New Mexico Governor Sets Mask Mandate, Requires Vaccination - By Susan Montoya Bryan Associated Press
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said Tuesday she will be reinstating a mask mandate for all public indoor spaces in New Mexico as vaccination rates remain stagnant and infections increase.
Her latest public order also will require that more people get vaccinated, such as workers at hospitals, nursing homes, juvenile justice facilities, residential treatment centers and other places that the state deems as high-risk.
All workers at private, public and charter schools in New Mexico also must be either vaccinated or otherwise submit to weekly testing under the new rules being rolled out. Lujan Grisham already requires the same of all state government employees.
The governor said recently that all options would be on the table when it comes to curbing the spread of the virus. Residents and business owners had been anxiously awaiting any word that the state would resume some of the restrictions that had been enacted for much of the pandemic.
Lujan Grisham and other state officials were scheduled to provide more details during a Tuesday briefing.
New Mexico Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. David Scrase said ahead of the briefing that everyone wants the pandemic to be over but that the virus has its own timeline.
"At this stage, the Delta variant makes up virtually 100% of new COVID-19 cases in New Mexico," he said. "This variant spreads up to four times more rapidly than the virus we were dealing with last year."
While vaccines help to preventing serious illness and death from a COVID-19 infection, he said the bad news is that the virus is still spreading.
The uptick in cases comes as the state prepares for large public gatherings this fall — such as the international balloon fiesta, which normally draws thousands of spectators and pilots from around the world.
New Mexico has outpaced neighboring states and the nation as a whole when it comes to getting people vaccinated. About two-thirds of residents 18 and older have been fully vaccinated, but state health officials warned during a briefing last week that evidence shows inoculated people can still become infected and spread the virus.
The state Health Department has recorded 220,340 COVID-19 infections since the pandemic began. While the daily case totals remain far below the peak seen over the winter, state data shows there has been a more than 4% increase in confirmed cases since the beginning of August.
New Mexico To Ask About Sexual Orientation In Public Surveys – Associated Press
New Mexico will begin routinely collecting demographic data about sexual orientation and gender identity during government surveys under an executive order signed by Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
The order on Monday responds to growing concerns that basic demographic information about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender populations is being left out of an array of studies that shape public policy and governmental planning decisions.
California lawmakers in 2015 approved similar survey requirements at four health and well-being agencies. Officials at the National Institutes of Health are developing guidelines for collecting data on sexual orientation and gender identity to better serve unmapped LGBTQ populations.
Lujan Grisham said survey responses will be voluntary as all state agencies begin collecting self-identification information. The order prohibits the public release of any personal identifying information.
The governor called the order a step toward identifying and addressing inequities in access to public resources.
The executive order was applauded by several advocates for the LGBTQ community at a news conference in the governor's cabinet room.
"If you really look at us as a community, we've never been asked who we are, ever," said Democratic state Sen. Leo Jaramillo of Espanola, who is gay. "Now we're included in a conversation and data-collecting that will then help in ways that we may not even see or think of."
Marshall Martinez, executive director of the Equality New Mexico Foundation, said that public health officials have asked questions for decades about sexual orientation in the context of prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, slowing the progress of HIV in the process.
At the same time, silence on many other questionnaires about sexual orientation and gender orientation has reinforced harmful social stigmas.
"Being one of the first states in the country to do this will send a vital message to LGBTQ youth: You matter and your whole identity is respected and affirmed in New Mexico," Martinez said.
Voters To Decide Bond Question For Proposed Soccer Stadium - Associated Press
It will be up to Albuquerque voters to decide whether they want to foot the bill for a new soccer stadium.
The City Council voted 7-2 Monday to put the bond question on the Nov. 2 ballot following a two-hour debate.
If approved, the city would borrow $50 million for the project. Officials said that would give them enough to build a "bare bones" stadium and they would have to find additional money for something better. Seeking more money from the state Legislature would be one option.
Some critics have questioned the push for a stadium, saying the city should put more money into public safety to address violent crime and Albuquerque's record number of homicides.
Even supportive councilors acknowledged they still had limited information about the city's plans.
"Without question, there are questions, and these questions need to be answered," said Isaac Benton, who co-sponsored the bill to put the issue on the ballot.
Benton amended the measure to express the city's intent to execute a "community benefits agreement" with the neighborhood where a stadium may eventually be built. He said he thinks the project has promise and that the whole city should have a chance to weigh in.
The Albuquerque Journal reported that the vote comes less than a month after city-hired consultants completed a feasibility analysis for a potential multiuse stadium.
The analysis assumed a 24-event calendar devoted primarily to the New Mexico United soccer team. It also included two high school sporting events and two potential concerts, though promoters have indicated concert opportunities for the new stadium may be limited.
The city has not completed projections for how much revenue the stadium would bring in.
School On Navajo Nation To Stay Remote After Radon Exposure - Associated Press
A return to in-person classes at a Navajo Nation school will be on hold indefinitely because of unknown radiation levels, likely caused by decades of uranium mining.
Cody M. Begaye, spokesman for the Navajo Nation Department of Diné Education, said the presence of radioactive hotspots inside Cove Day School in Red Valley near the Arizona-Utah border recently came to the department's attention. It's one of dozens of schools operated by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Education.
The Navajo Nation Council's Health, Education, and Human Services Committee met with other agencies, including the BIE on Monday to discuss why they were not discovered earlier.
While it's not clear how high the levels are, they were enough to concern tribe officials.
Cove Day School serves students in kindergarten through third grade. The school's 44 students and 13 staff were already working remotely when classes resumed earlier this month. Staff have been using another school nearby, the Red Rock Day School, for essential work like preparing meals to deliver to students.
Uranium contamination is an ongoing issue for the region. A 2019 sample study led by Division of Facilities Management and Construction found five outdoor areas at Cove Day School, including a playground, with contaminated soil.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been leading cleanup efforts. So far, the spot around the playground has been removed but four other sites are awaiting removal.
A spokesman for the U.S. EPA did not immediately return a message seeking comment Tuesday.
Council Delegate Daniel Tso, Health, Education, and Human Services Committee chairman, said he is worried about the danger of long-term exposure for current and former students.
The Navajo Nation, the largest Native American reservation with portions in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, has more than 500 abandoned uranium mines.
Begaye says further radiation tests will be conducted, and a follow-up meeting will be scheduled when the results are known.
Contaminated Water Spilled At Los Alamos National Laboratory - Santa Fe New Mexican, Associated Press
Two hundred gallons of contaminated water spilled at the Los Alamos National Laboratory nearly a month ago after a worker failed to close a cooling valve.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that the July 19 incident at the lab's plutonium facility caused some of the liquid to flow into an air vent and an inactive glove box used for handling radioactive materials.
The lab said workers discovered mildly radioactive water on the facility's first floor near a pump room and a small amount of water in the basement and that there was no risk to employees or the public.
The spill has spurred an internal probe, according to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, a government watchdog.
The safety board's most recent weekly report said the spill resulted from a worker not closing a valve after refilling a water tank, coupled with another spring-closed valve not clamping shut.
The board expressed concern about the water draining into a vent and then through a glove box, a sealed compartment with attached gloves that workers use to handle radioactive items.
The report suggests an inflow of such water into an active glove box containing radioactive components, debris or residue could be hazardous.
The July spill is much smaller than the 1,800 gallons released in March when a worker also left open a valve. In that incident, an internal alarm failed to alert personnel working in the operations center.
Albuquerque Crash Victim's Body Parts Found At Site - KRQE-TV, Associated Press
The family of an Albuquerque man killed in a car crash made a gruesome discovery when they went back to the scene to grieve.
Relatives told KRQE-TV on Monday they found body parts that belong to 18-year-old Hector Sanchez, including his right hand and nose.
New Mexico State Police say Sanchez was killed Aug. 8 after a crash on I-40 east of Laguna involving a semi.
Sanchez's mother and other family went to the area this week to erect a memorial when they noticed the hand as well as some of his belongings.
Joanna Cheno, Sanchez's aunt, says the family is upset with State Police for improperly taking care of the scene and for taking four days to notify them of his death. Sanchez had been driving to Arizona at the time. His family reported him missing the next day.
State Police officials say it took a few days to notify them because of the condition of Sanchez's body and the SUV he was driving wasn't registered to him.
They have since sent the found hand to the medical investigator's office to positively identify it as Sanchez's.
New Mexico Governor Sends State Police To Albuquerque - By Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press
Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham acknowledged Monday that New Mexicans are "beyond sick and tired of crime" and dispatched nearly three dozen state police officers to Albuquerque as the city wrestles with a record-breaking spree of homicides.
The governor's move comes after another rash of deadly shootings in recent days, including one that left a 13-year-old middle school student dead after he was shot by a classmate during the lunch hour Friday.
Albuquerque has surpassed its annual homicide record already in 2021, having logged more than 80 killings with four months still go in the year. The previous record was set in 2019.
At a news conference in Santa Fe, Lujan Grisham said that state police will coordinate with local police and prosecutors in Albuquerque. The deployment will concentrate on auto theft and drug trafficking as well as aggressive driving and drunken driving along the two major interstate highways that bisect the city. The effort is scheduled to last at least three weeks.
"This is about getting everybody to leverage every single resource we have so that New Mexicans are as safe as they can be," Lujan Grisham said.
Lujan Grisham also called for new legislative proposals to better ensure public safety and improve accountability for crimes involving guns, when the Legislature convenes in January 2022 for a rapid 30-day legislative session.
"We have to keep doing everything we can so that every New Mexican gets their constitutional right to be safe in their schools and community," Lujan Grisham said.
The issue of crime has been the focus of the upcoming mayoral election in November, as incumbent Democrat Tim Keller tries to defend his record despite the crush of homicide cases.
Many Albuquerque residents have blamed what they call a "revolving door" and lax consequences for repeat offenders. At the same time, city authorities are working to resolve longstanding concerns about police brutality though a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice.
In 2020, then-President Donald Trump sent additional federal officers to Albuquerque as part of an effort to address high crime in certain cities around the U.S. At the time, Keller and top Democrats in the state bristled at Trump's move.
Candidates seeking to unseat Keller in the November election include Bernalillo County Sheriff Manny Gonzales, who last year embraced Trump's approach to shoring up law enforcement in Albuquerque during a visit to the White House.
Lujan Grisham said while the state has prioritized rehabilitation and reform within the criminal justice system and community policing efforts, repeat and violent offenders "have no business on our streets, terrorizing workers and families simply trying to live their lives in peace."
"As a longtime Albuquerque resident myself, I know the feeling of frustration and helplessness," the governor said. "My expectation is these additional officers taking part in a strategic initiative to root out and round up crime and those who habitually and flagrantly perpetrate it will contribute to deterrence and prevention."
Police continue to investigate Friday's shooting at Washington Middle School, including how the 13-year-old suspect was able access his father's handgun. According to a probable-cause statement, the father right before the shooting had discovered that his gun was missing and went to the school, where he arrived to see his son in handcuffs.
Court records and police reports show that in 2018, the father had shot and injured another parent during a fight in the student pick-up lane at another Albuquerque school. He was never arrested and prosecutors declined to file charges at the time, saying both parents had valid claims.
The governor wondered aloud at her news conference whether local law enforcement agencies are adequately enforcing recent state gun safety reforms that expand background checks for gun sales, limit gun access for individuals linked to domestic violence and give them the ability to remove firearms from people who pose a danger to themselves or others.
US Energy Official To Visit New Mexico Amid Renewable Push – Associated Press
The head of the U.S. Energy Department is scheduled to visit New Mexico as the Biden administration looks to promote its renewable energy initiatives.
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm will be accompanied by Democratic U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich for the two-day visit. They are expected to meet with local leaders and organizations about the state’s push for more renewable energy and efforts to lower costs as utilities face a mandate over the next two decades for providing emissions-free electricity to customers across the state.
A roundtable discussion Wednesday in Albuquerque will focus on how transmission projects could unlock New Mexico’s potential to develop more wind and solar power.
They will then travel to the Farmington area Thursday, where another discussion is planned on creating opportunities for the local workforce, which includes tribal members from the neighboring Navajo Nation. The region is preparing for the closure in the coming years of two major coal-fired power plants and the mines that feed them.
Granholm also will tour businesses that are working on new energy technologies, from mobile hydrogen generators to cooling systems for nuclear reactors.
Granholm has made similar visits to other states. In July, she stopped in West Virginia to promote the role that the once-booming coal-producing state could play in the administration’s plans to move away from fossil fuel generation.
Heinrich, a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, first invited Granholm to New Mexico in March. He has been pushing legislation that would help offset the reduction of fossil fuel revenues and jobs that will come with the energy transition, saying he wants to “ensure that oil and gas workers and their communities aren't left behind.”
West Nile Virus Detected In Bernalillo County Mosquitoes – Associated Press
Health officials in New Mexico's most populated area are warning residents to take precautions against mosquito bites.
They announced Monday that mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus have been collected at locations throughout Albuquerque and Bernalillo County as part of a regular monitoring program.
"Mosquitoes infected with West Nile virus will be around until there is a good hard frost in the area, so we urge people to continue to take precautions against mosquito bites throughout the rest of the season," said Dr. Mark DiMenna, deputy director of Albuquerque's Environmental Health Department.
According to the New Mexico Department of Health, there have been no human West Nile virus cases in the state so far this year. In 2020, there were eight cases with one death. That was down significantly from the 40 cases and four deaths reported in 2019.
Symptoms of an infection can include fever, nausea, headache and muscle aches. In rare cases, the virus can cause meningitis or encephalitis.
Albuquerque police shoot, kill armed car thief suspect – Associated Press
Albuquerque police say a suspect driving in a stolen car was shot and killed after he pulled a gun on officers.
The fatal shooting occurred Sunday shortly after 5 p.m. when officers were following a stolen car.
Police arrived at a Walmart and watched a man and woman get out of the car. Authorities say the officers approached the couple and the man fled.
Investigators say the man then turned and held up a gun. Officers then shot him.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The woman was not injured and taken into custody.
The names of the slain suspect and the woman have not been released. The officers, who were not identified, will be on standard paid administrative leave.
Police have not said whether officers' body cameras recorded the shooting. A gun was recovered from the scene.