“Your note below says toiletries only. Is this one of those clothing optional, naked babe weekends?” So wrote Patrick Rogers—Albuquerque power lawyer, lobbyist and member of the Board of Directors of the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government—in an email to the private account of Ryan Cangiolosi, deputy chief of staff for Gov. Susana Martinez, and the professional account of Stuart Feltman, president of Coca-Cola in Santa Fe, on Aug. 30, 2011.

On April 2, Gov. Susana Martinez received a $2,500 contribution from a little-known company called Double V Production, LLC. Based in Hobbs, the company was registered with New Mexico’s Public Regulation Commission by Scotty Holloman, an attorney in the dusty, southern oil city that borders Texas. Though it’s properly registered with the state, Hobbs city and Lea County officials maintain they have no record of Double V Production’s existence.

Dave Heft knows how critical health insurance is. He is, after all, enrolling in Santa Fe Community College’s nursing program. That’s why he’s at Molina Medical Clinic, a local fee-for-service provider where 43 percent of patients pay with cash. Nursing students must obtain vaccinations so they can enter clinical settings, and he’s patiently sitting in the waiting room, contemplating his future as a nurse with health insurance. But that’s a long way off, and Heft has gone without it for the past year. As with many New Mexicans, health insurance is a luxury his $13-per-hour waiter position won’t support.

Reactions around New Mexico to the June 29 US Supreme Court decision upholding most of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) followed predictable partisan lines.

A 10-year-old girl walks into her home, where her young Hispanic parents greet her. The conversation soon turns to voting. “¿Papá, tú votas?” she asks. (Dad, do you vote?) “¡Sí! Pero sólo para las personas buenas!” he replies. (Yes! But only for the right people!)

Former Gov. Bill Richardson could be the Obama administration’s commerce secretary. But he’s not, because of his involvement in a alleged pay-for-play scheme with a Beverly Hills, Calif. brokerage firm called CDR Financial Products, Inc. In December, executives of that firm pleaded guilty to conspiring with the nation’s biggest banks to rig bids on financial products of municipal bonds.

When government officials conduct their business through private emails, we can only speculate as to what they’re saying. Here’s a satirical, fictional, imaginative and humorous collection of that communication.

For the last 45 years, a portion of New Mexico’s public education funding has gone to private schools. But now, a Santa Fe district court judge aims to halt that practice, potentially freeing up hundreds of thousands of dollars—previously used to purchase textbooks for private-school students—for New Mexico’s strapped public schools.

On May 2, Santa Fe County officials issued a press release announcing the termination of two corrections officers: Warden David Trujillo and Deputy Warden Ted Pepperas. In the same release, the county announced the discovery of “drugs and contraband” in unsecure locations in administrative offices at the Santa Fe Adult Detention Facility, giving the impression that the firings were linked to the narcotics.

On May 4, New Mexico Public Regulation Commissioner Ben Hall found himself in Manhattan’s luxurious Waldorf Astoria Hotel. He had flown there to meet with representatives of Wall Street’s investment firms and ratings agencies for a day-and-a-half-long series of workshops. Pat Vincent-Collawn, the CEO of PNM Resources, Inc. (the parent company of Public Service Company of New Mexico, or PNM), had also joined the affair—one that was billed as an opportunity for commissioners from across the US to learn how utility regulation impacts Wall Street’s outlook on utility stocks and bonds.