It was April 4, the first weekend of the month and, as usual, the city streets were packed with vehicles and people filled the sidewalks. But there were other sounds and sights.

About 50 people walked down Route 66 chanting, “Hey Gallup, you can’t hide, you support genocide.”

Melanie Yazzie, a co-founder of The Red Nation, said, “We’re here today to tell the city of Gallup to tell its economic system that profits off of our deaths, we are reclaiming this space as indigenous space.

“I’m here on behalf of The Red Nation,” said Yazzie. “We demand to thrive, just not survive. We demand life, not just death. And we don’t demand just respect, we demand that the...

SANTA FE – State Auditor Tim Keller announced April 6 that the Office of the State Auditor (OSA) is examining allegations of financial “irregularities” in the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office. The special examination is focused on the potential misuse of DWI prevention program funds by the Sheriff’s office from 2010 to 2014.

“The Office of the State Auditor is looking into the past financial affairs of the Sheriff’s Office in McKinley County to address allegations of public funds being misused and to ensure that the proper financial controls are in place moving forward,” Keller stated, in a press release. “I would like to thank current officials for their cooperation...

SANTA FE — Gov. Susana Martinez signed legislation to help protect NewMexico’s children from e-cigarettes and liquid nicotine products April 8.

Senate Bill 433, sponsored by Senator John Ryan (R-Albuquerque), will prohibit the sale of e- cigarettes to minors and requires retail liquid nicotine packages to be sold in child-resistant containers. If a child consumes liquid nicotine, it can be fatal.

House Bill 213, sponsored by Representative Sarah Maestas Barnes (R-Albuquerque), also requires child-resistant packaging for liquid nicotine products.

Martinez also signed House Bill 415, sponsored by Rep. Carl Trujillo (D-Santa Fe), that will create a statewide dog and cat spay and...

Albuquerque – Gov. Susana Martinez has named two appointments to the board of regents overseeing The University of New Mexico. Long-time regent Jamie Koch was reappointed to the board, along with newcomer Marron Lee, an attorney with strong family ties to UNM.

Koch was already reappointed by the governor previously, but resigned in the confirmation process during the recently completed legislative session. The former Democratic Party chair was unanimously confirmed by the Senate, but resigned as another appointee was not confirmed. Martinez pointed to Koch’s strong leadership in financial oversight as a key reason for reappointing him.

“Regent Koch is an experienced and talented...