New Mexico in Focus (A Production of NMPBS)

This week on New Mexico in Focus… U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland talks with correspondent Laura Paskus about the possibility of joining the Cabinet for President Joe Biden as secretary of the Department of the Interior. The 1st Congressional District Democrat is on the short list for the job, and talks about the post, what the agenda should be for the administration, and the importance of consulting Native tribes.  

Correspondent Megan Kamerick looks at dealing with mental health challenges during the COVID pandemic. Long underserved by physicians, the New Mexico also has a difficult time finding mental health professionals; a problem compounded when former Gov. Susana Martinez dismantled much of the state’s behavioral health system. She talks to a psychologist and a man who’s seeking counseling for the first time.  

In this month’s episode of Our Land, correspondent Laura Paskus travels close to home—Albuquerque’s bosque. In the fall and winter, it’s an ideal location to spot not just sandhill cranes and migratory birds, but porcupines, beavers and more.   

Gene Grant and The Line opinion panelists debate the roller coaster ride over appointments in President-elect Joe Biden’s cabinet and how Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham lost out on a Health and Human Services position. The Line also looks at the looming shift into crisis mode for New Mexico hospitals due to multiplying cases of COVID. The panelists then talk about how lawmakers might address budgets and bills when the legislative session starts in January.

This week on New Mexico in Focus… Outgoing U.S. Sen. Tom Udall talks with correspondent Laura Paskus about climate change and the environment, two issues the New Mexico senator has spent much of his career working on. Addressing rumors that the Biden administration was considering him as U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary, Udall also talks about the importance of that job, which his father, the late Stewart Udall, held during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.   

Gene Grant and The Line opinion panelists talk about new COVID public health orders that make use of a three-tiered “red to green” system to allow reopenings by county, based on case prevalence and positivity rate. The Line also looks at strides women have made in holding political office, both in New Mexico and in the nation. The Line ends on a positive note, with a look at some good economic news for New Mexico, including a Netflix expansion and the possibility of the new U.S. Space Command coming to Albuquerque.

This week on New Mexico in Focus… honoring Native American Heritage month with a celebration of native resilience and innovation.

Correspondent Antonia Gonzales interviews tribal leaders and the Secretary of Indian Affairs about the surge of COVID-19 cases across New Mexico. The pandemic has hit Indigenous communities especially hard, and more recently the situation has become especially challenging for Acoma Pueblo, where Indian Health Services has closed a key facility. The group talks about upholding sovereignty while also working to keep citizens safe.

Native Americans have always had a deep and vibrant connection to the land, and that includes the sustainability of our food sources. There is a recent movement to return to these Indigenous food systems and best practices for individual health benefits and the overall wellness of tribal communities and Mother Earth. Correspondent Antonia Gonzales visits Jemez Pueblo to meet with a business owner who is focused on helping us all decolonize our diets.

This week, we also celebrate the country’s first Native American Poet Laureate, Joy Harjo. She went to school here in New Mexico at the Institute of American Indian Arts as well as UNM. And earlier this month, she was appointed to a rare third term as Poet Laureate, starting in September of 2021. She held a discussion and reading from her new book of poetry “An American Sunrise” at the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts in Santa Fe in the Fall of 2019. Harjo reads selections from that book, including the works “For Those Who Would Govern” and “Indian School Night Song Blues.”

This week on New Mexico in Focus… Correspondent Megan Kamerick interviews Dr. Tracie Collins, UNM’s current dean of the College of Population Health. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham appointed Collins as the new leader of New Mexico’s Department of Health.  The pair talks about the state’s pandemic response, COVID-19’s impact on vulnerable communities, and how Dr. Collins will tackle the cabinet secretary position she’ll assume in December.

Some of Albuquerque’s top doctors held another press conference this week to talk about how to cope with the new stay-at-home order, especially as the holiday season approaches. NMiF presents an excerpt from that meeting.

Gene Grant and The Line opinion panelists talk about new COVID restrictions that went into effect this week, as New Mexico continues to set ominous new virus records. The Line also discusses the Indian Health Service decision to suspend emergency and in-patient care at the Acoma-Cañoncito-Laguna Hospital. For the final topic, The Line takes a look at how lawmakers may convene for their 60-day session starting in January – and how they might structure their imminent pandemic relief special session.

This week on New Mexico in Focus… Correspondent Russell Contreras talks to Rachel Kleinfeld, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace where, according to its website, “she focuses on issues of rule of law, security, and governance in post-conflict countries, fragile states, and states in transition.” Dr. Kleinfeld explains how covering conflicted elections in other countries can inform America about defining political differences.

Our Land correspondent Laura Paskus looks back at the impact of the border wall and looks ahead to NMiF’s continuing coverage of pollution in and around New Mexico military installations. NMiF reprises the Our Land episode that aired a year ago, after Paskus visited the border in southern New Mexico to visit where 30-foot-tall steel bollards have been installed and to see the wall’s construction.  NMiF producer Matt Grubs talks with Paskus for an update about pollution in the Fort Wingate area, which the military did not disclose to the state during clean-up negotiations.

Gene Grant and The Line opinion panelists look at local impacts of the national election and what the winning ticket of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, will mean for New Mexico. The Line also discusses the COVID-19 spike that is overwhelming the state. Lastly, The Line talks about two new issues in the Albuquerque Police Department: an overtime audit and another excoriating report from an independent monitor.

This week on New Mexico in Focus…

NMiF producer Matt Grubs talks with Kathleen Sabo, the executive director of New Mexico Ethics Watch, about how campaign spending by special interest groups influenced New Mexico races.

Gene Grant and The Line opinion panelists break down results from key elections in New Mexico. They look at congressional races, legislative contests, and end with an examination of where our state stands in the national picture.

This week on New Mexico in Focus… NMiF producer Matt Grubs talks with reporters across the state to discuss important issues in their areas before the election. First up is Dan Boyd of the Albuquerque Journal, who assesses the general election chances of progressive Democratic senate candidates against Republican challengers, after the progressives ousted moderate members of their own party in the primaries. Several Republican senate seats in the Albuquerque area are also at risk, as Democratic challengers hope to turn the area blue.   

Matt Grubs also does an election roundup with three other reporters. He speaks to Hannah Grover of the Farmington Daily Times about an amendment to the state Constitution which seeks to turn the Public Regulation Commission from an elected to an appointed post, and also seeks to reduce its numbers from 5 to 3.  He also hears from Geoffrey Plant of the Silver City Daily Press about two contentious legislative races in the area, in Senate District 28 and House District 38. Matt Grubs then talks to Algernon D’Ammassa of the Las Cruces Sun-News about the race to replace longtime legislator Sen. John Arthur Smith.   

Gene Grant and The Line opinion panelists take their turn with their viewpoints on Election Day outcomes and the influence of early and first-time voters, and what part voter intimidation may play in the races. They also look further into pandemic updates and what our state is doing to reverse the rising trend of COVID cases.  

Finally, the show looks to warnings about the surge in coronavirus cases from medical experts, who took a step forward into the public eye this week to address concerns about the state’s capability to handle the spike in COVID-19 cases.

This week on New Mexico in Focus… Correspondent Megan Kamerick interviews end-of-life planner Gail Rubin, who is the coordinator of the upcoming Before I Die Festival. As the world battles a pandemic, it is especially apt to talk about facing death and dying, a topic many people would rather avoid.

NMiF producer Matt Grubs talks with New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver about how voters should handle absentee ballots in the closing weeks of the election, as well as how county clerks will have a head start – if they take advantage of it – in counting absentee ballots, thanks to a state law that lets those ballots be tabulated much the same as early in-person votes are in the days leading up to Nov. 3.

NMiF began the week by hosting a debate between the three candidates hoping to fill the U.S. Senate seat that will be vacated by Sen. Tom Udall at the end of this year. Vying for the position are current U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján (Democrat), former TV meteorologist Mark Ronchetti (Republican) and retired nuclear scientist Bob Walsh (Libertarian). This week’s NMiF contains an excerpt of that conversation. The full hour-long debate, which aired on

NMPBS last week Sunday, can be seen in its entirety at the VOTE 2020 page on newmexicopbs.org.

Gene Grant and The Line opinion panelists look how Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham continues to try to bring down record-breaking coronavirus case numbers by restricting – but not shutting down – businesses throughout the state. New rules that go into effect Oct. 23 include a 10:00 p.m. closing time for retail shops, and mandatory certification for restaurants to stay in business. The Line also looks at more fallout over last week’s destruction of a monument on the Santa Fe Plaza. The toppling of the controversial obelisk left the city divided; many had been calling for its removal, while others wanted it left alone. The Line ends with a debate over Attorney General William Barr’s praise of Operation Legend in Albuquerque during a visit last week.

This week on New Mexico in Focus… Correspondent Russell Contreras speaks with Vanessa Fonseca-Chávez, a New Mexico native who is now an assistant professor at Arizona State. As co-editor of the book “Querencia: Reflections on the New Mexico Homeland,” and as a Chicana who is critical of monuments to Spanish conquistadors, she is working on a biography of controversial conqueror Don Juan de Oñate.   

NMiF host Gene Grant interviews the two candidates in New Mexico’s First Congressional District race: Rep. Deb Haaland, the Democratic incumbent, and challenger and Republican Michelle Garcia Holmes. This week’s NMiF contains an excerpt of that conversation; the full hour-long special, which aired on NMPBS last week, can be seen in its entirety at the VOTE 2020 page on newmexicopbs.org.   

Gene Grant and The Line opinion panelists look at Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s new set of restrictions brought about by the rise in COVID-19 cases across the state. She’s announced new orders that will go into effect on October 16, and there might still be more to come. The Line also debates the handling of a controversial situation over a monument in Santa Fe’s Plaza that culminated in the obelisk’s destruction on Indigenous Peoples’ Day. For their final topic, The Line panelists discuss the constitutional amendment that aims to reform the Public Regulation Commission and also look at contributions to state legislative campaigns.

This week, New Mexico in Focus previews conversations with Democratic Rep. Xochitl Torres Small and her two-time Republican opponent in New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District, Yvette Herrell. The full hour-long special airs on NMPBS Sunday at 6:00 p.m.

When a river begins to run dry it impacts all living things that depend on it, including sandhill cranes and other migratory birds arriving in New Mexico for the season. Environmental journalist and correspondent Laura Paskus talks with Deborah Williams and Dan Collins about what a drying Rio Grande means for the wildlife that take refuge at the Bosque de Apache.

Laura Paskus is also the producer of NMiF’s monthly series, “Our Land.” This month, she also discusses ways to take care of our urban forest canopy, as she looks at the effect of last month’s windstorms on her own back yard and gives us a glance back to a past episode with Albuquerque’s city forester.

Gene Grant and The Line voice their opinions with updates on New Mexico’s top-of-the-ticket congressional races, with a focus on the Senate and the 2nd Congressional District. They also debate the effectiveness of New Mexico’s battle against the coronavirus. While the numbers looked good for a while, cases have started climbing alarmingly. Are more restrictions soon to come? Lastly, The Line looks at renewed efforts to lower the cap even further on interest rates for payday loans.