The New Mexico Independent’s Trip Jennings (above, center) won two second place awards in the annual statehouse reporting contest sponsored by the Association Capitol Reporters and Editors.

Jennings’ award-winning stories told of an Albuquerque city contractor who alleged corruption in then-Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez’s CityHall and of Gov. Bill Richardson and staff leaving the scene of a boat crash during the 2009 Labor Day weekend at Elephant Butte State Park.

In addition to this year’s awards, Jennings won a 1st place award in 2009 from the Association Capitol Reporters and Editors for his report on the explosion of contracts during Richardson’s tenure that went to a firm managed by one of his friends.

Earlier this year Jennings also shared in the First Amendment Award given collectively to The Independent by the American Civil Liberties Union New Mexico chapter.

The highlight of our coverage will begin at 7 p.m. with a webcast, live from the studios at KNME. Editor Gwyneth Doland will join Gene Grant, the host of New Mexico in Focus, and Sara Gustavus of KUNM News. Special in-studio guests will include Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, former Republican candidate for governor Janice Arnold Jones, reporter Peter St. Cyr and Sophie Martin of New Mexico in Focus and The Duke City Fix.

We’ll be analyzing the election results, checking in with NMI and KUNM reporters in the field and talking to some of the candidates themselves. We may also have some very exciting special guests, so you wont want to miss a minute of it!

Can’t be at your computer all night? You don’t have to. Our panel will also be broadcasting on KUNM from 7-10 p.m. and on KNME from 10-11.

Sign up below to get an e-mail when we launch the live blog:

ACLU-NM Executive Director Peter Simonson cited several reasons for the award, including The Independent’s “critical, nonpartisan coverage of state politics; its efforts to bring legislative decision-making directly to the public through web streaming and live blogging; and its efforts to revive meaningful investigative reporting.”

Each year, ACLU-NM recognizes a journalist, author, or news outlet for outstanding commitment to transparency and honesty in reporting.  The First Amendment Award is given to journalists not for agreeing with the ACLU’s positions, but for representing the highest ideals of free speech.

From left to right: Contributors Patricia Sauthoff and Larry Behrens, editor Gwyneth Doland, senior writer Trip Jennings, reporter Marjorie Childress, former senior writer Heath Haussamen and contributor Matthew Reichbach. Not pictured: reporter Bryant Furlow.

NMI team members Marjorie Childress, Bryant Furlow, Trip Jennings and Matthew Reichbach join editor Gwyneth Doland and former staffers David Alire Garcia and Heath Haussamen in fist-pumping, high-fiving and ridiculous end-zone dancing…er…we mean…delight at this news.

We’d also like to extend a special thanks to Larry Behrens and Patricia Sauthoff, who helped us dramatically expand our coverage of the last legislative session, including detailed reports from committee meetings, insightful stories about major decisions on the floor and brilliant live blogging.

Thanks to all of the writers, editors and interns who’ve worked with us since 2008, especially Barb Armijo, John Arnold, Danielle Bauer, Joel Gay, Allison Littman, Tim McGivern, Kate Nelson, Laura Paskus, Kate Rodgers, Peter St. Cyr and Denise Tessier.

Accountability reporting is the signature of The New Mexico Independent,” said David S. Bennahum, President and CEO of The American Independent News Network, which publishes The New Mexico Independent.  “We are thrilled that NMI is being recognized for its work by the ACLU of New Mexico with this honor.”

“In an era where satisfaction with traditional news media is fairly low, as seen in several recent reports such as a 2009 Sacred Heart University poll, this shows promise for these newcomers, most of which have only been publishing for fewer than five years,” a report on the poll results announced.

The survey also found:

• Users responding to the survey place a high degree of trust in their local sites, suggesting many find the new sites more credible than traditional media sources.
• Users go to the sites for original local news but they also see sites as important places to engage in community.
• More than a third of those responding say their local site is their primary local news source.

I spoke with Mullins and Lujan about funding for Los Alamos National Laboratories, climate change legislation and the war in Afghanistan.

In case you missed it, you can listen to it here.

It was a chilling moment in a conversation that took place a week and a half after a man shot his ex-girlfriend and several other people at Emcore, an Albuquerque fiber optics company.

Other members of the panel discussion include Quentin McShan, a State Police captain who studies fatal incidents of domestic violence and Sharon Pino, Gov. Bill Richardson’s former domestic violence czar who is now the violence against women resource prosecutor for the New Mexico Attorney General’s office.

The event will include a chile contest, chile roasting and discussion with the filmmaker. Tickets are available here.