Commissioner Lovejoy said tech to benefit rural areas

SANTA FE – During a public meeting Sept. 27, Dist. 4 Public Regulation Commissioner Lynda Lovejoy motioned to approve Sacred Wind’s petition for a variance to use the New Mexico Universal Service Fund for solar powered units to provide voice and Internet service to homes without electricity on Navajo Lands.

“The new technology Sacred Wind proposes will provide enough solar energy to power up   a fixed wireless subscriber antenna, a voice/broadband modem, a computer and at least one desk lamp,” Lovejoy said.  No less than 150 homes of residents who live in the most rural Navajo areas in New Mexico will benefit...

A program that offers opportunity for the public to meet local officers, and discuss community issues, will take place at the Gallup Coffee Company Oct. 4.

Officers from Gallup Police Department, and community members, will come together in an informal, neutral space to discuss community issues, build relationships, and drink at the “Coffee with a Cop” event.

Coffee with a Cop provides a unique opportunity for community members to ask questions and learn more about the department’s work in Gallup’s neighborhoods.

The majority of contacts law enforcement has with the public happen during emergencies, or emotional situations. Those situations are not always the most effective...

Funds earmarked for ‘Home Visiting Program’

SANTA FE – Gov. Susana Martinez announced Sept. 28 that New Mexico will receive $3.5 million dollars from the Health Resources and Services Administration for the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program.

The funding from this grant will allow the state to continue to provide voluntary, evidence-based home visiting services to women during pregnancy, and to parents with young children up to kindergarten entry.

“Providing this valuable information to parents with young children can help them to improve their quality of life,” Martinez said. “By offering this service to our most at-risk population, we are...

A judge declined Martinez’s effort to keep the bills from becoming law while they appealed a previous decision against Martinez.

And shortly thereafter Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver announced she chaptered those ten bills into law (all ten are listed below).

“As ordered by the Court, my office has swiftly chaptered all ten of the bills that the Court determined were improperly vetoed during the 2017 legislative session,” Toulouse Oliver said in a statement.

The bills include the legalization of industrial hemp for research purposes at New Mexico State University as well as allowing a computer science class to count toward math requirements for high school...