News from July 2021


Marlene Madalene Goodrich

Marlene Madalene Goodrich - May 29, 1939 ~ July 7, 2021 (age 82)


Susan Barbara (Ravin) Beetem

Susan Barbara (Ravin) Beetem - February 1, 1952 ~ July 16, 2021 (age 69)


Emerson "E.G. " Snider

Emerson "E.G. " Snider - July 16, 2021


Marilyn Jo Harp

Marilyn Jo Harp - January 27, 1945 ~ August 31, 2019 (age 74)


Rosella E. (Suazo) Pineda

Rosella E. (Suazo) Pineda - July 22, 2021


Leonella "Lila" Garcia

Leonella "Lila" Garcia - January 8, 1925 ~ July 16, 2021 (age 96)


Abram "Abie" Parra

Abram "Abie" Parra - August 20, 1963 ~ July 17, 2021 (age 57)


'Will it happen?' President of the Rio Grande Foundation pushes reform of New Mexico's gross receipts tax

The president of the Rio Grande Foundation is discussing what he calls a "long-overdue" reform for New Mexico's gross receipts tax.


'We lag the region': New Mexico’s high unemployment rate, low workforce participation continues to stall financial recovery

In addition to reporting a significantly high unemployment rate for the state of New Mexico, a recent Rio Grande Foundation analysis revealed that the state is currently suffering from a low workforce engagement rate.


Keller vetoes 2 cent gas tax because it's 'not the right time' for Albuquerque

Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller says it's "not the right time" to impose a gas tax while residents recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.


Keller signs $1.26 billion budget to make Albuquerque 'a safer, healthier, and more resilient city'

The City of Albuquerque's $1.26 billion operating budget got a nearly $60 million federal boost.


'Up and down the ballot': 5 seek GOP nomination to run for New Mexico governor's seat

Five GOP dreamers are hoping to fill the Republican nominations for the 2022 race against incumbent Michelle Lujan Grisham as the governor of New Mexico.


NM Right to Life Committee: 'Life is precious and we don't have the right to take it'

Earlier this year, the New Mexico Legislature pushed through a package of 70 new bills, one of which was the "aid-in-dying" bill that allows physicians to prescribe "life-ending medication" to people suffering from a terminal illness.



Rio Grande Foundation settles $15,000 public records suit against Keller for actions 'antithetical to the principles of open government'

The Rio Grande Foundation has settled its $15,000, 18-month public records suit against the City of Albuquerque and Mayor Tim Keller this week following complaints of a lack of transparency on the part of the mayor's office, according to a release from the foundation.


'I’m not sure we’ve seen the worst of it': U.S. Surgeon General warns of pandemic's mental health impact during Santa Fe visit

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy recently visited New Mexico and met with Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham at the New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe to discuss the unseen impact of the pandemic on people in the form for mental health issues.


Grisham encourages other states to adopt New Green Deal clean car standards amid criticism of it as 'gas tax on the poor'

New Mexico’s governor, Lujan Grisham, spoke at the 2021 Virtual State Environmental Protection meeting for the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) about the Green New Deal that her state has adopted, stating her wishes that other states embrace it too.


'We can't be myopic about solutions': Education analyst blames COVID-19, lack of reform as New Mexico student test scores hit nation's bottom

Education analysts are saying New Mexico is well on its way to being last among states in student test scores, which they attribute to the one-two punch of the COVID-19 pandemic and the indifference of state legislators to school reform.


Gubernatorial candidate blames Grisham as New Mexico unemployment goes 'from bad to worse' with highest in US

The state of New Mexico has the highest unemployment rates in the country, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, coming in at 7.9%, much of which is related to the COVID-19 pandemic.


Godshall slams Grisham: 60% of small businesses closing during pandemic ‘matters to some people’

Rep. Robert Godshall is calling out Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham after she didn’t include business closures in a social media post listing the things that matter most to New Mexicans during the COVID-19 pandemic.