NM distributes $820K for homeless warming centers, a first for new Office of Housing - Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
Homeless shelters across the state received funding to keep people warm amid a statewide cold snap thanks to a first-ever, state-funded grant program from the new Office of Housing.
The statewide Office of Housing emerged as one of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s priorities during the legislative session last year. The small team within the state’s Department of Workforce Solutions is tasked with overseeing the allocation of more than $100 million on a statewide strategy for affordable housing and homelessness prevention measures, including about $20 million the Legislature approved specifically for “anti-homelessness initiatives.”
That’s the fund where the office found $820,000 to provide to several dozen statewide facilities, including transitional living centers, domestic violence shelters and others, to increase their capacity and warmth this winter, DWS Secretary Sarita Nair told Source New Mexico on Friday.
Individual shelters typically rely on local governments or private contributions to keep unhoused people warm during the winter months. And they often come up short funding-wise, according to a survey of housing nonprofit organizations the Office of Housing conducted shortly after launching last year, Nair said.
“This hasn’t been a role that the state’s played historically,” Nair said of funding the warming centers. “But it has always been a challenge for a lot of these shelters to be able to expand for the additional demand they see in the winter.”
Shelters that applied for the funding received up to $20,000 grants they could use on supplies like cots, portable heaters or blankets and generally to increase the number of people they’re able keep warm during the winter.
“We heard from some folks that, ‘This is the first time that we’ve been able to heat every room in our shelter,’” Nair said. “Really basic things, but that’s how you expand the capacity.”
A news release from the office said the funding has already proven particularly useful in rural areas, where “providers reported improved building heating, increased street outreach efforts, expanded bed capacity, and the ability to offer extended overnight hours with hot meals.”
Nair also said the Office of Housing is already preparing to execute a similar grant funding round to help shelters keep unhoused people from overheating during the summer months.
“We know that cooling centers are becoming equally important,” she said. “And so we would love to do another round of that, if we get more funding.”
Lujan Grisham’s budget proposal for the legislative session beginning Jan. 20 includes $110 million for the Office of Housing, including a $65 million one-time appropriation for affordable housing and $45 million for homelessness services.
Sandia director says ‘our impact today is real’ as lab hits new spending record - Hannah García, Albuquerque Journal
Despite a wave of layoffs and funding uncertainties, Sandia National Laboratories said Friday it has set a new spending record for the 17th consecutive year.
Sandia’s spending for fiscal year 2025 totaled $5.2 billion — nearly $41 million more than 2024. That number is nearly half of the state of New Mexico’s recurring annual budget, lab officials said.
“Our impact today is real, and it’s measurable,” said Director Laura McGill. “But our greatest contribution is what we’re building for the future, the talent, the opportunity and the innovation that will benefit New Mexico and the nation for years to come.”
The annual economic impact report, which covers October 2024 through September, follows massive cuts announced by Sandia last year. About 400 jobs were terminated, 100 of which were “limited-term employees” and another 300 who voluntarily separated.
It also comes about eight months after McGill took the reins as Sandia’s director, replacing James Peery, who held the role for nearly five years. McGill, before taking over the top post, had served as Sandia’s deputy director for nuclear deterrence and chief technology officer.
On Friday, McGill touted Sandia’s $144 million contribution in gross receipts taxes to the state, as well as its $1 billion in spending with hundreds of small businesses, its third consecutive year over that mark.
“You can see, Sandia plays a meaningful role in the state’s overall economic health,” McGill said.
Sandia spent nearly $3 billion on internal labor costs for 2025, reflecting pay raises to achieve an average salary of $145,000 even as it reduced its Albuquerque campus workforce. Sandia said it had 16,320 employees in fiscal year 2025, of which 12,915 are in Albuquerque — a decrease from 16,915 the previous fiscal year.
Touching on the workforce reductions, McGill said “it made us stronger.”
“By bringing our costs into alignment, it allows us to be able to be more efficient about the work we’re doing for the future,” McGill said.
Under President Donald Trump, the U.S. Department of Energy made significant cuts to energy projects across the nation last year, including about $135 million in New Mexico. But on the flip side, the agency has awarded thousands of dollars to nuclear science initiatives, according to recent DOE news releases.
While McGill said she doesn’t want to speculate on any potential funding cuts or increases under a second Trump term, she’s confident in Sandia’s bipartisan support.
“We do expect some puts and takes, but generally, (what) the core of our business is — I have no doubt would be supported,” McGill said. “Some of the other programs, where we have some funding coming from other sources, there could be some ups and downs with those. But it’s pretty manageable for us.”
Dry, warm winter could mean a bad fire season - Cathy Cook, Albuquerque Journal
With a historically warm winter and a lackluster snowpack on top of severe drought, New Mexico could be in for an active fire season in 2026.
“Given the fact that the Climate Prediction Center is calling for an overall warm, dry winter the whole way through, we are really getting set up for a particularly dangerous fire season,” said Andrew Mangham, senior service hydrologist for the Albuquerque National Weather Service Office.
The National Interagency Fire Center predicts above-normal wildland fire potential in eastern New Mexico in February and March, according to its January through April outlook released at the beginning of the month. Much of New Mexico has persistent severe to extreme drought, and drought conditions in the Southwest are expected to worsen through spring, according to the outlook. Severe drought conditions are largely focused in western and southern New Mexico, Mangham said.
Several New Mexico cities also had their warmest December on record in 2025, including Albuquerque.
The peak of the state’s fire season — traditionally April through June, when dry winds kick up — is still far enough away for more wet weather to reduce fire risk, according to Mangham. But as of Friday, the snowpack is still 40% to 50% of normal. That’s thanks to recent storms, as snowpack early in the week was closer to 12% of normal in much of the state.
“This storm that just came through yesterday and the day before will certainly help, but I doubt that it will suddenly get us way above normal in terms of our snowpack,” Mangham said Friday.
Top three reasons for fire starts
Most common reasons for fire starts in New Mexico from 2020 through 2025
- Agriculture and debris burns. Agriculture burns are a traditional part of New Mexican culture, but they should be done safely and not on windy days.
- Campfires. This category includes recreational and ceremonial fires, and are typically fires people have started in forested areas that were left unattended or not fully extinguished.
- Equipment and vehicle use. This can mean things like loose tow chains or parking over dry grass.
Snowpack is an important water source for the state. It releases into soil slowly as snow melts, allowing the soil to get lots of moisture, rather than coming quickly like a monsoon rain and running off. That slow release of moisture helps plants green up in spring and makes plant life that could fuel a wildfire more fire-resistant.
Prescribed burns are part of how land management agencies like the U.S. Forest Service or the New Mexico Forestry Division reduce fire risk. The Santa Fe National Forest implemented three pile burns Friday because wet weather created favorable conditions for pile burns, according to a Forest Service news release. Fire crews will use infrared detection devices, like handheld thermal cameras and drones, to help determine when the pile burns are out, a practice members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation pushed for after the devastating 2022 Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire.
In the preseason, agencies also train firefighters and coordinate with other agencies. Since July, 450 people have been certified to work as wildland firefighters through New Mexico Forestry Division wildland fire classes, which will continue to be offered through April, said George Ducker, wildfire preventions and communications manager. He saw an increase in New Mexicans becoming firefighters or returning to the profession after the Los Angeles fires at the beginning of 2025.
“I don't know if it was because of the L.A. fires or if it was just coincidence, but it was definitely a wake-up call, I think, for a lot of folks,” Ducker said.
New Mexico’s Forestry Division has been meeting with municipal and federal firefighting agencies to make sure communication and coordination are ready ahead of fire season, Ducker said. The dry, warm winter has not really changed how the Forestry Division approached preparedness. With a forecast of above-normal fire potential in eastern New Mexico, Forestry districts in that part of the state are planning to meet with fire response officials from West Texas, where the forecast is also above normal.
“What's special about the east side of New Mexico is that it's flat grassland, and grasses are really flashy fuels,” Ducker said. “They catch fire really fast, and they can allow fire to move really fast, especially in high winds.”
Keeping grass mowed is one way to reduce fire risk in that area, as well as creating a firebreak between grassland and structures. Traditionally, cattle have been very helpful for keeping those grasslands mowed, Ducker said, but as more ranches have been sold cattle aren't as big a factor.
Although the winter weather could mean a bad fire season, a prediction is just a prediction.
“Last year's outlooks at this time for the spring of 2025 were very dire,” Ducker said. “A lot of New Mexico was red for months on end. And we saw a lot of (fire)starts, sure, but we didn't see a lot of really large fires.”
Actor Timothy Busfield accused of child sex abuse in New Mexico - By Audrey Mcavoy, Associated Press
Authorities in New Mexico issued an arrest warrant Friday for director and Emmy Award-winning actor Timothy Busfield to face a child sex abuse charge.
An investigator with the Albuquerque Police Department filed a criminal complaint in support of the charge, which says a child reported that Busfield touched him inappropriately. The acts allegedly occurred on the set of "The Cleaning Lady," a TV series Busfield directed and acted in.
The child said the first incident happened when he was 7 years old and Busfield touched him three or four times. Busfield allegedly touched him five or six times on another occasion when he was 8.
The child's mother reported to Child Protective Services that the abuse occurred between November 2022 and spring 2024, the complaint said.
Busfield's attorney and agent did not immediately respond to email messages seeking comment late Friday.
The arrest warrant, which was signed by a judge, said the charge is for two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor.
According to the complaint, the child, which it identifies only by his initials, has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety. A social worker documented him saying he has had nightmares about Busfield touching him and woken up scared.
The child was reportedly afraid to tell anyone because Busfield was the director and he feared he would get mad at him.
The investigation began in November 2024, when the investigator responded to a call from a doctor at the University of New Mexico Hospital. The child's parents had gone there at the recommendation of a law firm, the complaint said.
"The Cleaning Lady" aired for four seasons on Fox, ending in 2025. It starred Elodie Yung as a Cambodian doctor who comes to the United States to get medical treatment for her son, witnesses a mob killing and ends up becoming a cleaner for organized crime.
The show was produced by Warner Bros., which according to the complaint conducted its own investigation into the abuse allegations but was unable to corroborate them.
Busfield is known for appearances in "The West Wing," "Field of Dreams" and "Thirtysomething," the latter of which won him an Emmy for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series in 1991.
He is married to actor Melissa Gilbert; there was no immediate response to an email sent to her publicist.