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Albuquerque City Council votes to ban Section 8 discrimination
Albuquerque landlords will no longer be able to turn someone away solely because that person is using a Section 8 voucher or other public subsidy, after a 5-4 City Council vote Monday evening. The measure, banning what advocates call “source-of-income discrimination,” seeks to help tenants with low incomes find safe and stable housing wherever they […]
Election observers to fan out across NM. Here’s who to call if you have a problem.
A group of election observers will be stationed at polling places in eight New Mexico counties tomorrow to help voters cast their ballots successfully. The 2022 primary election takes place tomorrow, featuring federal, state and local races. The 40 nonpartisan volunteers are from the state’s American Civil Liberties Union chapter, the Native American Voters Alliance […]
Forest Service barely, sorta met burn requirements before Hermits Peak fire, plan shows
The Santa Fe National Forest burn boss who greenlit a prescribed burn that spun out of control in early April did so within the conditions set in a plan created four years prior – but only barely, and only sort of, according to a copy of the plan reviewed by Source New Mexico. The burn […]
As Albuquerque nears banning Section 8 discrimination, landlords raise concerns about inspections
As the city of Albuquerque mulls requiring landlords to accept tenants with Section 8 housing vouchers, property owners are raising concerns about housing agencies’ capacity to conduct inspections in a timely manner. A clean inspection is required by the Housing and Urban Development before anyone using Section 8 can move in. People with Section 8 […]
Beauty and terror: See photos of the Albuquerque Bosque fire
Photographer Bright Quashie was heading back to Albuquerque from Rio Rancho when he heard news of a fire erupting in the Bosque along either side of the Rio Grande. Around 6 p.m., he drove around the perimeter of the fire, trying to capture photos from closeup. “I just tried to capture the beauty of Albuquerque, […]
New Mexicans affected by wildfire get tax return extension
Residents of the five counties in New Mexico most affected by this year’s wildfires can wait until late August to file their personal or corporate income tax returns, the state’s Taxation and Revenue Department announced Thursday. Residents of Colfax, Lincoln, Mora, San Miguel and Valencia counties are covered under the extensions. They are eligible if […]
What’s next for prescribed burns?
A few embers, carried on high winds, sailed past the containment lines for a prescribed burn north of Las Vegas on the afternoon of April 6. They landed and ignited a swath of dense and bone-dry forest. Six weeks later, more than 310,000 acres had burned — an area about one-quarter the size of the […]
MLG asks feds to consider ‘extreme’ scenarios ahead of every prescribed burn
As the United States Forest Service conducts a review of its prescribed burn protocol over the next several months, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office is calling for several big changes to the way federal agencies determine whether a burn is a good idea. The changes the governor seeks are generally aimed at ensuring federal agencies […]
New Mexico begins issuing rebate checks — here’s how to get the money even if you don’t file taxes
A state agency has released more information about how people who don’t file an income tax return can still receive up to $1,000 in economic relief payments. The Legislature agreed earlier this year to get money back to residents to offset the rising price of gas, groceries and other essentials. The payments are $500 to […]
Cerro Grande fire victims were ‘fully compensated’ decades ago. NM gov seeks the same in 2022.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and others are calling for additional funding to compensate those who lost their homes or livelihoods due to the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon wildfire, preferably an aid package that resembles the one the federal government provided in the aftermath of the Cerro Grande fire 22 years ago. “It’s not like we haven’t […]
State to provide rent money to tenants affected by wildfires
A state agency announced Wednesday that it would provide up to three months of rent and hotel stays for those who lose their rented homes or apartments in ongoing wildfires in New Mexico. The Department of Finance and Administration said tenants who lost their housing due to the fires should apply for assistance on the […]
Echoes of the Cerro Grande wildfire 22 years later
Amid an extended drought and a busy wildfire season, a National Park Service crew lined up to light a prescribed burn in dense forest in early May, 2000. The windy season. A big mistake. The blaze grew out of control quickly and thanks to a delay in suppression, limited resources and merciless weather, became the […]