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New Mexico governor signs over 200 bills into law
The end of 2023’s legislative session led to over 240 bills getting through the Roundhouse. By the end of Friday, the last day for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to sign legislation, more than 200 measures from the 60-day Legislative session became law. All the pieces of legislation that passed the Roundhouse and arrived at Lujan […]
Financial relief on its way for disaster-ridden counties and communities after gov signs spending bill
The budget signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Friday includes relief dollars to help repair destruction for those in southern New Mexico recovering from massive 2022 wildfires. While Lujan Grisham changed up things in the budget and capital outlay bills, she didn’t touch any of the disaster relief measures that will now be set […]
NM governor signs state budget and money for projects into law
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Friday signed into law bills dealing with the state government’s $9.57 billion budget, and more than $1 billion in public funding for construction and other projects throughout the state that were requested by lawmakers during the 2023 session. Lujan Grisham didn’t make many changes to House Bill 505, the Capital […]
Northern NM officials may wait months for federal approval before getting state disaster loans
To cover how long it takes federal disaster funds to come through, the state decided a month and a half ago to send $100 million in emergency loans to political agencies and public acequias struggling to recover from New Mexico’s largest fire ever and other natural disasters that followed. While officials are still waiting for […]
State disaster aid for southern acequias is taking so long that some might not need it anymore
It’s been nearly eight months since flooding disasters wrecked acequias in southern New Mexico. Since then, irrigation stewards straining to get disaster aid from the state have come to rely on donations and local county funding to get work done ahead of spring. Acequias are able to irrigate now with all the help that didn’t […]
Feds announce $40 million more to help rural communities connect to high speed internet
From keeping a chile farm up and running to making sure kids can learn virtually, New Mexicans living in rural areas say they need good internet to do it. On Monday, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack visited Albuquerque to announce $40 million the federal agency is sending to rural New Mexico communities to […]
Big burn plan proposed in Santa Fe National Forest with concerns from some locals
The U.S. Forest Service wants to burn tens of thousands of acres over the next decade in the Santa Fe National Forest to decrease the severity of future wildfires. Prescribed burns have escaped there in the past, and the forest sits close to where some of New Mexico’s most massive wildfires occurred. One of those, […]
State lifts COVID mandates at public schools
With the end of the public health emergency on Friday, state rules for New Mexico public schools are easing up on safety standards for COVID-19 and treating it like other infectious diseases. Mandates that previously required isolation periods or mask-wearing for people who test positive for COVID are no longer requirements and instead are recommendations. […]
Lujan Grisham signs voting rights bill
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Thursday morning signed House Bill 4 into law, which she said should serve as a model for other states and the federal government. “This country’s not made voting for Native Americans, women and any number of individuals and groups readily accessible and protected, and it’s really an outrage,” Lujan Grisham […]
As communities struggle to recover from 2022 fire season, Gov says to prepare for this year
Warmer days and windy breezes are greeting people outside again, and spring is rolling through New Mexico. It’s also a notification that fire season could kick up anytime soon. During New Mexico’s Wildfire Awareness Week, state leaders gathered at the Rio Grande Nature Center State Park in Albuquerque on Wednesday to discuss how to prevent […]
Northern NM watershed group receives multi-million dollar federal grant for wildfire prevention
Trying to protect a northern New Mexico watershed from disasters, a small nonprofit in Colfax County recently got a nearly $10 million grant from the federal government for thinning projects that’ll help reduce the risk of wildfires. The Inflation Reduction Act provided the dollars necessary to make the Community Wildfire Defense Grant Program possible. With […]
FEMA sent Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire victims to wrong number (then fixed it)
The Federal Emergency Management Agency launched a hotline Monday morning to help northern New Mexico disaster victims learn more about an office tasked with paying them nearly $4 billion in compensation. Calls to the newly created Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Claims Office helpline that morning didn’t go through, however, because the federal agency put out the […]