The New Mexico Prison & Jail Project announced its intention to sue the New Mexico Corrections Department for alleged violations of the state’s Inspection of Public Records Act on the same day it launched, Dec. 10.

NMP&J Project was created to provide more lawyers to help the state’s prison population.

The group’s first piece of litigation alleges the corrections department failed to follow IPRA, and asks for previously requested records, which include documentation on whether the agency made policy changes in determining what constitutes an exemption to public records. NMP&JP also wants $100 per day in damages from the day the nonprofit asked for the records until the...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Following the advice of the Attending Physician of the U.S. Congress, Congressman Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., the U.S. House Assistant Speaker, received the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

“This week I was pleased to see that health care workers were the first to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in our state. As the first New Mexicans [to] receive the coronavirus vaccine, I have a responsibility to lead by example and show my constituents that this vaccine is safe and effective. There is nothing to fear about getting vaccinated to protect yourself from this deadly disease,” Luján said. “However, vaccination is only one tool in our kit to combat the COVID-19...

SANTA FE — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has appointed Julie J. Vargas to the state Supreme Court, closing the vacancy left by the Honorable Justice Judith K. Nakamura, who retired Dec. 1.

“Judge Vargas has demonstrated her quality as a consistent and conscientious jurist,” Lujan Grisham said. “She is a fair, trustworthy and thoughtful representative of New Mexico’s judicial system, and I know New Mexico will benefit from her service now as a justice.”

Vargas has served as a judge on the New Mexico Court of Appeals since her election in 2016, reviewing District Court decisions and drafting opinions, in addition to evaluating court performance measures and implementing a...

Week ending Friday, December 11, 2020

La Niña Persists

U.S. forecasters predict there is a 95% chance the current moderate La Niña episode will prevail until at least March, triggering a unique set of global weather shifts. They add there is a chance it will peak in the strong range during January. While El Niños typically last just one year, La Niñas often fade, then redevelop the following year. Australian meteorologists say the ocean-cooling across the tropical Pacific can probably be linked to a cyclone-like storm that was lashing the coast of Queensland in mid-December. The deepening climate crisis is also said to be a factor in that storm and accompanying...