SANTA FE – The New Mexico Department of Health announced the updated statewide COVID-19 map for the two-week period beginning Jan. 13, with 30 counties at the Red Level.

Twenty counties saw a higher average daily per-capita rate of new cases in the last two weeks, and 17 counties saw a higher test positivity rate; 16 counties worsened in both metrics. Only 12 counties improved in both of the two health gating criteria metrics.

The state’s county-by-county system uses key health metrics – the per-capita daily incidence of new COVID-19 cases and average COVID-19 test positivity within county borders – to determine the level of public health risk and requirement for each...

Week ending Friday, January 15, 2021


Marine Record

Temperatures of the world’s oceans between the surface and about 6,500 feet deep during 2020 reached the warmest levels ever measured, according to a report in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences. “Over 90% of the excess heat due to global warming is absorbed by the oceans, so ocean warming is a direct indicator of global warming,” said lead researcher Lijing Cheng of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The past five years have been the hottest on record for the world’s vast oceans, with the rate of heating eight times higher than from 1960 to 1985. The warmth is said to be harming marine life and supercharging extreme...

SANTA FE — Outdoor Recreation Director Axie Navas has been elected to chair an organization of 13 states where developing and protecting recreation opportunities are now policy priorities, Economic Development Department Secretary Alicia J. Keyes announced Jan. 19.

The Confluence of States is a bipartisan agreement between states to promote and grow the outdoor economy in the U. S. The Confluence signatories commit to practices that protect and sustain our water, air, land, and wildlife for current and future generations and the betterment of the economy. The agreement is based on four pillars: 1. conservation & stewardship; 2. education & workforce training; 3. economic...

to clean up homeless campsCity Council approves funds

Gallup wants to clean up its transient camps, which will require the city to spend more than it usually would, given that contractors must wear personal protective equipment to shield themselves from coronavirus.

With that in mind, members of the city council unanimously approved $75,000 on Jan. 12 for the planning and development department’s clean and lien program to help it get through the next budget cycle, which ends mid-year.

“It’s very costly, but it is necessary. It is a life, health and safety issue that we need to stay on top of as best we can,” C.B. Strain, planning and development director for the City of...