The Line opinion panel takes a closer look at the implications of a predicted $1.4 billion surplus in the state’s next budget year. Lawmakers and the governor are already rolling out ideas to spend it, while others caution against yet another ratcheting up of the state’s baseline costs. The group weighs the likelihood that crime legislation – and funding – will be a centerpiece of the 2022 legislative session.

New Mexico in Focus searches for perspective on the end of the war in Afghanistan and the resulting humanitarian crisis as tens of thousands of Afghans look to flee Taliban rule. Gene Grant speaks with local café owner Mula Akbar, a refugee from Afghanistan who came to the U.S. in the late ‘80s. He also talks to Jeff Hall, the economic development programs manager of Lutheran Family Services. Both men are working to connect incoming Afghans with needed support as they relocate to New Mexico.

An uncertain future faces New Mexicans who have benefited from additional federal unemployment money. The boost runs out Saturday, and The Line discusses what workers and employers can expect. Many Republican-led states have already ended additional federal benefits in an effort to jumpstart the job market. But they’ve seen modest gains, if any, and a notable drop in consumer spending. This round of cutoffs is likely to impact Democratic-led states. We also had the chance this week to ask U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh about whether or not the state should use other pandemic relief funds to extend those benefits. 

New Mexico in Focus continues its examination of how different groups view the end of the war in Afghanistan. For many in the Southeast Asian community, images of the mass exodus from Kabul bring to mind the end of the war in Vietnam. Matt Grubs speaks with software developer and Vietnamese immigrant Tam Le about parallels between the ends of the two conflicts. Le came to the United States of America as a child in the early 1980s. His family split up to make the arduous journey, and it was more than a decade before they were reunited.

The Line opinion panel digs into a draft plan to address educational disparities raised in the Yazzie-Martinez lawsuit as a state District Court continues to urge reform. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the plan, which some education advocates say is too vague for a developing state response 3 years after a court decided New Mexico’s public schools aren’t providing an equitable education to vulnerable students. A major issue is the lack of reliable broadband internet service across the state, brought to light during the pandemic.

Line Guests:

Rebecca Latham, CEO, Girl Scouts of NM

Sophie Martin, attorney

Edmund Perea, attorney & public safety consultant

Guests:

Mula Akbar, owner, Café Istanbul

Jeff Hall, Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountains

Tam Le, software developer and Vietnamese immigrant

Nicole Maxwell, Alamogordo Daily News

Marty Walsh, Secretary, U.S. Department of Labor

Resources: 

New Mexico Flush With Cash as Revenues Climb, Oil Recovers – Associated Press

Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountains

Some don’t know what they’ll do when federal unemployment assistance ends – NM Political Report

New Mexico Asian Family Center