Two new appointments focus on energy, transportation

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — Two members of the Navajo Nation have been appointed to serve in the Biden-Harris Administration.

Wahleah Johns has been named to serve as the head of the Office of Indian Energy, under the U. S. Department of Energy. In that position she will assist tribes with energy development, capacity building, energy cost reduction and electrification of tribal lands and homes.

In her previous capacity, she served as the executive director of Native Renewables,  assisting in efforts to achieve energy independence by bringing solar power to off-the-grid-homes for Navajo and Hopi families.

Johns is originally from...

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. - Former Navajo Nation president and Ariz. state legislator Albert Hale passed away on Feb. 2, at the age of 70, due to complications from COVID-19.

He is celebrated by many leaders and loved ones.

Hale was born in Ganado, Ariz. in 1950. He was Áshįįhi and born for Tódich’ii’nii. His maternal grandfather was Honágháahnii and his paternal grandfather was Kinyaa’áanii.

He served as the President of the Navajo Nation from 1995-1998. Hale was appointed to serve the remainder of the term of former Ariz. Gov. Janet Napolitano in 2004.

He served as a member of the Ariz. State Senate from 2004-2011.

He was elected to the Ariz. House of Representatives in...

Week ending Friday, January 29, 2021

Record Melt

Earth has lost an estimated 28 trillion metric tons of ice due to global heating since the mid-1990s as the rate of melting accelerated at a record pace. This is in line with the worst-case scenarios experts with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have warned of in earlier projections. Writing in the journal The Cryosphere, lead author Thomas Slater said the melt will contribute to significant rises in ocean levels. “Sea level rise on this scale will have very serious impacts on coastal communities this century,” Slater said.

 

Earthquakes

The strongest in an intense swarm of tremors that shook Spain’s Granada...

A federal leasing moratorium is effectively a blockade around New Mexico’s economy, impacting our state more than any other in the country. The message to thousands of New Mexico children, teachers, and first responders who rely on our oil and natural gas industry for basic support is absolutely clear: New Mexicans lose and foreign imports win. A moratorium all but guarantees that unemployment will rise, state revenue will fall, and our economy will come to halt. We share the new administration’s commitment to reducing emissions and combating climate change, but we do not make progress by sacrificing New Mexico communities like Carlsbad, Farmington, or Hobbs.

New Mexicans are eager...