Program Began accepting applications Sept. 7

Staff Reports

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. – Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer announced that the newly-created Navajo Nation Business and Artisans Economic Relief Grant Program began accepting applications on Sept. 7 to help Navajo businesses, entrepreneurs, and Navajo artisans facing financial hardship and/or business interruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The $60 million that will be used for the program was part of the $475 million CARES Act funding package in Resolution CJY-67-20, which was approved by the 24th Navajo Nation Council Aug. 6 and signed into law Aug. 16 by Nez and Lizer.

“We’ve had...

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. – Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer signed a proclamation recognizing the month of Sept. 2020 as Navajo Nation Census Month to encourage the Navajo people to participate in the 2020 Census to ensure a complete count of all citizens on the Navajo Nation.

Every 10 years, the Census Bureau is required by the Constitution to conduct a count of the U.S. population. The federal government shortened this year’s census count by one month by imposing a deadline of Sept. 30. As of the signing of the proclamation, only 17.9-percent of households on the Navajo Nation had been counted.

“The 2020 Census Count is a prime opportunity to...

ALBUQUERQUE — American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, American Federation of Teachers New Mexico President Stephanie Ly and Executive Vice President Kathy Chavez released the following statement Sept. 9:

On Aug. 19, AFT President Randi Weingarten and AFT New Mexico President Stephanie Ly alerted Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham that many Pre-K-12 school re-openings around the state have not met the standard set by her administration for safety and consistency. As a union of educators, public employees, and healthcare workers, we outlined the following conditions necessary for a safe return to in-person instruction:

1. Low infection rates and adequate testing in any...

Whistleblower’s grievance reveals LANL tritium release over legal limit

SANTA FE —The New Mexico Environmental Law Center and Nuclear Watch New Mexico notified the Environmental Protection Agency Aug. 28 that its rubber stamping of plans by the Department of Energy and the Los Alamos National Laboratory to vent up to 114,000 curies of radioactive gaseous tritium is unacceptable.

The two organizations stated:

“We believe that EPA and DOE, as federal agencies mandated to serve and protect the public, need to entirely reconsider their decision to allow this tritium venting project to move forward. The venting project has been poorly thought out; it would put an inestimable number...