Ancient DNA confirms New Mexico tribe's link to famed Chaco Canyon site- Christina Larson Associated Press
For the first time, a federally recognized Indigenous tribe in the U.S. has led research using DNA to show their ancestral history.
The Picuris Pueblo, a sovereign nation in New Mexico, has oral histories and cultural traditions that link the tribe to the region of Chaco Canyon, one of the ancient centers of Pueblo culture and society.
“We’ve been telling our stories as long as time immemorial,” said Picuris Lt. Gov. Craig Quanchello. But he said those traditions were often "overlooked and erased."
As members of the Picuris Pueblo seek a greater voice in shaping decisions about the future of Chaco Canyon, where debates about oil and gas drilling loom, leaders including Quanchello decided that using DNA sequencing to complement or corroborate their oral histories could be a useful tool. The group began a collaboration with an international team of geneticists.
"The DNA could help us protect" our heritage, he said. "Now we can say,
‘This is ours, we need to protect it.’"
The findings, published Thursday in the journal Nature, show close links between the genomes of 13 current members of Picuris and ancient DNA recovered from 16 Picuris individuals who lived between 1300 A.D. and 1500 A.D. in or near Chaco Canyon.
“The results show a strong relationship between ancient and present-day Picuris,” said co-author Thomaz Pinotti, a geneticist at the University of Copenhagen.
The genetic analysis was led by the Picuris. The researchers said this model of collaboration contrasts with a long history of archaeologists and geneticists seizing and studying artifacts and remains without the consent of Indigenous groups.
“It wasn’t an easy decision” to begin the collaboration with scientists, said co-author and Picuris Gov. Wayne Yazza. “This is life-changing data.”
There are 19 Pueblo tribes in New Mexico. The new study does not refute the historic connections of other tribes to Chaco Canyon.
Chaco Culture National Historical Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site managed by the U.S. National Park Service. It is famous for sweeping desert vistas and for monumental sandstone structures — including multistory homes and ceremonial structures — built by ancestral Pueblos.
“It’s super important that we don’t talk about Chaco in the category of ‘lost civilizations,’ like the Egyptian pyramids or Stonehenge,” said Paul Reed, a preservation archaeologist at Archaeology Southwest, who was not involved in the study. That notion "is particularly damaging in this instance because it disenfranchises the Pueblo people who live all around the canyon to this day.”
Brian Vallo, a member of the Acoma Pueblo who leads the Chaco Heritage Tribal Association, said a current concern revolves around drilling and mining permits on federal land adjacent to the park, which also impact the environment within the canyon.
“We have these close connections because our ancestors migrated and built these places –- they remain central to the preservation of our own Indigenous culture,” said Vallo, who was not part of the research.
Two candidates toss in names for 2026 lieutenant governor race- Danielle Prokop Source New Mexico
Two candidates have filed to be considered for New Mexico’s next lieutenant governor in the 2026 elections.
Current Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard — who is term-limited in that position — is running as a Democrat while Manuel Lardizabal, a former candidate for the New Mexico Senate, will seek the Republican nomination, according to state candidate filings.
In the November general elections, the governor and lieutenant governor run on the same ticket, but each office has separate party primaries in June. The lieutenant governor has both executive and legislative roles. Lieutenant governors are second-in-command and stand in for governors during their absences. The lieutenant governor also serves as president of the New Mexico State Senate, overseeing the body’s business during the legislative session and determining issues of decorum or rules.
The lieutenant governor holds a tie-breaker vote, according to the state Constitution, but only in the Senate.
Garcia Richard announced her bid in March. She told Source NM this week that the pending federal cuts to New Mexico spurred her to run, noting the high percentage of New Mexicans on Medicaid, along with the state’s reliance on federal funds for special education. She said she hopes to enhance the office’s ombudsman role.
“We need to be leaning on statewide leaders to be showing the way for New Mexico in this time, pushing back on the federal government when it’s required, making sure New Mexicans are protected from federal threats,” she said.
Garcia Richard said she was inspired by former Democratic Lt. Gov. Diane Denish’s role on the children’s cabinet and the way current Democratic Lt. Gov. Howie Morales managed unemployment requests during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The office really can be a powerhouse for constituent services,” she said. “I’m really running to make the office more responsive and as an agent for positive social change for New Mexicans.”
Two Democratic candidates have announced gubernatorial runs in 2026: Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman and former Congresswoman and U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland.
Garcia Richard, who served for three terms in the New Mexico House of Representatives, said she is on good terms with both of the announced candidates.
“I have great relationships with them,” she said. “I feel like my skill sets could really complement theirs, and I understand that success is relationship-dependent.”
According to the latest campaign filings, Garcia Richard has a $32,528 cash balance on hand, a combination she said of a transfer from her campaign for land commissioner and recent donations.
Only one candidate, Democrat Juan Sanchez, has jumped into the race for Garcia Richard’s land commission seat. Statewide candidates have until Feb. 2, 2026 to file.
Garcia Richard also noted that a $600 fine assessed for a late filing from the New Mexico Secretary of State’s office was due to a clerical error.
“I filed under my previous office,” she said, and then transferred the account.
When reached by phone, Lardizabal told Source NM he’s only submitted the initial filing paperwork and would announce his campaign launch and website soon. Lardizabal reported no expenditures or contributions so far.
Migrants face a novel criminal charge in new border zone in New Mexico - By Morgan Lee and Valerie Gonzalez, Associated Press
Immigrants recently detained in southernmost New Mexico now face a novel criminal charge of breaching a national defense area, after the U.S. Army assumed oversight of a 170-mile strip along the southern U.S. border in cooperation with immigration authorities.
Federal prosecutors on Monday applied the additional charge for incursions into the recently designated New Mexico National Defense Area against migrants detained by Customs and Border Protection, as the military scales up troop deployments to a sliver of U.S. borderlands that is now being treated as an extension of U.S. Army Garrison Fort Huachuca in Arizona.
The Trump administration says those soldiers have the authority to temporarily apprehend trespassers, amid efforts to get around a federal law that prohibits U.S. troops from being used in domestic law enforcement on American soil.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth highlighted the changes Friday while visiting troops at the New Mexico border.
"Any illegal attempting to enter that zone is entering a military base, a federally protected area," he said alongside a border wall, in a video posted social media. "You will be interdicted by U.S. troops and Border Patrol."
New Mexico-based ACLU attorney Rebecca Sheff warned that the military buffer zone "represents a dangerous erosion of the constitutional principle that the military should not be policing civilians." She expressed concern that U.S. citizens that live near the border could be prosecuted under the same provisions.
The charges against at least a half-dozen immigrants for unauthorized entry on military defense property were signed by U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison, an Alamogordo, New Mexico-native sworn into office April 18.
Troops are prohibited from conducting civilian law enforcement on U.S. soil under the Posse Comitatus Act. An exception known as the military purpose doctrine allows it in some cases.
The newly militarized corridor includes the Roosevelt Reservation, a 60-foot-wide (18-meter-wide) federal buffer zone that ribbons along the border, except where it encounters tribal or privately owned land.
Control of the Roosevelt Reservation was transferred in mid-April from the Interior Department to the Defense Department in a presidential memo. The Interior Department also has designated areas beyond the Roosevelt Reservation for transfer to military oversight.
Since then, the Army has announced several military deployments to augment surveillance, expand roadways and shore up barriers at the border.
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Gonzalez reported from McAllen, Texas.
Federal investigation into DWI racketeering scheme leads to eighth guilty plea - Colleen Heild, Albuquerque Journal
The number of former Albuquerque Police Department officers admitting involvement in a massive extortion and bribery scheme grew to five on Tuesday with the guilty plea of a former member of the DWI Unit who took gifts and money for helping drunken driving cases get dismissed.
Harvey Johnson Jr., who joined APD in 2014, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Court Judge Karen Molzen to one count of conspiring to commit interference with commerce by extortion under color of “official right.” No sentencing date has been set.
Johnson was among the newer officers to the scheme, spending less than a year in the decades-long illegal operation, which ended with FBI raids on at least five locations in January 2024. One of those locations was Johnson’s home.
“He took responsibility for his very, very limited role,” Johnson’s attorney, Joel R. Meyers, told the Journal. “He’s looking forward to putting it behind him.”
Federal prosecutors say the extortion scheme was created by prominent Albuquerque DWI defense attorney Thomas Clear III and his paralegal/investigator Rick Mendez, both of whom pleaded guilty earlier this year to federal racketeering charges and other offenses.
So far, five former APD officers and a former Bernalillo County sheriff’s deputy have pleaded guilty to federal charges as the FBI investigation continues.
Johnson’s plea agreement states his involvement came in 2023 — the same year the FBI began its investigation into reports that Albuquerque-area law enforcement officers were deliberately missing court or failing to file necessary evidence against DWI offenders they arrested as a way to get the cases thrown out.
Johnson joined the DWI unit in 2021, but didn’t participate in the scheme until February 2023, federal records state.
His 15-page plea agreement noted that APD “conspiring officers” who had worked in the DWI Unit and were part of the scheme “would help and recruit and train the next generation of conspiring officers.” Officers who recruited others in the DWI Unit at APD would receive an extra fee for each new “conspiring officer.”
In his plea agreement, Johnson stated that to steer DWI suspects to the law firm, he would withhold their required state Motor Vehicle Division paperwork after their arrest and deliver the documents to Mendez. Mendez would then contact the suspect and try to recruit him or her as a client by mentioning he had their paperwork.
The plea agreement Johnson signed stated that he typically got paid in cash after a DWI suspect retained Clear but also received Christmas and baby gifts from Mendez, who managed the payment arrangements.
Clear would ultimately go to court and obtain a dismissal, citing the arresting officer’s lack of cooperation or missing evidence.
It isn’t clear how many DWI offenders went free by hiring Clear, but the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office has had to dismiss more than 150 pending DWI cases that could be considered tainted because they involved the officers.
Former Las Cruces judge Cano, wife released on bond - Justin Garcia, Albuquerque Journal
A federal judge released a former magistrate judge and his wife on $10,000 secured bonds Tuesday but barred them from renting to non-citizens as their cases progress.
Nancy Cano and Joel Cano, a former police officer and Doña Ana County magistrate judge, are charged with conspiracy to tamper with evidence and tampering with evidence after federal agents accused them of interfering with a federal investigation.
“It’s certainly unusual,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Ysabel Armijo said about the case during the hearing.
The pair was arrested on April 25 as part of an investigation into three men accused of being involved with the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang.
Joel Cano, who had served as a magistrate judge since 2011, resigned from the bench in March after federal agents raided his home, as well the home of a family member living next door, on Feb. 28.
The unit was occupied by three men, including Cristhian Ortega-Lopez, 23, who now faces federal firearm charges. Ortega-Lopez was also accused of entering the United States by scaling a barbed-wire fence near Eagle Pass, Texas. He was detained then released by Border Patrol to limit overcrowding at a detention facility, according to court records.
Federal prosecutors said Ortega-Lopez had social media posts and tattoos that linked him to the Tren de Aragua gang. He eventually came into contact with the Canos through handyman work and was invited to stay on their property. In a court filing pertaining to a state judicial inquiry, Joel Cano said that Nancy Cano also provided assistance to the three men in complying with procedures in their pending immigration cases. Jail records show that Ortega-Lopez remains in jail ahead of a detention hearing.
Joel Cano has called the allegations “highly sensationalized and without merit” and said the men investigated by the federal government had become “a meaningful part of our extended family.”
According to a criminal complaint, Joel Cano told federal investigators that he smashed a phone federal agents had been seeking with a hammer, while investigators believe that Nancy Cano plotted with Ortega-Lopez to delete a Facebook account. Both were sought as evidence, according to court records.
Armijo did not push for the Canos to be held in jail. Instead, she asked federal Judge Gregory Fouratt to impose conditions of release that barred the husband and wife from residing together. Armijo said she was worried about the two discussing the case together.
“We don’t know if there’s another phone that could be destroyed,” Armijo said.
Fouratt called the proposal form over substance and said the Canos had a constitutional right to be with each other as a married couple.
But Fouratt did inquire about the Canos’ wealth, suggesting they were some of the wealthiest defendants he had ever judged, and the couple’s rental properties in southern New Mexico.
Nancy Cano told the court that the couple rented eight units in the state, nearly all occupied.
Ultimately, Fouratt imposed a standard array of conditions of release, including no contact with other witnesses or defendants, no new charges and a requirement to stay in Doña Ana County.
“There’s no workable way,” Fouratt said, referring to a condition that would prevent the couple from speaking to each other. “I’d be setting you up to fail.”
Fouratt also said they must turn over their passports to the court and get rid of any guns, something the couple said they already did.
But Fouratt’s final condition of release was unique to the couple.
He told them they could not rent to non-citizens or people without permanent residence and that they must provide the court with information about their tenants to prove that they are all U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Fouratt did not explain why this condition was necessary.
The Canos did not oppose this condition. Fouratt’s ruling for a secured bond means the couple must pay the bond before leaving jail.
ABQ Mayor’s proposed budget calls for 1,100 cops - Rodd Cayton, City Desk ABQ
Mayor Tim Keller’s proposed budget returns to a recurring theme: Albuquerque needs to have more police officers on the streets.
The $1.9 billion spending plan goes before a City Council committee Thursday, as the annual budget process starts its final stretch.
More money in the proposed budget — almost $287 million — is earmarked for the Albuquerque Police Department than any other city department.
The budget reflects an administration goal of employing 1,100 sworn APD officers. As of January, according to the budget, the department had 900 officers and 56 cadet graduates.
The APD ended the 2023 and 2024 fiscal years with 877 and 872 officers, respectively.
Keller also proposed funding for 1,100 officers last year, a number which department leaders called unrealistic, but was ultimately supported by councilors.
Department operational goals for next year include clearing 60% of crimes against people, responding to the most important calls within 10 minutes at least 85% of the time, conducting 200 traffic enforcement operations and having officers participate in 1,500 community engagement activities.
The administration is expecting 400,000 911 calls and a total of 550,000 calls for service next fiscal year, according to data published in the budget.
The budget proposes to raise the total number of police department employees, which includes staff other than sworn officers, to 1,887, up from 1,840 in the fiscal 2025 budget and the January total of 1,881.
Other line items for the police department include $25,000 for youth programs and outreach and $50,000 for a student loan forgiveness program.
Keller has proposed $23.29 million for Albuquerque Community Safety, which augments APD efforts by responding to service calls that don’t require armed law enforcement officers. The ACS workforce would increase by nine to 140. If the budget stands, that’s about $4 million more than ACS is getting this fiscal year.
Additionally, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has agreed to deploy 60 to 70 National Guard troops to assist APD in non-law enforcement roles.
Albuquerque Fire Rescue increase
Albuquerque Fire Rescue would receive $139.5 million, an increase of $12.5 million from the previous budget, under Keller’s proposal. That’s the largest of any city department, in terms of either dollars or as a percentage.
The fire department headcount would increase by six to 827. The proposed budget includes $1 million related to opening Fire Station No. 23, at 98th Street and Amole Mesa Avenue in Southwest Albuquerque.
Fire department goals include having the first engine respond to a structure fire within 5 minutes, 20 seconds at least 85% of the time, 218 hours of training for each firefighter and inspecting 7,500 buildings.
The proposed budget for the Animal Welfare Department is down by $106,000 to just over $16.5 million, with the employee headcount remaining at 158.
The council’s Committee of the Whole will conduct its first budget meeting at 5 p.m. Thursday to discuss social goals, which include public safety. Those wishing to speak during the public comment period must sign up in advance.
Final approval of the fiscal year 2026 budget is expected in May.
Betsy Arakawa, Gene Hackman's wife, died from hantavirus, autopsy confirms - Associated Press
Betsy Arakawa, the concert pianist who was married to actor Gene Hackman, died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, according to an autopsy report released Tuesday that said that her lungs were heavy and congested.
Arakawa, 65, had fluid accumulation in her chest and mild hardening of the vessels that supplied blood to the heart and body, according to the autopsy reports
Hantavirus is a rare but potentially fatal disease spread by infected rodent droppings.
Arakawa tested negative for COVID-19 and the flu and showed no signs of trauma, the autopsy report said. Her carbon monoxide levels were within normal range, and she tested positive for caffeine and negative for alcohol and intoxicating drugs.
Arakawa's autopsy and toxicology reports were released two days after similar documents on Hackman's death were made public, confirming his main cause of death was heart disease.
The 95-year-old actor also was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease and likely had not eaten for a long time, according to his autopsy. He tested negative for hantavirus.
Records released earlier in the investigation showed Arakawa made phone calls and internet searches as she scoured for information on flu-like symptoms and breathing techniques.
Recently released videos outline the scope of the investigation into the deaths of Hackman and Arakawa.
Before they understood how Hackman and Arakawa died, authorities recorded themselves conducting interviews with workers and returning to Hackman's home to search for more evidence. Detectives searched the home in early March for Arakawa's laptop and other clues.
New Mexico judge orders remedial plan to improve public education for Native American students - By Morgan Lee, Associated Press
The state of New Mexico must create a remedial plan to improve K-12 education after falling short of providing an adequate public school education to Native American students and others from low-income households, a judge ruled Tuesday.
The order from state district court Judge Matthew Wilson builds on a landmark 2018 ruling that spurred a multibillion-dollar spending spree on public schools in New Mexico — without yet resolving underlying failures to meet state constitutional obligations to educate an array of at-risk students, including those studying English as a second language and students with disabilities.
"The defendants are ordered to come up with comprehensive remedial plan to address the continuing violation of at-risk students' constitutional rights," Wilson said. "A court-ordered plan would provide guidance to the legislature and the executive branches of government, particularly when making difficult budgetary decisions that need to survive political and economic shifts."
New Mexico historically has been at the bottom of the list when it comes to educational outcomes nationwide. Struggles to address lagging test scores and low graduation rates predated the coronavirus pandemic. Lawmakers have been pouring public resources into efforts to improve attendance, boost access to broadband internet, shore up school staffing and more amid a windfall in state government income from oil and natural gas production.
Filed more than a decade ago on behalf of students and school districts rooted in Native American and Hispanic communities, the litigation known as the Yazzie- Martinez case identified systemic issues within the state's education system.
The administration of Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham acknowledged that there is room for improvement while highlighting a 62% increase in annual K-12 spending by state government since 2016 to $4.2 billion in the 2024, and the enactment of "dozens of new at-risk initiatives and legislation."
The judge rejected a request to put a state legislative agency on education and accountability at the helm of the remediation plan. He called instead for the state Public Education Department to work with the plaintiffs and commission a plan from an outside consultant or expert.
Attorney General Raúl Torrez in 2023 announced his support for the plaintiffs in efforts to make the state comply with its obligations to students.
The remedial plan could take five years to carry out and possibly resolve litigation.
The governor this month vetoed proposed legislation to expand specialized schools dedicated to Native American language and culture by declining to sign the bill without comment.
U.S. Rep. Stansbury on New Mexico fire season: ‘We are not prepared’ – Source New Mexico
U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) on Tuesday chastised the United States Forest Service for refusing to publicly detail how staffing and other cuts could affect the federal response to wildfires expected soon in New Mexico and elsewhere.
Stansbury directed her comments to Forest Service Associate Deputy Chief Ellen Shultzabarger, during the latter’s testimony to the U.S. House Federal Lands Subcommittee, on which Stansbury and fellow New Mexico Democrat Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández serve. Shultzaberger was there speaking in favor of a pair of bills that would allow specific, small pieces of federal forest land to be returned to states and cities, when questions from committee Democrats steered the conversation toward the upcoming wildfire season.
“We are continuing to hire to have that goal of 11,300 operational firefighters, and we feel that we’ll be ready for the fire season,” Shultzabarger said.
“With all due respect,” Stansbury responded, “I’ve been on the ground for the last couple of months, and Forest Service employees are terrified they’re going to lose their jobs, people are leaving in large numbers and thousands of people have been fired and not rehired. So while I appreciate that that is the company line here in this hearing, and I understand the position that you’re in, it’s just factually untrue. We are not prepared for this fire season.”
Dozens of probationary Forest Service employees across New Mexico were fired or resigned since President Donald Trump took office. While judicial orders required the Trump administration to rehire those employees, many who tried to return were simply placed on paid administrative leave.
While Forest Service officials have stressed that the mass firings were not aimed at employees whose sole job is dealing with wildfire, some outside estimates suggest three-quarters of those fired had “red cards,” meaning they could be called to help suppress a wildfire if one breaks out. A Colorado Democrat on the committee, Joe Neguse, estimated that 3,000 red card holders were fired.
Meanwhile, Forest Service employees are awaiting the results of a “reduction-in-force” restructuring process that could take out another chunk of employees who are not on probationary status.
Forest Service Associate Deputy Chief Ellen Shultzabarger, left, stands up after speaking before the Federal Lands Subcommittee on in the House of Representatives on Tuesday. (Photo by Patrick Lohmann / Source NM) Asked about Stansbury’s comments after the meeting, Shultzabarger did not answer, instead deferring to Forest Service spokesperson Kyle Earnest, who did not provide further comment.
Source New Mexico caught up with Stansbury after the hearing in Washington and asked her about the upcoming wildfire season, which forecasts predict could be dire and federal stonewalling on what used to be basic information.
The following conversation took place during a short walk from the Capitol and has been edited for clarity and concision.
Source: Do you have any sense at all of what we could be looking at with reduction in force in New Mexico forests, in terms of employees lost?
MS: We have not received any specific plans. The New Mexico national forests have been heavily impacted by all the mass firings that have happened. The probationary firing that happened at the beginning of the DOGE effort resulted in dozens and dozens, both senior and junior, Forest Service employees, receiving notice that they’ve been fired. A lot of senior Forest Service officials did take the initial deferred departure offer, and we know that there is a RIF restructuring that is coming, but there’s been nothing released publicly, and there’s been nothing released internally.
And so when I was home in New Mexico last week, during my town halls, I had Forest Service employees actually come to my town halls and speak to me privately about what’s happening. There’s a complete culture of fear. Nobody has any idea what’s going on. A lot of people are afraid they’re going to lose their jobs. …We’ve been heavily and disproportionately impacted. So we don’t have specific numbers, but we know that the entire workforce is in chaos and struggling right now.
Do you know the status of the interagency wildfire dispatch centers, including the one that’s in the Cibola National Forest office, which is on the DOGE termination list?
I don’t have any specific details. I mean, one of the things that I think has been really troubling about this entire DOGE exercise is that they claim that they’re doing it with transparency, and yet they refuse to come testify in front of Congress. They don’t even send political appointees to testify. Today, they sent a career staffer rather than a political appointee. And they transmit no information to congressional offices. And, you know, I say this all the time, but this is not normal.
In past administrations, regardless of what side of the aisle you are on, it has always been the norm and the practice that if you’re going to make a major change to a district, you notify the congressional offices, you notify the local officials, you notify towns and counties in the state, because all of them are impacted, and there’s zero communication at all between the administration DOG and local authorities, so we have no idea what they’re doing.
Do you think we’ll learn more in the president’s budget to be released this week about how those cuts will affect the New Mexico forests?
I don’t know. The word on the street is that the budget that will be transmitted this week is what they’re calling a skinny budget. So it will say, you know, [the] Forest Service’s budget is XYZ. It’s cut by XYZ amount and these programs, but I doubt it’ll have the level of detail that you see in a more fully fledged budget, where it describes in detail what their plans are.
We ran into New Mexico State Forester Laura McCarthy near the Capitol, who told us she was here ‘lobbying’ but would not say for what bill or issue. Do you know?
She’s here? Wow, OK, I’m going to text her. I’m very good friends with Laura. My background is in water resources management, and she and I collaborated a lot on forest and water management in previous lives. So no, I don’t know what she’s up to here. But what I can say in general is that both states and tribes have been heavily impacted by the funding freezes. In fact, just yesterday, Mescalero Apache had a huge forest greenhouse project that had been on hold since the beginning of the Trump administration because they had frozen a [Bureau of Indian Affairs] grant they had received, and it was critical to growing seedlings for reforestation after these big fires, and they just found out yesterday that it had gotten unfrozen.
So my guess is that the states and tribes and local authorities are trying to track down grants and federal funding. I think folks are very, very concerned about the upcoming fire season, as I mentioned in the hearing. We have the lowest snow pack in recorded history. And the thing to understand about that is it means that both the river is drying up already, which is unseasonably early, but it also means soil moisture and vegetation moisture is very low, which means basically the entire state’s a tinder box for the fire season. So if and when fires hit us, we’re at a very, very, extremely high risk for a really catastrophic fire season. And as you know, our communities are still reeling and recovering from the last major fires, and we can’t do it without support from the Forest Service, FEMA and these programs that they’re talking about cutting. It’s a bad situation.
The Cibola Forest has recently listed a couple of uranium mines near Mount Taylor as priority projects. Do you think those uranium mines could become operational?
Well, this administration is absolutely moving forward with stripping away protections for permitting and for national forests. They just issued guidance last week that would reduce all federal permitting to 28 days. In the case of, for example, Mount Taylor — which is not only set aside as national tourist land, but it’s also a sacred site for the pueblos and tribes of New Mexico — you can’t do an environmental and cultural review in 28 days. That’s just going to result in lawsuits. I believe that the administration is going to do everything it can to green-light mining and extractive activities on sensitive lands, and we will fight them every step of the way.
Complaint alleges Gallup-McKinley Schools superintendent violated state ethics laws – New Mexico In Depth
Gallup-McKinley County Schools Superintendent Mike Hyatt is under scrutiny for alleged violations of state procurement and government ethics laws, following a complaint filed Monday with the New Mexico State Ethics Commission.
Submitted on behalf of Stride, Inc. and its online education subsidiary, K12 Virtual Schools, the complaint alleges Hyatt sought a $235,000-per-year salary as Stride’s Vice President for Academic Innovation, while the company had an active contract with the school district—and when he was not hired for the position, Hyatt sought to terminate that contract.
K12 provides online education for the district’s Destinations Career Academy of New Mexico.
“Superintendent Hyatt is apparently knowingly and willfully abusing his public position, at the expense of ~4,200 New Mexico students” who are enrolled in online schooling, the complaint alleged.
In an email to New Mexico In Depth, Monday, Hyatt refuted the allegations, saying the company, not he, behaved in “illegal” and “unethical” ways, because of inadequate student-teacher ratios for their online courses.
“We have recently found out the illegal [and] unethical practices of Stride and how they are profiting and increasing revenue by breaking the law in our online program,” Hyatt wrote. “We notified them of their wrongdoing and had previously notified them to not break the law when it comes to students teacher ratios.”
The ethics complaint letter alleges that Hyatt potentially violated the New Mexico Government Conduct Act (GCA) and state procurement code. “The GCA has specific prohibitions against a public officer or employee seeking employment with a contractor who has a contract with the public officer or employee’s employer,” according to the complaint. “The Procurement Code similarly prohibits an employee who is participating directly or indirectly in the procurement process to become, or to be, while such an employee, the employee of any person or business contracting with the governmental body by whom the employee is employed.”
The complaint was filed by attorney Laura E. Sanchez of the law firm Rodey, Dickason, Sloan, Akin & Robb, P.A., in Albuquerque.
The New Mexico State Ethics Commission declined to comment on the complaint or its investigation plans. On Monday, Deputy Director Amelia Bierle told New Mexico In Depth in an email that the Commission does not comment on alleged ethics violations before investigations are concluded.
Gallup-McKinley signed an Educational Products & Services Contract with K12 in June 2020. Hyatt was district superintendent.
According to the company’s complaint letter, Hyatt applied for the company’s VP position on December 11, 2024 and was initially interviewed on Jan. 21, 2025.
On Feb. 21, the company’s senior vice president of schools, Adam Hawf, spoke with Hyatt by phone to let him know he had not been hired.
“Mr. Hawf called Superintendent Hyatt, as opposed to issuing him a formal letter, due to the sensitivity of the relationship and fear that Superintendent Hyatt would adversely affect the District’s relationship with the Contractor,” the complaint letter states.
In his email to New Mexico In Depth, Monday, Hyatt confirmed, “I applied for a job there in 2024.”
Less than a month after the call with Hawf, at a routine monthly meeting with the company on March 10, Hyatt’s demeanor had become “completely different than it had been in past meetings,” according to the complaint letter. “[T]he meeting was hostile […] instead of amicable and collaborative.”
On April 1, Hyatt sent a breach of contract and termination letter to the company, citing several alleged contract breaches, including inadequate student-teacher ratios, teacher licensure, and problems with student achievement in Destinations Career Academy students. Three days later, Gallup-McKinley issued a request for proposals to find a new contractor.
The termination letter violated a 45-day “cure” period for contractual disputes, the company contends. The complaint further alleges that Hyatt directed the district to issue the new request for proposals for virtual education services while Stride’s contract was still in effect, potentially violating its exclusivity provision.
Hyatt knew previously about student-teacher ratio concerns, according to the complaint letter.
“Superintendent Hyatt’s conduct after he was denied employment … shows that he is potentially abusing his authority, and not acting in the public interest,” the ethics complaint states. “He was aware of the alleged student-teacher ratios and the licensure issues prior to submitting his application for employment with the Contractor. He also served as a positive reference for the Contractor with the New Mexico PED [Public Education Department] on February 6, 2025 and for Ohio as recently as February 25, 2025, despite knowledge of the concerns he later raised in the letter to the Contractor on April 1, 2025.”
The firm submitted 18 supporting documents with the ethics complaint, including emails and correspondence, the termination letter, and the request for proposals.
The company has tried to address Hyatt’s concerns within the 45-day “cure period” set out in the contract but has been hindered by Gallup-McKinley since receiving the termination letter, according to the complaint. Examples include the district delaying teacher criminal history fingerprint clearances and refusing to sign off on teachers’ license extensions.
“Out of desperation they are attempting to deflect the harm they have done […] and are trying to create a narrative that I by myself am trying to break a contract for personal reasons,” Hyatt wrote in his email to the news organization. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”
New Mexico lawmakers brace for steep cuts to federal funding – Austin Fisher, Source New Mexico
New Mexico lawmakers this week rolled out a plan to help prepare for potential hefty reductions in federal funding.
The Legislative Council, the group of state representatives and senators that oversees all lawmaking between New Mexico’s legislative sessions, voted unanimously Monday afternoon at its first meeting following this year’s session to create a new panel called the Federal Infrastructure Funds and Stability Interim Committee.
House Speaker Javier Martínez and Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, both Albuquerque Democrats, told Source NM after the meeting that the committee, in a nutshell, will examine potential federal funding cuts and consider ways to adapt to them if they become real.
For example, the committee will look at proposals to cut funding to Head Start, a child care and early education program. This week, U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) joined 40 other senators in a letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. demanding he immediately unfreeze Head Start funding and reinstate early childhood education workers who have either been laid off or furloughed as result of closures of the preschools, which rely on federal funding.
Similarly, the new legislative committee will track funds for Medicaid, the safety-net health insurance program for people with low incomes, Martínez said. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has said previously she might call a special session in the fall, should the state need to address federal shortcomings in programs such as Medicaid. The state also is also party to multi-state lawsuits challenging federal cuts.
Its members will also consider the Trump administration’s proposal to abolish the federal Department of Education, Stewart said. Federal funding accounts for 30% of New Mexico’s education budget, she said, including money for special education.
Stewart said the committee has no historical precedent in the New Mexico Legislature, noting “this is an ahistorical presidency.” The committee is intended to last for the remainder of the year, but could extend beyond that if needed, she said.
Martínez told the Legislative Council the new committee will not duplicate the work being done by the Legislative Finance Committee and other legislative panels but, rather, supplement it with a “proactive approach to deal with any potential reductions in federal funding.”
“It will be what I consider to be a very nuts-and-bolts committee, with a tailored, specific focus,” he said.
Martínez appointed Rep. Patricia Lundstrom (D-Grants) as the panel’s co-chair from the House of Representatives, and Stewart appointed Sen. William Soules (D-Las Cruces) as the co-chair from the Senate. Attempts to reach Lundstrom and Soules for comment through spokespeople for their respective chambers were unsuccessful as of publication time.
Other members of the new committee include Reps. Susan Herrera (D-Embudo), Micaela Lara Cadena (D-Las Cruces), Mark Duncan (R-Kirtland) and Cathrynn Brown (R-Carlsbad); and Sens. George Muñoz (D-Gallup), Linda Trujillo (D-Santa Fe), James Townsend (R-Artesia) and Minority Whip Pat Woods (R-Broadview).
The panel is expected to hold an organizational meeting in May, Martínez said.