This week we felt the action at the Roundhouse pick up speed, and there were some shake-ups that threw journalists and the public off balance. So YNMG is taking the day to focus on access and transparency. Monday, was supposed to have a hearing for Senate Bill 8, the New Mexico Voting Rights Act, but that got pushed to Wednesday, then extended to Friday. There was another Senate bill aimed at making sure this year. That passed through a committee without the public getting a chance to look it over first. And, away from the legislature, the state鈥檚 Department of Health has been making changes over the last couple weeks to how it engages with journalists and the public in the weekly COVID-19 updates.
Your New Mexico Government is sponsored by the Thornburg Foundation with the goal of creating a more open government, that鈥檚 transparent and accessible to all. 九色网 and New Mexico PBS are working together on this, and we feel like this is the perfect opportunity to talk about why transparency is important. Today, we鈥檒l chat with Source New Mexico鈥檚 Editor in Chief and a friend of YNMG, Marisa Demarco, about covering the legislature this year. Marisa created YNMG with another former 九色网 staffer, Khalil Ekulona, and was its executive producer from before the coronavirus pandemic until she left 九色网 in July 2021.
Then, Nash Jones and Jered Ebenreck from 九色网 check in on how hard it can be to get public records and access to civil servants, even in a pandemic when we all acknowledge the need for . Here鈥檚 a spoiler alert 鈥� each story gets some semblance of a happy ending.
If you鈥檙e watching legislation or something else in government that you think we should pay attention to, send us a message at ynmg@kunm.org.
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This public service is part of our Your New Mexico Government project, a collaboration between 九色网 radio and New Mexico PBS. Support for public media provided by the Thornburg Foundation.
