Faces 64 counts of criminal charges

SANTA FE–With calls for Secretary of State Dianna Duran to resign growing by the day, the talk is already starting to shift to who will next fill one of the most important elected statewide offices.n

Duran is facing 64 counts of criminal charges filed last week by Attorney General Hector Balderas for using campaign money for personal use. On Wednesday night, Speaker of the House Don Tripp, R-Socorro, said the State House members will explore impeachment proceedings even as many high-profile state Republicans, including Gov. Susana Martinez, are seemingly distancing themselves from Duran.

New Mexico’s two largest newspapers also urged Duran...

Asks for continued support from BIA

SHIPROCK—Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye and Vice President Jonathan Nez met with Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) Sept. 3 and spoke about the aftermath of the Gold King Mine breach that occurred on August 5.

Attorney General Ethel Branch, Speaker LoRenzo Bates, Delegates Tom Chee and Amber Crotty, and chapter officials Duane Yazzie and Gilbert Harrison were also in attendance.

President Begaye expressed that the immediate concern was the demobilization of water tanks owned by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Navajo Region. The tanks are in use at affected chapters to provide water for livestock and irrigation. BIA crews and equipment are...

FARMINGTON— Gov. Susana Martinez announced the creation of a multiagency, long-term impact review team to monitor the effects of the massive 3 million gallon waste spill in the Animas River that EPA officials have admitted to causing Aug. 19.

After touring the spill by helicopter for the second time in less than a week, the governor made the announcement with cabinet secretaries and directors of the New Mexico Departments of Agriculture, Environment, Game and Fish, Health, and the Office of the State Engineer.

“As the river begins to clear up, there are still many questions left unanswered by the EPA. New Mexicans deserve to know the long-term effects this environmental...

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on the Gold King Mine spill that dumped waste from a mine into the Animas River.

The spill ended up impacting three states as well as the Navajo Nation.

U.S. Senators Tom Udall, D-N.M., and John McCain, R-Ariz., requested the hearing by the committee. Both sit on the committee and reached out to chairman John Barasso, R-Wyo., and ranking member Jon Tester, D-Mont., through a letter.

The letter that Udall and McCain sent to the committee leadership is available at the bottom of this post, courtesy the Udall office.

“Through our ongoing conversations with leaders of the Navajo Nation, we understand their dissatisfaction with...