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Houselessness During an Outbreak, Our Land, COVID-19 Across New Mexico

This week on New Mexico in Focus, correspondent Megan Kamerick talks with officials from the City of Albuquerque and nonprofits helping those without housing. They discuss efforts to help curtail COVID-19 spread among people experiencing homelessness and how the response to this pandemic may shape public health and housing in the future.

“Our Land” correspondent Laura Paskus sits down with Santa Fe National Forest fire fighter Terrance Gallegos, who went to Australia to help combat the country’s recent unprecedented bushfires, which burned more than 72,000 square miles and destroyed some 6,000 buildings. Based on that experience, he looks ahead to New Mexico’s fire season.

Correspondent Megan Kamerick talks with members of the Catholic and Jewish communities about how they are trying to adapt faith traditions during a pandemic. Both the Christian and Jewish faiths will adjust major celebrations for Holy Week, which leads up to Easter, and Passover, a commemoration of the story of Exodus.

Correspondent Laura Paskus begins a series of interviews with journalists around the state as they cover COVID-19 in their communities. Noel Smith reports on the Navajo Nation for the Farmington Daily Times. She’s also a tribal member and has seen her home devastated by a COVID-19 outbreak.

Gene Grant and The Line opinion panel discuss Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s new actions to deal with COVID-19, including tighter restrictions on businesses, extending those restrictions through April, and ordering the early release of low-risk prison inmates. The Line also looks at the effects of the pandemic on faith communities.

Host:
Gene Grant     

In Focus Interviews:
Managing COVID-19 Among Those Experiencing Homelessness
Correspondent: Megan Kamerick
Guest: Dennis Plummer, CEO, Albuquerque Heading Home 
Guest: Jenny Metzler, executive director, Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless 
Guest: Lisa Huval, deputy director of housing and homelessness for City of Albuquerque 

Our Land: New Mexico’s Upcoming Fire Season
Correspondent: Laura Paskus
Guest: Terrance Gallegos, deputy fire staff officer, Santa Fe National Forest 

Practicing Faith During a Pandemic
Correspondent: Megan Kamerick
Guest: Sarah Leiter, community outreach coordinator, UNM’s Hillel House
Guest: Victoria Trujillo, Roman Catholic Church member and frequent pilgrim to El Santuario de Chimayo 

Navajo Nation Outbreak
Correspondent: Laura Paskus
Guest: Noel Smith, Navajo Nation reporter, Farmington Daily Times 

The Line Opinion Panel:
Dede Feldman, former state senator 
Dan Foley, former state representative
Inez Russell Gomez, editorial page editor, Santa Fe New Mexican