Taylor Velazquez
ReporterTaylor is a reporter with our Poverty and Public Health project. She is a lover of books and a proud dog mom. She's been published in Albuquerque The Magazine several times and enjoys writing about politics and travel.
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New Mexico has long struggled with education outcomes. The Yazzie/Martinez education equity case, settled in 2018, was meant to close gaps for the state’s most at-risk students. But a court recently found the Public Education Department still wasn’t meeting the requirements, prompting the agency to file a new action plan. -
It’s that time of year again where respiratory diseases like COVID-19, the flu, and RSV are spreading. The New Mexico Department of Health is urging folks to get shots in arms in order to prevent the most serious and dangerous symptoms of these three seasonal respiratory diseases. -
The University of New Mexico Hospital opened its Critical Care Tower after nearly a decade of planning and building. This project is intended to lessen the impacts of overcrowding and hospital officials say they’re already seeing good results. -
This month marks the one year anniversary of the state’s first 24/7 statwide hotline for sexual assault survivors. -
The American Hospital Association reports that violence in the health care system has significantly increased over the past decade, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, the University of New Mexico implemented a workplace violence program three years ago. -
New Mexico is set to become the first state in the U.S. to offer free childcare to everyone. Governor Michelle Lujan-Grisham said it will start in just a few weeks on November first. -
Over the last seven years $1.6 billion dollars have been spent on New Mexico students’, especially those named in the landmark Yazzie/Martinez lawsuit, but inequities have persisted. Advocates are outraged as years of promises have been broken and many kids in the state’s public education system have been left behind. On the next Let’s Talk New Mexico we’ll dig into why the state has yet to carry out the plans. -
New Mexico ranks 50th in the nation for child wellbeing, covering ages from birth through 24. That’s according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The organization's president, Lisa Lawson, has recently penned a book exploring how teens are often left out of this conversation and how we can use their unique brain science to best support them. -
New Mexico has made major investments in early childhood and education programs and now it’s going to offer free universal child care to all families, regardless of income – the first such state to do so. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham made the announcement Monday. -
New numbers highlight the shortage of school-based mental health professionals in New Mexico. The University of New Mexico’s Project ECHO has launched a program seeking to target these gaps by mentoring those working directly with kids.
