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Lujan Grisham shuffles around Cabinet amid string of resignations

11 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

Amid an unprecedented number of resignations in Democrat New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s Cabinet, she has tapped her Tourism Department Secretary Jen Paul Schroer to be her Aging and Long-Term Services secretary following the resignation of Katrina Hotrum-Lopez earlier this month.

According to the governor’s office, Lancing Adams, the current Development Director, will be the acting Tourism Secretary.

“I am honored to champion the needs of New Mexico seniors as the new Cabinet Secretary of Aging and Long-term Services. Every New Mexican, at every age, deserves access to quality healthcare,” Schroer said in a Tuesday press release. 

“I see great opportunity in improving how the state assists older adults and their caregivers in maintaining independence, living safely and autonomously. I appreciate the governor’s confidence as I take a disciplined approach to reaching the department’s true potential,” she added.

Sec. Jen Paul Schroer via Gov. Lujan Grisham’s office.

“Secretary Schroer has been a valuable member of my cabinet,” said Gov. Lujan Grisham. “She has a long history of service to New Mexico that will inform her decisions leading a new department. As an emerging health care leader, Sec. Schroer knows how to get things done and finds creative ways to problem solve – attributes that will serve New Mexicans who use the services in the Aging and Long-Term Services Department well. I look forward to working with her in this new role.”

The governor’s press release reads, “She currently serves on several cross-agency teams including the CYFD Transformation leadership team deploying technology solutions to support foster families and social workers, as well as, supporting workforce recruitment strategies for PED and DOH. Additionally, she was appointed by [Joe] Biden to serve on the U.S. Route 66 Centennial Commission.”

The news also comes after Economic Development Department (NMEDD) Secretary Alicia J. Keyes left the administration.

Another Lujan Grisham Cabinet secretary jumps ship

Lujan Grisham shuffles around Cabinet amid string of resignations Read More »

ABQ Police Dept. issues traffic warning ahead of Joe Biden’s visit

22 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Joe Biden will be visiting New Mexico to talk about climate change and fundraise for his 2024 campaign. This is Biden’s latest trip to the Land of Enchantment, previously visiting the state to stump for Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in her successful 2022 reelection bid. 

According to the Albuquerque Police Department, “Drivers are advised to avoid I-25 south of I-40 & I-40 west of the Big I on Tuesday afternoon & Wednesday morning. Side streets may also be impacted.”

“Please be patient during this time. There will be no parking allowed along the route for the motorcade. Parked cars will be towed,” the Department continued.

A report from ABQ Raw noted that advice from the Department included, “APD will have a strong presence to manage and control traffic effectively. Officers will be stationed strategically to ensure minimal disruptions.”

“While every effort will be made to maintain traffic flow, the public is urged to exercise patience and understanding, considering potential delays in the specified areas.”

Biden previously visited New Mexico in 2022 to stump for far-left Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in her narrow yet successful reelection bid.

A fundraiser by failed former congressional candidate Randi McGinn will feature Biden and the governor, according to invites sent out to supporters:

Lujan Grisham was one of the first public officials to formally endorse Biden’s announcement that he will seek another term in the White House.

Lujan Grisham, Biden lie repeatedly during ABQ campaign stop

ABQ Police Dept. issues traffic warning ahead of Joe Biden’s visit Read More »

Recycling plant catches fire in ABQ, billowing smoke ‘unhealthy for everyone’

8 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Sunday afternoon, officials announced they were battling the blazes of a fire at a plastic recycling facility in Albuquerque south of the International Sunport.

Albuquerque Fire Rescue warned in a statement posted at 4:03 p.m., “AFR and Bernalillo County [are] working a multi-alarm, multi-jurisdictional fire. Structures, product and vehicles are involved. Fire is not under control. Stay clear of the area of Bobby Foster and south University”

A health alert expiring Monday morning was sent out for Albuquerque and Bernalillo County residents late Sunday evening due to “smoke [that] contains hazardous air pollutants,” and expires Monday morning.

“The fire is at a facility that stores plastics. Please avoid the area. For respiratory health, stay inside [and] keep windows and doors closed. If needed for comfort, use air conditioners on recycle/recirculation mode,” wrote the City of Albuquerque’s Environmental Health arm. 

The alert made clear, “This smoke is unhealthy for everyone, and people should limit outdoor activity tonight in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County.”

“Matt DeMaria, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Albuquerque, said the forecast called for westerly winds to carry the smoke east over the city Sunday evening. He said overnight the winds were expected to blow the smoke into the South Valley, and temperature inversion could make for more unhealthy conditions tomorrow morning,” reported the Albuquerque Journal.

“All (the toxic pollutants) could be trapped lower in the atmosphere, which could potentially pose a health risk,” DeMaria said.

Recycling plant catches fire in ABQ, billowing smoke ‘unhealthy for everyone’ Read More »

Violent slaying of ABQ woman catches national press

23 Comments / New Mexico, News / By

The family of a 23-year-old woman from Albuquerque, who tragically lost her life when confronting the thieves who stole her car, demands justice for their loved one. The incident involved a 13-year-old suspect who shot Sydney Wilson after she tracked her stolen vehicle to a Smith’s grocery store and gas station in Southwest Albuquerque using a GPS app.

According to KOAT Action News, Sydney Wilson’s family stated that she was fatally shot by the 13-year-old suspect when she approached her stolen white Hyundai. The minor later surrendered to the authorities and is currently held at Bernalillo County Juvenile Detention Center, facing charges of murder, tampering with evidence, and unlawful possession of a handgun.

The national press, including Fox News, is now picking up the story.

Before the fatal shooting, the teen suspect and other juveniles had stolen alcohol from Walgreens and recklessly driven the stolen car. As the situation escalated, the car’s driver crashed into a black Mustang and a curb while attempting to escape, leading to the deployment of the car’s airbags.

Sydney Wilson’s sister, Crystal Miller, recalled arriving at the scene shortly after the attempt to resuscitate her sister. She expressed deep anguish and regret for not being there to prevent the tragedy, as Sydney had called her moments before the shooting to inform her about finding her stolen car.

Despite Crystal’s guidance against confronting the thief, Sydney was determined to reclaim her car, displaying her strong-willed nature. Her family believes that even though the suspect is young, he should face severe consequences for his actions.

Crystal Miller emphasized that she wants the harshest penalties for the teen and even believes that the suspect’s parents should be held accountable.

Sydney Wilson’s mother, Deidra Wilson, echoed the sentiment, expressing concern over the lack of adult supervision and the need to improve the home environment for children in New Mexico. She questions why a child as young as 13 was involved in such dangerous criminal activity.

“I want the maximum sentence for him and the family involved. He is 13 years old. There’s no reason he should have been on the streets without an adult,” Wilson said. 

Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina acknowledged the broader issue of minors engaging in criminal behavior throughout the state and emphasized the importance of uniting as a community to foster a healthy environment for children.

The family’s calls for justice and accountability highlight the need to address the larger problem of juvenile involvement in crimes and ensure that such incidents are not repeated.

During the 2023 Legislative Session, Democrats made it easier for underage offenders to be sprung from prison, even those like the suspect who had killed another. Therefore, the suspect, if charged, will be eligible for parole early, depriving the Wilsons of peace of mind knowing the perpetrator is behind bars.

Lujan Grisham signs bill giving life-sentenced minors chance of parole

Violent slaying of ABQ woman catches national press Read More »

In stunning move, Attorney General Torrez turns on Gov. Lujan Grisham

27 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

In a stunning move of opposition to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez announced a new Civil Rights Division in his office, a proposal the governor pocket vetoed from the 2023 Legislative Session.

“We are going to establish the first dedicated office focused on protecting the rights of everyone in this country, but particularly the children of this country, and that includes Latino children,” Torrez said before the start of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) convention, where he is being honored. 

Torrez says the division, vetoed in S.B. 426, will concentrate on civil rights cases and prioritize protecting children.

According to KRQE 13, he told the crowd, “Now, we didn’t get that bill over the finish line, but when we had the veto, I made a promise to this community, and I’m going to make a promise to my extended community across the country: we’re going to create the civil rights division in the Attorney General’s Office anyway!”

“We are re-allocating within the agency, and frankly, it’s a position that I didn’t want to be in. I didn’t want to be in a position where I had to repurpose some of the resources that we had dedicated to other issue areas, but I think it’s so important to start better protecting children and start improving education that we take a more affirmative role and build out this institution,” Torrez said to the ire of the governor, who expressed the Division would “muddy the waters for agencies already tasked with child welfare and that no funding was set aside for the division,” according to the report.

Because of the route the Attorney General is taking, Torrez said his prosecutors won’t be able to gather evidence ahead of litigation, but rather only after they make a public filing. “One of the other things that we don’t have that was included in the bill is the ability to gather discovery before litigation. A civil investigative demand. Where we could quietly gather information before we decided whether to initiate a formal action,” Torrez says, “Now, because we don’t have that power, we’re going to end up like all other civil rights plaintiffs—we’re going to file an action which is a big public process and then go through the discovery procedures after that.”

KOAT 13 added, “Torrez said he’s already hired two attorneys for the division and hopes to hire several more and a division director before the year is up. He added that the new office will also focus on equity in education and jail conditions.”

In stunning move, Attorney General Torrez turns on Gov. Lujan Grisham Read More »

Another Lujan Grisham Cabinet secretary jumps ship

8 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

In the latest blow to the severely unstable administration of Democrat New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, another Cabinet secretary has jumped ship just weeks after Economic Development Department (NMEDD) Secretary Alicia J. Keyes left the administration.

The governor’s office announced the abrupt departure of New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Services Department Secretary Katrina Hotrum-Lopez Monday, saying she had retired Monday, the same day as the announcement.

Hotrum-Lopez was one of the longest-serving officials in the administration, being at the Department since August 2019.

The former Cabinet secretary said, “It has been the great privilege of my life to work with the incredible team at Aging and Long-Term Services, as well as all the incredible state workers throughout New Mexico.”

“During my tenure, our department navigated an unprecedented global pandemic, historic wildfires, and all the everyday challenges of providing services throughout New Mexico,” she added.

Lujan Grisham’s health policy advisor Gina DeBlassie will step into the role and serve as acting secretary.

The Santa Fe New Mexican reported, “Hotrum-Lopez’s retirement is the latest in a long series of departures of Cabinet secretaries under Lujan Grisham’s administration. Department of Finance and Administration Secretary Deborah Romero left at the end of 2022, followed in January by secretaries in the Public Education, Human Services and General Services departments. In June, the secretary for the Department of Information Technology was reassigned.”

Another Michelle Lujan Grisham cabinet member resigns

Another Lujan Grisham Cabinet secretary jumps ship Read More »

Dems gaslight on GOP’s parental notice form as gov’s DOH, Ed. chiefs stay mum

13 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

This month, New Mexico House Republicans released a notification form for parents and guardians to fill out to require notification before their child accesses medical and behavioral health services or some instructional materials. The move came after the passage of recent legislation, including H.B. 7 and S.B. 397. 

The form gives multiple fields for notification, including “any health care services, referral for services, class, lesson, instruction, curriculum, assembly, guest speaker, activity, assignment, library material, online material, club, group, or association concerning transgender ideology, gender affirming care or gender identity,” “abortion,” “contraception and other family planning,” “primary health care,” and “mental or psychiatric care.”

However, the Democrats are now trying to gaslight parents, claiming the form is not binding while asserting they care about parental-teacher collaboration.  

Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s New Mexico Department of Health Secretary (NMDOH) Patrick Allen and Department of Education (PED) Secretary Arsenio Romero wrote a July 14 letter to school officials charging, “The notification and consent school form offered to parents by the New Mexico House Republicans does not have any legal effect.”

According to a Santa Fe New Mexican report, parents have cause for concern about their child being exposed to abortion and gender-affirming care at schools.

It read, “But state law allows for a few circumstances in which youth can consent to medical care on their own. Teens 14 and older, for instance, can consent to taking psychotropic medications or engaging in certain forms of therapy and counseling. The Children’s Code requires clinicians in such cases to promote the ‘healthy involvement of a child’s legal custodians and family members in developing and implementing the child’s treatment plan.’ New Mexico has no laws requiring parental consent for minors to receive abortions.”

Democrats’ House Whip Reena Szczepanski (D-Santa Fe) gaslit concerned parents, telling the outlet the form is a “divisive tactic for political gain” to bring “national political lightning rod issues” to New Mexico, where she claims such concerns do not exist — despite the same report admitting underage children can access gender-affirming care and abortions without parental consent due to these new laws.

“I’m a mom with school-aged children, and one thing I have learned over the years is that the most important thing to help a child succeed is great communication between school, parents, teachers — everyone being involved in education is a great thing,” Szczepanski continued. 

It is unclear how Szczepanski claims to want “great communication” between stakeholders yet opposes measures to ensure such communication happens at schools between parents/guardians and educators.

A July 19, 2023 letter signed by 23 of the 25 New Mexico House Republicans asked Secretaries Allen and Romero why they sent the July 14 letter, which caused further alarm and confusion among schools and parents.

One question asked by the GOP lawmakers included, “Are you advising school leaders to reject, or ignore, the explicit request by parents to be informed via the parental notification/consent form?”

Neither Cabinet secretary has yet given a response to the House Republicans’ questions, but it appears the two are hoping to push parents into confusion about what rights they have over their children’s well-being.

NM Health Dept. school survey asks children disturbing sexual questions

Dems gaslight on GOP’s parental notice form as gov’s DOH, Ed. chiefs stay mum Read More »

New Mexico’s back-to-school tax holiday announced

Leave a Comment / New Mexico, News / By

The New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department (TRD) announced this year’s back-to-school tax holiday beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, August 4, and ending at midnight on Sunday, August 6, 2023.

“Coming soon to a retail store near you is the annual New Mexico Gross Receipts Tax Holiday.  If you have school-age children, it’s nothing short of a bonanza,” wrote TRD. “For that weekend the state suspends collection of gross receipts tax on sales of qualifying items so you can buy the items tax free. Because many merchants also absorb the tax on a number of non-qualifying items, you are the beneficiary all around.”

The press release from the Department noted, “To qualify for the deduction, clothing or shoes must be priced at less than $100 per unit. The price limit for desktop, laptop, tablets or notebook computers is $1,000, and for related computer hardware it is $500. School supplies for use in standard, general-education classrooms must be under $30 per unit. There are items specifically excluded by statute in all categories. Those items are always taxable.”

According to the details, “To qualify for the deduction, clothing or shoes must be priced at less than $100 per unit. The price limit for desktop, laptop, tablets or notebook computers is $1,000, and for related computer hardware it is $500. School supplies for use in standard, general-education classrooms must be under $30 per unit. There are items specifically excluded by statute in all categories. Those items are always taxable.”

“The law specifically excludes watches, radios, compact disc players, headphones, sporting equipment, portable desktop telephones, copiers, office equipment, furniture, or fixtures. The law does not consider such items to be school supplies that students normally use in a standard classroom. Sales of those items are taxable during the three-day period.”

For more details about the tax holiday, click here.

New Mexico’s back-to-school tax holiday announced Read More »

Reports show projections for NM’s cash cow: Oil and gas

19 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

New Mexico’s far-left legislative majorities in the legislature and two-term stronghold on the governorship have achieved extreme policies thanks to the billions garnered from the oil and gas boom. 

The Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) released a July 21 report showing revenue at $8.99 billion through March for Fiscal Year 2023, running from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023. That figure is up $1.9 billion or 27 percent. 

However, the IHS Markit and Moody’s Investors Service reports show a projected decline in oil and gas production after peaks between 2028-2033.

“This could mean the start of a decline in New Mexico’s now-booming oil and gas production, dropping from a forecast 2 million bopd in 2030 to as low as about 500,000 bopd by 2050, according to the presentation,” reported the Carlsbad Current-Argus.

New Mexico’s Chief Economist Leo Delgado said, “You can see New Mexico is currently on the upslope of that oil production trendline with production expected to increase in the next couple of years,” adding, “You see that it’s on the upslope, but it does start to plateau in the early 2030s before it starts to gradually decline.”

He noted that New Mexico’s wells are “highly-productive” in “the first few months of operations, but taper off quicky, meaning more wells must be drilled and put into service,” the report noted.

“New Mexico has some very productive wells, very high-yield wells, very conducive well economics, low break-even points,” he said. “In order to maintain those levels of production, that activity must continue.”

“The expectation is production will slow. It will be at a much slower pace and that’s where we start to see New Mexico production still at elevated levels but at a declining rate year over year when we look at the long-term,” he continued, according to the Current-Argus.

With anti-energy Democrats currently in charge of the state, their eco-left, job-killing policies cause the projected decline and thus their cash cow for high-ticket investments, including taxpayer-funded “free” college and “universal” free daycare. 

Reports show projections for NM’s cash cow: Oil and gas Read More »

NM Health Dept. school survey asks children disturbing sexual questions

31 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

An intake survey recently uncovered by the New Mexico House Republicans shows that Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) is using an intake survey with disturbing sexual questions at the state’s 80 school-based health centers.

There are two survey versions, one for children up to 11 and one for 11 and up.

“Young people like you can be seen for their sexual and mental health without permission from their parent or guardian,” the survey reads.

The one for the younger kids asks whether the student is “male, female, or transgender,” and the one for children 11 years and older asks if the child is “straight, gay/lesbian, or bisexual.”

Other questions from the 11 and up survey ask questions including relationship status, with the option for an “open relationship,” whether the child has had sex, including anal, vaginal, or oral, whether the child has ever “sexted,” whether the child has had sex with transgender men or transgender women, whether the child has had vaginal, oral, or anal sex [with definitions of what these terms mean], and whether the child’s sex partner has sex with both men and women.

Other disturbing questions include pronouns that include “They/Them/Their,” “Zi/Hir/Hirs,” and “No pronouns, just my name.”

The questionnaire also asks multiple questions about various illicit drugs and whether these drugs have been used before or after sexual intercourse. 

A letter obtained by the New Mexico House Republicans showing NMDOH’s communications director outlining the specifics of the survey reads, “The survey is administered on an iPad either the day of the SBHC visit or through a web link that is designed to only be valid 24-hours prior to a scheduled visit ensuring up-to-date data for clinical use.”

“The surveys are designed to assure patients feel safe and are easy to use. Patients can answer questions they feel comfortable with and skip those they do not want to answer. Questions are added as health risks are identified. They also have the choice not to respond to the questionnaire at all.” 

During the 2023 Legislative Session, fiery debate ensued over these school-based health centers pushing abortions and gender-affirming care on children, accusations that Democrats denied. These new revelations show merit in the concerns of conservative legislators.

The House Republicans have released a consent form for parents and guardians to mandate notification before their child accesses medical and behavioral health services or some instructional materials.

Amid radical woke agenda, NM House GOP offering parents legal option

NM Health Dept. school survey asks children disturbing sexual questions Read More »

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