By Julia Goldberg | Editor-in-Chief
Good morning, folks. It’s Thursday, already. We’ve got plenty of news for you to chew on below, including the latest pushback to the Trump administration’s effort to curtail protections for the greater Chaco Culture landscape, along with the drop in New Mexico children receiving federal food benefits. As for today, plenty more news awaits at sourcenm.com. We’re planning to start our morning by tuning in at 9 a.m. to KUNM’s Let’s Talk New Mexico call-in show, which today will focus on the New World screwworm situation. As always, thanks for being here.
A view of the Pueblo Bonito at Chaco Canyon National Historical Park, which tribal leaders and advocates say is threatened by the Trump administration’s efforts to undo federal protections against oil and gas drilling. (Photo by Danielle Prokop/Source NM)
New Mexico Indigenous and federal officials urge outcry on proposed rollback of Chaco protections
Dozens of tribal leaders and New Mexico’s entire federal delegation stood outside the U.S. Capitol in a news conference Wednesday to protest a Bureau of Land Management proposal to unwind mining protections around Chaco Culture National Historical Park, as just a week remains for the public to weigh in on the plan. Source’s Joshua Bowling reports state lawmakers have also taken up the fight against the BLM plan, and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office told Source NM the governor is “fiercely opposed” to the proposal.
Republican challenger narrowly outraises NM US Rep. Vasquez, but trails with cash on hand
New campaign finance reports show that Greg Cunningham, the Albuquerque Republican challenging incumbent U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) in the Nov. 3 general election, has narrowly raised more money than his opponent in Congressional District 2, although Vasquez’s campaign has a strong cash-on-hand advantage. Source’s Joshua Bowling breaks down the financial state of the race so far.
The Gateway to Space building at Spaceport America, pictured on June 12, 2023. (Photo by Danielle Prokop/Source NM)
New Mexico county adopts data center moratorium as residents protest Spaceport proposal
This week, the Sierra County Commission approved an 18-month moratorium on data centers. The vote follows similar actions in Santa Fe and Socorro counties, and came as residents scrutinize a proposal from a Canadian company to build a data center and solar array at Spaceport America, Source’s Joshua Bowling reports.
More than 18,000 New Mexicans, most of them children, lost federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funding over the last year, according to a new analysis from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. (Photo courtesy The Food Depot)
More than 10,000 New Mexico kids lost federal food assistance in last year, new analysis shows
Source’s Patrick Lohmann reports that more than 10,000 New Mexico children have lost federal food assistance benefits in the year since Congress enacted a sweeping spending bill, according to a new analysis from Washington, D.C.-based think tank The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. More than 200 American mayors, including Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller and Sunland Park Mayor Javier Perea, are calling on the federal government to reverse changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
ICYMI
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