This category will feature news releases from out-of-area government agencies and representatives, as well as events that are not taking place in the four-county area of Grant, Catron, Hidalgo or Luna. For local events please visit Local News Releases.

Former Aide to Bill Richardson Turns Vietnam War Experience into Novel Excerpt from Debut Book Wins Nat’l Veterans Award 

Los Lunas NM-April 28,2023 Butch Maki, a former top aide in Santa Fe during Bill Richardson’s service in Congress is out with his first novel, and the book, Bikini Beach, based on his experiences fighting in Vietnam, is already getting attention nationally and in the state.  

A short story from a chapter in Bikini Beach took first place honors at the National Veterans Creative Arts Festival competition in St. Louis sponsored by the Department of Veterans Affairs and American Legion Auxiliary. Maki, 75, submitted an excerpted story from his book’s chapter, “From a Chicken to an Eagle” and the 1,000-word submission was the winning entry in the “Short, Short Story” creative writing category. Each year, some 2,000 veterans enter submissions in art, music, drama, dance and creative writing competitions. Maki traveled to St. Louis and was presented with his award on April 14, 2023. 

“I was excited when some friends of mine at the Albuquerque VA suggested I submit a chapter  from my novel for this competition,” Maki said. “As a first-time novelist I had no expectations of  winning, and can’t even begin to explain the joy, amazement and true honor I feel for being the  festival’s top short story writer.” 

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The New Mexico Film Office Announces Max/Warner Bros. Television Series “Duster” is Currently in Production in New Mexico

Santa Fe, NM -  New Mexico Film Office Director Amber Dodson announced today that the Max Original/Warner Bros. Television series “Duster” has begun filming around Albuquerque, Moriarty, Belen, Gallup, Sandia Pueblo, and Laguna Pueblo areas.

The production will employ over 4,000 New Mexicans – approximately 4,000 as background talent, 350 resident crew members, and 50 principal actors. 

“Duster” is a crime drama set in 1972 where the first Black female FBI agent ventures to the Southwest and recruits a gutsy getaway driver in a bold effort to take down a growing crime syndicate. The series is executive produced by J.J Abrams (“Lost”), LaToya Morgan (“The Walking Dead”), and Rachel Rusch Rich (“Castle Rock”). J.J. Abrams and LaToya Morgan wrote the first two episodes that Steph Green (“The L Word”) directed and executive produced.

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PNM pledges continued support of UNM partnership

57th Annual UNM-PNM Statewide High School Math Contest

(Albuquerque, NM) – PNM, New Mexico’s largest electricity provider, is powering a contest aimed at boosting student’s math scores across New Mexico. Just in the last six months, more than 300 students from 40 schools across New Mexico participated.

The UNM-PNM Statewide High School Math Contest promotes mathematics education in grades seven through 12. The contest was originally established in 1966 and has gone through multiple renditions and names. PNM began sponsoring the competition in 2007, and between 700 and 1200 students participate annually. *PNM has donated close to $400,000 over the years of partnership.

“It’s important to celebrate and recognize math students because math is the foundation of many other disciplines,” said Laurie Roach, PNM Resources Foundation executive director and public affairs manager. “It is essential for problem solving and critical thinking skills and we are proud to be a part of empowering math education.”

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New Mexico Film Office and Stowe Story Labs extend the deadline for 2nd annual training for emerging New Mexico screenwriters

Santa Fe, NM -  The New Mexico Film Office is partnering with Stowe Story Labs to provide the second edition of “New Voices New Mexico,” the training program for emerging New Mexican screenwriters. The program will be administered in three parts over six months by Stowe Story Labs Founder and Director David Rocchio and is designed to support emerging screenwriters in developing foundational skills necessary for writing feature film or television scripts. 

The “New Voices New Mexico” inaugural program ran in 2022 and aims to help emerging screenwriters and filmmakers learn skills and approaches to building a new feature film or TV script, starting with the foundation of a story. Participants come out of the program with a completed first draft of a script, the confidence to pitch their project, and the preparation to push their work forward. In addition, “New Voices New Mexico” will be a springboard for participants for future partnerships with the New Mexico Media Academy. 

“Helping our above-the-line talent to hone their craft is the next step in creating a vibrant eco-system in this important economic development sector in New Mexico,” Economic Development Cabinet Secretary Alicia J. Keyes said. 

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BLM schedules public hearing on use of motorized vehicles for wild horse and burro management

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Bureau of Land Management will conduct a virtual public hearing regarding the use of motorized vehicles and aircraft in the management of wild horses and burros. The hearing is scheduled for May 24, 2023, from 3-5 p.m. MT, and will be held using Zoom video conferencing technology and live-streamed at BLM.gov/live. 

The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 requires BLM to conduct an annual hearing to consider the use of motorized vehicles in the management of wild horses and burros. The BLM typically uses motorized vehicles to conduct gather operations, complete population surveys, and transport animals to/from corrals, pastures, and adoption, sale, and transfer events.  

To provide a comment during the virtual public hearing, members of the public must register in advance by May 23. Written comments may also be sent to BLM_HQ_MotorizedVehicleHearing@blm.gov.

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NMSU arts, humanities faculty receive seed funding to help launch projects, research

Nine faculty members in the College of Arts and Sciences at New Mexico State University are the recipients of a second round of arts and humanities seed funding provided by the NMSU Office of Research, Creativity and Strategic Initiatives.

The funding not only helps faculty projects get off the ground, but better positions them for success when they submit applications and proposals for funding from foundations and agencies off campus to further their activities and investigations. This year marks the second year seed funding has been awarded to arts and humanities faculty.

“This initiative is very significant for two reasons. First of all, it provides highly needed resources to NMSU disciplines where we have incredible talent but not the benefit of accessible extramural funding; this will help our faculty to pursue more ambitious scholarly work. The second reason is the potential to position these scholars to pursue external funding avenues, like foundations, and thus make a profound contribution towards the institutional goal of achieving Carnegie R1 status,” said NMSU College of Arts and Sciences Dean Enrico Pontelli.

Faculty who received funding are:

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NMSU’s Model UN wins again in New York City

New Mexico State University’s Model United Nations team continued its winning streak this spring during the April competition in New York City. The team won the highest recognition awarded – Outstanding Delegation.

The NMSU delegation represented Norway this year. Sabine Hirschauer, government professor and adviser to the team, accompanied the students during the competition.

“Participating in the Model UN provides students with first-hand experiences of how to engage with and tackle some of the most pressing, transnational problems of our times,” Hirschauer said. “Climate change, human trafficking, and nuclear proliferation, for example. It gives them the opportunity to hone their public speaking skills and work within groups to find constructive solutions.”

Citlalli Benitez is the 2022-23 president of the Model UN Team. Four Team members who received awards for Best Position Paper are:  Liam Mitchel and Ian Hart for best position paper for General Assembly Committee 2 and Jasmine Recinos and Majd Mawla for best position paper for UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

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