Gallup Sun

By Deputy Policy Director at New Mexico Voices for Children Jacob Vigil, MSW

New Mexico has made some significant and historic investments in early childhood – and there is exciting new evidence that those investments are making a huge difference for improved child well-being. In fact, our state’s Childcare Assistance program is very likely one of the factors for why child poverty is so vastly improved in a measurement recently released by the Census Bureau.

When the Census only measures parental income, New Mexico’s child poverty level is distressingly high – 27%, or the worst in the nation. But when anti-poverty programs like SNAP, housing assistance, and tax credits are...

ARIES (March 21 to April 19) A project benefits from your organizational skills that get it up and running. Your success leaves a highly favorable impression. Don’t be surprised if you get some positive feedback soon.

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Spend time on practical matters throughout the week, then shift your focus to more artistic pursuits. Resist being overly self-critical. Just allow yourself to feel free to create.

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) Restarting those creative projects you had set aside for a while will help provide a much-needed soothing balance to your hectic life. Besides, it will be like meeting old friends again!

CANCER: (June 21 to July 22) A change in plans...

New Mexico has made some significant and historic investments in early childhood – and there is exciting new evidence that those investments are making a huge difference for improved child well-being. In fact, our state’s Childcare Assistance program is very likely one of the factors for why child poverty is so vastly improved in a measurement recently released by the Census Bureau.

When the Census only measures parental income, New Mexico’s child poverty level is distressingly high – 27%, or the worst in the nation. But when anti-poverty programs like SNAP, housing assistance, and tax credits are taken into account, our child poverty rate plummets to less than 9% – or even...

As your elected representative, I am deeply concerned about the state of crime in Northwest New Mexico. Over the years, we’ve seen crime rates rise, but when we look at the number of criminal cases being prosecuted, something doesn’t add up, especially in McKinley County. In 2017, there were 6,397 criminal cases filed by the McKinley County District Attorney’s office. Fast forward to 2024, and that number has dropped to just 4,388 cases — nearly a third less. Yet, anyone who lives in McKinley County knows that crime is still on the rise.

Here’s where the problem lies: of the cases filed in 2024, only 1,697 are criminal cases, excluding traffic citations. This means fewer...