NM environment secretary wants to ban nonessential PFAS - 九色网 News
New Mexico Environment Secretary James Kenney told a panel of lawmakers Tuesday that banning nonessential PFAS is a priority for his department.
Kenney urged members of the Legislature鈥檚 Radioactive and Hazardous Materials Committee to pursue the ban in the next legislative session in January.
鈥淭here鈥檚 still vast amounts of these chemicals that are getting into commerce and therefore into people鈥檚 houses,鈥� he said.
Known as 鈥渇orever chemicals,鈥� because they don鈥檛 break down, PFAS can be found in products like nonstick pans, fabric protectants and firefighting foam.
Kenney told lawmakers they鈥檝e been linked to a host of health problems.
鈥淓verything from high cholesterol to reproductive issues to certain types of cancers,鈥� he said.
The hazardous chemicals have been found in New Mexico water sources. Kenney said it costs $50 to $100 to create PFAS and millions to clean it up.
Much of the contamination has come from U.S. Air Force bases. In one case, a farmer near Cannon Air Force Base had to .
鈥淔rankly, I'm so frustrated with the Department of Defense, I think we could send any cow carcasses to the Pentagon at this point,鈥� Kenney said.
He said his department will request $24 million to continue to pursue litigation around PFAS cleanup involving the federal government.
Navajo leader calls for tribal vice president's resignation amid political upheaval - By Susan Montoya Bryan Associated Press
The president of one of the largest Native American tribes in the U.S. announced Tuesday he has removed responsibilities from his vice president, saying she no longer represents his administration and should consider resigning from the highest office within the Navajo Nation to ever be held by a woman.
Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren made the announcement in a news conference that was broadcast on social media. The tribe has been mired by political upheaval since April, when Navajo Vice President Richelle Montoya publicly outlined allegations of intimidation and sexual harassment within the administration.
An independent investigation of Montoya's claims was initiated while other opponents of Nygren began collecting signatures from voters across the reservation 鈥� which spans parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah 鈥� as part of an effort to recall the president.
Nygren took aim at the recall effort and outlined his reasons for terminating Montoya's authority during the news conference. He accused his detractors of failing to focus on issues affecting Navajo families, such as housing and employment needs along with access to drinking water, electricity and other basic services.
"We will not be hindered or delayed by self-seeking power-chasers who do not want to be held accountable for their actions and care more for their own promotion than they do for the betterment of the Navajo people," Nygren said.
In a memo sent to Montoya on Tuesday, Nygren said her decision to "do nothing productive must come with consequences."
Montoya was preparing a response to the president's announcement Tuesday afternoon. In July, she sent her own six-page memo to Nygren, accusing him of deviating from their collective vision and "betraying the trust of the people who voted for us as equals." She said her ideas and recommendations were no longer sought after the inauguration and that she was removed from critical communications and planning.
She also said in the memo that the president's actions had exacerbated the rift but that she continued to work on behalf of the Navajo people despite the lack of support.
An ardent supporter of Nygren during his campaign in 2022, Montoya took to social media in April and reported that she was intimidated and sexually harassed during an August 2023 meeting in the president's office.
Navajo Nation Attorney General Ethel Branch confirmed last week that the investigation into Montoya's claims was ongoing. Branch acknowledged frustration that the process has yet to be completed but noted that numerous interviews were required along with the review of what she described as significant documentation.
Montoya made history in 2023 when she took office along with Nygren. At the time, she paid tribute to women on the Navajo Nation Council and in the matriarchal society while encouraging tribal members to speak the Navajo language and always think seven generations ahead.
"For the next four years, I will give you my very best," she told a crowd as the pair was sworn in during a gathering in Fort Defiance, Arizona.
Nygren has accused Montoya of failing to make progress on the priorities he had set out for her, saying she has refused requests to submit daily schedules and reports and has instead made travel requests that don't align with the administration's priorities.
"Everyone in my administration is held accountable, including myself. The vice president is no exception," he said.
Nygren said Montoya's decision in September to sign the recall petition targeting him was "her announcement to the Navajo people of her formal break from this administration."
The organizers of the recall effort include Debbie Nez-Manuel, who was dismissed earlier this year from her role as director of the tribe's human resources department. Nez-Manuel disputed Nygren's accusations that she had bullied employees and told The Associated Press on Tuesday that she was following the law and that employee complaints followed personnel actions.
A well-known Democratic Party organizer, Nez-Manuel said Nygren has fallen short of voters' expectations and suggested that he has not given the vice president the tools needed to succeed. She said many of those who have signed the recall petition have raised concerns about elder Navajos not trusting the younger generation to serve as leaders.
"He needs to resign, and that will balance out what's happening," Nez-Manuel said.
Nygren said his administration has been successful in meeting the needs of Navajos, pointing to the connection of more homes to water and electricity services and the recent negotiation of historic water rights settlements.
Fire Rescue prepares for increase in outside fires - Damon Scott,
The fall and winter seasons pose a fresh set of challenges to those experiencing homelessness on Albuquerque鈥檚 streets, including hypothermia, frostbite and a greater spread of colds and viruses.
To stay warm and often to cook food, some turn to lighting small illegal fires outside, which can result in significant injuries, property damage and property loss.
In February, Albuquerque Fire Rescue (AFR) officials said the Wash Tub Laundromat fire at 1105 Central Ave. NW looked to have been set by campers trying to keep warm. The fire destroyed the building, but no injuries were reported.
The seasonal increase in 911 calls puts an added strain on AFR personnel.
To help, the department is bringing back an initiative it launched as a pilot project last year 鈥� Brush 3 鈥� using a lightweight and agile brush truck to respond to calls. The truck was dispatched to more than 1,700 of 3,700 outside fire calls from Dec. 30 to April 19. The remaining 2,000 calls were handled by the closest unit or engine, AFR spokesperson Lt. Jason Fejer said.
鈥淭he entire premise of the outside fire pilot was to have a response model to handle these smaller fires that are typically extinguished with a water can and don鈥檛 require the capabilities of a full-size fire engine with a 500-gallon water tank and a 2,000-gallon-per-minute pump,鈥� Fejer said.
While housing status is not officially tracked by AFR when documenting the fire responses, Fejer said the calls typically come from areas of the city where people living on the street are more visible.
For the majority of the pilot period, crews used Brush 3 to respond to outside fires in the East Central corridor and an area of the Northeast Heights near Juan Tabo Boulevard and Central Avenue. Fire Station No. 5 in the International District was one of the most active with 797 outside fire calls. Other frequent locations included the San Mateo Boulevard and Kathryn Avenue area and at San Mateo and Menaul boulevards.
The unit was AFR鈥檚 busiest in January and February 鈥� calls started to decrease in March and then the initiative concluded in April as the weather started to warm up.
鈥淭here is talk about putting a second outside fire truck in service to be available in other areas of the city, and to provide coverage Downtown and along West Central,鈥� Fejer said, adding that it would depend on budgets and overtime availability.
AFR also hopes to start the initiative sooner this year 鈥� in November instead of December. Brush 3 is also used to proactively patrol areas with high call activity.
Fejer said there are steps commercial and residential property owners can take to better safeguard businesses and homes during the colder months.
鈥淭he best way to prevent an outside fire from extending to a structure is maintaining a defensible space around the structure 鈥� keeping stacks of pallets, compacted cardboard and other combustibles away from businesses if possible,鈥� he said.
Fejer said that residences adjacent to alleys or other areas that experience a high number of outside fires should keep yards manicured and keep vegetation away from structures.
AFR has 22 fire stations and responded to 97,404 calls in 2023. It is one of the busiest fire departments in the country with about 760 full-time firefighters.
Missing in New Mexico Day set for Saturday in Shiprock - By Bella Davis,
An event meant to connect people who have missing loved ones with police and other resources is for Saturday at .
Officials are required by a 2022 state law to host Missing in New Mexico Day every year. The idea came from a now-defunct task force on missing and murdered Indigenous people, although the event is open to anyone who has a loved one who went missing from the state.
鈥淲hile I recognize this event is not solely for Indigenous people, but rather for all of New Mexico鈥檚 missing persons, I would be remiss to note that Native people continue to be murdered or go missing at numbers far too great,鈥� said Josett Monette, who is now secretary of the Indian Affairs Department, at last year鈥檚 gathering.
There are 197 Native Americans missing from New Mexico and the Navajo Nation, according to an last updated earlier this month.
For the past two years, the event has been and has included numerous law enforcement agencies and nonprofit groups. Family members have been encouraged to bring any information that could be helpful in either reporting or updating cases.
The event is set to run from 9 a.m. t0 3 p.m.
Officials pursue new housing wing at Gateway Center 鈥�
Albuquerque and Bernalillo County officials are on the hunt for $40 million to convert a wing of the Gateway Center on Gibson Boulevard 鈥� formerly a hospital facility 鈥� into apartment units. Such permanent supportive housing projects are considered by many advocates as a successful method to address chronic homelessness.
The idea is included on a list of dozens of projects that the Middle Rio Grande Housing Collaborative 鈥� made up of city and county representatives 鈥� have identified as both crucial and well positioned to help boost affordable housing options throughout the metro area.
The collaborative was launched last year by leveraging city and county funds, property and resources. Officials intend to ask the state lawmakers for hundreds of millions in gap funding at the 2025 Legislative Session 鈥� enough to add about 2,100 new housing units.
The permanent supportive housing project would be a first for the Gateway Center 鈥� the city鈥檚 flagship effort to reduce the number of people living on the streets, which is estimated at about 5,000. The facility currently provides 50 overnight beds and 35 emergency beds. It is also in the construction phase of a 50-bed medical sobering unit and 50-bed medical respite unit.
Under federal guidelines, permanent supportive housing provides long-term housing assistance in the form of rental subsidies or long-term leases. It also comes with support services like case management, health care and employment assistance.
Health, Housing & Homelessness Department (HHH) officials said they weren鈥檛 ready to release details about the Gateway project, including how many apartment units might be constructed.
鈥淲e are in the very early analysis stages of this project,鈥� HHH spokesperson Connor Woods said.
The city launched an effort this year. Mayor Tim Keller announced in August that his administration would integrate four other facilities into the brand: Gateway West (formerly the Westside Emergency Housing Center), Youth Gateway, Family Gateway and Recovery Gateway.
The full list of housing projects proposed by the Middle Rio Grande Housing Collaborative, along with a funding resolution, is .
Lowriding is more than just cars. It's about family and culture for Mexican Americans 鈥� Fernanda Figueroa, Melissa Perez Winder, Associated Press
For Luis Martinez, competing in lowriding bike and car competitions is about more than glory and bragging rights. The lowrider clubs in the Chicago area have become like one big family and a source of mutual support.
"It just starts with the metal," said Martinez, who got his introduction to lowrider culture when his mother took him to a flea market. He had his first bike when he was 12.
"To me, it's about expressing my art and what I can do with my own hands," Martinez told The Associated Press as he polished a shiny red bike at his home in Mishawaka, Indiana.
A movement of expression with origins in Mexican American and Chicano communities, lowriding is an aspect of Latino history in the U.S. in which people show their pride, honor family and uplift culture. But misrepresentation of the culture in entertainment and media has often associated the lowriding's "low and slow" motto with gang culture.
Still, decades since its emergence, and as the Hispanic U.S. population increases, lowriding has experienced a boom, as evidenced by an increase in car shows and conventions nationwide.
Lowriding involves the customization of a vehicle 鈥� from the tires to the sound system 鈥� with vivid designs and colors. Unlike hot rods or muscle cars, which are often modified to have big tires and move at high speeds, the lowrider community modified the cars and bikes to go "low and slow," said Alberto Pulido, the chair of the Ethnic Studies department at the University of San Diego.
"It was a way to speak to an identity, a presence and it was done with few resources," said Pulido, who also directed the award-winning documentary, "Lowriding: Everything Comes From the Streets."
"Our community didn't have a lot of money," he said. "They might have had a little bit expendable income to buy a car but then they were kind of on their own to create their vehicles. We call that Chicano ingenuity."
Lowriding blends Latino and American culture
According to Pulido, lowriding originated in the Southwest, although there are disputes about where exactly it first appeared. Pulido said lowriders in Los Angeles would like to make the claim they were the first, while those in San Diego want their undeniable influence in the culture acknowledged.
The culture can be traced to post-World War II, when veterans were coming home with an expendable income. And with the growth of highways and freeways in California, people wanted to modify their vehicles, Pulido said.
Today, conventions attract enthusiasts from all over the U.S. Last month, what was once a small showcase with only 40 lowriders at Lincoln Park in El Paso, Texas, grew to over 300 lowriders from clubs across the U.S.
Hector Gonzalez, of the Lincoln Park Conservation Committee, said the car clubs help members travel to all the showcases in the nation. In the '70s and '80s, lowrider clubs became a representation of the community and offered mutual aid such as ride-sharing and food donations when the local government could not or would not, Gonzalez said.
"It is something that gets passed on from generation to generation," said Gonzalez, who, like most lowriders, was introduced to the community with a bike at the young age of 13. He has passed on his love for lowriding to his own children, nephews and cousins
"Kids grow up seeing the cars, they pick it up and they carry on the tradition," Gonzalez said.
Lauren Pacheco, co-founder and co-curator of the Slow and Low Chicago Low Rider Festival, described lowriding as a global, multibillion-dollar phenomenon of self-expression and innovation.
"It's a marvel of mechanical innovation," Pacheco said. "It is the beautiful artistry in the creative practice of muralism, storytelling and upholstery."
Within the last decade, lowrider conventions have grown so much that they've made their way to Japan. In Nagoya, Japanese lowriders have modified their cars, created clubs and even come to events at Chicano Park in San Diego.
Lowrider community sheds gang culture stereotype
Appreciation for lowriding has increased in recent years, enthusiasts say. But that was not always the case.
In the beginning, lowriding was associated with harmful stereotypes about Latinos as gangsters, Pulido said. Because the culture involved predominantly Latino participants, lowriding became racialized and that overshadowed the artistic and community service aspects of the movement.
The 1979 thriller-drama "Boulevard Nights" also helped to perpetuate the lowriders as gangsters trope. The film's main character, Raymond Avila, played by Richard Y帽iguez tried to avoid getting lured into the violent street gangs of East Los Angeles. Lowriding vehicles and the lowrider "cholo" aesthetic was featured throughout the film.
While the perception of lowriding has since gotten better, Pulido said he has been to lowriding car shows where police immediately show up.
Martinez, the Indiana lowrider, said lowriding misconceptions grew in the Chicago area because the community members were tattooed in ways often associated with gang affiliation. Pacheco said the Chicago festival works to dispel those misconceptions.
"We really try not to create a space that glamorizes or romanticizes gang culture," she said. "It's really a celebration of creativity and innovation and family."
Lowriding culture becomes a booming industry
Gonzalez, the Texas lowriding showcase organizer, said the culture's focus on wheels, hydraulic systems and accessories, has helped lowriding become a booming industry.
In El Paso, people have opened small businesses orientated to the lowriding community. In the last couple of years, at least 25 new businesses opened, including body shops, upholstery shops and apparel shops, Gonzalez said.
"It has become a mainstream business," he said. "Back in the 70s and 80s, it was more of a local thing. Everybody helping each other do things on their own. Now there's just all kinds of opportunities to purchase things and have things done to your vehicle."
Originally from Dallas, Texas, Martinez said he would buy the parts he needed from a man in his neighborhood, who would buy in bulk from Lowrider magazine. He said the unfortunate thing about lowriding becoming so big is parts are now mass produced from China instead of being Mexican made.
Lowriding carries family legacy
But lowriding is not just about the often pricey task of modifying cars, Pulido said. It is about building a community that is always there for each other, throughout generations, he said.
"We have grandparents that are lowriders and then their kids and their grandkids are in tune already," Pulido said.
It's a legacy that Sonia Gomez wants for her 8-year-old son, Daniel Marquez. His late father, Alberto Marquez, had been a member of a Chicago area lowrider club. Too young to drive the car left to him by his father, Daniel has a lowriding bike that is more of a memorial to his dad.
"The bike is what he's doing to build it up," Gomez said.
The family will do an ofrenda, a display often associated with Mexican Dia de los Muertos celebrations, when local lowriding festivals are held. As part of the ofrenda, Daniel takes an image he has with his father on a lowriding bike and places it next to his actual bike, which he named "Wishing on a Star."
"We would either go on a (lowriding) cruise with my uncle, or we would go to actual car shows," Daniel recently recalled, while sitting at the driver's seat of his dad's lowriding car parked in the driveway of their home in Frankfort, Illinois.
"My mom would be there," he said pointing to the passenger seat. "And I'd be back there all squished."
All five justices recuse themselves from hearing paid leave dispute - By Phaedra Haywood,
All five of New Mexico鈥檚 Supreme Court justices 鈥� and one person previously tapped as a proxy 鈥� have recused themselves from presiding over a legal dispute between the Administrative Office of the Courts and the state Department of Finance.
Phaedra Haywood with the Santa Fe New Mexican reports at issue in the case is how much paid time off state employees can carry over from year to year and the rate at which they鈥檙e reimbursed for that time.
According to the Administrative Office of the Courts, paid time off accrual at the state is capped at 240 hours. When employees resign or retire, they can be reimbursed for unused hours at half of their pay rate.
However, the judiciary adopted a new policy last year that removed the cap on hours 鈥� instead tying the number of hours eligible for payout to an employee鈥檚 years of service 鈥� and allowed employees who opted to participate in a buyback to be reimbursed at 100% of their pay rate.
The state processed the payouts this way for about a year until Attorney General Ra煤l Torrez issued a legal opinion in June saying the practice was illegal.
The Administrative Office of the Courts filed a petition asking the state Supreme Court to compel the state to process payments in accordance with the new policy.
Two more proxies remain, but it鈥檚 unclear who will hear the case.