State regulators order investigation into PNM billing complaints
– Justin Horwath, Albuquerque Journal
State regulators on Thursday approved an order requiring a staff investigation into the billing practices of Public Service Company of New Mexico, the state’s largest electric utility.
Residents in the waning days of a hot summer reported unusually high electricity bills, with some complaining that PNM charged them based on several months of energy use. The problem was especially acute in Otero and Lincoln counties.
The order — unanimously approved by the three-member New Mexico Public Regulation Commission — now authorizes staff to formally investigate those complaints. Investigators will fan out across neighborhoods in the two hardest-hit counties, but they will also have leeway to look into billing irregularities elsewhere in the state.
“I think it’s important for the agency to show that we’re concerned about their particular plight,” Commissioner Greg Nibert said. “Now that doesn’t prevent staff from doing a broad investigation and (seeing) if this occurred elsewhere in the state. But the issue arose specifically in two counties, and those are the ones that came before us — and have requested the investigation.”
For more information on this story, visit the Albuquerque Journal website.
Grant County enacts New Mexico’s latest data center moratorium
– Algernon D’Ammassa, Albuquerque Journal
Grant County became the latest local government in New Mexico to enact a temporary pause on data center development during a meeting in Silver City on Thursday.
The one-year moratorium prohibits “the establishment, construction, development, expansion, enlargement, operation, or commencement of any Data Center or Direct Supporting Infrastructure” as the county considers whether to adopt regulations about the developments.
It was approved as an ordinance on a 4-1 vote.
Representatives of Granite Renewables, the developer behind a proposed solar farm and data center near Hachita, argued that the moratorium language was ambiguous and could even prevent some of the evaluations the ordinance calls for that might be legally construed as “development.”
For more information on this story, visit the Albuquerque Journal website.
Much of southern New Mexico a designated screwworm ‘infested zone’ as USDA reopens cattle imports
– Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
Three confirmed New World screwworm cases in recent weeks in New Mexico have left swathes of the state’s southern border under a state-designated “infested zone,” which demarcates where ranchers must receive state Livestock Board authorization before moving their cattle.
The zones span much of southern New Mexico, according to an interactive map the state publishes online, including the bootheel in southwest New Mexico and an area east of Las Cruces. The zones are aimed at preventing further spread of the New World screwworm, a parasitic fly whose maggots feed on live tissue.
The discovery last year of the screwworm’s reemergence has raised widespread concerns for the cattle industry across much of Mexico, along with New Mexico, Texas and Arizona.The fly advanced northward through Mexico after being mainly contained in Central America for several decades.
Over the last week, the state Livestock Board has announced three confirmed infections, including of a calf and horse in Grant County on Oct. 16, followed by an Otero County cow on Wednesday.
“We are working closely with our state and federal partners to investigate these cases, increase surveillance and monitor for additional infestations,” State Veterinarian Samantha Holeck said in a statement Wednesday.
Holeck’s announcement notes that incoming cold weather may slow the screwworm’s spread but not completely eliminate it, so she and other state officials urged livestock owners to remain vigilant and keep an eye out for infections in their animals.
The reported infections come days before the United States Agriculture Department has authorized two New Mexico ports of entry along the state’s shared border with Mexico to resume accepting some livestock imports.
The ports at Columbus and Santa Teresa accepted approximately one-third of all the nation’s cattle imports until screwworm concerns prompted their closure last July.
The prohibition on cattle imports meant a halt to a $1.3 billion industry, according to authority officials, and is hitting the Columbus, N.M. port of entry particularly hard. Mexican cattle growers ship approximately 300,000 cattle through Columbus and Santa Teresa ports of entry each year, according to the New Mexico Border Authority.
On Tuesday, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins visited Columbus to announce the Columbus port would resume accepting cattle Oct. 26 and that the Santa Teresa would resume accepting horse imports that same day.
In a statement touting its “phased” reopening, the USDA said it would consider reopening another port of entry in Nogales, Ariz., “if conditions continue to support safe trade and all required inspection arrangements and infrastructure are in place.”
Santa Fe City Hall evacuated, polling site locked down in response to suspicious package
– John Miller, Albuquerque Journal
An evacuation order for Santa Fe City Hall and shelter-in-place orders for surrounding streets were rescinded late Thursday afternoon after Santa Fe Police responded to a report of a “suspicious package” allegedly intended for Mayor Michael Garcia.
Interim Santa Fe Police Chief Ben Valdez said an individual approached a city employee with the package outside City Hall at 200 Lincoln Ave. around 12:15 p.m., asking them to deliver the item to Garcia.
The city worker reported the encounter immediately, according to police. The report kicked off a several-hour incident that led police to evacuate City Hall and issue shelter-in-place orders for surrounding businesses, public spaces and other government offices.
Around 1:30 p.m., the Santa Fe County Clerk’s Office also issued notice of a temporary lockdown order at the Clerk’s Office and its polling site at 240 Grant Ave. The order briefly halted early voting at the location.
For more information on this story, visit the Albuquerque Journal website.
Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains opens new Albuquerque clinic
– Margaret O’Hara, Searchlight New Mexico
Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains will nearly double its capacity for abortion care and family planning services in Albuquerque after opening a new health center Wednesday.
The clinic, 136 Washington St. in Albuquerque, will provide the full range of sexual and reproductive healthcare, including abortions, birth control, gender-affirming care, cancer screenings and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, said Adrienne Mansanares, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, which serves New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming.
“This is a really hopeful moment. … I’m just so grateful at Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, we’re expanding access to reproductive and sexual health care in New Mexico, and particularly in Albuquerque,” she said in an interview.
The expanded capacity comes as New Mexico continues to establish itself as an “important destination” for people seeking sexual and reproductive healthcare, Mansanares said.
Data from the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health research and advocacy organization, shows tens of thousands of women seeking abortions have traveled to New Mexico since the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 overturned the landmark 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade — which opened the door for states to severely restrict access to abortion. Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains has cared for nearly 10,000 patients from out of state since the 2021 passage of Texas banned abortions after fetal cardiac activity, usually about six weeks into pregnancy, according to data from the organization.
New Mexico has embraced its role as a refuge. The Legislature in 2023 passed House Bill 7, which prohibits public institutions from restricting access to abortions or gender-affirming health care for transgender people.
And now the state is investing directly in reproductive health clinics. Officials in 2024 broke ground on a $10 million, state-funded clinic in Las Cruces that will provide abortion services and other reproductive health care for New Mexicans and for residents of neighboring states with restrictions on the practice. The legislative capital outlay was earmarked by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a staunch supporter of abortion rights.
At the governor’s behest, the Legislature in 2025 approved another $10 million to fund a Northern New Mexico reproductive health clinic to provide medication and in-clinic abortions, contraception, miscarriage management and preventive care.
“Being here in New Mexico is such an honor and a privilege because we have so many protections,” Mansanares said.
With the opening of its new clinic in Albuquerque, Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains will have two health centers in New Mexico’s largest city — one on Eubank Boulevard in the Northeast Heights and the other near the Nob Hill neighborhood.
The new location was particularly desirable because it’s among Albuquerque’s most densely populated areas, Mansanares said.
“We know that it’s a highly populated area where the community is, and it’s nice to have that … presence in both sides of the town,” she said.
As Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains’ footprint in New Mexico continues to expand, Mansanares said she hopes it will continue to chip away at the stigma surrounding reproductive and sexual healthcare, especially abortion.
“One in 4 women of reproductive age are going to have an abortion or have had an abortion. It’s incredibly common. … I’m hoping that in the future, this really does become boring, normal healthcare — because that’s what it is,” she said.
Margaret O’Hara reports on issues affecting healthy communities in New Mexico. Her work is funded by a grant from Anchorum Health Foundation. Anchorum will not have any role in editorial decisions. The New Mexican and its Public Service Journalism Fund retain full editorial control. Philanthropically funded stories by The New Mexican are made available to all readers without a paywall.
