New Mexico State Police To Crack Down As Virus Cases Go Up – Associated Press
New Mexico State Police say they will be cracking down on businesses that aren't abiding by the governor's public health orders as new confirmed cases pushed the state's total higher on Wednesday.
State health officials say the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases now tops 865, with nearly five dozen patients hospitalized. The cases include two residents and seven employees at a Farmington nursing home.
Numerous cases also have been reported at an Albuquerque long-term care facility.
On the labor front, the state is offering a one-time stimulus payment for up to 2,000 eligible self-employed New Mexicans affected by the pandemic.
A total of 16 people have died in New Mexico, state health officials said Wednesday.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham earlier this week extended an emergency health order that aims to limit social contact to keep from spreading the virus.
The order also includes restrictions for businesses, and state police are planning to crack down on those businesses that aren't abiding by the rules.
A written warning along with a cease and desist order will come first. On a second violation, the business will receive a citation. Subsequent violations could lead to a civil penalty of up to $5,000.
Census Finds New Mexico Response Rate Near Bottom Among States – Associated Press
Federal officials say New Mexico ranks near the bottom when it comes to the number of people who have responded to the 2020 Census.
The latest update shows just over one-third of New Mexican households have replied either online or by phone -- far short of the 46% national response rate. Bernalillo County is slightly ahead of the national rate but other areas are lagging.
About 5% of households in Rio Arriba County have responded. The 2020 census will guide the distribution of some $1.5 trillion in federal spending and help determine how many congressional seats each state gets.
Starting Wednesday, the U.S. Census Bureau is mailing paper forms to 64 million homes whose residents haven't yet answered the once-a-decade questionnaire.
Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the bureau is adjusting its timeline to give people more time to respond as public health orders and other restrictions are keeping advocacy and civic groups from conducting face-to-face outreach. Officials say that's considered the most effective way of encouraging participation.
GOP Wants Mail-In Ballots By Request Only In New Mexico - By Morgan Lee, Associated Press
Legal battle lines were being drawn Wednesday in a standoff over emergency voting procedures in New Mexico as a state Supreme Court dominated by Democrats weighs alternatives to in-person voting in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
With written arguments due Wednesday, Republicans say mail-in absentee ballots should be distributed only to eligible voters who make a request ahead of the June 2 primary.
The idea is to safeguard voters and elderly poll workers from the risk of infection at polling and early voting sites.
But some voting rights experts say New Mexico runs the risk of disenfranchising residents of extremely remote rural areas without internet access or traditional street addresses.
Convening the Legislature for a deliberative approach also poses health risks and technological challenges.
Across the country, major parties are girding for a state-by-state legal fight over how citizens can safely cast their ballots should the coronavirus outbreak persist through November.
Cattle Conflicts Prompt Killing Of Endangered Mexican Wolves - By Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press
U.S. wildlife managers have drawn the ire of environmentalists for killing four endangered Mexican gray wolves in an effort to get the predators to stop killing cattle in New Mexico.
The latest deaths highlight a conflict that has persisted since reintroduction of the wolves began in the southwestern U.S. two decades ago.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the action was taken in March after hazing, diversionary food caches and other non-lethal means failed.
Ranchers have seen a record number of cattle kills over the past year, but environmentalists say lethal management of the wolves is undermining the species' recovery.
New Mexico Moves To Quicken Delivery Of Unemployment Benefits – Associated Press
State labor officials took new steps to speed the distribution of unemployment benefits to tens of thousands of New Mexico residents who have been left without work by the statewide public health emergency that closed many nonessential businesses.
Unemployment call centers temporarily extended hours from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for the rest of the week, though residents were still encouraged to file unemployment claims online.
Workforce Solutions Secretary Bill McCamley announced an automatic adjudication process for unemployment claims that can speed up the delivery of benefits.
Under federal guidance, the state also waived a waiting period for the initial delivery of unemployment benefits that can result in an extra check for existing beneficiaries.
COVID Cases Rise To 794 And Governor Extends Emergency Order To May – Albuquerque Journal, KUNM, Associated Press
The number of positive tests for COVID-19 rose by 109 on Tuesday to a total of 794 and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham extended a public health emergency order through May 1.
The Department of Health has identified clusters of cases at San Felipe Pueblo and Zia Pueblo in Sandoval County. Cases climbed to at least 52 in San Felipe Pueblo, a community of 2,200 people. At Zia Pueblo, there were at least 31 cases.
There were also additional positive tests at the La Vida Llena long-term care facility in Albuquerque where 24 residents and 23 staff have tested positive.
DOH said there was an additional death as well of a man in his 30s in Bernalillo County. That brings the total number in the state to 13.
The Albuquerque Journal reportedLujan Grisham also mandated additional closures for businesses that until now had been allowed to remain open, including payday lenders, automobile dealers and liquor stores.
The order also puts new restrictions on businesses deemed essential such as grocery stores. They must limit the number of customers allowed inside to no more than 20% of maximum occupancy.
Also, hotels and motels must operate at no more than 25% capacity. That’s down from a 50% threshold set previously.
$100M Fund Aims To Help New Mexico Businesses Amid Pandemic – Associated Press
The State Investment Council has approved the creation of a $100 million loan fund to help New Mexico businesses affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
The council approved the fund during a special meeting Tuesday. It will provide low-cost recovery loans to businesses that have at least 40 employees. Officials say the goal is to fill gaps left by existing loan programs.
Many businesses have been forced to close and the state has issued a series of public health orders to keep people at home.
The state has reported nearly 700 COVID-19 cases and at least a dozen deaths.
New Mexico Extends State-At-Home Order As Easter Approaches – Associated Press
State officials on Tuesday reiterated their pleas for people to stay home, especially as the Easter weekend approaches.
Annual pilgrimages to El Santuario de Chimayó in northern New Mexico and Tome Hill south of Albuquerque have been cancelled due to the imposed health order prohibiting gatherings of five or more people.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has issued a series of public health orders aimed at getting people to stay home to curb the spread.
On Monday, she extended closures of non-essential businesses until April 30 and further limited the number of people who could be inside supermarkets, hardware stores and other businesses to 20% of the maximum capacity.
The amended public health order also says lodging facilities, including RV parks, cannot operate at more than 25% maximum capacity, down from 50%.
Public schools have been shuttered and numerous businesses deemed non-essential have closed as municipal officials from Albuquerque to Las Cruces warn residents to keep their distance from one another.
State officials said any complaints regarding noncompliance with the governor’s orders will be managed on a case-by-case basis.
Pandemic Scuttles Market For Folk Artists From 50 Nations - By Morgan Lee Associated Press
The International Folk Art Market in New Mexico that helps sustain highly skilled artisans and affiliated cooperatives from India to Cuba by connecting them with U.S. collectors is canceling its annual open-air market.
Market CEO Stuart Ashman announced Tuesday the suspension of this year's June market in Santa Fe that typically brings together about 160 artists from about 50 countries for a three-day brokered sale of textiles, paintings and other items.
The coronavirus has derailed all three major summer arts markets in Santa Fe that are engines of the local economy and support a vast cottage industry in the American Southwest and internationally.
Ashman said Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber is bringing together organizers of the city's three summer art markets this week for a meeting that could generate a coordinated online presence to help sustain artists and artisans.
Highlands University Students To Help Museums Go Virtual - Associated Press
New Mexico Highlands University students are working with state officials to bring online visitors to museums later this spring.
The university announced this week students in the school's Media Arts and Technology Department is offering a free month of emergency cultural services to help create virtual tours, podcasts, websites and online collections.
Cultural Technology Internship program director Lauren Addario says the New Mexico Museum of Art, the Museum of International Folk Art, and the National Hispanic Cultural Center are among the cultural institutions that have shown interest in working with Highlands media arts and technology students.
Border Wall Workers In New Mexico Spark Coronavirus Anxiety - By Susan Montoya Bryan Associated Press
Immigrant advocates, some residents of a southern New Mexico village and others are raising concerns about an influx of workers as part of the effort to build the border wall.
They've asked the state's top elected officials to step in after the federal contractor working on the project began erecting portable housing in a community west of El Paso, Texas.
The request reflects growing worries on both the northern and southern U.S. borders over construction workers bringing the virus to areas with sparse health care services.
Opponents of the work effort argued in a letter that public health orders issued by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham are aimed at limiting groups of people and contact to keep the coronavirus pandemic from worsening.
Ray Trejo, coordinator with the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, was in Columbus on Monday and saw the rows of portable housing. His group is among those that signed the letter with the ACLU of New Mexico, the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty and others.
Ranchers Get Legal Win In Fight Over Pecos River Rights - Carlsbad Current-Argus, Associated Press
Ranchers in a southeastern New Mexico community are claiming victory in a legal battle with a pot-ash company over water rights connected to the Pecos River.
The Carlsbad Current-Argus reports a state district judge ruled last week to call on the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer to show cause for issuing the company seven "preliminary authorizations" to shift its water rights.
Ken Dugan, attorney for the Carlsbad Irrigation District, said this meant the Office of the State Engineer must stop the Denver-based Intrepid Potash from pumping water from the Pecos River.
Intrepid Senior Vice President Robert Baldridge declined to comment.
Potash is an ore extracted and used in a variety of household products, including makeup.
New Mexico Agency: Hemorrhagic Disease Killing Rabbits - Associated Press
New Mexico wildlife managers say recent deaths in both wild jackrabbit and cottontail populations were the result of a hemorrhagic disease known as RHDV-2.
The state Game and Fish Department and the New Mexico Livestock Board reported Tuesday that the disease is highly contagious among rabbits, including domestic rabbits, but it's not known to be transmittable to humans or other pets.
The game department collected carcasses for testing after reports of dead wild rabbits in early March. Officials say deaths in wild populations have been reported in southern and eastern New Mexico.
Officials said dead rabbit or rodent carcasses should not be handled as they can harbor pathogens.
As for hunters, they should wear gloves when handling harvested rabbits and wash their hands well afterward. Meat from healthy rabbits harvested by hunters is safe to consume when cooked thoroughly, officials said.