I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
Former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias is taking time from his book tour to help Congress in its effort to squeeze the Bush Administration for answers on last year’s Justice Department scandal. Iglesias was one…
The state Supreme Court has removed Rio Arriba County Magistrate Tommy Rodella from the bench, ruling today that the controversial judge was guilty of willful misconduct and is barred from holding another judicial post in the future.
Uranium Resources’ long legal battle with uranium mining opponents in Navajo country isn’t discouraging the Texas-based energy developer from moving forward with its mining ambitions in western New Mexico.
The company
The Arms Control Wonk notes today that Rep. Steve Pearce’s last ditch effort to restore some funding for a new nuclear warhead design has failed. Pearce, a…
It hasn’t been a good year for energy companies looking to develop new oil and gas fields in northern New Mexico. Three months ago, the Santa Fe County Commission voted unanimously to prohibit drilling in the Galisteo Basin for at…
The Albuquerque Journal and Santa Fe New Mexican are both reporting on the backlash against Democratic congressional candidate Benny Shendo Jr. for making opponent Ben Ray Lujan’s sexual…
A 30-megawatt wind farm could soon provide Sandia National Laboratories and Kirtland Air Force Base with a third of their electricity. The U.S. Department of Energy has begun studying the feasibility of building a…
ALBUQUERQUE—Former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias isn’t endorsing anyone in this year’s hot congressional races. But we know who he won’t be voting for.
"And that’s Heather Wilson," Iglesias said Monday, following…
SANTA FE — Maybe a hefty fine is the best medicine.
The Environment Department has tagged St. Vincent Regional Medical Center in Santa Fe with a $55,800 penalty for dumping…
Bloggers who keep tabs on the nation’s nuclear weapons complex are abuzz this week over a reported security failure at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos’ sister lab in California.
Time magazine
Here’s a brief update on the uranium mining story we published yesterday. A panel of federal judges "expressed surprise" at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s decision to allow a mining company to extract uranium from an aquifer that supplies drinking water to thousands of Navajos in northwestern New Mexico, the Associated Press is reporting:
Eric D. Jantz, a lawyer for the citizens group Eastern Navajo Dine Against Uranium Mining and for the Southwest Research and Information Center, told the judges experts have calculated the proposed in-situ mining operations would generate enough radiation that, when combined with existing radiation from past mining, would exceed federal human exposure limits.
Jantz also said the company proposes to leach uranium "in the same aquifer where the town of Crownpoint gets its water." In response, Judge David M. Ebel said, "I can’t even begin to understand that."
AP writer Ben Neary, who covered the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals hearing in Denver yesterday, reported that an NRC attorney insisted that drinking water would be safe, disputing Jantz’s assertion that radiation would exceed federal exposure limits.
The community and environmental groups challenging the NRC decision to license mining operations near the Navajo communities of Church Rock and Crownpoint say they are the first to fight the agency in federal court over an in-situ leach mining permits. The groups asked the court yesterday to overturn the permits. The AP also reported on a separate hearing Monday over whether the proposed uranium mining sites should be considered Indian land.
The court will issue its decisions at a later date.
Could this year’s presidential election ease worries that have hindered New Mexico’s medical marijuana program?
New Mexico enacted a medical marijuana law last year. But the state Health Department has yet to implement the…
SANTA FE — Rita and Mitchell Capitan’s long journey to keep uranium mining out of their Navajo community takes them to Denver today, when community and environmental groups will make their case in federal court. After 14 years of battling…
SANTA FE—Other than the nomination itself, perhaps the biggest prize in this year’s U.S. Senate Republican primary race is the endorsement of Sen. Pete Domenici, the man Rep. Heather Wilson and Rep. Steve Pearce both hope to succeed.…
SANTA FE — Harry Montoya may not have Ben Ray Lujan’s name recognition or Don Wiviott’s money, but the Santa Fe County Commissioner and…
New Mexico isn’t getting that second uranium enrichment facility that many in the state’s energy corridor were hoping for. Areva, Inc. was considering a site near Carlsbad for the $2 billion project, but the French company has decided to build…
SANTA FE — Not registered to vote? You’ll have to do it by the end of the day today (May 6) if you want to cast a ballot in the June 3…
SANTA FE—As New Mexicans grapple with rising fuel costs, lawmakers are fighting over how to bring them down. Some, including New Mexico Sen. Pete Domenici, say more domestic…
SANTA FE — A proposal to expand LANL’s role in nuclear weapons production is getting the cold shoulder from two more local governments.
Governing bodies in the Town of Taos and Taos County on Wednesday became the latest…
The Bush Administration needs to spend more money on keeping nuclear materials and weapons out of the hands of terrorists and rogue states, a former Los Alamos National Laboratory director testified on Capitol…
