- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW MEXICO
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Officials at some of New Mexico's largest hospitals are holding out hope that vaccine supplies will catch up with demand. They said during a briefing that they understand the wait is stressful for people who have registered to receive shots. Some have been waiting for weeks, and state health officials have acknowledged that residents have been crossing state lines in search of vaccines in Texas. On Monday, the New Mexico Health Department confirmed Walgreens and other pharmacies in the state would begin receiving shipments this week. Over 89,000 New Mexico residents have been fully vaccinated — or about 4.2% of the population.
- SCHOOLS DELAY HYBRID
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico's largest school districts aren't rushing to get back to in-person learning, despite getting a green light from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. The Albuquerque Public Schools board last week tabled a discussion for a hybrid in-person plan with 50% of students in classrooms. The board instead asked officials to prepare a plan for even smaller groups. In Santa Fe, a hybrid reopening plan relies on teacher volunteers, but only 15% are raising their hand to head back. Other districts have simply given up on in-person classes, opting to educate remotely through the end of the spring semester.
- MARIJUANA PRODUCER-LICENSE
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A medical marijuana producer is in danger of losing its license in the wake of a fire at a Santa Fe facility left two workers hurt. The Santa Fe New Mexican reported Saturday that the New Mexico Department of Health is weighing whether to revoke the license for New Mexicann Natural Medicine. Authorities say the October fire started after two employees were in the midst of a cannabis extraction process. One lost his grip as both were carrying a large metal vessel with a mixture of ethanol and cannabis oil. It is the second incident at that location after an explosion occurred there in 2015.
- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NAVAJO NATION
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — Navajo Nation officials say they are getting nearly 29,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines this week plus 82 more federal personnel to help with vaccinations. Tribal President Jonathan Nez says the goal is to administer 100,000 total doses of the vaccines by the end of this month. Navajo Nation health officials say the tribe will be receiving 26,000 more doses of the Moderna vaccine and 2,925 doses of the Pfizer vaccine. Nez says that as of Sunday, the Navajo Area Indian Health Service received 78,520 vaccine doses and 74,048 of those doses have been administered _ a 94% efficiency rate so far. The vast reservation covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
- BIDEN-IMMIGRATION
HOUSTON (AP) — President Joe Biden rushed to send the most ambitious overhaul of the nation's immigration system in a generation to Congress. And he signed nine executive actions to wipe out some the toughest measures to fortify the U.S.-Mexico border implemented by his predecessor, President Donald Trump. But a federal court suspended Biden's 100-day moratorium on deportations, the immigration bill hasn't been passed and many of the new president's orders will take weeks, months — perhaps even years — to implement. In the meantime, there is likely to be more overlap in the Biden and Trump hardline immigration policies than many of the activists who helped generate Latino support for Biden in the election had hoped.
- CHILD WELFARE DATA
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — New data from New Mexico shows that the southern portion of the state continues to lag behind the rest of the state in child poverty and welfare. The 2020 New Mexico Kids Count Data Book was released to provide state legislators child welfare data and showed that the state is still 48th in child poverty among U.S. states. Emily Wildau, the New Mexico Kids Count research and policy analyst, says most of the data released was from 2019. She says that in the data's timeframe, 11 of 16 indicators of child welfare had improved. Despite the improvements in some categories, the south of the state is still experiencing problems with child poverty and welfare.
- LAWMAKER-PARTY AFFILIATION CHANGE
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A Republican lawmaker in New Mexico who voted in favor of a Democratic-backed abortion bill has left the Republican Party. House Minority Leader Jim Townsend said on Friday that state Rep. Phelps Anderson of Roswell changed his voter registration to a "declined to state" after voting to repeal a 1969 law that criminalizes abortion. Anderson sided with seven Democrats in repealing the law, drawing criticism from his constituents as well as calls for his resignation. Anderson was elected to the House of Representatives in 2018 and won reelection in 2020. He also served in the House from 1977 through 1980.
- WILDFIRE-NEW MEXICO
SACRAMENTO, N.M. (AP) — U.S. Forest Service officials say a fire that started Friday night in a structure in the southern New Mexico mountain village of Sacramento spread into an adjacent national forest before crews stopped its growth overnight. Officials say numerous volunteer fire departments and two fire engines completed lines around the fire, limiting its size to 17 acres of private land and Lincoln National Forest. Officals said crews on Saturday were mopping up and monitoring the fire to ensure that fire lines continued to contain the fire. Sacramento is in Otero County and 24 miles (39 kilometers) east of Alamogordo.