Republican Party Of New Mexico To Hold Candidate Debates At 2026 Pre-Primary Convention March 6-7
RPNM News:
ALBUQUERQUE — The Republican Party of New Mexico’s (RPNM) 2026 Pre-Primary Convention & Debate Night is scheduled for Friday, March 6 and Saturday, March 7.
DEBATE NIGHT:
- WHO: Candidates running for the following offices,
- Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Congressional District 2 (NM-2)
- WHAT: 2026 Pre-Primary Convention Debate Night
- WHEN: Friday, March 6, at 5-8 p.m.
- WHERE: Ruidoso Convention Center: 111 Sierra Blanca Drive in Ruidoso
CONVENTION:
- WHO: Qualified Candidates for the Preprimary Convention Designation
- WHAT: 2026 Pre-Primary Convention
- WHEN:
Board Of Public Utilities To Hold Work Session March 4
COUNTY News:
The Los Alamos County Board of Public Utilities will hold a work session at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 4, in Council Chambers at the Municipal Building, 1000 Central Ave.
The meeting is open to the public.
Members of the public may view proceedings online or attend and provide public comment in person or via Zoom at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87563449773.
The complete agenda packet is available online at https://losalamos.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx.
Watch BPU meetings at ladpu.com/BPULiveProceedings. Read More
CYFD Ends Overnight Office Stays For Children
CYFD Acting Secretary Valerie Sandoval
STATE News:
SANTA FE — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Friday that the Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD) has officially ended the practice of placing children overnight in CYFD offices, eliminating a burden on children in CYFD custody and the staff who have cared for them.
Children and youth previously staying in CYFD offices have been placed in safe and appropriate settings following CYFD’s creation of a new system to ensure safe placements for all children in its care now and into the future.
“Every child in New Mexico deserves a safe Read More
Ricky Serna Appointed NM Deputy State Treasurer
Newly appointed Deputy State Treasurer Ricky Serna
From the Office of the State Treasurer:
SANTA FE – The New Mexico State Treasurer’s Office (STO) has announced the appointment of Ricky Serna as Deputy State Treasurer. Treasurer Laura Montoya appointed Serna to succeed Deputy Janice Y. Barela who is retiring after 25 years of service.
Serna brings a wealth of experience from his previous roles as Acting Cabinet Secretary for the Department of Workforce Solutions, Acting Director for the State Personnel Office, and co-leadership for the Higher Education Department during the COVID-19 Read More
Community Advocates Applaud Cleanup Of Abandoned Mining Materials On The Gila National Forest
The Gila National Forest Challenge Venture Mill Site. Courtesy/USDA Forest Service
WILDEARTH GUARDIANS News:
SILVER CITY — The U.S. Forest Service announced on Thursday that it will begin the cleanup of mining materials at the abandoned Challenge Venture Mill near Mogollon, approximately eight miles northeast of Glenwood, N.M.
Conservation and community advocates applauded the cleanup, which is a result of years of advocacy from local community members and WildEarth Guardians. The Challenge Venture mill site, a 40-plus-year-old mining facility that was shut down by the EPA in 1985, Read More
New Mexico Courts Face Increasing Requests For Interpreting Services
Post file photo
COURT News:
SANTA FE — New Mexico’s Judiciary is expanding its network of interpreters to help address a growing need for language access services for jurors and people in court cases who have a limited proficiency in English or are deaf or hard of hearing.
Interpreting services were provided in 87 languages in New Mexico courts in the 2025 fiscal year. People requested about 50,300 hours of interpreting in FY25 — more than double from the 2021 fiscal year. The five most frequently requested languages were Spanish, American Sign Language (ASL), Navajo, Arabic and Vietnamese. Read More
Heinrich, ENR Democrats Secure Key Commitments From BLM Nominee Steve Pearce
Ranking Member Heinrich (D-N.M.) questions former Congressman Steve Pearce on his stances on public lands during a hearing to consider his nomination to lead BLM, Feb. 25, 2026. Courtesy photo
U.S. SENATE News:
WASHINGTON, D.C — During a U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing to consider pending Trump administration nominees, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), the Committee’s Ranking Member, and Committee Democrats secured key commitments from former Congressman Steve Pearce, President Trump’s pick to lead the Bureau of Land Management. In his answers to the Democratic Read More
Op-Ed: Española Is At A Crossroads … Do We Continue Down The Path Of Decline … Or Try Something New?
By Samuel LeDoux
Española City Councilor
Española is at a crossroads: do we continue down the path of decline where instability, controversy, and incompetence dominate city hall, or do we try something new?
Over the last four years, John Ramon Vigil has made the City of Española his own personal telenovela, with constant headlines about his personal problems, staff turnover, and rising crime and homelessness rates. During his term as Mayor, the city has stumbled into millions of dollars in debt, and we haven’t been able to often pass more than 4-5 ordinances a year.
I’m supporting Read More
Heinrich, Murray, And Hernández Criticize DOE For Illegally Cancelling Puerto Rico Energy Projects
U.S. SENATE News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Vice Chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations and Ranking Member of the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee, and Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Pablo Hernández (D-Puerto Rico), sent a letter alongside 17 lawmakers to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) slamming the agency for illegally cancelling energy projects designated under the Puerto Rico Energy Resilience Read More
From Ballot To Campus: $12M In Voter‑Backed Upgrades Break Ground At UNM‑LA
Construction nears completion at the UNM-LA front entry. Funding comes from statewide and local general obligation bonds passed by voters in the county in Nov. 2024. Courtesy photo
By MARLENE WILDEN
Los Alamos Daily Post
marlene@ladailypost.com
University of New Mexico-Los Alamos (UNM-LA) is undergoing the most visible transformation in its recent history, a $12 million campus upgrade that Chancellor Mike Holtzclaw calls both practical and symbolic.
At its core, the effort fixes roofs, replaces windows and repairs aging structures. It also prepares the campus for workforce-focused Read More
Bregman Campaign: New Poll Shows Democratic Gubernatorial Primary Shifting As Voters Seek Answers, Debate
Gubernatorial candidate Sam Bregman
From the Sam Bregman For Governor Campaign:
ALBUQUERQUE — A new poll conducted by the Sam Bregman for Governor campaign shows significant movement in the Democratic primary, with frontrunner Deb Haaland’s support slipping below a majority threshold and voters signaling they want answers to questions surrounding her past campaign association with convicted sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein since it was revealed that Haaland flew in a jet chartered by Epstein and her 2014 campaign took over $30,000 in contributions from Epstein and his associates.
The Read More
Gessing: Medical Malpractice Success A Win, But More Needed
By PAUL J. GESSING
President
Rio Grande Foundation
The passage of medical malpractice reform is the most important public policy success in New Mexico in more than a decade. It took support from New Mexicans of every political stripe and a bi-partisan coalition in the Legislature to achieve this success, but at long last the State’s malpractice-driven doctor shortage may be over.
In addition to the medical malpractice bill, the Legislature entered New Mexico into the national doctor compact and enacted a $10K tax credit for physicians. Combined, this may be enough to start turning the tide. Read More
New Mexicans Can Get Up To $14,000 For Home Energy Upgrades
EMNRD News:
SANTA FE — The New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department is now accepting applications for rebates of up to $14,000 to help low-income households replace aging appliances and heating and cooling systems with energy-efficient alternatives, cutting monthly utility bills while promoting energy efficiency.
The rebates are available to New Mexico homeowners and renters who earn less than 80% of the median income for the area in which they live or participate in certain federal benefit programs.
Once EMNRD certifies their eligibility, applicants receive coupons Read More
Robinson: Medical Malpractice Bill Exposed Willful Ignorance And Conflicts Of Interest
By SHERRY ROBINSON
All She Wrote
© 2026 New Mexico News Services
Sen. Joe Cervantes was litigating House Bill 99, the medical malpractice reform bill, on the Senate floor, and he had plenty to say.
Two days earlier, Cervantes, a trial lawyer, had defanged HB 99 with amendments in the Senate Judiciary Committee, which he chairs. Now, in a floor fight, he was grilling Sen. Crystal Brantley, R-Elephant Butte, who was trying to strip the Cervantes amendments and restore HB 99 to its original language. Cervantes droned on about legal points in what Brantley characterized as “a back-and-forth, condescending Read More
LAHS Students Celebrate American Indian Day At State Capitol
Students from the Los Alamos High School Native American Cultural Club visited the State Capitol as part of the American Indian Day celebration. Photo by Sal Zapien/LAPS
LAHS students pose for a photo with Sen. Leo Jaramillo D-Los Alamos. Photo by Sal Zapien/LAPS
LAPS News:
Twenty-two students from the Los Alamos High School Native American Cultural Club were part of the celebration of American Indian Day at the State Capitol.
The visit included a ceremony in the rotunda which began with an invocation by Governor Benny Lujan, Pueblo of Ohkay Owingeh, followed by the posting of Colors by the Jicarilla Read More
Rickman: Promises, Credibility & North Mesa Open Space
By JIM RICKMAN
Los Alamos
I’ve read with interest all the hype and hullabaloo regarding the conversion of North Mesa open space into a bike park and other things. I’d like to offer one more perspective on the issue.
Back in May 2000, the National Park Service negligently ignited an uncontrolled inferno that incinerated the homes of some 400 Los Alamos families and forever altered the physical landscape of our community. Perhaps unbelievable to present-day citizens, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was highly functioning and nonpartisan, and politicians of both major parties Read More
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Luján Joins Wyden, Markey, Shaheen, And 18 Senate Democrats In Releasing Legislation Requiring Refunds Of Trump’s Illegal Tariffs
U.S. SENATE News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, joined Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Small Business Committee Ranking Member Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), and Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) in introducing the Tariff Refund Act of 2026, legislation to require full refunds of Trump’s illegal tariffs, after they were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday by a 6-3 vote.
To date, the Trump administration has collected an estimated $175 billion in illegal Read More
Denish: Sausage Making Can Be Entertaining
By Diane D. Denish
Corner to Corner
diane@dianedenish.com
“Laws are like sausages. It is better not to see them being made.” The quote is attributed to Otto von Bismarck, the German statesman credited with unifying Germany.
I disagree — especially when it comes to lawmaking.
In today’s world of technology and transparency, it’s easier than ever to watch legislation move through the process. We can see what our elected senators and representatives say — and more importantly, who they are when the pressure is on. That was never clearer than during the 2025 regular session, when medical malpractice Read More
Los Alamos Makers Launches Creative Workforce Development Program
3D-printed ice cream cone and Oreo cookie storage boxes, laser-cut wood carving and personalized laser-engraved cutting board are a few of the many fabricated products showcased by Los Alamos Makers at last year’s Science Fest. Courtesy photo
Los Alamos Makers News:
- Sponsored by New Mexico Creative Industries Division to strengthen creative industry clusters and diversify the state economy
Los Alamos Makers launched today, Feb. 23, its new Creative Workforce Development Program, a hands-on training initiative designed to expand economic opportunity within New Mexico’s creative Read More