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Bernalillo County Clerk requests $1.2 million for runoff election
Early voting in the runoff election for Albuquerque City Council District 6 begins Tuesday, Nov. 21. The city requires runoffs when no candidate secures more than half of votes cast in the race. Bernalillo County has requested over a million dollars to ramp polling places back up. Deputy County Clerk Michelle Kavanaugh said it’s hard […]
Affordable housing is a key issue in the Los Ranchos mayoral race
Los Ranchos de Albuquerque is a small village with agricultural roots near the city’s north valley. The semi-rural community is also an expensive place to live. The median home listing was $1.2 million in September, according to Realtor.com. The affordability of housing amid an aging demographic has become a key debate in the four-way contest for […]
NM Republican Party appeals redistricting ruling
The Republican Party of New Mexico has appealed a district court ruling on the state’s congressional map, which upheld it as constitutional. Judge Fred Van Soelen last week found Democratic lawmakers “substantially” diluted GOP votes when they split the conservative Southeast corner of the state into multiple districts and moved more Democrats into Congressional District […]
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham extends and adds to controversial public health order on guns
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham Friday renewed her controversial executive order to combat gun violence. The original order banned carrying guns in public in and around Albuquerque. Gun advocates filed a slew of lawsuits and a federal judge temporarily blocked the order’s implementation within days. The Governor then narrowed the order to apply only to public […]
Trial over whether Dems gerrymandered NM’s congressional map to begin
A trial over the version of New Mexico’s congressional map redrawn in 2021 is set to begin Wednesday in state district court. The Republican Party and other plaintiffs argue Democratic lawmakers diluted GOP votes when they split the conservative southeastern corner of the state into three districts. Democrats argue redistricting is an inherently political process, but […]
NM lawmakers want nicotine prevention funds restored after shortfall halted efforts statewide
Earlier this summer, the state’s nicotine prevention and cessation efforts were halted when money the state gets from a settlement with tobacco companies fell millions short of what the Department of Health had projected. Lawmakers overseeing the funds questioned the department about the issue and got a fiscal update Wednesday and said they plan to […]
Santa Fe center to boost opioid treatment options in McKinley County
Access to medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid addiction is limited in New Mexico, but particularly in rural communities. The Santa Fe Recovery Center is hoping to change that in northwest New Mexico’s McKinley County with the help of a sizable federal grant. The center is poised to receive $1 million dollars annually for the next three […]
Non-partisan groups offer mixed evidence to judge deciding fairness of NM congressional map
New Mexico is the latest state to look to the courts to make a call on whether legislative maps were drawn fairly. A deadline is approaching for a district court here to decide whether the state’s new congressional map egregiously favors Democrats, as the state Republican Party argues. A group of non-partisan advocates and redistricting experts have submitted proposed […]
One year on, a lack of answers haunts the brother of one of four Muslim men killed in ABQ
A year ago, the killings of three Muslim men, in addition to a fourth several months earlier, shook the Albuquerque community. Muhammad Syed, who attended the same mosque as the victims, at the Islamic Center of New Mexico, was arrested and charged with three of the murders and is a suspect in the fourth. Muhammad […]
As NM funding for nicotine prevention falters, those most at risk lose out
In May, the New Mexico Department of Health’s Nicotine Use Prevention and Control Program gave some bad news to providers who work with Black, Indigenous, Hispanic and LGBTQ communities: immediately stop the prevention work. Two months before their contracts were up, NUPAC said they were out of money and couldn’t keep paying them. The state’s […]
Advocates say court’s redistricting decision is a victory for all voters, not just NM GOP
The New Mexico Supreme Court last week sided with the state Republican Party in allowing its lawsuit alleging Democrats politically gerrymandered the new congressional map to be heard in district court. While it may look like a victory for the GOP, nonpartisan advocates for fair redistricting said it’s actually a win for all New Mexicans. […]
Relief payment applications open for NM residents who won’t get a tax rebate this month
New Mexico residents with low incomes can apply for state economic relief beginning Monday. The payments are for those who don’t qualify for the tax rebates that start going out next week. Though officials recommend retroactively filing a tax return, and getting access to a rebate instead, if possible. The rebates will automatically go out […]