Bomb threats to Jewish Community Centers, the cost of addressing crime, the need for transparency in financing private prisons, the past and future of the Colorado River, The Line Panel

This week on New Mexico in Focus, Producer Sarah Gustavus sits down with the head of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Albuquerque to talk about the response to the recent wave of bomb threats at their center and other JCCs across the country.

Correspondent Gwyneth Doland reports from the Roundhouse with a look at the cost of addressing crime and what is at stake if lawmakers can’t see where money is being spent in private prisons. This segment is part of the People, Power and Democracy Project, a collaborative multimedia project that examines ethics and transparency in state government.

Correspondent Laura Paskus talks with environmental reporter and writer John Fleck, author of “Water is for Fighting Over and Other Myths about Water in the West,” about the past and future of the Colorado River.

And NMiF host Gene Grant and the Line panelists debate some of the latest stories in the news, including the decision by Bernalillo County’s new district attorney, Raúl Torrez, not to retry former APD officers Keith Sandy and Dominique Perez in the shooting death three years ago of homeless and mentally ill camper James Boyd.  The Line also looks at a few bills that have fizzled so far during the state’s legislative session, and how policies laid out in President Trump’s first address to a joint session of Congress might affect New Mexico.

Host:
Gene Grant

Correspondents:
Gwyneth Doland
Sarah Gustavus
Laura Paskus

Studio Guests:
Dave Simon, executive director of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Albuquerque
John Fleck, author of Water is for Fighting Over and Other Myths about Water in the West

Line Panelists:

Tom Garrity, The Garrity Group PR
Rachel Sams, editor of Albuquerque Business First
Laura Sanchez-Rivét, attorney at Cuddy & McCarthy, LLP
Stephen Spitz, host of New Mexico People Places and Ideas on KUNM

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This segment is part of our People, Power and Democracy project.

People, Power and Democracy explores ethics, accountability and transparency in government. Our partners are KUNM, New Mexico in Depth, New Mexico News Port and New Mexico PBS.

Support for coverage on NMiF comes from the Thornburg Foundation and NMPBS viewers.

You can follow reporting from our partners on Facebook and Twitter

Featured image by Peter Greenberg