New Mexico in Focus (A Production of NMPBS)

This month marks the ten-year anniversary of the 2011 Las Conchas Fire, which burned 156,000 acres of the Jemez Mountains. At the time, Las Conchas was the largest fire in New Mexico’s recorded history. Here in New Mexico—and across the West—wildfire season is getting longer. Wildfires, bigger. And these trends will continue in our warming world. Between 1970 and 2020, New Mexico’s average annual...

The Line opinion panel reacts to a unanimous decision this week from the New Mexico Supreme Court denying financial compensation from the state to businesses affected by the COVID-19 public health order. The court’s decision came five months after the first oral arguments were heard in roughly 20 lawsuits by businesses seeking relief. The panel examines the finer legal points of the issue. The gro...

Albuquerque Journal photojournalist and photo editor Dean Hanson calls it a career after 35 years at the paper. Senior producer Matt Grubs talks with Hanson as the self-described “camera guy” looks back at his experience and shares some of his favorite images. Looking to leverage what has traditionally been a low cost of living and affordable housing market, the City of Albuquerque is expanding it...

Voters in New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District chose a new representative to send to Washington. With the eyes of the national political crowd on Albuquerque and the rest of the district, Democratic candidate Melanie Stansbury ran away with the election, hitting the 60 percent mark over three conservative challengers. Ms. Stansbury portrayed her win as a symbolic victory for voting rights, for...

Antonia Gonzales gathers a group of experts to talk about bringing tribal communities out of the pandemic with the right kind of behavioral health support. It’s a problem for all communities in the state, but one that the Indian Affairs Department has been working on since the onset of COVID-19.  Environment reporter Laura Paskus speaks with the director of the Bosque Ecosystem Monitorin...

This week on New Mexico in Focus, The Line opinion panel looks at recent outcomes for big ticket taxpayer items. This past weekend saw the long-awaited first successful suborbital flight by Virgin Galactic. Launched from New Mexico’s Spaceport America, the flight brings the promise of space tourism one step closer. It’s a more than $200 million gamble made by then-Gov. Bill Richardson years a...

This time on New Mexico in Focus, Sen. Ben Ray Lujan joins the program from Washington, D.C. to talk about the federal government’s plans to pay for and expand access to broadband internet service. It’s been a major challenge in New Mexico. Correspondent and Axios reporter Russ Contreras also speaks with the senator about the immigration crisis at the southern border. In March, the pueblos of Jeme...

The Line opinion panel tackles two issues: masks and voting in the special election for the 1st Congressional District. With the mask mandate largely lifted, New Mexico businesses and residents are feeling out what seems smart, safe and comfortable as they expand their daily lives into the public sphere. Turnout is low so far in the special congressional election. The group talks about whether vot...

In this episode, Libertarian congressional candidate Chris Manning speaks with producer Matt Grubs. The Libertarian Party selected the military veteran as their candidate in the June 1 special election to replace Deb Haaland. And, Our Land is back. This is our monthly environmental series with correspondent Laura Paskus. This month, we look back to a 2019 episode about blue-green algae. Bloom...

The Line opinion panel returns in this week's episode, to look at the implications of the New Mexico Republican Party’s decision to hold its spring convention in Texas. Party leaders say limitations on gatherings in New Mexico forced them to cross the border. The group also talks about the return of the job search requirement for those receiving unemployment support, as well as the potential for a...

May 7, 2021 – Early voting has begun in the special election to fill Deb Haaland’s seat in the 1st Congressional District, and the candidates have begun a series of debates on local commercial TV stations. NMiF senior producer Matt Grubs digs into a lengthy interview with Democratic state Rep. Melanie Stansbury. Expanded early voting locations open May 15 and Election Day is June 1. Correspondent:...

May 7, 2021 – Early voting has begun in the special election to fill Deb Haaland’s seat in the 1st Congressional District, and the candidates have begun a series of debates on local commercial TV stations. NMiF senior producer Matt Grubs digs into a lengthy interview with Republican state Sen. Mark Moores. Expanded early voting locations open May 15 and Election Day is June 1. Correspondent: Matt...

May 7, 2021 – The movement on missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls has broadened to include transgender and other Indigenous relatives. In recent years, with the help of trusted members of Native communities, leaders and even celebrities, focus on cases and calls for justice has stayed before the eyes of the public and policy makers. For advocates and families, the work is never over. T...

In this episode, we bring you two of our recent Facebook Live events, hosted by the face and voice of New Mexico in Focus, Gene Grant. If you haven't already, be sure to follow us on all our social media platforms: Facebook Twitter  Instagram YouTube We try to do at least one Facebook Live event a week, but often it ends up being more than one. We'd love for you to join us and share your thou...

In this episode, The Line opinion panel explores the impact of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s new pandemic public health plan. With New Mexico aggressively vaccinating its population, the governor announced this week that the state could reopen businesses with few restrictions by the end of June. A group of leading civil rights attorneys gathers for a discussion of the impact on New Mexico of the G...

This week on New Mexico in Focus, correspondent Antonia Gonzales speaks with President Biden’s top tribal affairs adviser, PaaWee Rivera. The son of former Pojoaque Pueblo Governor George Rivera is working to advance Native interests as tribal communities emerge from the pandemic. The Line opinion panel looks at population news from the Census Bureau and the Legislative Fi...

This week on New Mexico in Focus, the co-hosts of the NMPBS podcast Growing Forward speak with Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham about New Mexico’s new recreational cannabis laws, which legalize the practice starting at the end of June, with sales to begin a year from now. The package also provides for expungement of certain cannabis-related crimes. The governor called a sp...

On New Mexico in Focus… The once lively theaters of New Mexico have been quiet since last March. No performances. No ticket sales. No paychecks. There might yet be light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, but the year-long closures have actors and theatrical management worried about what’s next. NMiF fellow Bryce Dix sits down with the Albuquerque Little The...

On New Mexico in Focus… The Line opinion panel zeroes in on the bills being signed (and not) by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. Friday marks the deadline for the governor to approve legislation. Anything not signed, vetoed or singled out for a line-item veto is automatically vetoed after that. The governor put her name to numerous significant bills, and the group discusses wh...

On New Mexico in Focus… The Asian American community held a rally in downtown Albuquerque this week in response to an increase in violent and harassing incidents across the state. That surge mirrors what is happening all over the country in the wake of charged and divisive language about the COVID-19 virus. It was just about two weeks ago that eight peo...

This week on New Mexico in Focus, the clock struck midnight on legislation that would have legalized adult-use cannabis in New Mexico. But shortly after the 2020 legislative session wrapped, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced a framework for a bill that could win approval was in place and she would be calling a special session in just a matter of days to push the legislation...

This week on New Mexico in Focus, The Line opinion panel looks at all the that has been accomplished so far in this unique, virtual legislative session. The panelists will also delve into what work has yet to be done, and what measures may run out of time when the session ends at 12pm on Saturday, March 20. The Line also weighs in on Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s letter to President Biden this...

This week on New Mexico in Focus, The Line opinion panel addresses Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s decision to open New Mexico to full-time, in-person learning by April 5. Largely a local-control matter, the request nevertheless has the attention of school districts, which seem anxious to comply with the request. The panel looks at the role of unions in the return to school, as well a...

This week, New Mexico in Focus features the top medical aide to President Biden and noted infectious diseases expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci. Correspondent Antonia Gonzales talks to Dr. Fauci about how, despite shouldering a disproportionate burden of COVID-19 infections, Native tribes are leading the way in vaccination rates. Dr. Fauci explains what states can learn from tribal nations and talks about...

This week, New Mexico in Focus features reaction to confirmation hearings for Interior Secretary-designate Deb Haaland. The New Mexico congresswoman spent parts of two days this week in front of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources defending her stance on fossil fuel production and parrying thrusts from conservative senators, some of whom called her en...