Concerns Over Produced Water and Police Oversight
This week on New Mexico in Focus, an environmental attorney criticizes a recent decision by the state’s Water Quality Control Commission to revisit how and where fracking wastewater can be used in New Mexico. Tannis Fox, a senior attorney with the Western Environmental Law Center, tells Host Nash Jones why she, and a coalition of environmental groups she represents, opposes it — and what’s to come in the rulemaking process.
For decades, some workers at the National Hispanic Cultural Center (NHCC) have been state employees — but only in name. Classified as “temporary,” they were denied benefits like health insurance, paid time off and retirement, even though they work full-time schedules. After nearly two years fighting for their rights, Cailley Chella reports, the state labor board has ruled in the employees’ favor, putting them on the doorstep of a massive victory.
In 2023, state Sen. Antonio “Moe” Maestas penned a bill meant to overhaul the state’s struggling police misconduct board. This week, Maestas tells Executive Producer Jeff Proctor how his legislation has fallen short in practice to improve a board plagued with a long list of problems.
The U.S. Senate has confirmed former New Mexico Republican Congressman Steve Pearce to lead the Bureau of Land Management. The Senate approved Pearce’s nomination as part of a package with 48 others in a 46-43 party-line vote. Both New Mexico senators, Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujan, voted against the confirmations. Nash Jones revisits Pearce’s confirmation hearing held back in February.
A Hantavirus outbreak on a Dutch cruise ship made international headlines beginning last month. While New Mexico has the most Hantavirus cases of any state in the U.S., it’s a different strain than what infected the ship’s passengers and crew. A leading expert on the virus at the UNM Health Sciences Center, Dr. Steven Bradfute, stopped by the studio to discuss the differences along with his new research on the version found here in New Mexico.
Host: Nash Jones
Segments:
Environmentalists Oppose Reuse of Fracking Wastewater
Correspondent: Nash Jones
Guest: Tannis Fox, Senior Attorney, Western Environmental Law Center
NHCC Workers Fight for Labor Rights
Correspondent: Cailley Chella
Guests: Rosemary Gallegos, National Hispanic Cultural Center Employee
Jacob Saavedra, National Hispanic Cultural Center Employee
Grace Saavedra, National Hispanic Cultural Center Employee
Nan G. Nash, NM Public Employee Labor Relations Board Chair
Peggy Nelson, NM Public Employee Labor Relations Board Vice Chair
Pilar Vaile, NM Public Employee Labor Relations Board Executive Director and Hearing Examiner
Megan Green, Communication Workers of America Local 7076 Union President
Police Misconduct Board Criticized for Lacking Transparency
Correspondent: Jeff Proctor
Guest: NM Sen. Antonio “Moe” Maestas, D-Albuquerque
Former NM Congressman Steve Pearce Joins Trump Administration
Correspondent: Nash Jones
Hantavirus Expert on How Disease Differs in NM
Correspondent: Nash Jones
Guest: Steven Bradfute, Ph.D., University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center