Editorials

Crime is not a partisan issue but encouraging 'agitation' is not acceptable from top elected officials.

Albuquerque, New Mexico (March 30, 2025) - Albuquerque is one of the most dangerous cities in the nation, but the attack on the Republican Party of New Mexico's headquarters was not part of the ongoing crime in Albuquerque. That attack early Sunday morning was a violent act of terrorism.

The firebomb used to blow up the entryway of the GOP headquarters was targeted at both the Republican Party of New Mexico as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a federal agency. This was evidenced by the spray-painted "ICE = KKK" left on the wall next to the torched entryway.

By Senator Crystal Brantley

Last Friday night, as I sat on the floor of the Senate in the final hours of the 60-day legislative session, my disappointment over the bills that didn't pass turned into shock and anger. Texts and calls flooded my phone—some from constituents, others from law enforcement—letting me know there had been another tragedy in my community. Now, we know more.

Three kids are dead. Fifteen others are injured. Four teenage boys are in custody.

One concern I frequently hear from both the political left and right regarding education is the fear of “indoctrination” — both sides are suspicious of the motives behind the other’s agenda. The right might worry about a “liberal agenda,” while the left might be concerned about “proselytization.” The reality is that every school is  shaped by a particular worldview, which can be seen as a form of indoctrination — “the process of teaching a person or group to accept a set of beliefs uncritically.”

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Better Together New Mexico By Carla Sonntag Mar 13, 2025 

[Editor's Note: Previously published in New Mexico Sun. Posted with permission from the author. ]

"We have serious problems in this state and New Mexicans need to realize that we all have a part to play in finding solutions. This discussion is meant to inform and not make blanket statements about political parties or the focus and intention of their members.

New Mexico is progressing rapidly in a direction vastly different from what most New Mexicans want. Ironically, that progress is led by ‘progressive’ elected officials. Wikipedia defines progressivism as “a left-leaning … reform movement that seeks to advance … through social reform.”

By Ruben Leyva

Throughout history, taking captives during wartime has been a common practice among many cultures. The Gila Apache, like other Native nations, often integrated captives into their families and communities. While some captives were enslaved, others were adopted, becoming fully Apache and helping to replenish the population lost to disease, warfare, and captivity. This practice was not one-sided; Spaniards and Mexicans also took Apaches captive, creating a complex cycle of forced assimilation and cultural survival. This tradition in the Southwest predated European contact and continued even after the U.S. occupied the region.

Apache captives at Pecos trade fairs, where the Coronado Expedition purchased captives from Native Nations in the 16th century, exemplify the existence of Native enslavement by Native nations before the Spanish entrada. Taking captives also occurred in the 17th through the 19th centuries. New Mexican traders profited from the Apache practice of taking captives from northern Mexico, which were then sold in New Mexico. Many “Mexican” captives were, in fact, from Indigenous communities such as the Yaqui, Mayo, and Rarámuri.

The Gila Regional Medical Center Board of Trustees, made up of Grant County residents appointed by the Grant County Commission, will hold a special meeting on Wednesday, March 13, 2025, to hold a discussion in closed session on its current hospital management contract. It is a decision on whether to renew the contract, which was due to expire soon. What will the decision be when they come out at the end of the executive session?

The Beat has received information that causes me, the editor, to question what direction the hospital and its board plan to go.

Thank you all for your advocacy efforts for HB167 and for funding increases in Adult Education, Adult Literacy, and High School Equivalency. 

We are asking now for a final, very important push for adult literacy funding and for HB167. 
Please call and email all members of the Senate Finance Committee, as well as your own Senators. Do it every day until the Senate takes this up. Request this:

• $4m to NMHED for Adult Literacy                  

By Kristina Fisher, Associate Director, Think New Mexico

Nearly every New Mexican has experienced the harmful effects of our state's worsening health care worker shortage, from struggling to find a doctor to waiting months for urgently needed care.

The good news is that state lawmakers have an opportunity to take one simple step that would immediately improve access to health care: joining the majority of other states that participate in interstate compacts for doctors and other health care workers. There are 10 major compacts for health care workers, yet New Mexico only participates in one of them, for nurses.