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New Mexico In-Depth
Lujan Grisham overstepped with special session
This is analysis provided in New Mexico In Depth’s mid-week newsletter. We think it’s crucial to stay in touch and tell you what’s on our minds every week. Please let us know what’s on your mind as well. Or, got tips? What do we need to know? Contact us: [email protected]
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Enraged governor blisters Legislature for five-hour special session
One can measure Thursday’s one-day special legislative session by the numbers. Five: The number of hours it took the Legislature to gavel into session, pass a bill and adjourn. One hundred and three million: The dollars the Legislature appropriated to take care of fire-scarred, flood-vulnerable areas around New Mexico,...
The governor calls Legislature into special session
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham called New Mexico legislative leaders’ bluff, signing a proclamation Wednesday afternoon to demand state lawmakers return to Santa Fe for a mid-year special legislative session scheduled to begin noon Thursday. Lujan Grisham signed the proclamation during a state capitol press conference in Santa Fe surrounded...
Who’s on New Mexico’s MMIP Advisory Council? It’s unclear.
It is unclear who is on a state advisory council on missing and murdered Indigenous people announced nearly eight months ago by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham amid upset over her decision to disband a task force focused on the crisis. A story New Mexico In Depth published Friday about the...
State agency seeking employees focused on MMIP, creating guidebook for affected families
The Indian Affairs Department plans to hire two employees to focus on missing and murdered Indigenous people (MMIP), Secretary Josett Monette said at a public meeting the agency hosted Monday. She added the department is developing a guidebook that’s meant to direct affected families to resources. Agency officials sought...
Special session turns into a game of chicken. Who will blink first?
Legislative leaders declared publicly earlier this week what many of us in the media were already hearing — they aren’t on the same page with Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on the five measures she’s put forward. Now we enter a new phase of special session negotiations, known...
Public not allowed in meetings of state advisory council on missing and murdered Indigenous people
An advisory council Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham established last year to help address a crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people is meeting behind closed doors. That’s a problem, according to the head of a government transparency group. The governor announced the advisory council in November, a little over...
Governor is moving ahead with the special session. Why?
Forty-one organizations are asking Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to call off the special legislative session she has scheduled to start July 18, but, so far, she is resisting. The letter from organizations that Democrats often find supportive of their agenda exposes deep divisions over solutions to public safety in New Mexico, calling into question whether achieving anything substantive during the special session is possible.
Dark money group admits spending but denies disclosure requirement
This following was initially published in New Mexico In Depth’s mid-week newsletter, where we offer a mix of analysis, ideas, and news. Sometimes we publish the newsletter on our site, but not always. Sign up to receive them every Wednesday. A dark money group that spent thousands of dollars...
Teaching the Bible in Oklahoma
Oklahoma’s state superintendent Ryan Walters on Thursday ordered all public schools to teach the Bible. It is the latest public display of intention from a movement that seeks the imposition of its interpretation of “Christian values” on the country. From where I sit, the Bible is being...
Posting the Ten Commandments is a performative act
Louisiana passed a law last week requiring the posting of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom in an act of performative religiosity. It is “performative” in contrast to “meaningful.” A way to signal what side of the nation’s culture wars one can find Louisiana’s political leaders.
Apodaca’s dark money group also paid for political mailers
An image of a mailer supporting an unsuccessful legislative candidate in an Albuquerque House district race now confirms a dark money group spent money on election literature making its way into mailboxes, in addition to its political radio and Facebook ads. The New Mexico Project spent thousands on advertising meant...
Ethics Commission asks judge to force disclosure from dark money group
This is New Mexico In Depth’s mid-week newsletter. We think it’s crucial to stay in touch and tell you what’s on our minds every week. Please let us know what’s on your mind as well. Or, got tips? What do we need to know? Contact us: [email protected]
Loving LBGTQ+ people and the Bible
A couple of weeks ago a writer at the Federalist blog faulted Dolly Parton for ascribing her loving attitude toward all her fans, including her LBGTQ+ ones, to her Christian faith. I am not going to defend Dolly Parton here. She doesn’t need me to. The legendary songwriter and performer...
Realtors funded Apodaca’s dark money group
This story was originally published in New Mexico In Depth’s mid-week newsletter, in which we offer insights and analysis. We think it’s crucial to stay in touch and tell you what’s on our minds every week. Please let us know what’s on your mind as well. Or, got tips? What do we need to know? Contact us: [email protected]
Religion Still Has Power in American Politics
(This column originally appeared in the Rio Grande Sun and Artesia Daily Press.) In 1996 I took a year off from journalism to attend seminary in Atlanta. The plan was to cram as much theology, sociology of religion and church history into two semesters to return to a newspaper to cover the intersection of religion and politics.
Progressives send #MeToo message in primary election
This is New Mexico In Depth’s mid-week newsletter, in which we offer insights and analysis. We think it’s crucial to stay in touch and tell you what’s on our minds every week. Please let us know what’s on your mind as well. Or, got tips? What do we need to know? Contact us: [email protected]
Large special interests square off in District 30 Democratic primary
Many of the same special interests groups and big-money donors active in the 2020 primary race for Senate District 30 have returned for the 2024 election cycle as they seek to shape the ideological makeup of the Democratic Party. The race for the district — a sprawling district that encompasses...
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