Vetoes ‘PET PROJECTS,’ ‘frivolous SPENDING’

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer approved portions of two separate resolutions that address the use of federal CARES Act funding for the Navajo Nation on July 4.

The Nez-Lizer Administration approved the following funds through Resolution CJN-46-20:

• $20 million for special duty pay for frontline workers and other essential personnel whose duties are substantially dedicated to mitigating or responding to the COVID-19 public health emergency.

• $10 million for Personal Protective Equipment for frontline workers and other essential personnel whose duties are substantially...

Congressman Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., was a co-signer to the July 9 letter to Department of Homeland Security Acting Secretary Chad Wolf and U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Matthew T. Albence.

Lujan responded to the July 14 change by U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement decision to prohibit distance learning for international students with this statement:

“International students enrich New Mexico’s colleges and universities. Their presence in the classroom benefits all students and prepares them to work in a global economy,” Lujan said. “I was proud to join more than 100 Members of Congress in demanding that the Trump administration drop its cruel...

A New Mexico judge knows what to do

When Supreme Court Justice Shannon Bacon was a practicing lawyer, she learned a lot about people who found themselves homeless and the problems they faced.

Before Bacon was on the New Mexico Supreme Court she served as a District Court Judge and before that as a practicing lawyer, who at one point worked at Cuidando Los Ninos in Albuquerque. Her focus at that time was on homeless youth.

In her efforts to champion the Access to Justice Commission, Bacon told the Gallup Sun July 8 about the many civil legal issues people at or below the poverty line can find themselves facing: things like eviction, employment problems, child custody, divorce...

SANTA FE—Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed legislation July 8 that requires New Mexico police officers to wear body cameras as a deterrent against unlawful use of force and establishes strengthened accountability measures in instances of inappropriate excessive force.

The camera requirement applies to city police, county sheriff’s agencies as well as state police and the Department of Public Safety.

Law enforcement agencies must maintain the body camera footage for at least 120 days.

Police who interfere with the devices or otherwise flout the camera requirement could face penalties for withholding evidence.

In addition, Senate Bill 8 establishes that the Law Enforcement...