COVID Turns 4, SCOTUS & Water, Oil & Gas Workers

This week on New Mexico in Focus, we look back at how the COVID-19 pandemic has shaped the last four years. In the first of a two-part interview, Executive Producer Jeff Proctor sits down with Santa Fe-based public defender Jennifer Burrill and Michael Bird, former president of the American Public Health Association, to take stock of our state and country’s handling of the pandemic — and where we are now. Then, Jeff asks Jennifer about her bout with Long COVID and the physical toll it has taken. 

This week, U.S. Supreme Court justices heard arguments from attorneys representing New Mexico, Texas and Colorado, as the three states presented a plan that would resolve a decade-old water rights case. Source New Mexico reporter Danielle Prokop joins us from Washington, D.C. to ask how the high court’s decision will impact how we share water from the lower Rio Grande for years to come. 

A new study from the University of New Mexico reports dangerous working conditions in the oil and gas industry. Correspondent Elizabeth Miller speaks with Dr. Gabriel Sanchez, a study author and executive director at UNM’s Center for Social Policy, to ask how the sector’s workers might find new jobs in a clean-energy future. 

Host: Lou DiVizio

Segments: 
How COVID Has Shaped the Last Four Years in NM 
Correspondent: Jeff Proctor 
Guests: Jennifer Burrill, attorney, New Mexico Law Offices of the Public Defender 
Michael Bird, former president, American Public Health Association 

Supreme Court Hears Rio Grande Water Rights Case 
Correspondent: Lou DiVizio 
Guest: Danielle Prokop, reporter, Source New Mexico 

UNM Study Finds Dangerous Working Conditions in Oil and Gas Industry 
Correspondent: Elizabeth Miller 
Guest: Dr. Gabriel Sanchez, professor and executive director, UNM Center for Social Policy 

Long COVID in NM and the Pandemic’s Lasting Effects 
Correspondent: Jeff Proctor 
Guests: Jennifer Burrill, attorney, New Mexico Law Offices of the Public Defender 
Michael Bird, former president, American Public Health Association