Demolition of historic casitas next to Roundhouse underway, despite some locals' concerns - Dan Boyd, Albuquerque Journal
After standing for nearly 100 years, it only took a few days for four historic casitas in the shadow of New Mexico’s state Capitol to be reduced to rubble.
Construction crews began demolition work of the casitas this week to start clearing the site of a new 165,000-square-foot executive office building. The work is expected to continue over the next two months.
State lawmakers earmarked $95 million for the project in a capital outlay bill passed during this year’s 30-day legislative session and signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. An additional $85 million was appropriated several years ago.
But not all local residents are thrilled about the project.
Edward Archuleta, the executive director of the Old Santa Fe Association, a group that advocated for the casitas to be saved and repurposed, said Wednesday the new office building could exacerbate parking and congestion issues around the Roundhouse.
“We are disappointed, obviously,” Archuleta told the Journal. “We really had wanted to see them preserved.”
While Archuleta said he agrees the state needs more office space, he described the proposed three-story office building as overkill and said the fight to halt the project was a losing battle.
“The state gets what the state wants,” added Archuleta.
Backers of the plan have insisted the construction of a new downtown Santa Fe office complex would save money in the long run by allowing the state to reduce its reliance on leasing office space and consolidate government agencies in a more centralized location.
Currently, the state pays millions of dollars per year for its more than 300 active leases around the state, according to General Services Department data.
Meanwhile, the idea for a new state government building near the Capitol was first floated nearly 20 years ago, with the project's initial price tag estimated to be $22 million.
But it’s taken years for the project to advance, due largely to funding issues and concerns about compliance with Santa Fe building ordinances. The capital city’s historic review commission initially opposed the executive office building project, but reversed course last year and voted to allow the demolition of the four casitas, which were built around 1930 and were once part of the Barrio de Analco residential neighborhood.
Once it’s built, the new executive office building will house six different state agencies, some of which are scattered across Santa Fe in leased buildings.
Those agencies currently include the Secretary of State's Office, the State Treasurer's Office, the State Auditor's Office and the Lieutenant Governor's Office. Two Cabinet-level state agencies, the Department of Finance and Administration and the Higher Education Department, will also be relocated to the new building.
The demolition contract was awarded by the state to Grancor Environmental, an Albuquerque-based firm.
In addition, the design phase of the project is underway and will be completed by October, said GSD spokesman Joe Vigil.
He also said the state agency plans to begin the process of requesting bids for construction by the end of this year.
Edgewood residents angered by termination of fire and EMS contract with Santa Fe County - Gregory R.C. Hasman, Albuquerque Journal
Over 100 people — including several Santa Fe County firefighters — filled the Edgewood Town Hall Commission Chambers on Tuesday. Some listened intently while others voiced their displeasure over the upcoming split between Edgewood and the Santa Fe County Fire Department.
The meeting to address the issue came days after the town announced last week that on June 30 it will terminate its contract with the fire department that has provided fire and emergency medical services to Edgewood residents for about 20 years. The contract termination stemmed from a legal dispute over payments by Edgewood to the county for fire and EMS services.
“I enjoy the security of knowing that something is there that I can count on and, right now, that security has been ripped out from underneath me,” Amanda Jasper, one of Edgewood’s 6,000 residents, said.
Resident Jean DeMarte said she is so upset about the end of the agreement that she is looking into starting a petition to make Edgewood an unincorporated community so they can continue using the fire department’s services.
That’s going to be the only way “we can get out of the damage that has been done by the commissioners,” DeMarte told residents as they waited in the chambers Tuesday night while commissioners met in a closed-door session.
Upon returning to the chambers, the commissioners said they are considering other options to replace the fire and emergency medical services the town will be losing. Those options, they said, include accepting a bid from Rural Metro Fire — a private fire protection service — and contracting with an air ambulance service.
Commissioner Ken Brennan said the air ambulance service would be available to residents at no charge.
“It is a service the town will be purchasing,” Brennan said at the meeting. “If anybody knows what the cost of a Flight for Life can cost you on a single shot …”
“Pay EMS. It costs less,” a resident yelled out.
A commissioner told them they were speaking out of turn.
“You idiots,” the resident replied.
Brennan later said the commission has also reached out to fire departments in Rio Communities and nearby Valencia and Torrance counties.
During Wednesday morning’s Torrance County Commission meeting, Chairman Ryan Schwebach said while the county is willing to talk with Edgewood officials about their upcoming need for fire and emergency medical services, “we will not overextend ourselves.”
“The reality is, Torrance County is more married to Edgewood in an EMS sense than Santa Fe County is,” Schwebach said. “So, what does that look like? I don’t know. A year down the road, two years down the road, five years down the road, there may be a collaborative effort (where) we can … help. But to be clear, at this point, we are not equipped. We will not be equipped to take over services by June 30.”
Rariden said “there’s still a possibility of some assistance, but we don’t know what that looks like.”
On Wednesday afternoon, Rariden said the town is considering all options. He added, “We have not completely ruled out dealing with Santa Fe County.”
Whatever the town decides, it won’t replace what it has now, resident Cheryl Huppertz said.
“We need the fire department,” she said.
Edgewood resident Cheryl Huppertz protests against the termination of the town's joint powers agreement with the Santa Fe County Fire Department on Tuesday.
Since 2005, the Santa Fe County Fire Department has provided 24/7 fire and emergency medical services to Edgewood and over 80% of the calls in the area are within the town limits, according to SFCFD. In exchange for their services, the town agreed to pay county impact fees it collected on development “and the equivalent of the county fire protection excise tax imposed in the unincorporated area of the county,” a fire department news release states.
Rariden said there were different interpretations in the joint powers agreement as to what the amount was to pay and “I believe the prior town administration did everything possible to follow guidelines, follow legal procedures and get that interpretation interpreted so that we could pay.”
Former Edgewood commissioner Filandro Anaya said in a statement he read to residents that “it is crucial for any municipality to uphold its financial obligations promptly to maintain trust and credibility with both vendors and the community.”
“Allowing accounts to fall behind not only jeopardizes essential services but also creates unnecessary complications that could have been avoided with more prudent management,” he said.
According to a statement Commissioner Stephen Murillo read to residents, “any timing issues in payments reflected staff turnover, reconciliation, and clarification requests documented in the parties’ communications — not a refusal to pay.”
“The county’s own administrative services division director acknowledged a misapplication of payment ‘related to the JPA between the Town of Edgewood, City of Santa Fe, and County for the Santa Fe Regional Emergency Communications Center,” the statement added.
Rariden said in a phone interview on Monday the town had not paid the county for “at least two years.” On Tuesday, residents wanted to know why the town decided not to pay. In a phone interview Wednesday, Rariden said “our records indicate we substantially overpaid,” adding that he believed the amount was in the millions.
“The litigation was ultimately resolved through a settlement in which neither party was required to make a payment, and neither party admitted fault,” according to a town document.
Huppertz said the decision to terminate the contract was made without public input.
“We just thought they were having a mediation when they agreed to settle their payment … and we ended up with no Santa Fe County Fire Department supporting us,” she said. “That’s why people are so upset, like we had no voice. Nobody asked us.”
The commission will listen to residents when it hosts a workshop followed by a regular meeting starting at 5 p.m. April 14 at the town hall, 171A, State Road 344.
Rariden said commissioners want to hear from everyone “then we’re going to address these concerns the best we can.”
New Mexico AG releases blistering report, announces lawsuit against state child welfare agency - Danielle Prokop, Source New Mexico
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez on Wednesday excoriated the state’s child welfare agency for prioritizing “family reunification” over the safety of the children in its care, and said his office will be suing the agency over allegations it misused state confidentiality laws to hide systemic failures.
During a news conference in Albuquerque, Torrez outlined a 214-page report from the state Department of Justice that documented its investigation of the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department. He was flanked by the surviving aunt of 16-year-old Jaydun Garcia, who took his own life last year while in state custody. Torrez said Garcia’s death served as “a wake-up call” for the agency and sparked the NMDOJ investigation.
CYFD told Source NM via email the agency would have a response to the report, but it had not been provided by publication. This story may be updated.
The NMDOJ’s key finding stated that CYFD has prioritized “family reunification at virtually any cost—returning children to dangerous caregivers with histories of substantiated abuse or chronic neglect.”
Torrez said that 14 children died while in state custody in the last two years.
“They should have been protected by the state, and if we had an effective system, they would be with us today,” Torrez said.
The report details numerous cases of such abuse. In the news conference, Torrez highlighted the starvation death of a blind and non-verbal 16-year-old girl, who was the subject of seven CYFD referrals in five years. The girl’s mother was ultimately sentenced to 15 years in prison, but CYFD staff, in July 2025, petitioned to release her from jail and take custody of her four surviving children, according to the report.
“That is unconscionable,” Torrez said. “That is inexcusable and unfortunately, that is not the only example of reunification taking priority over safety.”
Overall, the report identified eight areas it described as “systemic failures” at CYFD. In addition to prioritizing reunification at the expense of safety, it said ineffectual leadership and an unstable workforce; gaps in protecting drug-exposed infants; undermining law enforcement; devaluation of foster parents; unsafe and traumatic office stays; along with problematic congregate care facilities have contributed to a child welfare landscape in New Mexico that is in “crisis.”
Torrez called for the state’s next governor and Legislature to prioritize redesigning the agency “from the ground up.”
“I am looking for a legislatively led comprehensive initiative to reexamine the structure of this entire agency,” he said.
In recent years, lawmakers and others have increasingly criticized the agency for a range of issues such as rising costs of settlements for child death and maltreatment while in state custody, as well as legal probes into children injured by private security guards.
In 2025 lawmakers passed House Bill 5, which established the Office of the Child Advocate, housed by the New Mexico Department of Justice, to respond and investigate complaints brought on behalf of children in CYFD custody.
The state Senate Republican Caucus on Wednesday responded to the NMDOJ report with a list of legislation it said its members had tried to introduce to address problems at CYFD, and issued a statement saying that every New Mexican “should be enraged and disgusted by the harrowing details brought to light by today’s report. This report is a devastating indictment of failed leadership and misplaced priorities all at the expense of the safety, security, and well-being of our state’s most abused and neglected children.”
Torrez on Wednesday also announced a new lawsuit brought by NMDOJ against CYFD and its use of confidentiality laws meant to protect the identities of children in its custody.
He said CYFD failed to hand over reports to the NMDOJ during its investigation and alleged it used confidentiality laws to “intimidate employees, advocates and families” from speaking out.
“The department has been misapplying, misinterpreting and abusing confidentiality as a way to shield adults in the positions of power and as a weapon of retaliation,” Torrez said. “That is going to come to an end.”
Republican drops out of Congressional District 2 primary - Joshua Bowling, Source New Mexico A Republican who had hoped to face off with U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) in November on Wednesday announced that he was dropping out of the primary election.
Jose Orozco of Albuquerque had previously qualified to vie with Republican Greg Cunningham in the primary for the Second Congressional District seat. Orozco, whose campaign materials described as a former U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency contractor, posted to social media that he was withdrawing his candidacy and endorsing Cunningham, who now faces no opposition in the June 2 primary election.
“This decision was not made lightly,” Orozco wrote on social media, adding that he believed “consolidating support” for Cunningham will give Republicans a better shot at flipping the congressional district on the night of the Nov. 3 general election. “Now is the time for unity, focus and action. Together, we can win in November and restore strong leadership for our district and our country.”
In the statement, Orozco wrote that “public service is not about political clout” and that Cunningham will “deliver real results for the people of New Mexico.”
At a March pre-primary convention, Republican delegates threw their support behind Cunningham, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps and worked as an Albuquerque Police Department detective.
While Orozco announced his withdrawal on social media and perhaps elsewhere, he did not provide a statement of withdrawal to the Secretary of State’s office by Tuesday’s statutory deadline for primary candidates, according to Lindsey Bachman, director of communications, legislative and executive affairs for the office. “Thus, he will appear on the primary election ballot,” she wrote in an email.
Incumbent Vasquez narrowly won the seat, which represents much of Southern New Mexico and the borderland region, in 2022, when he defeated then-U.S. Rep. Yvette Herrell (R-N.M.). He is running unopposed in the June primary.