‘Can’t New Mexico be a state – can’t we be the state – where everything is possible?’

With a new year comes a new legislative session, and in preparation for that, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham addressed the state in her fourth State of the State on Jan. 18. In her speech, she talked about education, tax credits for New Mexicans, job growth, and public safety.

“I believe we can fulfill, once and for all, after 110 years of statehood, the destiny of New Mexico as a genuine homestead of the American Dream, a place where people can grow and thrive and live in peace and prosperity, where people have the resources they need to support themselves and their...

An out-of-the-box librarian who sees the library as the community

Within its walls, Gallup’s Octavia Fellin Public Library has long provided a community space for its patrons to perform research, study, check out the latest bestseller, and participate in the library’s numerous events and programs. During the last five years, OFPL Director Tammi Moe’s leadership has boosted the library’s sponsored  program attendance by offering inclusive culturally-relevant programming presented at the town’s movie theatre, community fairs, and at various public events.

In recognition of Moe’s successful expansion of public access to programs focused upon important issues impacting...

The continuing COVID-19 pandemic has been hard on New Mexico’s children, families, communities, and small businesses. But not all of the hardship has been equally shared. Families of color – Hispanic families in particular – have been hardest hit by income losses and are more likely to have trouble paying their usual household expenses and putting food on the table.

 

That is one of the findings in the “2021 New Mexico KIDS COUNT Data Book,” which was released on Jan. 19.

This annual accounting of child well-being in the state tracks several indicators across four domains: economic security, education, health, and family, and community. Indicators include issues such as...

 

 

Polar Flashes

Scientists say they are alarmed at the sudden and rapid increase in lightning strikes across the high Arctic during the past few years. Once very rare, the 7,278 lightning bolts north of 80 degrees latitude during 2021 were nearly double the number in the previous nine years combined. The trend was highlighted by the Finnish scientific instrument manufacturer Vaisala, which issues an annual report on global lightning. The more frequent lightning bolts are being caused by disappearing sea ice, which means more water is able to evaporate, and the greater atmospheric instability caused by Arctic warming that is occurring at four times the global...