$14.8 million on the line

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer extend their appreciation to the New Mexico State Legislature for working together with the Navajo Nation in support of Senate Bill 212, which was approved by the New Mexico State Senate Feb. 15, and the House of Representatives Feb. 16.

If signed into law by New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, the bill would provide approximately $14.8 million in Capital Outlay Funds for Navajo chapters in the state of New Mexico.

“On behalf of our communities in the state of New Mexico, we thank the New Mexico State Legislature for supporting these much-needed projects and...

SANTA FE — New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, Environment Secretary James Kenney, and Natural Resources Trustee Maggie Hart Stebbins announce an agreement in principle to settle New Mexico’s claims against the federal government in the litigation over the 2015 Gold King Mine disaster.

On Feb. 16, the parties agreed to put the litigation on hold for 90 days so that the terms of the agreement can be finalized in a formal settlement agreement. Final settlement terms will be focused on investing funds into communities in northwest New Mexico to bolster the agriculture and outdoor recreation economies and mitigate the stigma caused by the...

Week ending Friday, February 4, 2022

 

New Ocean Normal

A study of the past 150 years of ocean observations reveals that the rising temperatures of the world’s seas, including extreme oceanic heat waves, “passed the point of no return” in 2014. The Monterey Bay Aquarium-sponsored study was published in the Journal PLOS Climate and warns that the increasing warmth is devastating the ecosystem. It documents how extreme sea-surface temperatures occurred just 2% of the time a century ago, but have been happening at least 50% of the time since 2014. Some hot spots experienced extreme temperatures 90% of the time, ravaging wildlife populations.

Earthquakes

People from Dallas to...

Technology is a double-edged sword. Lately, Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services management and patients have been learning that lesson the hard way.

Amid escalating tensions between some members of the community and hospital management, phone outages at the College Clinic were the last straw. Patients vented on Facebook about problems reaching their care providers and making appointments.

Eventually, they organized and took to the streets in protest, braving the wind and snow Feb. 2, and coming out again on Feb. 9, under sunnier skies.

“When the protesters came out it was on the heels of a couple of weeks of frustration with the phones,” RMCHCS Interim CEO Don...