New Mexico ag officials announce expanded surveillance following new screwworm case - Source New Mexico staff
New Mexico agriculture officials on Friday confirmed expanded surveillance following the Sept. 17 detection of a second New World screwworm case, afflicting a horse in Grant County.
“We are working as quickly as possible to increase surveillance, inspect animals and monitor for additional cases in and around the affected area,” State Veterinarian Dr. Samantha Holeck with the New Mexico Livestock Board said in a statement.
The pest, which has advanced rapidly through Mexico after being mainly contained in Central America for several decades, is named for the maggot’s behavior of feeding on live tissue. The fly madeits first new incursion to the United States in early June, when it was detected in a south Texas calf. Officials subsequently identified a separate infection in aLea County dog in New Mexico a few days later. The state has since stood up a stand-alone website,screwwormnm.org with resources and reporting information.
The expanded surveillance and fly-trapping following last week’s new case includes establishing a minimum 12.4-mile radiusinfested zone around the affected animal’s location, according to a news release from the state agriculture department, within which animals must be inspected and, if necessary, treated.
The agency says that routine animal movement, in which animals are transported to livestock auctions, fairs, vet appointments or other types of trips won’t be restricted unless an inspector identifies higher-risk situations.
In addition, the New Mexico Department of Wildlife (formerly the Game and Fish Department) is coordinating with the New Mexico Livestock Board to address wildlife surveillance and monitor hunting activities. The news release advises hunters, animal owners and others to “remain vigilant” and monitor horses, dogs and other animals for signs of New World screwworm, which include: wounds that don’t heal or worsen over time; wounds with maggots; wounds that smell badly; animals persistently licking or otherwise aggravating a wound; and any unusual behavior/irritation around the site of an injury.
“We appreciate the continued vigilance and cooperation of livestock producers, veterinarians, pet owners and other stakeholders as we respond to this second confirmed case of New World screwworm in New Mexico,” New Mexico Secretary of Agriculture Jeff Witte said in a statement. “Our immediate focus is expanding surveillance around the affected area so we can identify any additional cases as quickly as possible. Early detection and prompt reporting are critical to limiting the spread of this pest, and we encourage everyone to remain vigilant and work closely with animal health officials.”
United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins last weekvisited Santa Teresa last week to announce the opening of the cattle crossing there; which theagency says remains on track to take place on Sept. 24 despite the new case.
Additional information, maps of affected areas, reporting resources and updates are available atScrewwormNM.org.
Feds dismiss child sexual abuse images charge against Albuquerque lawyer - Colleen Heild, Albuquerque Journal
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Mexico has quietly dropped its high-profile case against noted federal Albuquerque defense attorney Brian Pori, who was charged with knowingly possessing images of child sexual abuse.
The striking about-face came after prosecutors received the results of a forensic evaluation of Pori’s computer files. But there is no explanation of how, in the words of his attorney, the “mistake” in analyzing the evidence occurred.
Pori, who is in federal custody pending trial, still faces federal felony charges that he knowingly tried to smuggle contraband — namely Suboxone — into a prison near Grants and sent the narcotic to an inmate months earlier. He denies those allegations.
But the more serious charge, related to the FBI’s discovery of a cache of images on his laptop in late March, was dismissed Sept. 1. Had he been convicted, Pori would have faced up to 20 years in prison.
For more information on this story, visit the Albuquerque Journal website.
3 killed in Navajo Nation flood include 7-year-old preparing for her birthday - By Jessica Hill and Savannah Peters, Associated Press
Three generations of a Navajo family were heading home from picking up supplies for an 8th birthday party when their truck got stuck in mud as storms with heavy rain rolled through the area.
Kalisi Begay opted to walk home while her mother and 7-year-old daughter stayed behind. The water rose quickly. Soon the grandmother and granddaughter, along with a friend they had called for help, were swept away in the floodwaters while trying to cross a wash.
Elsie Begay, her granddaughter Lucy Allison Mike, and Begay's best friend Dora Franklin died in the flood Tuesday near Newcomb, New Mexico, a community of about 400 people, family members said Friday.
"I think she was just wanting to get home," said Stella Wilson, Begay's niece.
Flash flooding across the Navajo Nation this week has damaged roads, forced evacuations and claimed the three lives as a late-season surge of monsoon moisture brings heavy rain to the Four Corners region. Navajo police said three families in Shiprock, New Mexico, were evacuated Friday evening due to rising water levels and flooding near the San Juan River.
Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren declared a state of emergency Friday as some communities remained isolated by standing water and road damage and rain continued to fall. Multiple roads on the Navajo Nation remained closed Friday.
"Please use alternate routes, check on our elders and relatives, and follow the guidance of our emergency personnel," Nygren said in a statement.
About 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of Newcomb in the small community of Mexican Springs, flooding made many dirt and gravel roads impassable, stranding some families and leaving others unable to reach home.
"A lot of ditches are washed out, the culvert pipes are gone. There's big old, massive holes in the road," said Darnell Etsitty, a maintenance worker with the local government who spent Friday building alternate routes to help people get in and out.
Etsitty said the Mexican Springs Chapter House had been converted into a temporary shelter and volunteers are using ATVs to deliver food, water and supplies to stranded households.
Wilson said the road conditions continue to be bad, and her family still can't get to Wilson's mother. She urged others to be patient and wait for help.
"I just want to make sure other families make it home," she said.
Elsie Begay worked as a business technician at Sanostee Day School, where Mike attended as a third grader. Franklin was a bus driver for another nearby school.
Begay and Franklin loved working with kids, Wilson said. Begay would decorate the school's front office for every holiday and make everyone feel welcome, and Franklin would give candy to kids as they got on the bus, she said. Begay also participated in fundraisers and helped with community events.
Mike was recently crowned "Miss Sanostee Day School" on Sept. 4 and was looking forward to her 8th birthday party next Tuesday. Wilson described her niece as "beautiful" and "bright."
"She was a big blessing to her family," Wilson said.
US Supreme Court denies New Mexico Forward Party candidates’ appeal to appear on November ballot - Joshua Bowling, Source New Mexico
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear the New Mexico Forward Party’s appeal to have its two statewide candidates appear on the Nov. 3 general election ballot.
Ina Thursday filing with no further comment, Justice Neil Gorsuch denied the minor political party’s appeal of lower court rulings that prevented party Chair Bob Perls and candidate Michael Vigil from appearing as candidates for the U.S. Senate and Office of the State Auditor, respectively.
The party’s attorneyssought help from the nation’s highest court on Tuesday after the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a U.S. District Court judge’sdecision not to have Perls’ and Vigil’s names printed on the ballot.
Attorneys for the candidates hadargued in court that they faced overly burdensome requirements to make the ballot as minor party candidates. They failed to collect the more than 14,000 signatures required to run under the nascent centrist party’s banner, while Democrat and Republican candidates are only required to gather about 2,500 and 2,350 signatures.
However, attorneys for New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver in a Thursday Supreme Court filing countered that much of the pressure facing New Mexico Forward Party candidates was self-imposed.
“NMFP formed a few months ago in May. It could have formed at any time — its national party affiliate has existed since 2022 — but it chose to do so halfway through an election year,” they wrote. “Three of its candidates were able to get on the ballot, while two were not. Mr. Perls and Mr. Vigil were unable to convince enough voters to sign their petitions for statewide office. They have resorted to the courts to get on the ballot anyway.”
The Secretary of State’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Perls in a statement noted that the federal, appellate and Supreme Court decisions have focused only on his motion to get on the November ballot and not on his broader lawsuit challenging the state’s ballot access requirements.
“After months of litigation and thousands of dollars and man-hours spent, we are back to square one with a court case in U.S. District Court to be heard in the coming months,” he said. “But we heard loud and clear from tens of thousands of New Mexicans who talked to our volunteers and our candidates and signed our petitions that they want more and better options at the voting booth going forward.”
Federal judge sides with manufacturers, blocks New Mexico’s PFAS labeling rule - Matthew Mondschein, Source New Mexico
New Mexico’s effort to require manufacturers to label consumer products that contain so-called ‘forever chemicals’ infringes on commercially protected speech, according to a preliminaryinjunction issued Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Margaret Strickland.
The disputedrule stems from the PFAS Protection Act, which the New Mexico Legislature passed andGov. Michelle Lujan Grisham enacted last year. It would require manufacturers to label consumer products containing PFAS — aka per and polyfluoroalkyl substances. The New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board sanctioned the rulein March.
Studies show PFAS islinked to kidney and reproductive cancers, decreased fertility, fetal developmental delays, disruption of immune responses and liver function in humans.
The American Chemistry Council, which advocates for chemical manufacturers, and several national manufacturer organizations, sued the New Mexico Environment Department on July 1. The organizations argued that the state requirement violates the First Amendment by enforcing manufacturers to communicate a government-mandated message and asked for the court to stop implementation of the rule set for next year.
In her order, Strickland wrote that New Mexico failed to demonstrate how the label “is a rational vehicle to achieve the goals of protecting consumer and environmental health,” and added that “the state proclaims the regulation exists to raise consumer awareness, but underneath intends the label to operate as a warning in disguise.”
The label itself does not comment on whether PFAS poses a risk to consumer or environmental health and safety, a requirement needed to supersede the plaintiff’s right to commercially protected speech, Strickland wrote.
“I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was disappointed,” New Mexico Environment Department Secretary James Kenney told Source NM.
Kenney said that New Mexico “absolutely” plans to move forward in challenging the injunction, adding that NMED won many of its arguments and that Strickland “made a solid roadmap” for the department to consider.
For example, the plaintiffs argued the PFAS label does not convey factual information due to the broad nature of what constitutes a PFAS chemical and that the label is controversial.
Strickland disagreed with both arguments, saying New Mexico’s labelling rule has the same definition of PFAS as other states that have passed similar regulations — Colorado, California and Connecticut. She added that the plaintiffs provided no evidence that consumers find the image inflammatory or controversial.
New Mexico’s labelling rule has faced backlash from the national manufacturing communitysince its inception. In addition to the American Chemistry Association, the National Association of Manufacturers and six other manufacturing organizations were parties to the lawsuit, with NAM issuing a statement welcoming the judge’s ruling.
“The NAM is committed to securing permanent relief to ensure manufacturers aren’t forced to redesign products, packaging and manufacturing lines to accommodate an unconstitutional labeling requirement that imposes tremendous costs on both businesses and consumers,” Linda Kelly, NAM chief legal officer, said in a statement.
But for NMED, the issue is about transparency.
“This preliminary injunction shows that the intent of industry is to keep New Mexicans in the dark and not educate them on what types of PFAS might be coming in from their grocery stores or big box retailers,” Kenney told Source NM. “Education shouldn’t scare the American Chemistry Council, but here in New Mexico — apparently it does.”
