Flags were flown at half staff

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz.— Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer issued a proclamation calling for flags on the Nation to be flown at half-staff Aug. 19, in honor and memory of Earnest C. Becenti, Sr., who died on Aug. 16.

“As we mourn the loss of Earnest C. Becenti, Sr., we also honor and remember all his great sacrifices and services he provided for his Navajo people. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and colleagues as they lay him to rest today [Aug. 19],” Nez said.

Earnest was born on March 9, 1925, and was a community member of Church Rock, N.M. He was married for 69 years to his wife, Mary Becenti...

Plans to incorporate diversity, equity, inclusion

The New Mexico Environmental Law Center has a new executive director. Dr. Virginia Necochea, who started Aug. 1, will be maintaining relationships with staff, community, the center board, funders, and donors, among other things.

Necochea, who hails from southeast Los Angeles, and has Mexican indigenous ancestry, moved to New Mexico in 1998 for a master’s degree and Ph.D. in Educational Thought and Sociocultural Studies at the University of New Mexico. There she found herself drawn to engage in water protection and acequias in her new community.

Acequias are irrigation canals that serve the Southwest and were traditionally used in...

Week ending Friday, August 14, 2020


Arctic Losses

Arctic Canada’s last fully intact ice shelf lost more than 40% of its entire area on Ellesmere Island during just two days in late July, shocking officials. A chunk measuring about 100 square miles, larger than the island of Manhattan, broke off between July 30 and July 31. “Above-normal air temperatures, offshore winds and open water in front of the ice shelf are all part of the recipe for ice shelf breakup,” the Canadian Ice Service announced on Twitter. The intense heat around the North Pole this summer has also melted sea ice around the Arctic Ocean to its lowest extent on record.

Earthquakes

North Carolina’s most...

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. – Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer approved over $475 million in CARES Act funding for water line projects, power line projects, solar power projects, internet access to remote areas, business assistance, and more resources to help the Navajo people during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Nez-Lizer Administration approved the following funds in Resolution CJY-67-20:

- $130 million for the Navajo Department of Water Resources for water projects, including waterline and cistern projects, water hauling, windmill repairs, water well infrastructure, earthen dams, and irrigation projects, which ensures that the Navajo people have access to...