U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury announced a bill on Thursday that would, if enacted, establish judicial ethics to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Judicial Ethics Enforcement Act of 2024 would create an Office of the Inspector General within the judicial branch to ensure judicial ethics are maintained. Offices of the Inspector General provide oversight for federal agencies. The offices provide reports about the agencies they oversee and issue those regularly to Congress. Stansbury, who represents New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District, stood on the steps of the Supreme Court building in Washington D.C ..read more

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management finalized its controversial public lands rule on Thursday. This rule is controversial because it allows for conservation leasing which advocates say puts conservation on equal footing with fossil fuel extraction and grazing. In addition to allowing conservation leasing, the rule calls on the BLM to designate more Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, which can help protect sacred sites and resources as well as wildlife habitat. These ACECs are designated to protect site-specific resources, which means the activities allowed in a particular ACEC may be diff ..read more

A national report found that in the 2022-2023 school year, New Mexico spent over $8,000 per child attending pre-K and that about 45 percent of four-year-old children are enrolled in a pre-K program. But for three-year-old children, the report found that only 11 percent of children in New Mexico are enrolled in pre-K. The report, called The 21st State of Preschool, was produced by the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University and released on Thursday. Overall, the report found that 44 states saw increases in pre-K enrollment for the 2022-2023 school year and while un ..read more

As the world looks to decarbonize, governments are promoting hydrogen, a somewhat controversial energy source, as an important component of that effort. But that means there will need to be locations to store the hydrogen, a notoriously tricky process. Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque are examining some of the possibilities for storing hydrogen and have partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Subsurface Hydrogen Assessment, Storage and Technology Acceleration project. A recent study published in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy looks at using deplet ..read more

New Mexico rivers are the most endangered in the country, according to the annual report from American Rivers. This is because of two U.S. Supreme Court rulings, notably including  Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in which the court stripped protections from the vast majority of waterways in the state. Matt Rice, the southwest regional director of American Rivers, explained that the court ruling “removed federal protections for some smaller streams, rivers and wetlands throughout the United States.” The court ruling scaled back waterways subject to protections under the Cl ..read more

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced that she will call the Legislature into a special session this summer to address public safety legislation that did not pass during this year’s regular legislative session. The announcement on Wednesday said that the special session would begin on July 18. “While we made some progress toward a safer New Mexico during the 30-day day session, we agree that we must do more,” Lujan Grisham said in the press release announcing the special session. “The special session in July will enable us to deliver additional statutory changes that reduce the danger and risk ..read more

by Joshua Bowling, Searchlight New Mexico In the past decade, reforming the Albuquerque Police Department has cost nearly $40 million and generated 5,600 pages of oversight reports under the federal government’s effort to address the force’s excessive violence. But what does the city have to show for it? While the department touts an internal culture change, mandatory body cameras and a slew of other reforms, its officers continue to kill residents at an outsized rate. Even as APD has moved into compliance with nearly every reform mandated by a U.S. Department of Justice consent decree, n ..read more

Hello fellow political junkies! Early and absentee voting in the New Mexico Primary begin on May 7. With many voters readying their choice for races such as state house and senate, district attorney and county commissioner, another much larger race is on voters’ minds: the presidential race. Even though the presidential race is almost certainly a rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, the focus for some is the Biden Administration’s handling of the Gaza conflict. Voting uncommitted in the Democratic Primary is one way for these voters’ voices to be heard.  ..read more

While the U.S. Supreme Court considers the future of access to the abortion medication, mifepristone, another lawsuit against the FDA that would expand access to the medication is on hold. Last year there were two separate cases against the FDA – one to restrict access to mifepristone and one to expand it. The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA, which is the case that could restrict access, last month and will issue a decision later this year. The suit trying to expand access, Washington et al v. FDA, alleges that the FDA is acting improperly and dis ..read more

The Environmental Improvement Board and the Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board shot down an attempt to delay the implementation of the clean car rule on Friday. The decision came after various auto dealers appealed the rule that the entities adopted in November and asked for a delay pending a court ruling. The EIB voted 4-1 to reject the request to pause implementation pending a court ruling. Meanwhile the air quality control board unanimously rejected the request. EIB Member William Honker recused himself from the vote, stating that he had not been able to participate in ..read more