The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 is now law and will provide an estimated $3.725 billion to New Mexico for highway improvements, bridge replacement and repairs, expanding connections to high-speed internet, improvements in water and wastewater systems, building energy infrastructure, and more.

As of right now we don’t have enough skilled construction workers to build these projects.

New Mexico’s construction employment has decreased steadily over the last decade and is now about 11 percent below its peak in 2006. From February 2020 to October 2021, our state ranked 38th in the nation in terms of construction employment growth.

Construction firms are struggling to...

We value feedback from our community, and we appreciate the opportunity to provide some context in response to Dr. Mezoff’s letter.

I think we all agree Dr. Mezoff is a passionate, well-respected part of the RMCHCS and Gallup history. Though having not been directly involved with the hospital for some time, she may be unaware of the efforts undertaken this year to strengthen our operations and the progress we’ve achieved.

· Transparency: In response to community requests, beginning in October, RMCHCS opened our board meetings to the public. We solicited community feedback and are reviewing hospital financial reports with in-person and virtual attendees. This was not the first...

County commissioners respond to Mezoff letter

McKinley County Commissioners Billy Moore, Dist. 1, Genevieve Jackson, Dist 2, and Robert Baca, Dist. 3, all received copies of Dr. Kathleen Mezoff’s  letter about the hospital and chose Moore to speak to the Sun on their behalf.

Moore said Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services is the biggest issue commissioners face.

“We have no control over operations of the hospital itself,” he explained.

“We own the building —We have a lease with RMCHCS —They have a lease with Community Hospital Corporation as a management company,” he continued.

“We keep going back and forth.”

Moore said the commissioners’...

More than 200 educators from across New Mexico sent a letter to members of the state legislature and the U. S. Congress on Nov. 30 asking that the New Mexico Oil & Gas Association stop using educators and students in public campaigns to promote more oil and gas development, block efforts to diversify state revenues, address climate change and make changes to the federal oil and gas program.

The letter follows an early effort in July 2021, when organizations representing thousands of teachers and educators across New Mexico sent a letter to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and state legislative leaders expressing concern about the state’s over-reliance on fossil fuel extraction for education...