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The New Mexico Legislature made changes this year to the state’s Energy Transition Act in an effort to speed up funding and job training opportunities for former employees of the San Juan Generating Station and coal mine in Farmington.Some of the $20 million available has begun rolling out this month and officials say they’re making plans to get the rest out as quickly as possible.
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New Mexico’s Interstate Stream Commission has a new leader, just as the U.S. Supreme Court case between New Mexico and Texas over water from the Rio Grande might be coming to a close. Hannah Riesley-White took over the top job this month at the department tasked with keeping the state on track with interstate water compacts and federal regulation.
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New Mexico gave adults over 60 years old and adults with disabilities extra Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits in June. That comes a few months after the federal government ended its pandemic expansion of the program.
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About half of renters in Albuquerque and Santa Fe are cost-burdened, meaning that they spend an outsized portion of their paychecks on rent. That’s according to a new study from Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, and those statistics are in line with much of the rest of the country.
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Like much of the country, New Mexico is dealing with a crunch on affordable housing. Rent in the state has increased 70%, just since 2017, according to the Legislative Finance Committee. Rick Jacobus is an expert on inclusionary housing who works with cities to plan for more equitable options. He spoke recently in Santa Fe and told KUNM’s Megan Myscofski that while many factors go into the lack of lower- and middle-income housing, the underlying problem is we have built a system that’s overly defensive.
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Some Northern New Mexico ranchers are feeling left out of the loop on federal legislation proposed by U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich that could cut down on grazing allotments on federal land in New Mexico. The Northern New Mexico Stockman’s Association is holding a meeting Saturday in Taos to discuss the bill and other pertinent issues to the agricultural community.
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The New Mexico Environment Department’s database for alleged violations logged about 200 entries related to clean water last month. About 40% of the notices went to one organization, and a small water association was referred to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over continued violations.
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A summit in Taos later this week will focus on barriers to recovery people with addictions face, and organizers say they hope to see elected officials and members of the media as well as the public there.
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A new University of New Mexico center for research on environmental toxins statewide is wrapping up its first year. The center’s director said one of its biggest tasks so far is just getting the word out about their work.