Gov & Politics
Rise in newborn syphilis cases prompts DOH intervention
More babies in the U.S. are being born with syphilis than at any time in the last 20 years, and CDC research indicates that the trend is growing exponentially worse. The latest data show New Mexico has the second-highest rate in the country. The infection is curable. And it’s alarming rise led the New Mexico […]
Governor packs $1 billion in spending into special redistricting session
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is tasking legislators with agreeing on how to spend more than $1 billion of badly needed stimulus money, while also re-drawing the state’s political districts, in time for the winter holidays. The governor made the announcement Thursday morning as part of her proclamation calling to order a special session of the […]
NM Planned Parenthood sees uptick in patients from out of state
The impact of restrictive abortion laws in other states is already showing up for reproductive health care providers in New Mexico who operate without those legal constraints. Vicki Cowart can tell you the exact number of days since Texas passed a law banning all abortions after 6-weeks. “It went into effect Sept. 1, and immediately, […]
Protesters rally at Supreme Court as justices hear landmark abortion case
WASHINGTON — Lucia Ruta remembers a time when abortions were illegal. A native of Washington, D.C., she says she received an abortion in a back alley when she was 16, in the 1960s. “The doctor told me that if I made as so much a whimper, he was going to stop and kick me out,” […]
U.S. Supreme Court considers new limits on abortions in Mississippi case
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is weighing potentially sweeping changes to the right to an abortion, after two hours of arguments Wednesday morning on a Mississippi law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The court’s conservatives, who hold a 6-3 majority, appeared through their questions to be sympathetic to Mississippi’s arguments that its […]
Abortion is not restricted in NM. But is it protected?
It’s not time to panic. But stay vigilant. That’s the advice for abortion rights supporters from Jessica Serrano, an attorney with the Southwest Women’s Law Center, for anyone in New Mexico following the Supreme Court hearing Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Oral arguments were presented yesterday on the case, the outcome of which could […]
After sharp increase in earthquakes, NM announces new requirements for oil and gas drillers
A New Mexico agency overseeing oil extraction in the southern part of the state has issued a new protocol to deal with earthquakes caused by oil and gas production. State data showed an increase in the number of earthquakes in the Permian Basin, according to a report by Capital and Main. The number of magnitude […]
What is the Strategic Petroleum Reserve?
President Joe Biden ordered a release of oil from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve on Nov. 23, 2021, as a part of a coordinated effort with five other countries to tamp down rising fuel prices. The U.S. plans to tap 50 million barrels of crude oil in the coming months, while the other nations – the U.K., India, Japan, […]
Broadband officials ask lawmakers to trust the process
It’s not moving at the greatest speed, but New Mexico is keeping its own pace with a five-year plan to get internet service to all parts of the state. The state’s tech officials told lawmakers about progress on the plan during Monday’s meeting of the Transportation Infrastructure Revenue subcommittee. Meeting attendees heard from Matt Schmit […]
NMSU’s local labor board no longer exists
New Mexico State University’s local labor board dissolved after two of its three members resigned in October. The dissolution means an effort by the school’s graduate students to form a union will instead be considered by the statewide labor board in Santa Fe. Graduate students there see it as a step toward reaching the bargaining […]
Redistricting session to start Monday
The special legislative session re-drawing New Mexico’s political maps will begin Monday, Dec. 6, said Sen. Mimi Stewart, the Senate’s president pro tempore. Stewart told Source New Mexico that there’s been no formal announcement yet about the session as a “courtesy” to legislators who are fundraising. A state law effective in January 2020 prohibits lawmakers from […]
House Dems mull how to address Boebert’s anti-Muslim remarks
WASHINGTON—U.S. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Tuesday that Democrats are weighing what to do about Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado in connection with anti-Muslim comments she made about a colleague in the House. “We’re considering what action ought to be taken,” said Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, at a briefing with reporters. Hoyer would […]