New Mexico Governor announces new federal quantum computing partnership
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New Mexico leaders said a federal partnership announced Tuesday will help launch the state as the 鈥渘ext Silicon Valley鈥� in the frontier of quantum computing, a nascent technology that boosters say will revolutionize problem solving from cancer research to code-breaking.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced a $120 million dollar partnership with Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency 鈥� the research and development wing of the U.S. military 鈥� will ensure companies can deliver on their proofs of concept for advanced computing. The state and DARPA may contribute up to $60 million dollars each over four years to vet projects promising advanced computers. If companies can prove their prototypes work at a utility-scale, DARPA will award up to $300 million in development.
The partnership, called the Quantum Frontier Initiative, will push development, testing and validate emerging technologies, she said.
Lujan Grisham said she wanted New Mexico to be known as the 鈥渉ome of quantum computing,鈥� during an announcement Tuesday in Roadrunner Venture studio, as Albuquerque hosts 1,500 researchers for a national Quantum Week conference.
After the announcement, Lujan Grisham told Source NM the state was looking to build the ecosystem for quantum to thrive, noting that DARPA鈥檚 certification program would attract companies from across the U.S.
鈥淲hen companies come here to do a proof of concept, then my job is to keep them here,鈥� Lujan Grisham said. 鈥淚t creates a migration of companies, and that鈥檚 what Silicon Valley did.鈥�
The promise of quantum computing would mean the power to perform calculations beyond a traditional computer鈥檚 abilities. Even with recent developments in quantum computers, they remain expensive to build, error-prone and fragile to interference, since information is encoded into supercold atoms or in extremely small circuits. If realized, quantum computing poses risks to the encryption that governments and companies use to protect sensitive information.
The State of New Mexico has made a series of investments totaling tens of millions of dollars in quantum computing in recent years.
In April, Lujan Grisham signed a bill to set up the Technology Innovation Division inside the state鈥檚 Economic Development Department with $40 million to seek private or federal investments in emerging technologies. New Mexico is also a finalist for $160 million over 10 years from the National Science Foundation to develop quantum technologies for both civilian and military uses. Last week, the state gave Roadrunner Ventures a $25 million grant to develop a downtown hub to build an 鈥淚nnovation District鈥� focused on quantum computing.
Officials said the state gets a boost from the development of projects at the state鈥檚 two national laboratories in Los Alamos and Albuquerque and the Air Force Research Laboratory at Kirtland Air Force Base.
鈥淲e bring the capacity of our national laboratories adding to those workforces, adding to that with our universities, tying that in with [Central New Mexico Community College] creating a quantum boot camp,鈥� Economic Development Secretary Rob Black said. 鈥淲e are building the workforce.鈥�
DARPA, which has invested in research and development projects for everything from synthetic blood to manta ray-shaped submarines, will provide $60 million to researchers to stress-test quantum computer proposals, said Joe Altepeter, a program manager for Quantum Benchmarking Initiative .
Altepeter got his start in quantum research at Los Alamos National Laboratory as a graduate student in 1999. He described himself previously as a 鈥渟keptic,鈥� but said recent developments in the technology raise the question if it鈥檚 possible to develop a working quantum computer by 2033. He said the certification program aims to separate working proposals from hype.
鈥淚t is an extraordinarily difficult job to figure out to forecast, maybe 10 years in the future, whose phenomenal plan, which is great on paper, is really gonna work鈥eally deliver or transformative change and which ones aren鈥檛,鈥� Altpeter said.
The validation process is a series of three phases to try and determine if quantum companies can develop a computer valuable enough to be worth the cost. DARPA will not necessarily keep an office in the state, but researchers and contractors evaluating the projects will frequently visit Albuquerque or live in-state.
Developing quantum will benefit the whole state, 鈥渘ot just Albuquerque or just scientists,鈥� by increasing the tax base and diversifying the state鈥檚 economy, Nora Meyers Sackett, the director at the NM Technology and Innovation Office, told Source NM.
鈥淨uantum is the next revolution of technology, and we鈥檙e working to make that revolution happen right here in New Mexico,鈥� she said.
New legislation to protect New Mexico workers from extreme heat鈥� Mia Casas, 九色网
Extreme heat is the in the United States, but there are no federal protections for workers from that heat. This is still true as temperatures reach triple digits across the country.
U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luj谩n of New Mexico are among the co-sponsors on new legislation that would implement workplace heat stress protections nationwide.
The aims to protect the health and safety of workers exposed to dangerous heat conditions indoors and outdoors. It would do so by requiring the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, to establish enforceable procedures like paid breaks in cool spaces, access to water, and limits on time exposed to heat.
New Mexico State Director for the climate advocacy group GreenLatinos, Carlos Matutes, spoke to 九色网鈥檚 Bryce Dix in June about delays in creating a state rule.
鈥淭hese are very, very basic protections for workers 鈥� that every human being should be able to make a living, feed their family, make sure that they have a roof over the head, and not put themselves at risk every single day,鈥� Matutes said.
The 鈥�鈥� is named after a man who died in 2004 after picking grapes for 10 hours straight in 105-degree heat in California. Valdivia fell unconscious in the field and instead of calling an ambulance, his employer told Valdivia鈥檚 son to drive his father home. He died of heat stroke in the car.
The bill has found support in over 250 groups across the country including United Farm Workers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, and Communication Workers of America, to name a few.
Albuquerque city councillor seeks purchase of San Mateo Walmart
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In Albuquerque, the Walmart Supercenter located near Central Avenue and San Mateo Boulevard has been closed since 2023. The property is for sale and is listed at $9 million. Nob Hill News reports Albuquerque鈥檚 Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency was interested in the property, but could only come up with $2 million for the property, and so negotiations were not successful.
Albuquerque City Councilor Nichole Rogers has requested $10 million from New Mexico鈥檚 congressional delegation in Washington for the Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency to buy the property. The request is now among those scheduled for consideration by the House Appropriations Committee.
Rogers told Nob Hill News that she鈥檚 also interested in an ordinance to dis-incentivize the possession of vacant commercial properties in the International District. City Councilor Joaquin Baca recently sponsored a successful measure addressing vacant properties in Albuquerque鈥檚 downtown.
Cities respond to Trump鈥檚 sanctuary threats as judge extends protection from threatened cuts - Tim Henderson, Stateline
More cities and states have responded to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi鈥檚 them over so-called sanctuary policies limiting law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration enforcement 鈥� some by thumbing their noses, at least one by acquiescing.
Written responses defending sanctuary policies have been sent to Bondi from cities including , New Mexico; ; , Oregon; and , along with the states of , , , and . Many noted that courts so far have upheld their right to limit cooperation with deportations. In Albuquerque鈥檚 letter, Mayor Tim Keller called Bondi鈥檚 claim that the city鈥檚 policies 鈥渢hwart federal immigration enforcement to the detriment鈥� of the U.S. 鈥渂aseless.鈥�
鈥淧am Bondi seeks to have Washington state bend the knee to a Trump administration that, day by day, drags us closer to authoritarianism. That鈥檚 not going to happen,鈥� Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson, a Democrat, said in an Aug. 19 news conference.
Louisville, Kentucky, is one city that to more cooperation after a confrontation over the issue 鈥� before Bondi threatened prosecution in August, but after the attorney general said she had issued a 鈥渟trong written warning鈥� to the city.
The city had stopped complying in 2017 with so-called detainer requests to hold jailed residents for immigration authorities, but leaders resumed cooperation to avoid being targeted for more raids.
鈥淐ities on the sanctuary city list right now are experiencing a terrifying increase in raids by ICE, including mass raids,鈥� Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, a Democrat, said in . 鈥淚鈥檝e talked with leaders within our immigrant community before I made this decision. I heard their fears loud and clear about current federal policies and ICE actions. I also heard that they want Louisville off the federal sanctuary city list.鈥�
Bondi issued a of sanctuary cities, counties and states in August.
Rochester, New York, meanwhile, in August amended its municipal code to by adding disciplinary measures for personnel who violate the policy. State Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, had earlier supported the city鈥檚 existing policies in court, saying in a statement that they 鈥渒eep communities safe and allow local law enforcement to use resources to address local public safety priorities.鈥�
In Boston, Democratic Mayor Michelle Wu鈥檚 response letter accused the Trump administration of 鈥渇alse and continuous attacks鈥� as part of a campaign to 鈥渄ivide, isolate, and intimidate our cities, and make Americans fearful of one another.鈥�
U.S. District Court Judge William Orrick issued a new order Aug. 22 extending a preliminary injunction to more cities, counties and states that had asked for protection against President Donald Trump鈥檚 executive orders and agency directives. Trump sought to withhold unrelated federal funding based on similar sanctuary policies.
Orrick鈥檚 ruling found the orders and directives are likely to be unconstitutional violations of local rights to set limits on immigration enforcement cooperation.
The injunction covers : California, Connecticut, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin.
Trump administration lawyers asked Aug. 26 to dismiss the case, arguing that the administration鈥檚 actions so far 鈥渕erely instruct agencies to assess federal grant programs to determine where they can lawfully add immigration related conditions.鈥�
A hearing is scheduled Oct.22.
Retired State Police lieutenant faces drug trafficking charges - Colleen Heild,
Carlos Antonio Perea got into a new line of work after retiring as a lieutenant with the New Mexico State Police.
Federal court records allege he turned to a life of crime as an employee of a drug cartel and hoped he could improve illicit trafficking operations with the skills he learned in law enforcement.
But at the time of his arrest on Aug. 5, Perea hadn鈥檛 yet told his employer, a purported cartel-related drug trafficking organization, that he was a former police officer, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque.
His account was detailed in a criminal complaint filed by a State Police task force officer who caught Perea allegedly transporting numerous large packages of fentanyl pills. Perea and passenger Catherine Anne Schmidt were arrested after an early morning traffic stop on eastbound Interstate 40 in Cibola County, court records state.
Perea and Schmidt were indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury in Albuquerque on felony charges of possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, and conspiracy.
Perea was released to an Albuquerque halfway house pending resolution of the criminal case. Schmidt was to enter in-patient treatment for 90 days.
Attorneys for Perea and Schmidt could not be reached Friday.
Perea, 55, retired from State Police in 2019 as a lieutenant with the agency鈥檚 Commercial Vehicle Enforcement unit. A State Police spokesman said Perea started with the agency in 2006.
The arresting officer, Julian Armijo, wrote in a criminal complaint that he had noticed the vehicle swerve in the right lane of traffic and cross 鈥渢he white fog line鈥� on the roadway, so he decided to pull the vehicle over. Armijo was assigned as a task force officer with the Department of Homeland Security Investigations at the time.
Once stopped, Perea told Armijo he was a former State Police lieutenant, but had lost his driver鈥檚 license. Perea said he and Schmidt were traveling back to Albuquerque after looking at houses and property to buy in Arizona for three days. Schmidt had a different story, relating that they were 鈥渏ust visiting鈥� in Arizona for two days.
A State Police K-9 on the scene did a 鈥渇ree air sniff鈥� of the vehicle, alerting to the odor of drugs, prompting the search that turned up the drugs. Later, Armijo and another State Police officer discovered two 鈥渆xtremely heavy鈥� spare tires in the trunk of the sedan, which later turned out to be filled with a total of 63.79 kilograms of fentanyl pills.
Armijo said that Perea agreed to be interviewed after his arrest.
After retiring from the State Police, he went to work for ABF Freight System Inc., the complaint states.
Perea stated that 鈥渉e often would imagine how easy it would have been for him to transport drugs using his ABF business vehicle, because he traveled frequently between Albuquerque and Phoenix.鈥�
It wasn鈥檛 clear from the complaint if Perea still worked for the freight company. The Journal couldn鈥檛 reach company representatives about his status on Friday.
At some point, Perea began making multiple trips to California, Phoenix and Roswell transporting drugs, the complaint stated. He didn鈥檛 usually know what type of drugs he was transporting, 鈥渂ut knew his activities were illegal.鈥�
For normal pickups or dropoffs, the complaint states, he and Schmidt would be instructed to leave their car at a specified location. When they returned later, the car would be loaded with drugs and they would drive back to a local park in Albuquerque where the car would be unloaded by another person or persons.
鈥淧erea indicated that his previous experience, skills and knowledge of police work aided him in his ability to transport drugs successfully and undetected,鈥� the complaint states.
鈥淧erea indicated that he had not told his employer (drug trafficking organization), whom he believed to be cartel-related, that he was a former police officer,鈥� according to the complaint.
However, he told investigators he intended 鈥渙n doing so to suggest methods on improving their trafficking operations.鈥�
State court records show at the time of his arrest on federal charges, Perea was awaiting trial in state district court in Valencia County on a charge of possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine).
Last September, Perea was arrested for concealing his identity during a traffic stop, but the case was dismissed. In 2023, Perea went to a diversion program after being arrested on a charge of possession of fentanyl.
In June 2023, Perea was charged with shoplifting at the Big R store on the Santa Ana Pueblo, but that charge was dismissed by prosecutors.
Settlement released in Texas v. New Mexico Rio Grande lawsuit - Danielle Prokop,
Parties in a legal dispute over Rio Grande water filed settlement documents Friday that could end a lawsuit that has been mired before the U.S. Supreme Court for the last 12 years and cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.
The potential dismissal of the case would establish new rules in the stretch of Rio Grande below Elephant Butte, an area reshaped by water scarcity and agriculture.
The U.S. Supreme Court in June 2024 struck a previous proposed settlement crafted between New Mexico, Texas and Colorado, ruling in a that the settlement unfairly excluded the federal government鈥檚 鈥渦nique federal interests,鈥� and sent the parties back to the negotiation tables in 2024.
In May, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado and the United States announced they were .
The agreement released Friday will provide a measure of stability and truly end the conflict, New Mexico鈥檚 lead attorney in the case, Jeff Wechsler, told Source NM.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a fair and appropriate resolution of a number of longstanding disputes in the Rio Grande, and I鈥檓 hopeful that it will really be the foundation for continued water use and prosperity in the region in both states,鈥� he said.
The parties provided the settlement to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Chief Judge D. Brooks Smith, who oversees the case as a special master. Smith set a Sept. 29 hearing in Philadelphia to consider the proposal. Following the hearing, Smith will write a recommendation to the U.S. Supreme Court, which holds the power to issue a final decision.
A series of droughts in the early 2000s spurred a slew of lawsuits between irrigation districts, local governments, state agencies and the federal Bureau of Reclamation over the splitting of the Rio Grande. The grievances carried into a 2011 federal lawsuit brought by New Mexico, which alleged the federal government鈥檚 operations of a network of dams, canals and irrigation ditches favored Texas farmers and shorted New Mexico its rightful Rio Grande water.
In 2013, Texas elevated the dispute to the U.S. Supreme Court, and alleged that New Mexico鈥檚 groundwater pumping from farming and development on the Rio Grande was taking tens of thousands of acre feet of water and violating the 87-year old compact between the states. The Supreme Court allowed the federal government to join the case in 2019.
In addition to the named parties, more than a dozen organizations factor into the case, including the cities of Las Cruces and El Paso; water utilities; farming groups; New Mexico State University and irrigation districts.
The four-part settlement resolves an overlapping series of disputes between:
- Texas and New Mexico, by establishing a framework for water accounting; and a new formula for yearly targets, among other provisions;
- New Mexico, the federal government and irrigation districts, which resolves water accounting issues and allows for transfers of water between the two irrigation districts for compact compliance;
- New Mexico and federal government, thus ending claims that New Mexico pumping threatened the federal government鈥檚 responsibility to transfer water to Mexico and the irrigation district; and requiring New Mexico to cut groundwater pumping under a new plan;
- and between the U.S. and the Elephant Butte Irrigation District, allowing for Rio Grande water to be used for purposes outside irrigation, while establishing compensation for farmers.
鈥淭his historic settlement allows New Mexico to maintain control of our water uses and adds flexibility to how we are able to meet our Compact requirements,鈥� State Engineer Elizabeth Anderson said in a statement. 鈥淏y working together with the local water users, the other states and the federal government, we have crafted a solution that meets the needs of all the parties.鈥�
Wechsler said the key sign off from two regional irrigation districts 鈥� Elephant Butte Irrigation District and El Paso County Water Improvement District No. 1 鈥� allows for groundwater users to continue using water.
鈥淚t really ends up being a huge benefit for the cities, the farmers, the water users down there,鈥� Wechsler said.
Local unions, progressives draw thousands for protests in NM - Noah Alcala Bach,
On Monday morning, thousands marched through Downtown Albuquerque, voicing their opposition to President Donald Trump at the 鈥淲orkers over Billionaires鈥� .
鈥淲e are the true patriots standing out here fighting for this country,鈥� Eithne Johnson, a protester in attendance, said.
The local protest was in line with hundreds of others , which were led by unions and other progressive organizations.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a travesty of democracy and justice. Everything that they鈥檙e (the Trump administration) doing is just antithetical to what the United States should be standing for,鈥� Eric Schaefer, another protester, said.
The local Teamsters, communications, teachers, graduate workers and trade unions, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, the Democratic Socialists of America and the Southwestern Coalition for Palestine were among the organizers of the Albuquerque demonstration.
鈥淚 think a lot of times, people think that Labor Day is a day that they get to spend time at home, right with their families,鈥� Sarah Hager, membership and involvement vice president for the Albuquerque Teachers Federation, said. 鈥淏ut I walked behind a family today with four little girls, and I just thought, what a wonderful way to spend time with your family.鈥�
According to a joint from ATF and other organizers, over 6,000 people attended the protest. The New Mexico Republican Party did not provide comment.
For its part, the put out a proclamation ahead of the weekend, signed Thursday by Trump, that pledged 鈥渢o protect American jobs and defend the dignity of American labor.鈥�
鈥淭ragically, in recent decades, a corrupt political class allowed our manufacturing base to decline,鈥� the proclamation reads. 鈥淥ur jobs were shipped to distant shores, our industries decimated, and our communities weakened, all while building up foreign competitors at the expense of American workers and families.鈥�
Ready for the New Mexico State Fair? Here's what to expect - Elizabeth Secor,
Grab a turkey leg and pick your favorite pig race contestant, the New Mexico State Fair is returning for 11 days of fun, food and farm animals.
Dan Mourning, general manager of Expo New Mexico and the New Mexico State Fair, said there鈥檚 鈥渁 little bit of something for everyone.鈥�
鈥淭here鈥檚 so many different moving parts or so many things that draw people together,鈥� Dan Mourning, general manager of Expo New Mexico and the New Mexico State Fair, said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why 520,000 people show up for this fair every year.鈥�
Mourning said the state fair, which runs Thursday, Sept. 4, through Sunday, Sept. 14, has an atmosphere that gets people excited.
鈥淚t鈥檚 energetic, it鈥檚 uplifting,鈥� Mourning said.
鈥淓verything that we do out there is just, you can鈥檛 even see it in one day. There鈥檚 so much entertainment, it鈥檚 just a great celebration in a really safe environment.鈥�
He said that the New Mexico State Fair is one of the safest fairs in the United States in terms of security and technology.
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e comfortable, you feel good, you come out with your friends, your family, your neighbors,鈥� Mourning said. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 a great time for us, especially in the times that we鈥檙e living in, to come together and be happy and celebrate those things that make us great as a state.鈥�
Alongside an emphasis on security, the fair also has a focus on affordability.
鈥淲e understand what it takes to make a living out there. We don鈥檛 want people to miss the fair because they can鈥檛 afford it,鈥� Mourning said.
A ticket to the fair online starts at $10.50 and goes up to $40 for an all-access pass. The state fair will also host several discount days. Fairgoers will have the option of Park and Ride, departing from and returning to Coronado Center on Saturdays and Sundays.
The New Mexico State Fair will have new food and drink options this year, including items tailored for the 21 and over crowd.
鈥淪o we have not just one, but we have two state fair brews that will be sold exclusively at the fair,鈥� Mourning said.
For those looking for a non-beer option or a nonalcoholic option, Mourning said this year the fair is bringing back a speakeasy at the Manuel Lujan Jr. Exhibit Complex.
鈥淭his is where you can get craft cocktails, mocktails, a little bit of entertainment,鈥� Mourning said. 鈥淲e kind of call it the adult sensory station.鈥�
He said the speakeasy gives the older crowd an escape from the noise where they can listen to some comedy and jazz.
The fair features a wide variety of entertainment, including Break-A-Boyz, MegaMorph the Transforming Car and Buckets N Boards, which are all new this year.
A new musical event this year is Soundwave NM, Mourning said, a showcase for local bands inside Tingley Coliseum.
Another popular event that will be returning is the Green Chile Cheeseburger Challenge, where nine of the best restaurants around New Mexico will be competing, Mourning said.
That鈥檚 not the only cook-off on the menu 鈥� the Unique Food Contest takes place opening day and the high school culinary competition is also returning.
鈥淭hese are your future chefs and cooks that are going to be serving our food up for many generations, and they are talented, so you ... definitely don鈥檛 want to miss that,鈥� Mourning said.
Mourning said opportunities like Future Farmers of America and the culinary competition help boost future generations.
鈥淲e need to showcase the best of New Mexico, and that鈥檚 what the state fair does,鈥� Mourning said, 鈥渁nd giving these young people that venue and that opportunity to showcase their talents is the reason we exist.鈥�
鈥淭hey are absolutely our future.鈥�
Mourning said the diversity of the fair is what keeps people coming year after year.
鈥淚t鈥檚 one of those things that it may be livestock and agriculture on one hand, it could be the rides, it could be the concerts, it could be the rodeo, it could be the art,鈥� Mourning said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the history, the culture. It鈥檚 the greatest event for New Mexico in New Mexico.鈥�