By Julia Goldberg | Editor-in-Chief
A thunderstorm advances over the Sangre De Cristo Mountains above the New Mexico Roundhouse on Wednesday. A power outage over much of Santa Fe’s downtown closed state offices just before 2 p.m. (Photo by Danielle Prokop for Source NM)
Morning, folks. It’s Thursday and, from the looks of the weather forecast, more rain may be on the way. A lightning strike yesterday caused a power outage for approximately 20,000 folks in Santa Fe, shut down the state Capitol and waylaid some of our plans. But not to worry: We still had plenty of news to keep us busy, some of which you’ll find below. More to read, with more on the way, as always at sourcenm.com.
Officials from the online delivery company DoorDash are seeking the New Mexico Legislature’s approval to deploy Dot, the autonomous delivery vehicle pictured above, on local roads. (Photo courtesy DoorDash presentation on July 14, 2026, to the interim Transportation and Infrastructure Revenue Committee)
Delivery company DoorDash wants to roll out robots on New Mexico roads
Source’s Patrick Lohmann reports the online grocery delivery company DoorDash is seeking the New Mexico Legislature’s sign-off on the deployment of small, autonomous food delivery vehicles — aka robots — to operate on local roads.
A produced water pond in the San Juan Basin in New Mexico. (Photo by Danielle Prokop/Source NM; Aerial support provided by LightHawk.)
NM environment officials push for contaminant limits in produced water while awaiting hearing
New Mexico environment officials are pushing to establish limits on contaminants found in wastewater left over from fracking operations before the state water quality commission begins a rule-making process on the matter.
New Mexico Forward Party Chair Bob Perls, left, is pictured with former New Jersey Gov. national Forward Party founding Co-Chair Christine Todd Whitman on April 15, 2025. (Photo by Patrick Lohmann/Source NM)
New Mexico Forward Party sues Secretary of State over disqualifying candidates from November ballot
New Mexico’s nascent minor political party sued Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver this week alleging that her office has enforced “severe and unequal” barriers for its candidates to make the Nov. 3 general election ballot. “All we’re trying to do is give people choices,” New Mexico Forward Party Chair Bob Perls told Source senior reporter Joshua Bowling.
A federal judge on July 14, 2026, dismissed the United States Department of Justice’s lawsuit to force New Mexico elections officials to turn over un-redacted voter lists. (Photo by Patrick Lohmann/Source NM)
Federal judge dismisses USDOJ lawsuit seeking New Mexico voter rolls
A federal judge this week dismissed a United States Department of Justice lawsuit seeking detailed New Mexico voter information in a ruling the New Mexico Attorney General and Secretary of State’s Office hailed for preserving the integrity of the state’s elections.
ICYMI
Thanks for reading!
We're reading an excellent New Mexico Magazine story about a hike across the Río Grande del Norte National Monument.
Thanks for reading Direct From the Source. Did you know our weekend digest is also free? Sign up here. And if you enjoyed today’s edition, please forward to a friend. Increasing our readership helps us cover more news.