Week ending Friday, December 24, 2021


Arctic Beavers

Beavers are slowly migrating farther north into the Arctic due to the warming climate, producing what a new U.S. government report says is a “significant impact” on the landscape.  NOAA’s Arctic Report Card 2021 says western Alaska has seen a doubling of its beaver population to more than 12,000 during the past 20 years, compared to none between 1949 and 1955. Their dams are increasing surface water and adding to the rate of permafrost melt, which in turn releases the greenhouse gases methane and carbon dioxide. The ponds are also said to be helping new fish and invertebrate species move in.

Earthquakes

A temblor along the...

The New Mexico Minimum Wage increased to $11.50 an hour on Jan. 1. This increase is in accordance with an amendment to the New Mexico Minimum Wage Act signed into law by Governor Lujan Grisham on April 1, 2019.


Beginning Jan. 1, 2022, the wage rate is as follows:

 

State minimum wage: $11.50 per hour

State tipped minimum wage: $2.80 per hour


The 2022 Minimum Wage Act Summary poster is required by businesses to display in a place where employees can easily see it.


Minimum wage is the lowest wage that an employer is legally required to pay to workers. NMDWS enforces the state and federal minimum wage. Please be advised that the City of Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, the...

Currently evaluating potential timeline for implementation

 

SANTA FE - The New Mexico Department of Health announced Dec. 29 that it plans to adopt new federal guidance surrounding isolation and quarantine for COVID-19. The state is currently updating its contact tracing protocols and other key processes and will announce a more specific implementation timeline in the near future.




On Dec. 27, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reduced its recommended COVID guidelines for isolation (following a positive COVID test) and quarantine (following exposure) from ten days to five days. Isolation and quarantine are critical tools for preventing the spread of COVID, especially by...

Students are currently on winter break, but the Gallup-McKinley County Schools District is looking forward to the future.

During the Dec. 13 school board meeting, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Jvanna Hanks gave the board an update on all of the construction projects the district currently has going on.

Before Hanks began her presentation, GMCS Superintendent Mike Hyatt told the board that about $100 million worth of improvements needed to be done within the district. He noted that many of the projects hadn’t been done yet because of a lack of state funding.

Many schools will be getting new roofs, including Tse Yi Gai High, Tohatchi Middle School, Chee Dodge...