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N.M. looks to delay upcoming SNAP changes
National nonprofits estimate as least 750,000 people nationwide could be at risk to lose benefits and potentially go hungry as the federal changes to work requirements to receive food aid go into effect in coming months. For now, New Mexico will not see the same sort of cliff, officials from the Human Services Department said. […]
Fires are here to stay, but a small nonprofit can’t clean the air alone
SANTA FE – In the days after lightning struck in the Santa Fe National Forest in late August 2020, smoke from the Medio Fire darkened the region’s skies and obscured the Sangre De Cristos. As the smoke increased, so did the calls to a small forestry nonprofit from people asking for help cleaning the air […]
New Mexico food banks weigh in on Farm Bill during roundtable
New Mexico food banks and hunger relief nonprofits urged Sen. Ben Ray Luján to prevent congressional cuts to federal food programs and increase support. Seated before a window overlooking the warehouse floor of the Roadrunner Food Bank on Thursday, Luján sat down with food bank officials, to hear suggestions on the upcoming federal Farm Bill. […]
Water conservation model built on the Rio Grande may be a template for rest of US
A program built on the Rio Grande to preserve groundwater could become a national model. Last month, Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) alongside Sen. Michael Bennett (D-Colo.) and Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) introduced a federal program to mirror local efforts in the San Luis Valley in southern Colorado to reduce the strain on aquifers and the […]
Lawmakers request feds and state officials find third party in chromium plume fight
LOS ALAMOS — New Mexico environment officials and the federal officials charged with overseeing the treatment of contaminated groundwater below Los Alamos told lawmakers Monday that cleanup has stopped and remains at an impasse. “At this date, we do not have a path forward,” said Michael Mikolanis, who heads the Office of Environmental Management in […]
Nuclear waste storage permit slated for September public meeting
RICHLAND, WA - JUNE 30: Jim Geary, facility manager at the Waste Receiving and Processing facility (WARP), looks over a shipment in June 2005 of three TRUPACT transport containers on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation June 30, 2005 near Richland, Washington. Each container holds 14 55-gallon drums of transuranic waste that has been processed and will be sent to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico. A new permit for WIPP will be the subject of a public meeting on Sept. 22, 2023. (Photo by Jeff T. Green / Getty Images)
NM Reps to put $34 million in earmarks around their districts next year
New Mexico’s representatives are poised to give more than $34 million directly to projects in and around their districts as part of next year’s budgets for federal agencies. But the funds will not be disbursed until Congress passes the budget, which faces hurdles as members of the far-right Freedom Caucus have threatened a government shutdown. […]
A look at Rep. Gabe Vasquez’s $10M in earmarks for 2024
Rep. Gabe Vasquez represents Congressional District 2. The district is expansive, stretching across the state’s western flank from Grants, including a slice of the South Valley, encompasses the Gila National Forest region, and reaches across Southern New Mexico from the bootheel to Hobbs. Vasquez’ original requests for Community Project Funding totaled a little more than […]
Here’s where Rep. Melanie Stansbury’s earmarks will go in 2024
Rep. Melanie Stansbury represents Congressional District 1, which incorporates much of Albuquerque east through the Estancia Valley to Santa Rosa, then spreads to southeastern chunks of the state, encompassing Ruidoso to Fort Sumner. Last year, Stansbury earmarked $18 million for 15 projects in the district. Some of those projects included $6.8 for the Albuquerque Sobering […]
Here’s where Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández plans to spend $11M in earmarks
Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández represents Congressional District 3, which spans the northern third of the state and alongside its eastern edge, stopping at Hobbs, Artesia and Roswell. Last year, Leger Fernández received $23.5 million in earmarks for fiscal year 2023. Some of the largest projects included $4 million for improvements to Spider Rock Road in […]
Spaceport paid out $130K in settlement with former employee
The New Mexico Spaceport Authority paid $130,000 to settle the lawsuit with former employee Karen Barker last month, according to court documents released Tuesday. In the agreement, Barker agreed to drop the 2020 lawsuit alleging discrimination and retaliation when she worked for the agency between 2017 and 2019. Barker sued both the agency and the […]
New fires spark in New Mexico as longer fire season stretches on
High record-breaking temperatures coupled with a diminished monsoon season means that New Mexico’s fire season will extend further into August, forecasters expect. This comes as the Black Feather Fire sparked in the Santa Fe National Forest Saturday afternoon, started by a lightning strike, and grew to 2,000 acres over the weekend. Two remote, small communities […]