The city appeal process is a headache for some, a tool for others — a new law hopes to streamline it
– Gillian Barkhurst, Albuquerque Journal
The City Council passed an ordinance Monday to raise the cost of appealing approved projects in Albuquerque — part of a package of legislation aimed at streamlining development.
The ordinance will raise appeal fees from a couple hundred dollars to $925 for projects that have been approved by planning staff. Appeal fees will not go up for low-income residents or property owners whose requests were denied by planning staff.
The bill is a part of a larger "Better Neighborhoods" legislation package that sponsor Councilor Dan Lewis hopes will spur citywide development.
On Oct. 5, the council passed the first of the two bills. That ordinance bars neighborhood coalitions from the appeals process on the grounds that these organizations, which cover large swathes of town, don’t adequately represent specific neighborhoods where projects were proposed. Mayor Tim Keller signed that bill into law Monday night.
For more information on this story, visit the Albuquerque Journal website.
New Mexico lawmaker questions industry group leaders over homeowners’ insurance non-renewals
– Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
A New Mexico state lawmaker whose district continues reeling from the largest wildfire in state history questioned industry leaders Tuesday about the increasing rate at which insurers refuse to renew homeowners’ policies, particularly in fire-prone areas.
State Rep. Anita Gonzales (D-Las Vegas), whose House District 70 includes much of the 2022 Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire burn scar, asked a panel of insurance industry leaders speaking before the interim legislative Economic and Rural Development and Policy Committee about recent insurance trends in the state, including the highest-ever rate of insurance companies opting not to renew policies.
National insurers opted not to renew more than 6,200 homeowners’ insurance policies in New Mexico in 2025, according to recent figures the state’s Office of the Superintendent of Insurance provided. That marks the highest annual number of non-renewals in state history, and represents a near-tripling of non-renewals since 2021.
“If you have a total exodus of the industry in some of these communities, how are we able to then rebuild?” Gonzales asked.
Julie A. Rochman, a former CEO of an insurance industry research organization, told Gonzales national insurance companies may “back away” from high-risk properties as they grapple with global economic forces, including increasing construction costs for fire-damaged properties and rising premiums insurance companies themselves face from global reinsurance companies.
Federal regulations on property and casualty insurers also limit how companies can invest premium dollars, Rochman noted, which reduces the funds insurers have to cover widespread losses. And the insurance companies could run afoul of state regulations if they irresponsibly underwrite insurance policies in areas that are on the cusp of a natural disaster.
“Carriers will back away because they may have so much risk already on their books in New Mexico that they cannot take more and still support the ability to pay any and all claims as needed,” Rochman said. “I think the industry is constantly looking for that balancing act, but we can’t overextend ourselves to write property that we shouldn’t be writing.”
In response, Gonzales urged insurance companies to “find some middle ground to work towards” due to the “very troubling” increase in non-renewals.
Rochman also chairs the state’s Fair Access to Insurance Requirement Plan board, which offers insurance to those who cannot find insurance on the private market.
In 2025, the Legislature gave $10 million to the OSI to help homeowners with FAIR Plan coverage mitigate their homes against wildfire risk, including measures like clearing trees from near structures, installing screens on vents and making roofs more flame resistant.
Rochman said Tuesday that homeowners’ “sweat equity” in mitigating against wildfire risk, particularly creating a 5-foot buffer around homes of flammable materials, remains the single most important step they can take to improve the insurance market statewide and also protect their homes.
Alcohol-related deaths in New Mexico on the rise, new state health data shows
– Matt Mondschein, Source New Mexico
New data released Tuesday by the state health department shows a 2.6% rise in alcohol-related deaths in New Mexico between 2024 and 2025 after a three-year decline.
Between 2021 to 2024, alcohol-related deaths dropped by 21%, the New Mexico Department of Health said in a news release. New Mexico ranks first in the nation for alcohol mortality, and had 1,756 alcohol-related deaths in 2024, the latest data available from the health department.
Additionally, alcohol accounted for 9% of all hospitalizations statewide during the same time period, according to a January news release from NMDOH.
“Though the decreasing trend in alcohol-related deaths since 2021 is good news, the recent uptick is a reminder alcohol use remains a health concern,” Rebecca Neudecker, section manager for the NMDOH’s Office of Alcohol Misuse Prevention, said in a statement. Studies show alcohol use can be tied to heart disease, cancer and liver malfunction.
Chronic conditions, such as alcohol-related liver disease, cancer and hypertension, cause most alcohol-related deaths. Acute causes of alcohol-related deaths include motor vehicle accidents and drownings.
In the news release, NMDOH expressed support for New Mexicans committing in Sober October, an alcohol abstinence initiative to “reset habits, strengthen wellness and rethink their relationship with drinking.”
A reduction in alcohol consumption can reduce the risk of cancer, improve sleep quality, improve liver function and digestion, NMDOH added.
NMDOH noted it works with local communities and Tribal entities to increase culturally-based education and prevention efforts. The health department launched the Drink Less, Live More initiative in January that highlights the benefits of reducing alcohol consumption through self-check guides, daily drink trackers and community support materials.
APS begins school closure talks amid uncertainty from parents, staff
– Natalie Robbins, Albuquerque Journal
Some parents and district staff said they were left with more questions than answers after Albuquerque Public Schools’ first community meeting on potential school closures Monday night.
Among the questions from the roughly 50 attendees at Monday’s meeting at Cibola High School: What schools are on the chopping block? Why are students leaving APS? And what exactly does “right-sizing” mean?
The monthslong series of meetings is APS’ first step toward closing or repurposing schools to fit a drastically shrinking student population — a process known as “right-sizing” — after a drop of more than 22,000 students in the last decade created a financial quagmire for the district.
The APS Board of Education voted last month to begin the public input process.
For more information on this story, visit the Albuquerque Journal website.
New Mexico lacks clear standards for how state agencies should conduct internal audits, report finds
– Joshua Bowling, Source New Mexico
New Mexico currently lacks uniform requirements for how state agencies should conduct internal audits, according to a new state analysis.
A Legislative Finance Committee report, presented to state lawmakers at Tuesday morning hearing in Santa Fe, followed up on a 2022 report that found internal audits’ scope, structure and effectiveness varied greatly across state agencies. Currently, LFC officials told state makers, those issues persist and positions dedicated to oversight have decreased since 2022.
“There’s nothing in statute right now that specifies which agencies should have these types of functions,” LFC Deputy Director Rachel Mercer Garcia said during Tuesday’s hearing
She added that unlike New Mexico, many states across the nation have laws that either establish statewide inspector general offices or specify which types of state agencies should have their own internal auditors. Some mandate that state departments have an internal auditor only when their annual budget is above a certain threshold.
The report came as lawmakers this year have intensely focused on the error rate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which is among the highest in the nation.
Some lawmakers on the interim Legislative Finance Committee committee Tuesday said that adopting statewide internal auditing standards would be a step toward remedying high error rates.
“All we’re doing is inviting waste, fraud and abuse if we don’t have internal audits in every department,” Rep. Mark Duncan (R-Farmington) said.
The report recommends the Legislature consider creating requirements for internal audits at state agencies and departments. Specifically, the report recommends requiring that audit reports be released to the public when appropriate and allowing internal auditors to operate independently and objectively.
Rep. Joy Garratt (D-Albuquerque) recommended the requirements specify the qualifications to become an internal auditor.
Lawmakers discussed how any legislation they craft in the upcoming 2027 session will take place under a new governor. Rep. Nathan Small (D-Las Cruces), who chairs the interim Legislative Finance Committee, said he didn’t think a one-size-fits-all approach would work, but acknowledged a need to develop stronger standards.
“We wouldn’t want in a three-person agency an inspector general, but I think the sentiment is very clear that more internal auditing is a good thing,” Small said. “I think a stronger approach as we go into a new administration makes a lot of sense.”
American Home Furniture to close months after bankruptcy filing
– Kylie Garcia, Albuquerque Journal
American Home Furniture & Mattress’ nearly century-long history in New Mexico is coming to a close as the retailer recently announced it’s going out of business.
“Thank you New Mexico for 90 years,” a message on the company’s website says.
The closure announcement comes months after American Home Furniture filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company aimed to restructure its finances to stay in business and pay off debts amid what it described as economic pressures and construction challenges near its store along Interstate 25.
The Albuquerque-based retailer filed for bankruptcy in March and simultaneously announced the closure of its northern New Mexico stores, including two in Santa Fe and one in Farmington. Then, in May, the company announced plans to close one of its final two stores in Albuquerque at 801 Comanche NE.
For more information on this story, visit the Albuquerque Journal website.
DOE approves Savannah River plutonium project construction
– Santa Fe New Mexican
A planned U.S. Department of Energy facility in South Carolina could eventually mitigate current pressure on Los Alamos National Laboratory to produce an increasing number of nuclear warhead components.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that the U.S. Department of Energy has authorized “full construction” of a plutonium processing facility in Aiken, South Carolina.
If constructed as planned, it would become the second site in the country to produce plutonium pits. Currently, Los Alamos National Laboratory is the only site producing plutonium pits. The pits are about the size of a bowling ball and are used as bomb triggers in nuclear warheads.
Plans have long called for the production of at least 30 pits per year at Los Alamos, but The Santa Fe New Mexican found that number could jump to as high as 60 pits under possible federal directives. The South Carolina site is expected to come online in 2038, which is six years later than federal planners initially proposed.
New Mexico unemployment rate ticks up slightly in September
– KUNM News
New Mexico’s unemployment rate ticked up in September compared to a year ago. Job losses in professional and business services, information, private education, and the federal government leading the decline.
The annually adjusted unemployment rate was 4.7%, according to the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, up from 4.2% in September last year, but unchanged from August.
That’s slightly higher than the national unemployment rate of 4.2% in September.
All other sectors showed growth with nonagricultural employment growing by just over 11,000 jobs in September over the same time last year. Mining, logging, and construction saw the biggest percentage gains.
Also showing job growth were retail trade, education and health services, and local government education. Workforce Solutions will offer more analysis later this month in its Labor Market Review.
