{"id":49134,"date":"2026-05-22T16:42:37","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T23:42:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/?p=49134"},"modified":"2026-05-22T16:42:39","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T23:42:39","slug":"once-more-unto-the-breach-dear-friends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/once-more-unto-the-breach-dear-friends\/","title":{"rendered":"Once More Unto the Breach, Dear Friends"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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It\u2019s\u00a0election season, y\u2019all, but as I peck out those words, it occurs to me that\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0pretty much always\u00a0election season anymore. And\u00a0we\u2019ve\u00a0been\u00a0giving you an awful lot of news and analysis rooted in that most basic of civic duties\u00a0on our show recently: candidate interviews, polling\u00a0breakdowns\u00a0and prognostications, oh my!\u00a0

It makes sense, I\u00a0s\u2019pose, what with primary Election Day hovering\u00a0and whirring\u00a0like\u00a0some\u00a0state-sized\u00a0drone over the discourse. (That\u2019d be\u00a0June 2.) Elections are part of the bread and butter for New Mexico in Focus, and\u00a0they do, as the saying goes, have consequences.\u00a0

But this week, we offer you a brief respite in the form of a good, old-fashioned In Focus\u00a0whiparound.\u00a0And so, to quote\u00a0The Bard,\u00a0\u201conce more unto the breach, dear friends, once more\u201d\u00a0\u2014 with your favorite weekly news program…\u00a0

We begin with an update on \u2014 and some\u00a0pushback\u00a0against \u2014 Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham\u2019s longstanding effort to expand the use of\u00a0fracking wastewater beyond the oil fields. The state Water Quality Control Commission has taken another step to that end, and\u00a0Tannis Fox of the Western Environmental Law Center\u00a0drops by\u00a0to explain the opposition.\u00a0

Next, NMiF reporter Cailley Chella brings you the story of several National Hispanic Cultural Center workers who recently struck a blow against the\u00a0empire\u00a0in their fight for labor rights.\u00a0They\u2019d\u00a0been misclassified\u00a0as \u201ctemporary\u201d employees for years, but the state labor board has opened the door for them to join a union.\u00a0

Then\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0on to Democratic state Sen. Antonio \u201cMoe\u201d Maestas of Albuquerque to walk us through the mire in which the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy Certification Board now finds itself. Maestas sponsored a bill in 2023 to fix the long-troubled agency that oversees training,\u00a0certification\u00a0and misconduct investigations for\u00a0cops\u00a0across the state. Things are not going as planned, so we brought the senator in to tell us what\u00a0he\u2019d\u00a0like to see to ensure that his bill\u2019s intent becomes reality.\u00a0

We\u2019ve\u00a0got a\u00a0couple\u00a0little\u00a0newsy\u00a0items sprinkled into the show, too. One notes\u00a0the state Environment Department\u2019s recent award of $13 million on contracts to map, test and treat salty, brackish water\u00a0\u2014 another Lujan Grisham priority as she seeks to address New Mexico\u2019s dwindling supply of the wet stuff. The other puts on the In Focus record the\u00a0recent Senate\u00a0confirmation of\u00a0Republican former New Mexico Congressman Steve Pearce\u00a0to lead the federal Bureau of Land Management.

And we close the show with a University of New Mexico Health Science Center hantavirus expert to lay out some facts about the horrifying illness\u00a0\u2014 what with its recent appearance in international headlines via cruise ship exposures and all.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So,\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0our show this week. Yes, we know the primaries are less than two weeks away. No, we do not intend to stop covering elections. But we hope you appreciate that we\u00a0make time\u00a0for other important stories, too \u2014 even as the\u00a0aforementioned drone\u00a0of Election Day continues its descent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Jeff Proctor, Executive Producer<\/p>\n\n\n\n