New Mexico kicks in $3 million for Project Jupiter hires - Algernon D’Ammassa, Albuquerque Journal
New Mexico is kicking in more than $3 million to support hires for Project Jupiter, the hyperscale data center under construction in Santa Teresa for Oracle and OpenAI.
The state Economic Development Department approved the grant through its Job Training Incentive Program, which announced $12 million in awards for the first quarter of the fiscal year that started on July 1, of which roughly 25% went to data center builder Stack Infrastructure.
The EDD said the $3,056,745 award would support 95 trainees at wages averaging $48 per hour — roughly $100,000 annually — in Santa Teresa.
While it was the largest single award in the tranche announced Wednesday, other large awards went to energy company Pacific Fusion ($2.4 million), Boeing ($1.8 million) and power company I-Pulse ($1.6 million) for hires in the Albuquerque area.
Chris Chaffin, the EDD’s spokesperson, said Stack Infrastructure’s award was “one of the largest single JTIP awards we’ve announced, reflecting both the scale of the project and the significant investment in workforce development that Project Jupiter is making.”
Construction began in September on land topping 1,200 acres along the state highway connecting to the Santa Teresa Port of Entry, with the goal of starting initial operations in the fourth quarter of 2026.
JTIP is a grant paid through reimbursements based on a targeted number of jobs and salaries and other program requirements.
Chaffin said the grant agreement with Stack includes a requirement that trainees live in New Mexico for at least a year before training and continue to live in the state, although trainees for certain high-wage positions may be exempt. As stated in the agreement, eligible trainees may move to New Mexico “with the intent of making New Mexico his/her permanent place of residence prior to beginning work with the participating company.”
As of June, Oracle has stated construction of the data center campus will create over 4,000 jobs, with 1,500 operational positions after construction. Both projections exceed commitments made under an industrial revenue bond agreement with the county, which locks the project into 2,500 construction jobs and 750 full-time jobs at the facility.
Doña Ana County commissioners recently called on the data center’s developers to attend a public session later this month to provide data on current hires at the project site and how many jobs are going to New Mexico residents. Such reporting is a requirement under its agreement with the county, authorized last September amid controversy, that provided tax relief to support the project in exchange for direct payments to schools and investment in community development.
The project’s memorandum of understanding with the county also calls for a “Doña Ana County First” hiring strategy, with a pledge to prioritize local hires through work with local contractors and vendors.
Last month, the county’s economic development director, Denisse Carter, said the project had yet to submit reports documenting its job hires but attributed this to ongoing work on establishing a secure portal for delivering the data without exposing workers’ personal information.
A spokesperson for Oracle told the Journal the data center, once operational, “is expected to create approximately 1,500 ongoing jobs, with a focus on hiring local suppliers, vendors, contractors, and residents, supported by workforce training programs that will help build long-term opportunities. We remain committed to transparency and to working closely with the community as Project Jupiter moves forward.”
Summer cookouts cost nearly $3 more this holiday than last year - Cami Koons, Iowa Capital Dispatch
At a 4% increase from last summer, the cost of backyard barbecue has grown in price at about the same pace as inflation, according to the annual American Farm Bureau Federation survey.
The survey estimates a 10-person feast of cheeseburgers, chicken breasts, pork chops, potato chips, pork and beans, fresh strawberries, homemade potato salad, fresh-squeezed lemonade, chocolate chip cookies and ice cream will cost $73.82 – a little more than $7 a plate.
This cost is $2.90 greater than the cost of the cookout in 2025, and the highest price tag since Farm Bureau initiated the survey in 2016. A decade ago, the summer cookout ingredients totaled $56.67.
The inflation-adjusted price, however, has fluctuated only only $2.41 over the past decade. Accounting for inflation, the 2026 cookout is actually cheaper, by more than $1.50, than the cookout cost in 2016.
Farm Bureau economists say the inflation-adjusted figures show the “purchasing power” cost of these items.
All of the cookout ingredients, aside from eggs and potatoes, increased from 2025 to 2026.
Canned pork and beans topped the list for highest cost increase for the second year in a row. Farm Bureau said the increase, now at an average of $3.06 — nearly 14% more than last year — is due to higher aluminum prices.
Strawberries cost about 12% more this year, and the average cost for two pints came to $5.27. The report said frost damage, transportation and labor costs all contributed to the rise.
The Farm Bureau report said egg-laying flocks have largely recovered from the highly pathogenic avian influenza, allowing eggs – a key ingredient in potato salad – to drop $0.71, per four eggs, from last year’s price. Potatoes also declined in price, making potato salad cost nearly 18% less than it did in 2025.
Cookout proteins increased across the board, according to the survey, which pulls information from volunteer shoppers that report the cost of the grocery items across the country. The average cost for 2 pounds of ground beef rose from $13.33 in 2025, to $14.06 this summer — a 5.5% increase.
Ground beef prices have been steadily rising over the past several years. In early 2026, prices topped $6.50 per pound and President Donald Trump to signed a trade deal to increase the amount of beef the U.S. imports from Argentina in an effort to lower prices at the grocery store.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data show prices for ground chuck have continued to increase.
The Farm Bureau report also showed a rise in the cost of pork chops and chicken breasts. A 3-pound purchase of pork chops increased 4.7% from 2025 and cost $14.79 for a cookout this summer. Chicken breasts were reported at a cost of $8.06 for two pounds, which is $0.27 more than last summer.
Farmers see pennies on the dollar
Of the grocery items included in the summer cookout survey, beef offers farmers the greatest share of the dollar, according to a report from the National Farmers Union. For a $6.49 pound of ground chuck, farmers receive $2.42, which is far more than the nickels and dimes farmers receive from the sale of other ingredients like hamburger buns, lettuce, corn on the cob and potato chips.
An increase at the grocery store doesn’t necessarily mean more income for farmers, as Farm Bureau President Brent Johnson said, farmers are “price takers” rather than “price makers.”
“That’s why an updated farm bill and risk management tools are critical in helping family farms during times of hardship and to protect food security for our nation,” Johnson said in a news release about the cookout report.
The Farmers Union report shows farmers and ranchers receive just under $0.12 for every $1 consumers spend on food. Rob Larew, the union’s president, blamed the low farmer share on corporate consolidation in the market.
Larew called for a farm bill that delivers “structural reforms” that will support family farmers, “rather than accelerating consolidation.”
“These numbers tell the story of a farm safety net that isn’t working; one that is too often slow, inconsistent and disconnected from the realities farmers face, reacting to crises rather than preventing them,” Larew said.
“Two hundred and fifty years in, family farmers deserve better,” Larew said, referencing the nation’s 250th anniversary.
New Mexico AG investigation finds Gallup schools more severely discipline Native, Hispanic students — Joshua Bowling, Source New Mexico
The New Mexico Department of Justice recently published the results of a yearslong investigation into Gallup-McKinley County Schools and found that the district disproportionately disciplines Native American and Hispanic students, causing them to miss exponentially more instructional time than other students across the state.
Attorney General Raúl Torrez’s report, published Thursday, found that the district’s students lose “at least twice as many” instructional days as those in other New Mexico districts to out-of-school suspensions. It’s even higher for Native American and Hispanic students, who lose “roughly eight to 10 times” and three to four times as many school days as their white peers, according to the report.
Teachers in the district impose harsher penalties on Native and Hispanic students than on white students, the report says.
Torrez’s office launched this investigation in 2023 following news reports that the district drove New Mexico’s outsized rates of expelling Native students.
In the agency’s new report, titled “Forced Out: How Exclusionary and Disparate Disciplinary Practices at Gallup-McKinley County Schools Rob Students of Instructional Time,” NMDOJ officials wrote that the district “appears to have made progress” in some areas, including reducing its number of expulsions and referrals to law enforcement agencies.
The Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission in March also issued a report that called on district leaders to adopt a new, culturally appropriate disciplinary system in light of these longstanding allegations.
A district spokesperson in a statement to Source NM wrote that under Superintendent Jvanna Hanks’ leadership, district leaders created an Equity Council, which will include positions “designated for members of the Native American community.”
“Gallup-McKinley County Schools is aware of and has been reviewing the New Mexico Department of Justice report and appreciates NMDOJ’s work to help ensure all students are treated fairly, supported appropriately and able to remain engaged in learning,” the statement said.
Broadly, the issue of lost instructional time has been a focus for state lawmakers in recent months. A June Legislative Finance Committee report found that a $2.6 billion investment aimed in large part at complying with the state’s landmark Yazzie/Martinez educational equity lawsuit had done little to rectify the issue of kids missing out on learning time.
Students across the state are required to annually attend a minimum of 1,140 instruction hours. The average absentee student in New Mexico missed about 215 hours in the 2024-25 school year — nearly one-fifth of the total required learning time, according to that report.
However, Kevin Mitchell, president of the Gallup-McKinley County Schools Board of Education, pushed back on the NMDOJ findings. Native American students will comprise the majority of the district’s disciplinary actions because the majority of its students are Native, he said.
The sprawling district sits in the Four Corners region and includes portions of the Navajo Nation. In fact, nearly 54% of Gallup’s population is Indigenous, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s latest data.
“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out we’re talking about 89% Native American population throughout the whole district…it could be a little higher,” Mitchell told Source NM. “‘You guys are disciplining Native Americans more than other students.’ Well, of course — it’s all we have.”
Mitchell added that many of his district’s schools serve small, rural communities, meaning a handful of chronic offenders in the classroom can skew overall disciplinary rates.
In a follow-up statement to Source NM, Mitchell wrote that he and his elected colleagues on the Board of Education have “consistently fought for quality education for all students,” citing the new Equity Council and the re-establishment of an Indian Education Committee.
“This work does not end with one report or meeting,” Mitchell wrote.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Haaland outraises Hull 2-1 in month following primary election — Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland greatly outraised Republican opponent Gregg Hull in the month following the June 3 primary election, according to the latest reports that campaigns provided to the New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office.
Haaland’s haul of more than $750,000 in more than 15,000 donations between June 4 and June 27 continues the fundraising dominance she demonstrated during the Democratic primary, during which she raised more than $12 million. That was nearly three times as much as her opponent, Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman.
Haaland, who was U.S. Interior Department Secretary under then-President Joe Biden, regularly draws donations from across the country as a result of her national name recognition. That continued to be the case even after Haaland bested Bregman by 44 percentage points in June .
Campaign filings show Haaland received at least one donation from every state in the country, as well as from Puerto Rico, Washington, D.C. and from U.S. military members serving abroad. Her largest donations — limited to $12,400 under state law — came from several Indigenous tribes and organizations, as well as Chevron, Presbyterian Healthcare Services and Stuart Archer, CEO of a Texas-based behavioral healthcare provider.
If elected in the Nov. 3 general election, Haaland would become the first Indigenous governor of New Mexico and also the first Indigenous woman governor in U.S. history. In an emailed statement Monday, Haaland campaign spokesperson Hannah Menchhoff told Source NM that Haaland’s latest fundraising report reflect the candidate’s message resonating with voters.
“That’s exactly why we’re seeing such strong numbers,” Menchhoff said. “She is incredibly grateful for the grassroots support from across the state, and enters the final four months of the general election in a commanding position.”
Hull has raised roughly $323,000 since he won a three-way Republican gubernatorial primary against opponents Duke Rodriguez, a cannabis mogul and former cabinet secretary, and communications professional Doug Turner.
Hull told Source NM on Monday that he was “pleased” with his campaign’s fundraising efforts in the weeks since the primary, noting that his campaign has focused on courting New Mexico donors. All but nine of the 424 donations he received in recent weeks came from New Mexico, according to the filings, most of which from donors in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Rio Rancho, where he served as mayor for three terms before launching his bid for governor.
Haaland received roughly 3,400 donations from New Mexico, the most of any state, but she also received more than 2,200 donations from California and roughly 700 donations each from donors in Texas, Washington and New York.
Hull said his campaign is gearing up to seek more donations from outside the state in the coming weeks.
“We’ve got fundraisers coming up, but as you can imagine, right now people are on vacation, and we’re also running into a little bit of donor fatigue, because we just came through the primary,” he said. “So everybody’s kind of like, ‘Let me take a deep breath before I write another check.”
Since the primary election, Hull received the maximum, $12,400 donation from several New Mexico business owners, including Tom and Linda Krumland, who own multiple southern New Mexico car dealerships, as well as from Pam Management, which is associated with another car dealership in Albuquerque.
Both campaigns also reported spending nearly as much as they’ve raised during the latest campaign reporting period.
Haaland heads into the general election with roughly $2.3 million on-hand, after spending about $11.6 million of the roughly $13.9 million she’s raised since launching her campaign for governor, according to Secretary of State’s Office records. Her campaign reported spending $770,000 in the last reporting period, between May 27 and June 27.
Hull’s cash on-hand is roughly one-tenth of Haaland’s. He’s spent about $650,000 of the roughly $950,000 he has raised to date, leaving him with about $300,000.
The campaign filings mark the final glimpse into New Mexico candidates’ fundraising and spending during the primary campaign. Candidates will again be required to report those totals by Sept. 14, when the general election season heats up.
New Mexico residents push to save nearly 80-year-old Sunspot Solar Observatory as demolition nears — Joshua Bowling, Source NM
A coalition of New Mexico residents are pushing to save the nearly 80-year-old Sunspot Solar Observatory in the Sacramento Mountains near Alamogordo, after the National Science Foundation announced its plans to demolish the site.
The U.S. Air Force in 1947 announced it would fund a solar observatory dedicated to researching solar flares and sunspots — within eyesight of the White Sands Missile Range. The National Science Foundation took over operations in the mid-1970s and a consortium including New Mexico State University has overseen operations of the visitor’s center and Richard B. Dunn Solar Telescope since 2017.
For decades, the telescope, in particular, was seen as a major scientific breakthrough. Its 250-ton optical system was suspended in 120 gallons of liquid mercury, which meant the excessively heavy machinery was easy to turn by hand.
In January, though, the National Science Foundation announced that the liquid mercury had spilled into the building housing the telescope. It immediately closed the campus off to the public and kept it that way. By February, the NSF announced plans to demolish the site and return the land to the stewardship of the U.S. Forest Service.
Residents, former employees and even some state lawmakers still see plenty of uses for the campus, though.
“They’re going to destroy something that has scientific history and cultural history,” Dave Dooling, who worked as the education officer at Sunspot for nine years and is now leading the effort to stop demolition, told Source NM. “It’s our own personal Project Hail Mary going on here.”
Dooling’s contributions to the site include the Sunspot Solar System Model. In the attraction he created, Sunspot was, aptly, the sun, and signs installed on the surrounding roads showed visiting motorists relatively how far each of the planets’ orbits were from the center of the solar system.
Dooling and a grassroots coalition known as Friends of Sunspot are pushing to pause the demolition until stakeholders in the area can agree on a plan. He has traveled to local city council meetings to seek the help of elected leaders in his area and spitball ideas for the site, including a mixed-use property that could include educational facilities, camping sites and STEM seminars.
“We’re going to keep pushing until the wrecking ball starts swinging,” he said.
At public meetings, Dooling has often spoken alongside Heidi Sanchez, who ran operations at the facility’s visitor center. Sanchez told Source NM she believes that if they got the ear of the right state leader, they could build “something unique for this state that no other state has.”
Along the way, the pair has made some powerful allies.
Scott McLaughlin, the executive director of Spaceport America, told Source NM he learned of the proposed demolition while he was camping in the area. He stopped into a local bike shop and overheard people talking about the demolition.
McLaughlin, who grew up in the area, recalled many childhood visits to the observatory with his parents.
“I’m hoping enough people can create momentum to get the National Science Foundation to slow down so all these people who are interested can figure something out,” he told Source NM. “I consider it part of the Space Valley ecosystem.”
McLaughlin started researching the matter more, he recalled, and began reaching out to state lawmakers in hopes of finding someone who might be able to take up the issue.
It caught the eye of Rep. Dayan Hochman-Vigil (D-Albuquerque), the New Mexico House majority whip. Hochman-Vigil, a lawyer who practices aviation and space regulatory law, told Source NM that she has had productive conversations with lawmakers who represent the area around Sunspot and hopes the National Science Foundation will pause demolition long enough for folks in the area to figure out an alternative.
“There’s just so much history and so much potential…it would be an absolute shame to totally lose access to those resources,” she said.
The National Science Foundation in a statement to Source NM noted it plans to turn the land back over to the U.S. Forest Service, but will provide public updates along the way.
“NSF’s priority is making sure the mercury contained within the telescope is safely addressed,” spokesperson Cassandra Eichner wrote.
Eichner wrote that the decision followed an environmental review, which included a public comment period. That did not turn up any preservation proposals that “were feasible to pursue,” she wrote.
“We recognize what this site has meant to the community and are grateful for their support and engagement with Sac Peak over the past 50 years,” Eichner wrote. “Through their support, the observatory helped propel the nation’s leadership in solar science and scientific excellence.”
The agency’s plans don’t faze preservation advocates like Dooling, though, who said he will continue to meet with other concerned policymakers, residents and former employees until they can come up with a workable alternative.
“The only guarantee is if we don’t do anything, it will get wrecked,” he said.
Seismologist attributes 3 northern New Mexico earthquakes to industrial operations - Jonathan Fjeld, KOB-TV
Early this morning in the 3 o’clock hour, two earthquakes were recorded in northern New Mexico 30 miles west of Raton.
KOB reports both earthquakes were roughly a 4.0 magnitude and 10 minutes apart. The area is a known earthquake spot, averaging about 15 per month. Seismologists say it’s specifically caused by induced seismic activity because of industry in the area.
The main culprits are coal-based methane extraction and wastewater disposal.
Seismologists track these earthquakes in a log, and report to various state agencies to see if certain activities need to be curbed.
Seismologists are looking to add more monitoring stations to better track earthquakes in the area.
