WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer offer their heartfelt condolences and prayers for the family of Thomas Atcitty, former president of the Navajo Nation and former longtime New Mexico state representative, who died of natural causes on Oct. 11, 2020, at the age of 86.

“To his wife Vicky, his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, we offer our prayers and condolences during this difficult time,” Nez said. “Honorable Thomas Atcitty leaves behind a great legacy and many long-lasting memories for his family, friends, and all Navajo people.

“We ask our Creator to bless his family with strength and comfort at this...

SANTA FE – The state of New Mexico on Oct. 6 created a calendar of 13 family-friendly Halloween activities and made them available online early this month.

At TogetherNM.org, New Mexicans will find recipes, arts and crafts ideas and other suggestions demonstrating ways to safely celebrate Halloween.

“This is a year like no other, as we all know,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said. “We can’t spend time with friends and our neighbors the way we want to.

“But a holiday is a time to remember that we are all together in this struggle even when we’re physically apart, and I hope New Mexico families can safely enjoy this Halloween by partaking in some of these...

Week ending Friday, October 9, 2020


Iceless Winters

Warmer winters brought on by the deepening climate crisis  are bringing more ice-free years to lakes around the Northern Hemisphere, according to a new study. Researchers writing in the journal Geophysical Research Letters say that beyond the ecological changes this causes, communities around some of those lakes are suffering because they depend on frozen festivals and winter recreation. The lack of ice also makes the lakes more prone to toxic algal blooms, which could harm fish and make swimming more dangerous. “This isn’t just happening in one lake in the northern United States. It’s happening in thousands of lakes around...

Judge rejects challenge to critical habitat

U. S. District Judge James Browning dismissed a lawsuit Oct. 13 seeking to overturn the critical habitat designation of the endangered New Mexico meadow jumping mouse.

In an article by Robin Silver of the Center for Biological Diversity, published in the Sun Sept. 4, Silver said the center sued the U. S. Forest Service Aug. 27 to challenge its failure to protect streamside meadows in New Mexico’s Sacramento Mountains from cattle because the areas are critical habitat for the mouse.

Two cattlemen’s associations sought to overturn the designation with a suit in 2018.

Browning rejected the groups’ claim that in its 2016 decision, the...