Court Forces New Mexico COVID-19 Patients To Self-Isolate – Associated Press, Albuquerque Journal
Two uncooperative coronavirus patients in New Mexico were ordered to self-isolate after state health officials obtained court orders in April.
Department of Health spokesman David Morgan declined to say who had been subjected to the orders or why they were imposed.
The DOH recently announced it would seek public health orders to force someone who tested positive for COVID-19 to remain isolated or quarantined if they refused to do so voluntarily.
Department officials say any offenders could be fined up to $5,000 and jailed for up to six months for each violation.
The number of COVID-19 cases jumped to 3,213 Wednesday with 239 new positive tests. The Albuquerque Journal reported it was the biggest daily increase in cases to date.
The state has identified positive cases in residents and/or staff at 17 congregate and acute care facilities. Two more deaths brought the total to 112.
Native Americans make up just over half the cases in the state, despite being only 11% of New Mexico’s population. The Albuquerque Journal reported the Navajo Nation now has 1,873 cases and 60 deaths.
The majority of the reservation cases are in McKinley County, New Mexico, which also has the highest number of cases in the state.
Resolution Proposed In Fake Indian Art Prosecution - By Morgan Lee, Associated Press
A federal court is considering a proposed plea agreement in an alleged counterfeiting scheme that passed off crafts made in the Philippines as the work of Native American artisans.
Two bulk vendors of Native American-style crafts and jewelry pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to fraudulently passing off counterfeit crafts as authentic American Indian-produced goods at a video conference court hearing.
Jawad Khalaf and Nashat Khalaf entered guilty pleas in an agreement subject to review by a U.S. District Court judge. The two defendants have previously denied accusations that they violated the Indian Arts and Crafts Act.
The 1990 law makes it a crime to falsely market and sell art as Native American-made when it is not. It was aimed at protecting the marketplace for authentic Indian crafts that provide a vital source of income for Native Americans across the U.S. while ensuring the preservation of ancient cultures.
Jawad Khalaf appeared by videoconference from Saudi Arabia, in a concession to travel restrictions related to the coronavirus, to accept the plea agreement under oath and acknowledge that he knowingly tried to sell a canteen in 2015 as a valuable work of indigenous craftsmanship.
The plea agreement includes a $300,000 donation to the U.S. Indian Arts and Craft Board, under the Interior Department, which provides support for authentic Indian art and crafts.
No direct restitution was offered to Native American artists because the bogus item were not marketed as the work of specific artists.
New Mexico Obtains Machine To Decontaminate PPE – Associated Press
The state has received a machine that can decontaminate scarce personal protective equipment for reuse by healthcare workers during the coronavirus outbreak. That’s according to the Department of Health.
DOH said hospital workers and others should begin saving unsoiled N95 masks for decontamination, which will start this weekend.
Battelle, a Columbus, Ohio-based research and development nonprofit, repurposed an older chemical decontamination technique to decontaminate N95 masks for reuse, the department said.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency contracted with Battelle for 60 of the machines and then accepted applications to determine what states get them based on need.
Governor Says County Officials Violated Public Health Orders – Associated Press
A spokeswoman for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said Dona Ana County officials violated the governor's health order prohibiting mass gatherings by allowing an in-person audience at a Board of Commissioners meeting Tuesday.
The Las Cruces Sun-News reported County Manager Fernando Macias said he didn't know whether county violated the order but that the county tried to structure the meeting as safely as possible.
Lujan Grisham spokeswoman Nora Meyers Sackett said audiences aren't permitted under the order and that county and municipal governments are expected to follow it.
An audience of several dozen attended the meeting during which the board approved a resolution calling on the state to reopen closed businesses.
New Mexico Regulators Defer Decision On Solar-Battery Plan - By Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press
New Mexico regulators are putting off a decision on a proposal by the state's largest electric provider to build two hybrid solar-battery storage facilities even though bids for the projects were set to expire soon.
The new units would help fill the void left when Public Service Co. of New Mexico closes its major coal-fired power plant in 2022.
A divided Public Regulation Commission voted 3-2 Wednesday to defer any action on the hybrid units, saying they want a full examination of the other resources the utility is seeking approval for as it looks to transition to more renewable energy over the next two decades.
Tribes Urge Treasury To Disburse Coronavirus Relief Funding - By Felicia Fonseca Associated Press, Albuquerque Journal
Tribal nations are urging the federal government to quickly disburse coronavirus relief funding after a judge handed them an early victory in a legal battle involving the money.
At least 18 tribes sued the federal government seeking to keep any portion of the $8 billion in funding allocated to tribes out of the hands of Alaska Native corporations.
A judge in Washington D.C. issued a ruling late Monday to temporarily halt any payments to the corporations while he settles the larger question of eligibility.
The decision clears the U.S. Treasury Department to begin distributing money to 574 federally recognized tribes. An attorney for the agency declined comment.
The Albuquerque Journal reported U.S. Reps. Deb Haaland and Ben Ray Luján joined six other House Democrats to urge the Treasury Department to release funding immediately to tribal governments.
Agency Wants $8K Reimbursement From Lawmaker, Ex-Leader – Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
An agency that promotes the Los Alamos National Laboratory is asking a state lawmaker to pay back $8,000 in reimbursements paid to her while she served as the organization's executive director.
The Albuquerque Journal reports the Regional Coalition of Los Alamos National Laboratory Communities wants Democratic state Rep. Andrea Romero to pay back the money she made before her election in 2018.
Romero previously reimbursed the agency $2,200, but that was before the state Auditor's Office released a report in August 2018 that identified 18 negative findings.
Romero said she would not comment until she had seen the letter asking for new reimbursements.
New Mexico Mayor Fires Official After Reopening City – Associated Press
Grants Mayor Martin “Modey” Hicks confirmed he fired City Manager Laura Merrick Jaramillo Tuesday but declined to give a reason. Hicks called the accusation that he fired Jaramillo over the reopening the Coyote Del Malpais golf course “a lie.”
Jaramillo’s friend and former Grants resident Jesse Daniel James said the firing came after she told Hicks that he was putting staff at risk by reopening the city-owned golf course.
Marcie Chavez, Jaramillo’s daughter, posted on Facebook that Hicks fired her for standing up for her staff.
Hours after reopening the golf course, two New Mexico State Police officers arrived and issued course director Kim Garduno a warning against violating the statewide health order that keeps nonessential businesses closed.
Hicks arrived shortly after with his city police entourage and vowed to use his police officers to order New Mexico State Police out of town.
Health officials on Tuesday reported more than 2,900 cases of the virus in the state. More than 157 people are hospitalized and 110 have died.
New Mexico Finance Secretary Resigns As Budget Crisis Builds – Associated Press
New Mexico’s top finance official is leaving the administration of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham as the state anticipates a budget crisis linked to the coronavirus pandemic, a spokeswoman for the governor said Tuesday.
Finance and Administration Secretary Olivia Padilla-Jackson told agency staff in the email that she will leave her position at the end of May for a job closer to family in Albuquerque.
Lujan Grisham spokeswomen Nora Sackett Meyers said Debbie Romero, the current state budget director, will succeed Padilla-Jackson as acting secretary in June.
Efforts to fight the coronavirus are creating a major deficit in the state budget. Lujan Grisham expects to call a special session of the Legislature in June to address the problem before the start of a new fiscal year on July 1.
Appointed last year as Lujan Grisham took office, Padilla-Jackson oversaw state finances as record-breaking oil production boosted state income to unprecedented levels, allowing new multibillion-dollar investments in public education, health care and infrastructure.
Under her tenure, the state sped up and improved its core financial reporting procedures and set aside at least $1.3 billion in financial reserves.
New Mexico Diocese Sues Over Limits On Virus Relief Funds – Associated Press
The Archdiocese of Santa Fe claims the low-interest loan applications that entities must complete state those businesses involved in bankruptcy proceedings will not be approved.
The archdiocese filed for bankruptcy in 2018 in the wake of clergy sex abuse lawsuits that began decades earlier.
The archdiocese said it’s struggling to make payroll since parishes haven’t been able to gather collections during Mass since Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued a public health order prohibiting gatherings.
Church officials said most of their revenue comes from collections, especially during Holy Week and Easter Sunday.
Without access to the low-interest loans and federal aid, the archdiocese says it may be forced to furlough essential employees.
Like lawsuits filed elsewhere around the country, the archdiocese claims the Small Business Administration overstepped its authority in barring companies in Chapter 11 from participating in the loan program.
Albuquerque Mayor Wants Businesses Reopened With Precautions – Associated Press
In a town hall-style meeting by phone, Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said he hopes to see the restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus lifted in stages to allow nonessential businesses to start reopening within weeks if infections keep leveling off.
State health officials on Tuesday reported the number of cases in New Mexico was approaching 3,000 while 110 people have died from the virus. Rural McKinley County leads with the most cases followed by Bernalillo County, the state's most populous area.
Keller's presentation offered clues about a possible statewide approach to ending closures. He said state orders should trump any city decisions.
Shopping malls and businesses like barber shops and tattoo parlors where people are close together may pose special challenges, said Keller, adding that authorities are watching Colorado and Georgia for practical lessons as they restore nonessential areas of the economy.
Lujan Grisham has indicated that she'll extend New Mexico's public health order through at least May 15, with some revisions.
New Mexico Chile Farms May Face Worker Shortage Amid Virus – Associated Press
A chile farmer in southern New Mexico says his workers aren’t tending the fields because they’re worried about contracting COVID-19.
KVIA-TVin El Paso, Texas, reports Sergio Grajeda says fears over the novel coronavirus are keeping workers away from his chile farm in New Mexico’s Hatch Valley.
Grajeda has more than 100 acres of pecans and chile. He told the station he employs dozens of workers typically during the harvest.
He had to tend to his own fields on Monday.
New Mexico Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Kristie Garcia says the state has not yet received this specific complaint but has guidance online for farmers and workers to stay safe.