Feds cut funding to Rail Trail - Gillian Barkhurst, Albuquerque Journal
The U.S. Department of Transportation withdrew an $11.5 million grant from the city of Albuquerque for the planned construction of the Rail Trail, a 7-mile loop for pedestrians and cyclists around Downtown and Barelas.
"We are going to stand up for Albuquerque and prevent the Trump Administration from pulling money from a project the people of Albuquerque want," Mayor Tim Keller said in a statement Thursday. "We will see you in court."
This funding cut comes after the Department of Justice put Albuquerque on a list of sanctuary cities it claims don't comply with federal immigration laws. In a news release, the Justice Department said sanctuary cities would be at risk of losing federal funding, amid other unnamed consequences.
"Sanctuary policies impede law enforcement and put American citizens at risk by design," U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement in August when the list was released.
The Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant is $11.5 million and amounts to nearly 30% of the Rail Trail's total funding. The rest of the $39.5 million budget is from city or state funds. An additional $3 million in federal funding was earmarked by the U.S. Senate.
In a letter the city received Tuesday, the U.S. DOT said that the project "no longer aligns" with the department's new priorities under the Trump administration, namely in promoting car-centric projects. It also lists that funding was revoked to ensure "taxpayer dollars are used efficiently in ways that maximally benefit the American people and improve their quality of life."
The U.S. DOT did not respond to a request for comment about whether this funding cut was connected to the DOJ's threat to cut funding.
The mayor's office declined to comment on a possible connection between the city's immigrant-friendly policies and federal funding cuts.
One local politician said an executive order Keller issued in July was to blame for the funding cuts.
"The mayor's reckless sanctuary executive orders and his decision to kick federal law enforcement out of our transfer center make it clear he has no concern for the safety of Albuquerque, let alone the Rail Trail," said City Councilor Dan Lewis.
The July executive order reinforced Albuquerque's status as an "immigrant-friendly city," a directive that was first established in 2018. That order forbade city employees from assisting Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Under former President Joe Biden, the city received an additional $25 million RAISE grant for the Uptown Connect project. There have been no cuts to the Uptown Connect project, said city spokesperson Madeline Skrak on Thursday.
The city Transit Department was not aware of any cuts to other federally funded projects, Skrak said.
Despite cuts, the city is forging ahead with construction on the Sawmill and Central crossing portions of the Rail Trail project, which is already underway, according to a news release. The Sawmill section is set to open in late fall, while the Central crossing will open sometime in 2026, the release details.
Heinrich calls on Forest Service to explain how agency is buying out 5,000 employees - Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico and other Senate Democrats are calling on the Forest Service chief to explain alleged discrepancies in his accounting for ongoing payouts of thousands of Forest Service employees who opted into early retirements or resignations earlier this year.
The lawmakers’ Sept. 9 letter notes that Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz has identified two contradictory funding sources for accrued sick leave and vacation payments to roughly 5,000 Forest Service employees who opted into the Deferred Resignation Program during government-wide buyouts this spring.
One of those funding sources, from an account typically used for forest research and local forestry, paid out more than federal Agriculture Department leaders said is necessary to cover the expenses. The other funding source imposes limits on the amount of spending for salaries, according to the letter.
“These significant discrepancies require clarification and accounting to Congress,” the senators wrote in the letter. Along with Heinrich, other signers included U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Jeffrey Merkley (D-Ore.)
According to the letter, the resignations require at least $48 million this fiscal year for Forest Service employees. However, the senators are calling on the Forest Service to account for exactly how much early retirements and resignations programs cost taxpayers.
The reduction in Forest Service employees, done at the urging of Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency,” aimed to cut federal spending and occurred alongside widespread layoffs, including in New Mexico.
According to a spreadsheet Heinrich’s office provided to Source New Mexico, 372 Forest Service employees in New Mexico accepted the deferred resignation offer. They made up the vast majority of 500 New Mexico USDA employees who took the offer, according to the spreadsheet.
In addition to the resignations, several dozen Forest Service employees were fired in New Mexico, though many were later re-hired.
A spokesperson for the Forest Service did not immediately respond to Source New Mexico’s question about that number or a response to the senators’ letter.
The letter gives the Forest Service until Sept. 22 to reply to nine questions about the funding and where it comes from, including why Schultz gave different answers about the funding source. It also seeks a detailed accounting of how much will be required to pay out salaries, expenses and accrued leave as of the day they stopped reporting to work.
Bomb threat targets NM Senate Majority Leader Wirth’s home, nearby school evacuated - Danielle Prokop, Source New Mexico
A Santa Fe school evacuated Thursday afternoon due to bomb threats at the nearby home of Democratic New Mexico Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth. House Majority Floor Leader Reena Szczepanski also received a similar threat.
Chris Nordstrum, the communications director for Senate Democrats, initially confirmed the threat to Source New Mexico. Szczepanski received a “similar threat” around the same time as Wirth, Camille Ward, a spokesperson for the House Democrats told Source.
Wirth, who was in Taos Thursday for the Legislature’s Water and Natural Resources interim committee meeting, subsequently issued a statement mid-afternoon acknowledging that a threat had been made against him, “leading to disruption and an evacuation at schools in my neighborhood. I am grateful to our state and local law enforcement agencies for their swift and professional response to this serious matter, and to the school officials who skillfully managed the disturbance.”
Wirth’s statement continued on to say that, “Political violence and threats against elected officials have no place in our democratic society and are never an acceptable way to address political differences. Regardless of our political views, we must reject intimidation and work together through peaceful, lawful means to resolve our disagreements.”
Wirth concluded by noting he remains “committed to fostering respectful civic dialogue and protecting the safety of all who serve our community.”
Szczepanski issued a statement early Thursday evening that, “My family and I are safe and we are grateful for the quick action of local and state law enforcement who investigated today. These kinds of threats and actions hurt all of us. I know it can be shocking to feel this hit so close to home, but at the same time it’s not representative of our incredible Santa Fe community. For the health of our state, our country, and our democracy, we cannot allow our disagreements and differences to escalate to threats and violence.”
The bomb threats followed Wednesday’s fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University, and came amid similar threats across the country, including at numerous Historically Black Colleges and University campuses, leading to lockdowns and canceled classes.
A spokesperson for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office told Source NM via email that the governor’s office was taking Thursday’s threats in Santa Fe “with the utmost seriousness and are responding in full coordination with local law enforcement, federal authorities, and emergency management personnel. At this time, it appears that the threat was just that—a threat—and no bombs have been located.”
New Mexico State Police initially posted on social media a little after 12 p.m. on Thursday that a bomb threat had been called in somewhere in the area of Camino De Cruz Blanca in Santa Fe between Camino Del Monte Sol and Calle Romolo.
A statement from City of Santa Fe Deputy Police Chief Ben Valdez provided to Source NM said that city and state police initially responded to a bomb threat in the 1000 block of Camino de Cruz Blanca at approximately 10:40 am. SFPD provided patrol officers for scene security and traffic control, and its Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit to investigate the threat.
“Contact was made with leadership at Santa Fe Prep to inform them of an incident near their campus. Santa Fe Prep was evacuated, parents were contacted to pick up their students. Both NMSP and SFPD were present with the students and faculty as a controlled release was conducted and students were released to their parents,” Valdez’s statement said.
Santa Fe Preparatory Head of School Aaron Schubach told Source NM Thursday the school had a mandatory evacuation plan in place, and had practiced the drill about four times a year. Between staff and students there were about 400 people at the school Thursday. “We were entirely off campus within six minutes,” he said. “Our students were incredible, as were faculty and staff, the way we talked about it was the way that it went.”
At the same time, Santa Fe Police received “another threat of the same nature” on a nearby street.
“Out of an abundance of caution, considering yesterday’s senseless killing of political activist Charlie Kirk, City Hall was placed on a lockdown,” Valdez wrote. That lockdown was lifted at 1:47 p.m.
“We take all threats seriously,” Valdez’s statement said. “They have no place in our community and individuals that make threats will be held accountable.”
In response to the threats Thursday in Santa Fe, U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján, along with Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, all New Mexico Democrats, posted to social media that they were monitoring the situation from Washington, D.C. “Political violence and threats of violence have no place in America,” Heinrich wrote.
In a statement provided to Source, Lujan Grisham called the national threats on Thursday “reprehensible” and said they “have no place in our democracy, particularly on this somber day when we honor the memory of September 11th and the values of unity and resilience that define us as Americans. While we may disagree on issues, intimidation and violence are never acceptable. I call on all citizens to engage in peaceful discourse rather than resorting to threats. New Mexico will not be intimidated by those who seek to undermine our democratic processes.”
Patrick Lohmann contributed to the writing and reporting of this story.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
NM health department provides COVID-19 vaccine prescription for all residents - Julia Goldberg, Source New Mexico
New Mexico Department of Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Miranda Durham has provided a COVID-19 vaccine prescription with her signature for use by all state residents who are seeking the vaccine.
The prescription is part of a standing order the health department announced on Thursday that is immediately effective and will remain so through of August of next year, unless withdrawn by Durham.
DOH Communications Director Robert Nott told Source NM the department recommends residents either print out a copy of the prescription or have it available on their phones when seeking the vaccine.
The standing order also follows updated protocols issued last week by the state Board of Pharmacy. Those protocols had emerged in response to an Aug. 29 public health order that directed the state health department to work with New Mexico’s Board of Pharmacy “to remove potential barriers and ensure access to COVID-19 vaccines at pharmacies across the state.”
As Source NM previously reported, the Pharmacy Board protocol governs pharmacies’ distribution of vaccines. Previously, the protocol required the pharmacies to follow guidelines set by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), an advisory group to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “in order to have “prescriptive authority” and give vaccines. However, ACIP has yet to convene on current guidelines. In an interview with Source NM last week, NMDOH medical epidemiologist Dr. Chad Smelser said that lacking the ACIP guidelines, the pharmacies’ parent companies “have determined that they require a prescription in order to get a vaccine.”
The revised protocol was intended to remove that problem. However, Nott said the department has “had some calls about pharmacists not understanding the order or still feeling like New Mexico residents need a prescription…With Dr. Miranda Durham’s signature on the prescription, you can use that as a prescription for a COVID [19] vaccine when you go to the pharmacy to eliminate any confusion about whether New Mexico residents need a prescription.”
A NMDOH news release notes that the standing order “addresses barriers that have prevented some New Mexicans from getting vaccinated. While most people could already receive vaccines through their providers, some pharmacists and healthcare providers were hesitant to vaccinate certain groups without formal prescription backup, particularly for off-label uses not specifically covered in FDA approvals.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved the updated COVID-19 vaccine formulations, but added new restrictions that make people over the age of 65 eligible, but requires younger people to have an underlying medical issue for eligibility. The state health department’s standing order allows off-label use by qualified providers — physicians, physician assistants, nurses, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists holding an active and valid license in New Mexico — per professional guidelines and the health department’s recommendations. Those recommendations include providing vaccines “to any healthy person 2–64 years wishing protection.”
Thus the standing order “removes hesitation some providers had about vaccinating people who would benefit from the vaccine but fell outside the narrow FDA approval categories,” Durham said in a statement. “COVID-19 vaccines remain safe and effective tools for preventing severe illness, hospitalization, and death.”
In addition, the news release said, individuals enrolled in Medicaid will have the full cost of their COVID-19 vaccines covered.
The health department said anyone who is denied a COVID-19 vaccine should call the New Mexico Department of Health Helpline at 1-833-796-8773.
“We are clearing the way for New Mexicans who want the vaccine to get the vaccine,” NMDOH Secretary Gina DeBlassie said in a statement. “This standing order ensures that barriers don’t prevent people from protecting their health.”