PRC examiners recommend sale of New Mexico Gas Co. to Louisiana private equity firm
—Justin Horwath, Albuquerque Journal
Hearing examiners for the state Public Regulation Commission recommended on Wednesday the $1.25 billion sale of New Mexico’s largest gas utility to a Louisiana private equity firm.
The full three-member commission must still vote on the sale of New Mexico Gas Co. to Bernhard Capital Partners. The hearing examiner’s recommendation encourages them to do so.
“The proposed transaction is, at its core, a change in upstream ownership … rather than a sale of NMGC’s operating utility assets or a merger of NMGC into another utility,” the decision reads.
Executives at Emera — the publicly traded Canadian company that has owned New Mexico Gas Co., or NMGC, since 2016 — announced the sale in August 2024. State regulators have been reviewing the deal since.
As in similar deals, this one offers customers rate credits, low-income assistance and economic development funding. But, like the proposed $11.5 billion sale of TXNM Energy to Blackstone Inc., the deal also has its share of opponents who oppose private equity ownership of public utilities.
In December, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed a motion in the case raising concerns about affordability, transparency and accountability risks in the deal.
Torrez’s office did not respond to requests for comment on Wednesday regarding the hearing examiners’ recommendation.
In recommending the sale, Elizabeth Hurst and Patrick Schaefer, the hearing examiners on the case, say they have addressed some of those concerns by putting certain conditions on their approval. They say the sale is ultimately in the public interest.
Those conditions include that the applicants commit $12.5 million into a severe weather fund instead of into economic development and charitable causes. NMGC and New Mexico Department of Justice representatives would create a working group for the fund.
Another condition the hearing examiners want requires companies to adjust the benefits flowing from asset management agreements and gas storage contracts that NMGC customers receive, versus what the company receives. Currently, ratepayers receive 70% of the money from those contracts while NMGC receives 30%. The PRC examiners recommend that ratepayers retain 85% of the proceeds from those agreements.
Bernhard and NMGC have committed to maintaining their current employee headcount of 740 over the next three years, while adding another 20 as part of the deal.
The proposed post-acquisition structure would be layered so that Bernhard’s infrastructure funds would indirectly own NMGC through a series of intermediary companies. Under these vertical layers, Bernhard would not itself own NMGC but would “provide investment management services to the relevant fund entities,” hearing examiners wrote.
The companies said the structure would protect NMGC’s assets from debt incurred by Bernhard or its affiliates. But opponents of the deal say the layers of affiliates, as well as the fact that a private equity firm and not a publicly traded company, add complexity to the ownership structure at the expense of transparency.
Hearing examiners say that the ring-fencing requirements in the agreement — which include prohibitions on Bernhard affiliates using NMGC assets for nonutility purposes or as collateral for debt — “provide sufficient protection against improper subsidization of non-utility activities.”
Patrick Rodriguez, a PRC spokesperson, said a vote by the full commission has not yet been scheduled. Commissioners will place it on the agenda for a future open meeting, Rodriguez said. In the meantime, parties in the case can object to all or parts of the recommended decision.
In a statement, Bernhard, NMGC and Emera said the transaction will bring “approximately $87 million in benefits to New Mexico Gas customers and to communities across the state, as well as retaining a strong, locally focused utility in New Mexico.”
“Once all required approvals are in place, NMGC, Emera and Bernhard will work diligently to facilitate a seamless transition of ownership,” the statement continued. “NMGC customers will continue to receive service from the same team of employees, with no impact to service as a result of this sale.”
3 dead, 18 first responders hospitalized after substance exposure in Mountainair
—Nakayla McLelland, Albuquerque Journal
Three people died and more than a dozen first responders were hospitalized after being exposed to an unidentified substance at a Mountainair home.
New Mexico State Police responded to a house in the 300 block of Hanlon Avenue after receiving a report that four people had possibly overdosed, according to a Wednesday news release.
“Four individuals inside the residence were found unresponsive,” police said. “Three of the four individuals are now deceased.”
Two people died at the home, and a third died at the University of New Mexico Hospital. The condition of the fourth person was unclear.
Police said 18 first responders were exposed to the substance and transported to UNMH. A total of 23 people were exposed, according to UNMH.
Several patients experienced headaches, nausea and vomiting after arriving at the Albuquerque hospital around 10 a.m., according to a news release from Brianna Mortensen, a hospital spokesperson.
UNMH said medical teams continue to monitor three symptomatic patients. Eighteen patients who were decontaminated did not develop symptoms.
“Eighteen other patients who were decontaminated but not showing symptoms have been discharged,” Mortensen said. “One patient is still in the process of being discharged.”
Albuquerque Fire Rescue hazmat teams were assisting at the scene in Mountainair, a rural Torrance County community about 90 minutes southeast of Albuquerque, to identify the substance.
“At this time, investigators believe the substance may be transmitted through contact and do not believe it to be airborne,” State Police said.
Mountainair Mayor Peter Nieto said in a social media statement that the town was taking the situation seriously and that there were indications drugs may have played a role in the deaths.
“Our first responders, law enforcement, medical personnel and local officials work every day to protect this community and respond to difficult situations,” Nieto said. “But the reality is that addiction and substance abuse are issues affecting communities all across our state and nation.”
New Mexico State Police are investigating.
New Mexico music legend Al Hurricane Jr. dies - Albuquerque Journal staff report
Music icon Al Hurricane Jr., “El Godson” of New Mexico music and son of Al Hurricane, has died. He was 66.
The news was announced by the Sanchez family on Hurricane’s Facebook page on Tuesday night.
“It is with a heavy heart that the Sanchez family shares the devastating and untimely passing of Al Hurricane, Jr.,” the post said.
“He was a New Mexican music legend to all, but to us he was an amazing father, grandfather, sibling, son, and friend. We truly appreciate all the prayers & support. We respectfully ask for privacy as we mourn as a family.”
Born Alberto Nelson Sanchez Jr. in Albuquerque on Oct. 30, 1959, Hurricane was known as a state icon.
New Mexicans across the Land of Enchantment have taken to social media in reaction to the news.
In a post on its Facebook page, the Albuquerque Isotopes called Hurricane “one of the most influential voices in New Mexico music and our community, he was also a close member of our Isotopes family.”
Musician Jerry Dean posted, “My heart is truly broken.”
The City of Belen stated “(that it) is deeply saddened by the passing of New Mexico music legend Al Hurricane Jr. His music, talent, and passion helped shape and preserve the rich cultural identity that makes New Mexico so unique. Throughout his career, he helped carry forward a proud musical legacy, bringing people together through songs that celebrated the traditions, language, and spirit of New Mexico.”
Hurricane was scheduled to perform at the ABQ BioPark Botanic Garden on July 30 as part of the Route 66 centennial celebration.
UNM student arrested in Houston following fatal shooting behind the Frontier - Nakayla McClelland, Albuquerque Journal
A University of New Mexico student from Houston has been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a man in an alley behind the Frontier Restaurant.
Zakiya Umstead, 20, is charged with an open count of murder, conspiracy and tampering with evidence in the death of 23-year-old Eden Rock.
Houston police arrested Umstead on Tuesday after the Albuquerque Police Department issued a warrant for her arrest.
Two UNM students, Tenard Weekly and Jaylen Hopewell, and their alleged accomplices, Evan Rogers and Junior Lewis, are also charged in the May 13 shooting.
Umstead is a sophomore studying business at the Anderson School of Management, according to a university directory.
Umstead reportedly met Rock inside the Frontier around 10 p.m., according to an APD news release.
Before the meeting, surveillance footage showed Umstead and Lewis getting out of a Jeep, which was identified as Rogers’ vehicle, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.
The footage showed Umstead using her phone before she and Rock left Frontier and walked toward the alley about 40 minutes later, the complaint states.
“During the unprovoked attack, (Umstead) appears to be communicating with the individuals inside of the Jeep, luring (Rock) to the parking lot …,” according to the complaint.
Surveillance footage showed the four men hiding behind a dumpster in the alley as Umstead and Rock approached, APD spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said in the news release. The group charged Rock and threw him to the ground before Weekly allegedly shot him twice.
Rock was taken to a hospital, where he died. A GoFundMe described him as a loving and caring person lost in a “senseless tragedy.”
Footage showed Umstead turn and walk away as Rock was attacked and shot, Gallegos said.
“It appears as if the individual was aware of the preplanned attack,” the complaint states.
First phase of Las Vegas, NM water treatment facility to break ground in summer - Danielle Prokop, Source New Mexico
New Mexico environment department and officials with the City of Las Vegas have unveiled plans for the first phase of a new water treatment plant for the city scheduled for initial construction this summer.
Drinking water issues have plagued the city’s 12,000 residents since the devastating 2022 Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon fire, as the burn scars repeatedly slough a slurry of ash and debris into the Rio Gallinas, a city source of drinking water.
In 2024, city officials received $98 million in federal funding to construct the facility. Repeated flood events in 2024 harming water quality, along with a complete water shutoff in the city in January of 2025, prompted the city to enter into a joint governmental agreement with three state agencies in hopes of fast-tracking the new system.
As part of that agreement, the state has worked for months with city officials and an engineering firm to design new filtration systems, and presented design plans at the May 13 Las Vegas City Council meeting. The first phase of construction will install filters to better remove contaminants that wash into the river during rainstorms before the water goes through sanitation and treatment.
So far, the city has replaced monitoring systems and water filtration pools to improve water quality as planning for the construction for the full water treatment plant continues, Las Vegas City Manager Robert Anaya told Source NM. The city has spent approximately $8 million on improvements and on designing the new systems.
Las Vegas Mayor David Romero told Source NM the full water treatment facility is at least three years away from completion.
“Everybody hopes that we can have it done yesterday, but we’re making sure we do it right the first time, and it’s tied to the appropriate design and compliance requirements that need to be in place to make it done right,” Romero told Source NM.
The state will continue to offer technical support for the city, Jonas Armstrong, the state environment department’s Water Protection Division director, said in a statement.
New Mexico has highest poverty rates, among lowest wages, new report finds - Joshua Bowling, Source New Mexico
New Mexico has the highest rate of adults in poverty and lower wages than surrounding states, according to a government report.
Ismael Torres, chief economist for the Legislative Finance Committee, presented an outlook on the state’s workforce and economy to state lawmakers at Central New Mexico Community College in Albuquerque on Tuesday. Torres’ report included a map of New Mexico and the states it borders — Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Texas — that showed New Mexico has the highest rate of childhood poverty among those states and the lowest average hourly private sector wages.
Utah had the lowest rate of childhood poverty at 9%, compared to New Mexico’s 22%, and Colorado had the highest hourly wage at $40, compared to New Mexico’s $31.
“Economic research establishes strong connections between childhood poverty and lifetime earnings,” Torres said during the hearing. “We are already starting from a challenging position.”
Torres told lawmakers that increased wages typically drive productivity in the workforce. Democratic and Republican lawmakers alike told Torres that they want to closely track how the state’s investment in universal childcare impacts the workforce — both by leading to new jobs in the childcare industry and by enabling parents who previously stayed home to re-enter the workforce.
“We need to figure out how we measure success for that,” Sen. Pat Woods (R-Broadview) told Torres.
Elected leaders have focused specifically on the state’s struggling workforce. In April, a Legislative Finance Committee report found that 32,000 young New Mexicans are neither working nor going to school, leading to an annual taxpayer cost of about $623 million, primarily through lost tax revenue.
Tuesday’s report also focused on the downstream effects the state’s workforce has on its economy and its gross domestic product. The new LFC report found that state government makes up one-fifth of New Mexico’s GDP, making it the single largest contributor in the state. Mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction comprised 12.1% of the state’s GDP, making it the second-largest contributor.
Some Republican lawmakers took issue with that characterization, though. Rep. Rebecca Dow (R-Truth or Consequences) argued that the report’s representation of state government’s contribution to the state’s GDP is likely a severe undercount and said that some industries contributing to the GDP, such as insurance, rentals or leasing, included government contracts or leases for government facilities.
“Other than oil and gas, all of these are driven by government, primarily,” she said, adding that one “almost” needs a lobbyist to do business in the state.
She also criticized the state’s Opportunity Scholarship for opening the door for students to freely pursue classes and degrees that may not provide tangible benefits to the state’s economy.
“I can take a class about how to dress like Bad Bunny and the taxpayers will pay for it. So why should I try for engineering?” she asked.
Remarks on the Iran war and the cost of gasoline regularly punctuated Tuesday’s presentation. While economic uncertainty characterized many of the financial decisions leading into this year’s legislative session, Torres highlighted that the state’s general fund revenue is performing better than predicted as the fiscal year ends in June.
In addition to the general fund, Torres said that increased oil and gas revenue, attributable in part to the Iran war, has led to a cash influx for a number of state funds, including the Early Childhood Education and Care Trust Fund, the Medicaid Trust Fund and the Behavioral Health Trust Fund.
A lot had changed since lawmakers adjourned the 2026 legislative session in February, Torres said.
“Leaving the session…we were looking at a little bit of a cash crunch ending the fiscal year,” he told lawmakers.
Cherokee Nation integrates culture into new treatment center built with opioid settlement funds - By Sarah Liese and Sierra Pfeifer Kosu, via Associated Press
Culture is vital for recovery. That's a lesson Juli Skinner, a citizen of the Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma, learned during her time in foster care, years later working in child welfare and now, as the senior director of the Cherokee Nation's behavioral health center.
Tribal traditions have given her a healthy way to self-regulate and strengthen her connection with Spirit.
"Culture is such a protective factor," Skinner said. "Historical trauma has hit a lot of people — Native Americans, tribes — hard. Lost language, lost traditional ways, and we'll never get all of that back."
Despite seeing the benefits, culture has never been baked into the inpatient treatment options available to citizens of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma, a tribe Skinner has worked with for more than a decade. That is changing next year.
Cherokee Nation plans to open a residential and intensive outpatient treatment center in Tahlequah, where the tribe is headquartered. It will incorporate centuries-old traditions into recovery, including the game of stickball and an on-campus garden to grow selu, or corn.
Money for the facility comes from the roughly $150 million the tribe recovered through settlements with opioid manufacturers. The 45,000-square-foot (4,180-square-meter) campus will have 100 inpatient beds and an outpatient hub with follow-up support.
Suing opioid manufacturer
Tribes — like thousands of state and local governments – sued drugmakers, wholesalers, pharmacies and other businesses starting in the last decade over the toll of an opioid crisis that has now been linked to more than 900,000 deaths in the U.S. since 1999.
The companies have so far reached settlements worth nearly $58 billion, according to a tally kept by Christine Minhee, who runs Opioid Settlement Tracker. Most of the money must be used to address the crisis. For some communities, it's been a struggle to figure out how to use the funds.
About $1.3 billion of the total is going to hundreds of tribes and Alaska Native corporations over time.
The largest of 575 federally recognized tribes, Cherokee Nation was the first to sue opioid manufacturers in 2017. The tribe has more than 450,000 citizens, many of whom reside in Oklahoma due to federal policies that forced Cherokee people to leave the southeastern United States.
Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said Cherokee leaders wanted to take an active role in opioid litigation after missing the chance to do so during a similar series of lawsuits against tobacco companies in the late 1990s.
"There will never be another era in which there's some industry that does damage to the Cherokee Nation, damage to the Cherokee people, where we will be bystanders looking for state legislatures, state attorney(s) general to get us justice," he said.
'Existential effort'
The opioid crisis has had three waves: First, prescription pain pills that were the biggest killer, then heroin and for the last decade or so, fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. The opioid-related death rate for Native Americans was similar to that for white Americans until fentanyl took hold. Since then, and especially through the coronavirus pandemic, Native Americans have had a higher rate of opioid-related deaths.
It's something Ashley Caudle, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, saw firsthand while running her small business last year. She would regularly put free Narcan outside her storefront in Stilwell, a small city 20 miles east of Tahlequah.
"I had to restock that thing every week, almost daily," Caudle said.
In the 14 counties that make up Cherokee Nation, more than 1,000 people died between 2020 and 2024. Hoskin Jr. said many of the deaths were in rural areas, where language and culture are often strongest. Investing in behavioral health preserves the lifeblood of the tribe, he said.
"In many ways, our success here is part of an existential effort," Hoskin Jr. said. "Whether what it means to be Cherokee is going to continue on; that's only true if we have people that continue our lifeways and continue to speak our language and pass that down."
A safe place to recover
Culture is integrated into every part of the new treatment center's design. While choosing the layout, the tribe hosted listening sessions with community members and elders. Cherokee language experts are finalizing a name for the center.
The facility has large windows that offer a view of rolling hills and grazing cattle. It faces the east to greet the rising sun and is a short drive from a sweat lodge. Residential patients will also have access to a stickball court, garden space for traditional foods, a gym and room for meditation.
Skinner said there are typically 50 to 70 tribal citizens who need to be connected to residential treatment each month. Right now, if someone goes to an emergency room, primary care doctor or local clinic and asks for help with substance abuse, the tribe will refer them to a contracted facility, not owned by the tribe.
The new center will be the first of its kind, completely operated by Cherokee Nation, and comes at no cost for tribal citizens.
"I can hardly wait until we have our own," Skinner said.
The new treatment center in Tahlequah will also be one of three locations on the reservation offering intensive outpatient care to Cherokee Nation citizens.
Skinner said the tribe is building a continuum of care, which will include a variety of treatment options, not just inpatient care. When someone returns home to where they were living in active addiction, it can be difficult to stay sober.
Caudle, the Cherokee Nation citizen in Stilwell, also knows people who could have benefited from the resources the tribe is building. Both her mother and brother struggled with substance abuse, which eventually led to their deaths.
When thinking about how the new facility in Tahlequah could have impacted their lives, Caudle said, "I guess there's a lot of 'what ifs' and 'woulda, coulda, shouldas,' and that will never change. But the opportunities that people will have with this facility and the potential is huge."
Caudle continues to find her own ways of healing and is passing this knowledge down to her son, Elliot.
"If he messes up, it's not 'get out of my house. I never want to see you again,'" Caudle said. "(It's) let's pick yourself back up and let's try again. Same concept I want people to embrace as a community."
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Associated Press writer Geoff Mulvihill in Haddonfield, New Jersey, contributed to this story.
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This story is published through the Global Indigenous Reporting Network at The Associated Press.
Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad delays Memorial Day opening due to heightened wildfire risk - John Miller, Albuquerque Journal
The chug-chug and whistle of America’s largest steam-operated railway usually returns here Memorial Day weekend. However, the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad announced Tuesday it will postpone reopening for one week due to severe wildfire risk.
The railroad was scheduled to open Saturday, but will now reopen Tuesday, June 9, “due to severe drought conditions and elevated wildfire danger across the region.”
The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad Commission — which oversees five historic steam locomotives that crisscross a picturesque, 64-mile route between Chama and Antonito, Colorado — voted to delay the opening at a recent emergency meeting.
“With deep respect for the land, forests, and communities where we operate, the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad Commission made the difficult decision to delay the start of our season,” said Mark Graybill, a Colorado commissioner for the railway.
Coal-fired steam engines like the ones the railway operates can increase wildfire risk because they emit sparks, embers and hot exhaust that can ignite dry vegetation.
Many parts of New Mexico remain under burning restrictions amid red-flag conditions contributing to several active wildfires throughout the state this week, including the 15,857-acre Seven Cabins Fire northeast of Ruidoso.
The 2018 416 Fire was attributed to a coal-fired train that had been operating on the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, prompting a lawsuit from business owners and local residents.
A scientific article published last July also examined the probability of train-caused wildfires in California and why historic locomotives can present risks amid drought conditions, which have intensified in New Mexico this spring due to low snowpack.
Ticket holders were informed directly of the delay, for which they can either seek full refunds or rebook for a later date.
“This was a difficult decision because the railroad is vital to the Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico economies and our mission is to preserve and share this important part of history,” said Eric Mason, CEO of the C&TS. “We are committed to operating responsibly and safely within the remarkable landscape we have called home since 1880. We thank our passengers for their understanding and hope they will visit us when we resume normal operations.”
MRGCD suspends water deliveries in Algodones after portion of road sinks - KRQE-TV
Farmers in Algodones will be without water for a while as the New Mexico Department of Transportation and the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District inspect a sinkhole in the road on State Highway 313 at the intersection with State Highway 315.
KRQE reports the district suspended irrigation deliveries on Tuesday while NMDOT crews inspect and repair the road. The interruption of water delivery is expected to affect about 50 farmers.
The district shut off the water in the canal underneath the sinking road so crews can get underneath the road more easily.
A district spokesman told KRQE-TV that the farmers will get their deliveries as soon as the roadwork is completed.