State Democrats push to fill empty ballot spots
One empty ballot spot for the November 3 election was filled Friday while another remains vacant. State Democrats have been working to get new candidates on the ballot after Elise Falanga Taylor and Joseph Franklin Hernandez dropped out of House races for District 23 and District 4.
Falanga Taylor said she was dropping out due to alleged attacks on her character from her opponent, Republican Alan Martinez. Hernandez dropped out after a public nudity scandal in Chicago.
Tuesday was the deadline to appoint replacements for either candidate. In both cases Democratic Party officials say they provided nominees by the deadline. But the county clerks in charge of assigning candidates to the ballot say that democrats waited too long.
Sandoval County cooperated with a court order and replaced Falanga Taylor with Matthew Herman on Friday. Hernandez's spot on the ballot remains empty, at least for now.
If officials don't certify a replacement for the incumbent Hernandez, Republican Heather Ellison will run uncontested.
Native schools sue Trump administration
Several tribal nations, including Isleta Pueblo, filed a complaint in federal court Thursday about the Trump administration's handling of Indian education program operations. The complaint claims that the administration moved some operations and staff out of the Department of Education without the legally required tribal consultation.
New Mexico In-Depth reports that the allegations add to a lawsuit filed last year that accused the Trump administration of illegally cutting staff at the Bureau of Indian Education.
The complaint says the federal changes have made it hard for tribal schools to keep students and teachers and delayed funding. The plaintiffs originally sued last June after Albuquerque's Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute experienced teacher shortages and power outages.
Frijoles Fire update
Crews continue to make progress fighting the Frijoles Fire in Northern Santa Fe County. County officials weakened evacuation orders over the weekend. Several nearby communities are still listed in the "READY" category. That means they may need to evacuate if conditions worsen. There are no longer any communities in the "SET" or "GO" evacuation categories.
Portions of the Santa Fe National Forest and NM 503 remain closed as well as several forest roads.
The size of the fire remains over 15,000 acres. Containment is now near 60 percent.
Officials will host a community meeting with more fire updates at the Truchas Community Center on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The meeting will also be livestreamed on the Santa Fe National Forest Facebook page.
Tight lead for Haaland in new gubernatorial poll
A new poll from the Albuquerque Journal shows Democrat Deb Haaland leading Republican Greg Hull in the race to become New Mexico's next governor. But the margin is a bit tighter than another recent poll. The Journal poll has Haaland winning by just six points- 49 percent of likely voters back Haaland, 43 percent for Hull and just 8 percent undecided.
BSP Research released its poll findings earlier in August and painted a quite different picture. That poll has Haaland leading Hull by 17 points with almost a quarter of respondents undecided.
Brian Sanderoff is the president of the company that conducted the Journal poll. He told the Journal that despite how tight the numbers are, Hull has a lot to overcome- he said the national political mood favors Democrats right now and Republican voters are less likely to show up when Trump is not on the ballot.
Both candidates would make history if they win. Haaland would be the first Native American woman in the country elected as a governor. Hull would be the first Republican elected to statewide office in ten years.
Is Project Jupiter really hiring local workers?
Although the air quality permit for Project Jupiter is held up in the courts, construction on the massive data center in Southern New Mexico continues.
The project is intended to support computing for Oracle and OpenAI but it's been met with massive resistance and controversy.
Oracle has said that hiring local is a top priority for the project. But The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that the company can't say for sure where most of the workers live full time. That's currently over 2,100 construction workers.
The New Mexican's reporting said that license plates in the employee parking area are from a broad range of American and Mexican states. One worker told the newspaper that he hasn't worked alongside a single New Mexican.