Editorials

By Fred Nathan Jr., Executive Director, Think New Mexico

Recently the New Mexico Ethics Commission sued a secretive, dark money group calling itself New Mexico Safety Over Profits (NMSOP) for violating state laws that require the disclosure of the source of funds used to influence legislation.

The lawsuit alleges that NMSOP spent tens of thousands of dollars on advertisements opposing medical malpractice reforms designed to center the needs of patients and bring down malpractice premiums for doctors, which are about twice as high in New Mexico as in our surrounding states.

Earlier this year, an investigative journalist at Searchlight New Mexico unearthed unethical and misleading behavior by NMSOP and revealed deep ties between NMSOP and the New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association, whose members feel threatened by the proposed reforms.

By Paul J. Gessing

If you haven't heard already, over the 4th of July weekend President Trump signed the so-called "Big Beautiful Bill" (BBB) into law. Setting aside the merits and demerits of the legislation you have to hand it to President Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson for achieving the President's goal of signing the bill by July 4.

Considering the complexity of the bill and the narrow majorities held by Republicans (with implacable opposition from Democrats), there was not much wiggle room for compromise or lost Republican votes. Needless to say, New Mexico's hyper-"progressive" delegation universally opposed the bill, but so did Trump's erstwhile ally Elon Musk and libertarian leading Kentuckians Senator Rand Paul and Rep. Thomas Massie (both Republicans).

By Ruben Leyva, Gila Apache

Where Part I explored the families who navigated the peace establishments of the Spanish and Mexican periods, Part II turns to those who carried these survival strategies into the U.S.–Mexico borderlands. These were the Bá̱ch'i — the so-called "outsiders," as neighboring Apaches called them — families who lived at the margins of settler society, near towns, presidios, and ranches. They adapted in ways that protected kinship and memory, not as a mark of surrender, but as a quiet assertion of sovereignty.

By Ruben Leyva, Gila Apache

The most confusing aspect of understanding the 'Apache Mansos' identity is that this singular title is used to describe two distinct lifeways of people who are ethnically related and who occupy specific regions at different periods and under various cultural contexts. The first and oldest group of Apache Mansos, also known as 'Apaches de paz' (peaceful Apaches) during the Spanish and Mexican periods, is the subject of Part I of this editorial. Part II will describe the descendants of these people, who are similarly identified by outsiders but are no longer tied to Hispanic presidios as their ancestors, and who are described by American anthropologists using the same terminology after the Apache Wars, a problematic practice.

By Senator Crystal Brantley

Last week, I stood in the smoke-shadowed foothills near the Gila, watching the Hotshot crews return from another 16-hour shift fighting the Trout Fire. Faces were blackened, arms scraped, boots worn — but not one of them complained. They were focused, disciplined, and ready to do it again the next day.

These are the kinds of men and women who eat heat for breakfast. They are New Mexico's quiet heroes — firefighters, farmers, ranchers, oil field workers — doing hard jobs under hard conditions. They train for it, they plan for it, and they know how to take care of themselves and each other.

Recently, the New Mexico Environment Department proposed a new "heat illness prevention rule." The rule, as proposed, would require employers to create written heat safety plans, record heat-related symptoms and incidents, provide mandatory breaks, and document all compliance. It goes as far as inspection of each individual's daily water consumption, regardless of existing internal policies.

By Ruben Leyva

After Frank Leyva was listed on the Mescalero Apache census in 1885, his presence at Mescalero is sporadic in the available records. But he reappeared at Fort Sill to escort his aging mother, Ishno'n, to Mescalero in 1909 to visit his brother, Chiricahua Jim Miller. Between those decades, where was Frank? The answer may lie in a borderland not far from Tucson and Nogales—along the Sierra Madre spine where two Apache worlds survived: one hidden in plain sight, the other still free in the mountains.

(PFAS Alternatives ACT) introduced Jul 20, 2023 by Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick.

While the municipal water contamination lawsuits have been settled with 3M, DuPont et al., in July and August alone, 1,000 new cases have been added to the AFFF MDL docket, and it has now surpassed 6,400 after 351 new cases were added to the MDL in the past 30 days showing a clear resurgence of individual personal injury cases, which will serve as a promising precedent for those who are still waiting for a resolution to their claims.

The EPA's release re-confirms the potential carcinogenic nature of PFAS chemicals and that there is no acceptable level of exposure or consumption for these substances.

By Paul Gessing

Recently, a group of business and economic leaders traveled to Phoenix, AZ to get some ideas on why the Phoenix economy is so much stronger than New Mexico’s. Ideas were exchanged and I’m sure a good time was had by all. 

But, the trip was a waste of time. You don’t need to travel to see why Phoenix is more economically prosperous than Albuquerque or why Arizona does better than New Mexico. Like most New Mexicans I have indeed been to Phoenix (and other parts of Arizona) many times and seen how the State has grown.