approaching rural homes and livestock.
Livestock producers can get compensation for confirmed livestock losses through two different federal programs.
Other environmental advocates are concerned about continued federal enforcement of the Endangered Species Act and continued funding for wolf recovery. President Donald Trump’s Office of Personnel Management and Department of Government Efficiency recently laid off many Forest Service employees, including at least one in New Mexico who was an expert on endangered fish species.
“We don’t always agree with how Mexican wolves are managed, but we know that without the continued federal engagement and the strong protections of the Endangered Species Act, we wouldn’t have this many lobos alive and in the wild,” Greta Anderson, deputy director of Western Watersheds Project, said in a statement.
BernCo reports zoning fee scam - Rodd Cayton, City Desk ABQ
The Bernalillo County Planning and Development Services Department is warning the public about an ongoing email scam in which residents have been directed to wire thousands of dollars to an off-site email address, claiming it’s necessary for their zoning applications before the county to go forward.
County personnel became aware as early as January of an email circulating that is purportedly from the county planning commission. County officials believe the scammers have obtained certain personal information about property owners from meeting agendas posted on the county’s website, which is public record.
A recent iteration of the scam instructs the zoning applicant to sign an “invoice” that includes a copy of the county seal on each of three pages and to return it, “along with the wire payment receipt,” to an email address that is not actually associated with Bernalillo County.
The itemized “charges” have ranged from $8,000 to $25,200, due upon receipt.
“The county wants to remind the public to be extra vigilant about potential online or email-based scams involving county business,” County Planning and Development Services Director Nick Hamm said. “If there is any doubt about the legitimacy of a county document, please feel free to contact us to verify legitimate communication. County fees for permit applications are only accepted on bernco.gov or in person at county offices. They’re never requested via bank wire.”
According to a news release, the county is working with law enforcement agencies to pursue appropriate action and is contacting individuals who have received similar scam emails.
The release states that any correspondence from Bernalillo County will come from an email address ending with “.gov.”
Anyone with questions about the authenticity of any communication, or wishing to report a suspected scam email can call the Bernalillo County Contact Center at 505-468-7777.
Santa Fe County last week reported a similar scam making the rounds there.
Gene Hackman's dog was misidentified as other mysteries swirl around actor's death - By Morgan Lee, Associated Press
Authorities misidentified a deceased dog while investigating the deaths of actor Gene Hackman and his wife, pianist Betsy Arakawa, according to a pet care specialist.
The couple's German shepherd, named Bear, survived along with a second dog named Nikita, but their kelpie mix, Zinna, died, according to Joey Padilla, owner of the Santa Fe Tails pet care facility that is involved in the surviving dogs' care.
The dog that died "was always attached to Betsy at the hip and it was a beautiful relationship," Padilla said in an email statement Tuesday. "Zinna went from being a returned shelter dog to this incredible companion under Betsy's hand."
Authorities have been searching for answers after the deaths of Hackman and Arakawa, whose partially mummified bodies were discovered on Feb. 26 at their Santa Fe home. Hackman and Arakawa may have died up to two weeks earlier, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said.
Authorities did not perform a necropsy on Zinna, who was found in a kennel in a bathroom closet near Arakawa, a sheriff's office spokesperson said. Investigators initially noted the discovery of a "deceased brown in color German-Shepard canine."
Avila acknowledged that sheriff's deputies initially misidentified the breed of the deceased dog.
"Our deputies, they don't work with canines on a daily basis," she said.
USA Today first reported on the mistaken identification of the dead dog.
Arakawa's body was found with an open prescription bottle and pills scattered on the bathroom countertop, while Hackman's remains were found in the home's entryway.
The two bodies both have tested negative for carbon monoxide, a colorless and odorless gas that is a byproduct of fuel burned in some home appliances and can be fatal in poorly ventilated homes. No gas leaks were discovered in or around the home.
On Tuesday, the sheriff's office also said that a more extensive utility company inspection found that one burner on a stove in the house had a miniscule leak that could not be lethal.
Authorities retrieved personal items from the home, including a monthly planner and two cell phones that will be analyzed. Medical investigators are still working to clarify the cause of deaths but the results of toxicology reports aren't expected for weeks. ___
This story has been updated to correct the definition of carbon monoxide.
Vance will visit the US-Mexico border to highlight the Trump administration's immigration crackdown - By Will Weissert and Valerie Gonzalez, Associated Press
Vice President JD Vance plans to visit the U.S.-Mexico border on Wednesday to highlight the tougher immigration policies that the Trump administration says have led to dramatically fewer arrests for illegal crossings in the opening weeks of Donald Trump's presidency.
Vance will be joined in Eagle Pass, Texas, by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard as the highest-ranking members of Trump's Republican White House to visit the southern border.
Federal aviation authorities have cleared airspace for Air Force Two to make the trip, and state authorities and local activists say Vance's itinerary includes a visit to Shelby Park, a municipal greenspace along the Rio Grande that Republican Gov. Greg Abbott seized from federal authorities last year in a feud with the Biden administration, which he accused of not doing enough to curb illegal crossings.
Trump made a crackdown on immigration a centerpiece of his bid for a second term, as he pledged to halt the tide of migrants entering the U.S. and stop the flow of fentanyl crossing the border. As part of that effort, he imposed 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada on Tuesday, saying neither is doing enough to address drug trafficking and illegal immigration. His commerce secretary has suggested a deal to reduce the tariffs is in the works, however, and could be announced as soon as Wednesday.
"They are now strongly embedded in our country. But we are getting them out and getting them out fast," Trump said of migrants living in the U.S. illegally as he delivered an address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night.
Although Trump has not made a trip to the border since his inauguration, the visit of three of his top officials is evidence of the scope of his administration's focus on the issue. He has tasked agencies across the federal government with working to overhaul border and immigration policy, moving well beyond the Department of Homeland Security, the traditional home of most such functions.
Arrests for illegal border crossings from Mexico plummeted 39% in January from a month earlier, though they've been falling sharply since well before Trump took office on Jan. 20 from an all-time high of 250,000 in December 2023. Since then, Mexican authorities increased enforcement within their own borders and President Joe Biden, a Democrat, introduced severe asylum restrictions early last summer.
The Trump administration has showcased its new initiatives, including putting shackled immigrants on U.S. military planes for deportation fights and sending some to the U.S. lockup at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. It has also expanded federal agents' arrests of people in the U.S. illegally and abandoned programs that gave some permission to stay.
Trump border czar Tom Homan said migrants with criminal records have been prioritized in early efforts to round up and deport people in the U.S. illegally, but he added of other migrants, "If you're in the county illegally, you're not off the table."
"When we find the bad guy, many times they're with others, others who aren't a criminal priority, but were in the country illegally," Homan told reporters outside the White House on Tuesday. "They're coming, too."
Since Trump's second term began, about 6,500 new active duty forces have been ordered to deploy to the southern border. Before that, there were about 2,500 troops already there, largely National Guard troops on active duty orders, along with a couple of hundred active duty aviation forces.
Of those being mobilized, many are still only preparing to go. Last weekend, Hegseth approved orders to send a large portion of an Army Stryker brigade and a general support aviation battalion to the border. Totaling about 3,000 troops, they are expected to deploy in the coming weeks.
Troops are responsible for detection and monitoring along the border but don't interact with migrants attempting to illegally cross. Instead, they alert border agents, who then take the migrants into custody.
Biden tasked Vice President Kamala Harris with tackling the root causes of immigration during his administration, seeking to zero in on why so many migrants, particularly from Central America, were leaving their homelands and coming to the U.S. seeking asylum or trying to make it into the county illegally.
Harris made her first visit to the border in June 2021, about 3 1/2 months deeper into Biden's term than Vance's trip in the opening weeks of Trump's second term. Trump has routinely joked that Harris was in charge of immigration policy but didn't visit the border or even maintain close phone contact with federal officials.
Vance's trip comes as the Trump administration is considering the use of the Alien Enemy Act of 1798 to detain and deport Venezuelans based on a proclamation labeling the gang Tren de Aragua an invasion force that could be acting at the behest of that country's government. That's according to a U.S. official with knowledge of the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal administration deliberations.
It is unclear how close the decisions are to being finalized. Some officials have questioned whether the gang is acting as a tool for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whom the U.S. has not recognized as that country's legitimate leader. There are some concerns that invoking the law would require the U.S. to more formally recognize Maduro.
Still, the 1798 law allows the president to deport any noncitizen from a country with which the U.S. is at war, and it has been mentioned by Trump as a possible tool to speed up his mass deportations
DOGE includes Carlsbad WIPP office on list for termination - By Danielle Prokop, Source New Mexico
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) appears to have targeted a building lease for the Carlsbad field office overseeing the country’s only underground nuclear waste disposal site, prompting immediate censure from members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation.
The Department of Energy Carlsbad Field Office is in the Skeen-Whitlock building, a 90,000- square foot facility that houses 200 workers who manage the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant – better known as WIPP.
WIPP itself is not at the Skeen-Whitlock building. The underground waste depository lies in a saltbed about 26 miles east of Carlsbad and is the nation’s only storage site for defense-related nuclear waste. Most of the items disposed of are soiled with elements heavier than uranium – such as plutonium.
The building was listed as one of the more than 7,000 leases listed as terminated by DOGE, but there is no additional information. Members of the U.S. The Department of Energy national and Carlsbad Field Office did not respond Tuesday morning to a request for information.
The building’s potential closure poses risks to both the environment and national security, U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) said in a written statement.
“The abrupt closure of the Skeen-Whitlock building would further strain our ability to manage nuclear waste effectively,” Vasquez said. “It is imperative that DOE and GSA provide immediate clarity on this issue and work collaboratively to ensure that WIPP’s mission is not compromised.”
U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) also issued a statement Tuesday, saying he will fight the closure of the facility.
“WIPP is critical to our national security. Now, Elon Musk and President Trump are jeopardizing WIPP’s operations and its ability to safely manage the disposal of nuclear waste”, Luján said. “The Carlsbad Field Office exists to ensure that WIPP can safely and effectively conduct its operations, and a potential closure could lead to delays in nuclear waste disposal and puts our environmental safety at risk.”
Luján’s statement further noted that closing the field office “would not only undermine the safety protocols at WIPP to protect the public and environment but also will put hundreds of federal jobs in one of the most rural areas of our state at risk.”
Members from Vasquez’s office sent an email Monday to the U.S. General Services Administration, which manages the federal government’s leases, writing that the closure was “deeply concerning.”
“The Carlsbad Field Office has already lost approximately 30% of its staff in the past month. This office is home to WIPP emergency response staff, who play a critical role in ensuring the safe management of defense-related nuclear waste,” legislative assistant Emily Hartshorn wrote. “Closing this facility would pose a serious risk to national security.”
The GSA acknowledged the email from Vasquez’s office early Tuesday, but did not provide any further information about the leases’ status.
A person answering the phones at Cowperwood Company, which owns the Skeen-Whitlock building, said that the company would not comment nor confirm if it had received a termination notice from the GSA, saying: “that’s just not something we’re willing to discuss at this time.”
Don Hancock, the Nuclear Waste Safety program director and administrator at the nonprofit Southwest Research and Information Center, said the potential closure raises questions about where workers would relocate to or if the termination would mean a larger step to closing the site.
“WIPP can’t operate without workers in Skeen-Whitlock and the WIPP site,” Hancock said. “That obviously has major implications for not only Carlsbad, New Mexico, but also for North Carolina, a major shipper of waste and Idaho, which has a legal agreement requiring WIPP to be open and receiving shipments.”