New Mexico Supreme Court rejects 2 Project Jupiter challenges, allows permitting process to resume - Joshua Bowling, Source New Mexico
The New Mexico Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously shot down two environmental groups’ challenges to regulatory proceedings for the Project Jupiter data center under construction in Doña Ana County.
In brief orders, the court denied August requests from the Santa Fe-based New Energy Economy and the national Center for Biological Diversity that challenged the data center’s pending air quality permit application with the New Mexico Environment Department and its use of an emergency water well for construction.
The New Mexico Supreme Court in August paused regulatory proceedings for Project Jupiter while it evaluated the environmental groups’ complaints. The air quality permit hearing was initially scheduled to begin Monday in southern New Mexico.
In the orders, which offered no further comment on the court’s rulings, justices also unpaused the regulatory proceedings that have been frozen since August.
“I don’t know what to say,” Colin Cox, a New Mexico-based attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, told Source NM Thursday. “I’m a little surprised that they granted both stays, which was pretty extraordinary and then pulled them without any explanation.”
In a statement, New Energy Economy Executive Director Mariel Nanasi said the plaintiffs were “terribly disappointed,” but acknowledged they had asked the state’s highest court “for extraordinary relief.”
“We went to the Supreme Court because we believed the rules of this proceeding were stacked against meaningful public participation,” she said. “We sought a fair opportunity for the public to obtain the evidence, test the claims being made by the applicant and present its case before New Mexico decides whether to authorize an enormous new source of pollution.”
The New Mexico Environment Department’s hearing officer who presided over the air quality permit application abruptly recused himself from the matter in August. The department has yet to appoint a replacement or hold a scheduling conference to set a new hearing date.
NMED spokesperson Drew Goretzka told Source NM that department officials will follow the guidance of the new hearing officer.
State environment officials will decide whether to grant the data center developer’s request to issue an air quality permit for its proposed on-site energy source, a natural-gas powered fuel cell system. Projections show that, if approved, it would emit as many greenhouse gases annually as New Mexico’s largest cities combined.
State seeks $5.45 million in litigation costs from Meta - Olivier Uyttebrouck, Albuquerque Journal
Attorneys who represented New Mexico in two trials against Meta this year spent $5.45 million for expenses such as hotels, meals and expert witness testimony, the state contends in court filings.
But the question of who should pay those costs is the subject of further argument.
New Mexico has asked a judge to order Meta Platforms to pay the costs, arguing that the state has prevailed in two trials this year against the social media giant and is entitled to reimbursement under state law.
Expenses claimed by New Mexico include more than $2 million for expert witnesses, $735,000 for transcripts, $526,583 for hotel expenses and $64,468 for trial-day meal costs.
For more information on this story, visit the Albuquerque Journal website.
Bernalillo Starbucks workers vote in favor of union, joining two other New Mexico stores - Gillian Barkhurst, Albuquerque Journal
Workers at a Bernalillo Starbucks unionized Wednesday, marking the third storefront in New Mexico where employees have successfully organized.
Baristas at the 801 U.S. 550 location voted 12-5 to join a national union for Starbucks employees, joining more than 700 stores across the nation unionized under Starbucks Workers United.
“For too long, our store has struggled with chronic understaffing, inconsistent accountability and concerns that didn’t seem to receive real support from upper management until after we petitioned,” said Darion Sanchez, a shift supervisor at the location, in a statement. “That experience showed us how important it is for partners to have a collective voice and a meaningful seat at the table.”
The first location where workers successfully organized was a Starbucks near Old Town in 2022 and the second was at a West Side store in 2025.
For more information on this story, visit the Albuquerque Journal website.
City of Las Vegas purchases downtown property for new City Hall - Las Vegas Optic
Las Vegas has plans for a new City Hall.
The Las Vegas Optic reports that the city council has approved the purchase of the Southwest Capital Bank building. It’s located at 622 Douglas Avenue, at the corner of Douglas and Seventh Street.
The price tag for the property is about one and a half million dollars. City Councilor Barbara Perea-Casey told the Optic the new city hall space is “desperately needed” to replace the inadequate facilities at 1700 North Grand Avenue.
The Douglas Avenue building was originally constructed for San Miguel National Bank more than 100 years ago.
