Regulation Gap To Allow Utility Disconnections In New Mexico – Farmington Daily Times, Associated Press
Regulations in New Mexico that prohibit residential utility customers from being disconnected are set to expire, meaning service at some households could be disconnected for missing payments during the pandemic.
A new rule would not become effective until mid-October. The Farmington Daily Times reported that the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission has raised concerns about the gap in time between the two regulations.
Commission general counsel Judith Amer said there was nothing they could do to prevent it, but expressed hope that the utilities will voluntarily choose not to disconnect residential customers.
When Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued orders prohibiting non-essential business in early March, the commission followed suit by prohibiting the disconnection of residential utility customers. This emergency rule, which was approved on March 18, impacts only the utilities regulated by the commission.
Those utilities include Public Service Company of New Mexico, New Mexico Gas Company and other privately-owned water utilities, gas utilities and investor-owned and cooperative electric utilities.
Municipal utilities like Farmington Electric Utility System and Aztec Utility Services do not fall under the commission's jurisdiction. However, both have chosen to forego disconnections for non-payment, but they are soon set to expire.
The commission now is seeking a rule to permanently bar residential utility disconnections due to nonpayment during the pandemic. A hearing is set on Sept. 25. The earliest the rule could become effective is October, creating the gap.
Unlike the emergency rule, the potential new rule will not have an expiration date and would be effective as long as the governor's public health orders are implemented to limit the spread of COVID-19.
New Mexico Insurance Authority Warns Schools On Virus Rules – Associated Press
The New Mexico Public School Insurance Authority board unanimously voted Thursday to send a letter warning schools and districts about the dangers of not complying with coronavirus guidelines.
The letter to member districts and charter schools warns that if they do not comply with state health restrictions, they may jeopardize their chances of receiving coverage for coronavirus-related work claims.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the board also approved the creation of a task force to better understand the challenges of returning to school during a pandemic.
The authority provides insurance for all school districts in the state except for Albuquerque.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced in July that schools would not reopen in person until at least Sept. 7. Students will begin online classes on Aug. 20.
The insurance authority is still trying to determine how to implement coverage for schools during a pandemic. One idea that is being considered is setting aside $1 million for liability insurance if an outbreak occurs at a school.
Cowboys For Trump Resists Reveal Of Financial Contributors - By Morgan Lee, Associated Press
The support group Cowboys for Trump and its founder Couy Griffin are resisting pressure to disclose financial contributors in what could be a test case of a 2019 state law that requires greater disclosures of independent political spending.
On Friday, the New Mexico State Ethics Commission that shares enforcement authority over campaign finance reporting declined to wade into the matter.
In a federal lawsuit, Cowboys for Trump has accused Democratic Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver of overstepping her authority and preempting federal campaign finance regulations.
Griffin's comments about race have been met with outrage among civil rights groups including the NAACP and an array of Democratic New Mexico politicians
The secretary of state's office said through an agency spokesman that it is weighing legal options.
4 US Deaths Tied To Methanol-Based Hand Sanitizers - By Mike Stobbe, AP Medical Writer
Alcohol-based hand sanitizers can help stop the coronavirus from spreading, but drinking the products turned out to be deadly for four people in two states.
Health officials reported this week that 15 adults were poisoned in Arizona and New Mexico in May and June after drinking hand sanitizer. Besides the four who died, three had ongoing vision problems.
All had consumed hand sanitizers containing methanol, or wood alcohol. The active ingredient that kills germs in legitimate sanitizers is ethyl alcohol, which is consumable.
But some companies have been replacing it with poisonous methanol, which is used in antifreeze.
The FDA has identified dozens of hand sanitizers that contain methanol and have been recalled in the U.S. by manufacturers and distributors.
Retail, Construction Tax Revenue Up In State Despite Virus - By Cedar Attanasio AP/Report For America
April and May state tax revenues are not as low not as state officials feared. A report to the New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee Friday shows that construction and retail sales have actually increased compared with the same time last year despite the pandemic.
Energy revenues and tourism are way down. But a one-time federal stimulus of $1,200 a person and a weekly $600 federal unemployment supplement has been bolstering retail sales and even boosted incomes for some low-wage workers.
The $600 supplement expired last week. Unemployment In New Mexico remains higher than it was at the depths of the Great Recession in 2010.
The economic situation in New Mexico is still dire, with overall tax revenue down 8 percent and unemployment hovering around 10 percent, up from 6 percent before the pandemic.
Ongoing public school closures could further harm the state's workforce.
Legislative Finance Committee's Chief Economist Dawn Iglesias and her colleagues cautioned legislators that as many parents leave the workforce to care for children and loved ones, they will be out of the workforce but not included in the unemployment count.
They don't expect a return to pre-pandemic unemployment rates around 6 percent until the fall or winter of 2022. They said that four in 10 jobs lost will likely never return, and anticipate many businesses closing permanently.
New Mexico Moves To Restart Visits At Long-Term Care Sites - By Morgan Lee Associated Press
New Mexico plans to gradually restore visiting opportunities with residents of some nursing homes and other long-term care facilities by arranging outdoor or open-window meetings.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said Thursday that face masks and Plexiglas dividers will still be used out of an abundance of caution to guard against transmission of COVID-19 at long-term care centers.
The initiative will begin next week in a handful of counties with relatively low rates of positive testing for the coronavirus.
At a video news conference, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and state health officials said social isolation is taking a toll on seniors and people with disabilities. In-person visits have been limited to hospice care patients for months.
The governor invoked her own frustrations and despair in trying to maintain contact with her mother at a nursing home in Albuquerque.
A surge of virus infections and related deaths in New Mexico appears to be tapering off, and the governor was generally complimentary about compliance with state health orders that include mandatory wearing of face masks and a ban on public gatherings of more than four people.
New Mexico Overhauls Isolation Rules For Travelers As New Virus Cases Fall - By Morgan Lee, Associated Press
New Mexico's governor is highlighting self-quarantine requirements for travelers entering or returning to the state while providing two new exceptions for people seeking medical care and those attending to essential parenting duties.
The executive order Thursday from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham mandates 14 days of isolation at a residence or lodging facility upon arrival or return to New Mexico — with broad exceptions for workers in essential businesses, the federal government and the airline industry.
State health officials are wrestling with how to cordon off New Mexico from neighboring states with higher infection rates and uncontained virus outbreaks.
The self-quarantine restrictions apply for the duration of New Mexico's public health emergency. The state has delayed any further reopening of the economy until at least September.
The rate of positive tests is far lower in New Mexico than neighboring states of Arizona, Texas, Colorado and Oklahoma. And a local surge of virus infections and related deaths appears to be tapering off.
Green Chile Distributors To Sell Directly To Public – KOB-TV, Associated Press
New Mexico green chile distributors say health restrictions amid the pandemic are forcing them to sell chiles directly to the public.
KOB-TV reports distributors have no choice but to sell directly because many restaurants are operating differently during the pandemic.
Quality Foods, for example, will be buying chile directly from New Mexico farmers and selling it to the public right outside its Albuquerque facility.
On Friday, New Mexico health officials said there were 197 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the state total to 21,965. Officials said six more people have died from the virus, bringing the state death total to 675.
As of Friday, there were 132 people hospitalized in New Mexico for COVID-19. There are 9,166 COVID-19 cases designated as having recovered by the New Mexico Department of Health.
Meatpacking Plant In Roswell Reports COVID-19 In 21 Workers - Roswell Daily Record, Associated Press
A state agency reported that 21 employees at a meatpacking plant in Roswell tested positive for COVID-19.
The New Mexico Environment Department has advised USA Beef Packing LLC owner Jose Madrid on how to handle the cases, the Roswell Daily Record reported. Madrid said he is cooperating with a state investigation into what caused the infection to spread.
Agency reports show the company reported its first positive test on July 28, and it had two by July 31. The number of cases jumped to 21 by Wednesday. The company was closed for a while after the first confirmed case, and all employees were to be tested, department spokeswoman Maddy Hayden said.
A quality control officer for the company previously told the Daily Record that the plant follows all federal and state guidelines regarding food and employee safety, including social distancing measures and employee temperature checks.
“We want to assure you that we are taking all precautions and necessary steps to ensure our food supply is safe," the company said in a statement.
Navajo Nation Reports 28 More COVID-19 Cases, 1 More Death
Navajo Nation health officials have reported 28 more cases of COVID-19 and one additional death.
That brings the total number of people infected to 9,223 and the known death toll to 468 as of Thursday night.
Navajo Department of Health officials say 83,769 people have been tested for the coronavirus and 6,775 have recovered.
The Navajo Nation will change its 57-hour weekend lockdown to a 32-hour weekend lockdown beginning at 9 p.m. Saturday and ending at 5 a.m. Monday.
Tribal officials said the daily curfew also will be changed to those same hours on the vast reservation that covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
Bad Drought Conditions Reported Across New Mexico, Arizona – Associated Press
Large stretches of New Mexico and much of neighboring Arizona face severe or extreme drought conditions.
The latest weekly Drought Monitor map shows areas of extreme drought in northern New Mexico and in the state's southeastern corner. Meanwhile, areas of severe drought are seen in other parts of those regions as well as across much of southern and south-central Arizona.
The Drought Monitor said the West has seen temperatures well above normal in the past week and that much of the region has been dry "with only spotty precipitation in places" though the monsoon provided some relief to eastern New Mexico.
Girl Scouts Of New Mexico Trails To Offer Online Classes - Associated Press
The Girl Scouts of New Mexico Trails says it will offer after-school and weekend online enrichment courses amid the pandemic.
The group said Thursday it would administer the classes in age-appropriate small groups facilitated by Girl Scouts staff and volunteers to fill the educational gaps.
Girl Scouts of New Mexico Trails CEO Rebecca Latham says that over the summer, the group transitioned programs and activities in STEM, entrepreneurship, outdoor education, and life skills to a completely virtual mode. She says more than 1,600 girls have participated in free online classes since May.
Among the courses offered is one called the 19th Amendment and National Parks. In this class, girls learn about the centennial of the 19th amendment for women's suffrage and the role of women in the National Park Service for the past 100 years.