At the previous McKinley County Commissioners meeting on Nov. 16, commissioners put some voting items on hold due to a need for more information. But on Nov. 30, they were ready to vote on the 2021 district boundaries and the wireless tower ordinance.

On Nov. 16, the commissioners asked McKinley County Bureau of Elections Manager Marlene Custer if they could see a map with precise district boundaries.

Custer returned with a map detailing what the current districts look like and Plan D, the proposal that represented the smallest overall change.

According to documents presented at the meeting, Plan D has District 1 adding Precinct 19 (Church Rock, population 1,857) and Precinct 23...

President Joe Biden is one step closer to getting his Build Back Better Act passed after the House of Representatives approved it on Nov. 19.

The proposed legislation is designed to provide funding to support working families, increase access to homeownership, and address climate change.

New Mexico Representatives Teresa Leger Fernández, D-N.M. and Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M. held a press conference Nov. 19 to explain how the new bill will help New Mexicans.

The Act includes the extension of the child tax credit for another year. The credit allows most families with children to receive between $250 and $300 a month.

Leger Fernández and Stansbury both showed their support for the...

ALBUQUERQUE — The New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions has placed the Healthy Workplaces Act and reemployment services in a position of priority as it constructs its Fiscal Year 2023 budget request to the Legislative Finance Committee.

Acting Cabinet Secretary Ricky Serna’s Nov. 18 request, totaling a little over $122, 000,000, focuses on collaborations between state agencies on increasing the participation of the labor force, including youth and veterans, and economic reopening.

NMDWS, Labor Relations Division has been authorized to coordinate implementation and enforcement of House Bill 20, the Healthy Workplaces Act. The department is requesting $900K in legislative...

Job picture improves in many sectors

New Mexico’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.5 percent in October, down from 6.9 percent in September and down from 8.5 percent in the previous year. The national unemployment rate in October was 4.6 percent, down from 4.8 percent in September and down from 6.9 percent in Oct. 2020.

Total nonagricultural payroll employment grew by 31,200 jobs, or 3.9 percent, between Oct. 2020 and Oct. 2021. All gains came from the private sector, which was up 36,100 jobs, or 5.9 percent. The public sector was down 4,900 jobs, or 2.7 percent. Most private sector gains were in the private service-providing industries, which were up 29,100 jobs, or 5.6...