The Gallup-McKinley County Schools District is introducing Academic Parent Teacher Teams in its elementary schools to get parents more involved in their children’s education.

In a presentation at the Nov. 15 school board meeting, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum/Instruction Wade Bell and APTT overseer Shannon McFarland explained how the program works.

There will be four APTT meetings in an average school year, two in the fall semester and two in the spring. The first session allows parents to look at classroom data to see if their individual student is struggling and if so, in what areas. Parents are given personal data that shows where their student ranks overall and whether...

The House Bill 8 MAP PASSED the House Judiciary Committee Dec. 8

SANTA FE— The new district map for the State House of Representatives, updated to reflect the cultural diversity and demographic realities of New Mexico today, is one step closer to being finalized after passing the House Judiciary Committee Dec. 8 with a 7-4 vote.

Sponsored by Rep. Daymon Ely, D-Corrales, the House Bill 8 map is based on the Citizen Redistricting Committee’s original maps, which all received “A” grades from independent experts. This map also incorporates an historic tribal consensus between New Mexico’s tribes, nations, and pueblos, reached after the CRC completed its work, and has been...

SANTA FE—The latest emergency public health order issued by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham will call for many workers to get booster shots when they become eligible.

The order was issued Dec. 2 and came as the World Health Organization expressed serious concern about the Omicron variant which was newly-identified and is still being studied to determine its transmissibility.

Although experts caution that much remains unknown about the new variant, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has amplified its recommendation on COVID-19 booster shots, saying all vaccinated adults “should” receive one either six months after completing a Pfizer or Moderna series and two months...

Week ending Friday, December 3, 2021


Hybrid Salmon

Canadian officials say a new hybrid species of Coho and Chinook salmon has been found between Vancouver Island and the British Columbia mainland, possibly the result of climate change. Andres Araujo at Fisheries and Oceans Canada says the hybrids look like a mix of the two species, and genetic markers confirm that they are indeed hybrids. He and colleagues point out that dry conditions in recent years have lowered the water level of the Cowichan River spawning area, which delayed the Chinook’s late-summer spawning. This probably brought those fish into contact with the Coho and allowed them to interbreed later in...