US House Speaker Pelosi Visits NM Fire Victims, Discusses Federal Aid

House Speaker Pelosi visits NM, pledges compensation

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited New Mexico yesterday, meeting with victims of the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque. “There is a recognition that this was avoidable,” Pelosi said of the fires, which both began as a result of US Forest Service controlled burns, “and that makes it shameful, but that makes all the more reason for us to learn from it.” Impacted residents shared their stories with Pelosi of the ongoing fallout from the fire. “Every time we hear the stories directly from those who have lived them, we are touched in our hearts,” said US Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, who organized Pelosi’s meeting with the fire victims and whose congressional district includes the impacted areas. “And when we are touched in our hearts, we are strengthened in our resolve.” Leger Fernández and US Sen. Ben Ray Luján co-sponsored the Hermit’s Peak Fire Assistance Act—which Luján says he modeled on the bill that compensated victims of the 2000 Cerro Grande Fire; the US House has passed the bill. In her remarks, Pelosi indicated money would be allocated for New Mexico’s fire victims as part of Congress’ continuing resolution, a temporary bill that allocates money to the federal government in order to avoid a shutdown. Indeed, the US Senate Committee on Appropriations released the text of the bill just before midnight yesterday and the bill’s text includes the Hermits Peak compensation bill. “We have pushed to have the Hermit’s Peak Fire Assistance Bill in any and every single legislative vehicle that moves,” Leger Fernández said yesterday. “I can tell you that I will never give up until we actually get it signed into law.

Lawmakers discuss, postpone, changes to harassment policy

State lawmakers yesterday grappled with proposed changes to the Legislature’s harassment policy, but declined to take action on any of them. During a meeting of the Legislative Council, Rep. Daymon Ely and Sen. Linda Lopez, Democrats from Corrales and Albuquerque, respectively, presented the proposed changes in their roles as co-chairs of the Legislature’s Interim Ethics Committee. The lawmakers previewed those changes in last week’s SFR. Several legislators, however, said they had not received enough time to review the changes, which lawmakers worked on throughout last weekend. Some of the proposed changes would require the Legislature to act when it meets next year, while others—such as creating a mechanism for a tie-breaker vote when a committee is split on the outcome of an investigation—could be enacted by the Council. Lawmakers emphasized yesterday that any changes made would not impact current cases. Those comments—and many others—signaled to the elephant in the room: the brouhaha over the investigation of allegations of harassment by state Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto, D-Albuquerque. That investigation appears to have stalled out in lieu of a tie-breaker, and despite a report—leaked to SFR last week—that showed credible evidence to back up the allegations. Moreover, state law barred lobbyist Marianna Anaya, who filed the complaint, from speaking publicly about her complaint, a provision that led Anaya to file a lawsuit challenging its constitutionality. Ely, speaking yesterday, concurred with that characterization: “I do think a person has a first amendment right to talk to the press whenever they want to,” he said. “There’s nothing we can do about that today, [but] it has to be changed at the next legislative session.” Prior to the legislative meeting, advocacy group representatives held a news conference at the state Capitol, demanding accountability for Ivey-Soto. Last weekend, Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart removed Ivey-Soto from an interim committee chairmanship and recommended he lose his Rules Committee chairmanship. Advocates said those actions, though appreciated, are insufficient.

Report highlights NM’s lack of online monkeypox vaccine info

The New York Times yesterday reported “scattershot” eligibility among states for monkeypox vaccines, pointing to a new study from the Kaiser Foundation, which identified New Mexico as one of two states that does not provide any information about eligibility criteria whatsoever. In response to questions from SFR yesterday regarding why this is the case, DOH Public Information Officer David Morgan writes that DOH “has just completed publishing eligibility criteria for the Monkeypox vaccine on our website.” The health department, he writes, “has been working closely to ensure equitable access for those at greatest risk, while avoiding ‘targeting’ or stigma that can hinder an effective response.” That work has included: standing up a monkeypox vaccine system; “developing risk-based criteria, that we have shared with partner organizations and during several community engagement sessions with impacted communities” such as “LGBTQ, HIV planning, tribal partners, etc.”; setting up a centralized registration system; and “using segmented marketing to get information about vaccination to persons/communities at greatest risk.” According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, New Mexico has 11 to 50 monkeypox cases. The state’s most recent report, which counted 40 cases, shows 68% of those cases are in Bernalillo County; four of those cases were from Santa Fe County.

COVID-19 by the numbers

Reported Sept. 26: New cases: 519 (includes the weekend); 617,669 total cases; Deaths: six; Santa Fe County has had 351 total deaths; there have been 8,558 fatalities statewide. Statewide hospitalizations: 93. Patients on ventilators: three. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s most recent “community levels” map, which updates on Thursdays, all of New Mexico is currently “green,” and has low case and hospitalization rates.

Resources: CDC interactive booster eligibility tool; NM DOH vaccine & booster registration; CDC isolation and exposure interactive tool; Self-report a positive COVID-19 test result; Curative testing sites; COVID-19 treatment info. People seeking treatment who do not have a medical provider can call NMDOH’s COVID-19 hotline at 1-855-600-3453.

You can read all of SFR’s COVID-19 coverage here.

Listen up

On the most recent episode of Santa Fe Community Foundation’s, Community Matters program, host Sarah Amador-Guzman speaks with Russell Baker, executive director of NDI-New Mexico, about NDI’s impact on students across the state, and the organization’s win of a 2022 Piñon Award for courageous innovation. A former professional ballet dancer, Baker says “whether you’re on stage or in the audience, the performing arts can bring a lot of joy and a lot of meaning and teach a lot of important lessons along the way.”

Las Vegas’ wildfire water crisis

“Heavy monsoon rains would normally be cause for celebration in the drought-parched mountains of northeastern New Mexico,” Simon Romero writes in a new story for the New York Times. Not this year, not for Las Vegas, which, in the aftermath of the devastating Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon wildfire, faced running out of fresh water as floods in the burn scar released “contaminants into private wells and overwhelming Las Vegas’s main water supply with ashy sludge.” The story shows Las Vegas’ plight within the context of the dangers posed by climate change to “delicate water ecosystems,” as well as the strife to this particular community, which at one point had only 20 days worth of clean drinking water left. “First it was drought, then the fire, then the floods, then the water shortage,” Las Vegas resident and restaurant owner Isaac Sandoval tells the Times. “What’s next?” While the state has found stopgap measures to protect its water supply, the long-term outlook looks expensive: Mayor Louie Trujillo estimates replacing Las Vegas’ entire water filtration system could cost approximately $100 million.

Everyone loves New Mexico

There’s no bad time to visit Santa Fe. So says The Travel, which nonetheless details some of the best times to visit, depending on one’s interest. For instance, the summer features arts events and rain; the fall has wildflowers; and December showcases the city’s “multicultural traditions.” January through April are apparently good times for anyone “seeking peace and quiet.” Meanwhile, Travel Off Path recommends seven off-the-beaten-path places for fall visitors to the state, including ghost tours in Albuquerque; the Jemez Mountain Scenic Byway; and the Galloping Goat Pumpkin Patch in Rio Rancho, open all of October, for activities such as a harvest maze, pumpkin bowling and duck races. Lastly on the travel to New Mexico magazine circuit, Travel Awaits recommends 10 “fascinating” activities in Gallup, including a breakdown of downtown businesses; a visit to Red Rock Park (and the Red Rock Balloon Rally in December); and a visit to El Morro National Monument (about an hour away from Gallup).

Head in the clouds

The National Weather Service forecasts a slight chance for rain today and tonight (30% and 20%, respectively), with scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 3 pm. Otherwise, look for increasing clouds, with a high near 78 degrees and northeast wind 5 to 15 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon.

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