When House Democrats released the Moving Forward Act (aka INVEST in America Act) to rebuild and modernize America’s infrastructure and create new, well-paying jobs for Americans impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, they included a special concern of Rep. Ben Ray Luján, D. N.M. — that of broadband access for rural and Tribal communities in New Mexico.

“… I’m proud to have secured several broadband initiatives that will help bridge the digital divide and address the disparities that rural and Tribal communities face. Ensuring that New Mexicans can access up-to-date public health and education resources during this pandemic is crucial,” Luján said.

The more than $1.5 trillion...

SANTA FE – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued the first pardons of her administration on June 26, invoking her power of executive clemency for 19 individuals convicted of crimes in New Mexico, most of whom were guilty of non-violent offenses.

The forgiven offenses included forgery, drug possession, burglary, larceny, issuing a worthless check and conspiracy, among others. All were at least a decade old, the most recent having occurred in 2007; some dated back several decades.

The majority of the applicants provided clemency by Lujan Grisham had also previously applied for pardons under the previous administrations of Susana Martinez or Bill Richardson.

“The power of executive...

As part of the state’s proactive testing efforts to identify, isolate and trace new cases, the Department of Health has designated special statewide COVID-19 testing hours for all employees who work to provide New Mexican families with food, including workers at restaurants, grocery stores, farmers’ markets, distribution centers and food manufacturing facilities.

The McKinley County location for the testing has changed since NMDOH first announced it on June 10. McKinley County Nurse Manager Erica Marquez told the Gallup Sun that the location for testing in July will be at 705 Gurley Ave., Lions Hall parking lot at the campus of UNM-Gallup and will be held on Monday, Wednesday and...

Juneteenth weekend


Jerry Brown never colored inside the lines. When his grandmother gave him a coloring book at the age of three, she set him on a path that he says looks like his artwork today.

Brown has had a variegated 49 years since his birth in Crownpoint.

He spent third to eighth grade in a boarding school in Crownpoint, where sports, not art, was the subject of significance.

He skipped ninth grade and then spent five or six months as an exchange student with the LDS church in West Jordan, Utah.

After that he tried several public schools including Wingate and Thoreau High School, but nothing felt like a fit until he spotted Sister Michelle at what is now St...