CrucesSunNews: Recent Episodes
CrucesSunNews
This week, we’re joined by Las Cruces native Jamila Gilbert, who joined Virgin Galactic in 2019 where she has been an integral part of the company, leading internal communications. On Thursday, May 25, she was aboard the Unity 25 suborbital space flight. Jamila attended New Mexico State University, studying linguistics, museum conservation, anthropology, and studio art. As a Latina woman of Purépechan-Mexican roots, a visual artist, and a communications professional who speaks four languages, Jamila doesn’t come from a technical or engineering background.Now, the 34-year-old is the third Virgin Galactic woman to fly to space, joining the first 100 women astronauts in history. She is also among only 16 Hispanic astronauts. Later, we’re joined by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to talk about what the successful Virgin Galactic launch and the apparently imminent commercial space flights could mean for the state’s future.
On this week's episode, we’re joined by Rep. Nathan Small, a Democrat from Las Cruces who serves as chair of the House Appropriations and Finance Committee. He also serves as vice chair for the Legislative Finance Committee.David Abbey, the director of the budget and accountability office for the New Mexico Legislature, announced in March he would be retiring from the agency he led for 25 years — through a historic recession, a collapse in the oil economy, the COVID-19 pandemic and a new and unprecedented financial windfall.Abbey will leave the agency known as the Legislative Finance Committee this summer. He guided the office through the tenure of four governors, earning recognition for ensuring state government solvency in the aftermath of the 2007-2009 Great Recession and many more challenges.New Mexico is one of about five states where the Legislature prepares its own budget plan, independent of the executive branch.Now, the search for Abbey’s replacement begins. We talk to Rep. Small about what that will look like, what the LFC will look for in its new leader and why the role is so important.
On this week's episode of The Reporter's Notebook Podcast, we’re joined by Las Cruces native Aaron Paz, who works for NASA. Aaron is a NASA senior engineer and Carbothermal Reduction Demonstration project manager at Johnson Space Center in Houston.As NASA works toward sending astronauts to the Moon again through Artemis missions, one of the space agency’s primary goals is to establish a long-term presence on the lunar surface. Resources like oxygen are crucial building blocks for making that vision a reality. In addition to using oxygen for breathing, it can also be used as a propellant for transportation, helping lunar visitors stay longer and venture farther.During a recent test, scientists at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston successfully extracted oxygen from simulated lunar soil. Lunar soil refers to the fine-grained material covering the Moon’s surface. This was the first time that this extraction has been done in a vacuum environment, paving the way for astronauts to one day extract and use resources in a lunar environment, called in-situ resource utilization.And, I’m not going to lie, I don’t fully understand all of this — the ramifications, what it could mean for future space travel and living someplace that is not the earth — maybe even in our lifetimes.But that’s why I’m grateful to have Aaron joining us this week.
This week, we’re joined by Las Cruces native Michael Patrick Kaczmarek, one of the producers of The Pope’s Exorcist, which was released April 14 in the U.S. and is in theaters now. To date, the film has grossed more than $60 million internationally.The film stars Academy Award-winner Russell Crowe. Inspired by the actual files of Father Gabriele Amorth, Chief Exorcist of the Vatican, The Pope’s Exorcist follows Amorth as he investigates a young boy’s terrifying possession and ends up uncovering a centuries-old conspiracy the Vatican has desperately tried to keep hidden.Known by some as the Dean of Exorcists, to others as the Vatican’s Exorcist, Father Amorth was to thousands of people a light in the darkness. A real man who conducted thousands of exorcisms for the Church, Father Amorth was a frontline crusader in the battle against evil who chronicled his exploits in two memoirs that go far beyond the spooky anecdotes to explore the threats to humanity from demons.Amorth was appointed chief exorcist of the Diocese of Rome in 1986 and remained there until 2016, when he died at age 91. In those three decades, Amorth claimed to have conducted over 60,000 exorcisms.Now, the exploits of Father Amorth come to the screen for the first time in The Pope’s Exorcist.Michael attended Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic School and Oñate High School, where he played football for four years and graduated in 1999. He went on to attend the University of New Mexico and Cal State, Los Angeles, where he earned a B.A. in Communications with an emphasis in Film, Radio and Television in 2003.We’ll talk to Michael about how he became involved in the project, how he got started, how he got to where he is and who helped him along the way. We’ll also talk about what may be next for the young producer.
This week’s podcast discusses sexual assault. If you or someone you know experiences sexual violence, you can find local support via La Piñon's 24-Hour Crisis Hotline at 575-526-3437 or go to www.lapinon.org.This week, we’re joined by Abrianna Morales. When she was 15, Abrianna was sexually assaulted by someone she knew and trusted. That experience — navigating the legal system, the feeling of isolation, and lack of resources and support — prompted her to create the Sexual Assault Youth Survivors’ Network, a community of survivors, supporters, and advocates “dedicated to building a world without sexual violence where justice is restorative and healing is possible.”As of early 2022, more than 300,000 people from around the world had visited the organization’s website.After high school, she went on to attend the University of New Mexico. She is currently a senior majoring in Psychology and Criminology with a minor in Math and will graduate in two weeks. In 2022, she was selected to be a Truman Scholar, one of 58 college students throughout the country who aspire to be leaders in public service.After graduation, she plans to take a gap year to work on developing the SAYSN and some collaborative projects with the National Organization for Victim Assistance, including a U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women grant to provide training and technical assistance to college campuses invested in preventing sexual assault, domestic violence, and stalking.Last week, during National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, Abrianna was featured in a video on the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs’ website.We’ll talk to Abrianna about SAYSN, her experience as an advocate, how COVID-19 impacted her life in surprising ways, her future plans and more.
On this week's episode, we’re joined by Patrick Nolan, executive director of Friends of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks. We’ll also be joined by Sen. Jeff Steinborn (D-Las Cruces), as well as Kyla Navarro, policy and community coordinator for Friends of the OMDP.The New Mexico Legislative Session recently wrapped up and Friends of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks celebrated the legislature’s decision to fund a feasibility study, which is a step towards establishing a new state park in Southern New Mexico. The Broad Canyon Ranch property was acquired by the New Mexico State Parks Division in 2008 to be a destination for outdoor education. It also holds potential as a foraging and nesting habitat for various avian species. Due to budget cuts during the previous administration, the property was never opened to the public.Friends of the OMDP hopes to establish Broad Canyon Ranch as a state park for the safe public access to Slot Canyon, north of Las Cruces, and the Rio Grande corridor. This destination has increased in popularity the past few years but sits on the edge of state-owned land and national monument land. Due to this reason, accessing this destination became contentious for trespassing concerns, treading on state land to access federal lands. With funding provided through the “Junior Bill,” Sen. Steinborn and Rep. Nathan Small (D-Las Cruces) were able to allocate money to fund the study.We’ll talk about the challenges this could help overcome, how it’s a necessary first step to create a state park, what the current situation looks like and how we got here, and what exactly the “Junior Bill” is.
This week, we’re joined by Dr. Molly Malloy, an associate professor, retired reference librarian and American specialist at NMSU and a member of this year’s J. Paul Taylor Social Justice Symposium’s organizing committee. We’ll also be joined by Spencer Herrera, an associate professor of Spanish at NMSU, who chaired this year’s organizing committee.“Justice for Journalists” was the theme of this year’s symposium, which took place Wednesday and Thursday, April 12th and 13th on the university’s campus. The symposium offered a special tribute to the late J. Paul Taylor, a revered New Mexico legislator and longtime educator who founded the symposium.Taylor passed away Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023, after celebrating his 102nd birthday last August. NMSU’s College of Arts and Sciences established the symposium in 2005 when Taylor suggested bringing resources of the university and community together to address areas of concern for underserved populations in the region.We’ll talk about this year’s theme, panel discussions, keynote speaker and why “Justice for Journalists” is a particularly timely and poignant conversation to have in 2023.
On this week's episode of The Reporter's Notebook Podcast, we’re talking to Patrick Allen, cabinet secretary of the New Mexico Department of Health. At the end of 2022, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham appointed Allen as the leader of the state’s health department following the resignation of Dr. David Scrase. Allen began his work in the department on Jan. 3.Before coming to New Mexico, Allen worked as the director of the Oregon Health Authority. In Oregon, he led the agency’s response to COVID-19 and guided Oregon’s statewide Medicaid plan and behavioral health system.We’ll talk about his plans and priorities for the department as the COVID-19 public health orders expire. New Mexico’s COVID-19 public health order expired Friday, March 31. Meanwhile, the federal government plans to end the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency on May 11, 2023.
In this week's episode, we’re talking to Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima, who recently delivered his 16th and final State of the City address. Miyagishima was first elected mayor of Las Cruces in 2007 and is currently in his fourth, four-year term. In November, he announced that he would not seek a fifth term.While this is certainly not an exit interview — as he will still lead the city for months to come — we thought we should touch base on what he feels he has accomplished, as reflected in this year’s State of the City address. There have been ups and downs, for sure — moments of turmoil. But the mayor largely focused on how his vision for Las Cruces has been carried out, so far, during his 16 years in the office.Before running for mayor, Miyagishima served as a Doña Ana County Commissioner. He also served as a city councilor. In August 2013, Miyagishima unsuccessfully applied to become Doña Ana County Manager.This week, we're grateful to have the mayor joining us.
This week, we’re talking to Melanie Majors, the executive director of the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government. FOG was created because citizens have a fundamental right to know what their government is doing, and that includes the right to inspect public records and the right to attend public meetings.FOG works to make sure these rights are strong and available to everyone. Sometimes, this means assisting individual citizens who are denied information by local or state government. It also means strengthening and broadening freedom-of-information laws through legislation and litigation. And it means educating the public and public officials about the letter and spirit of sunshine laws.With New Mexico’s 60-day legislative session having just wrapped up, several bills of interest were winding their way through the legislature — bills that would have a tremendous impact on transparency and the state’s Inspection of Public Records Act.For instance, Senate Bill 63 — sponsored by Sen. Bill Tallman, an Albuquerque Democrat, would shield the names of applicants of high-level government jobs, including city managers, school superintendents and police chiefs. Tallman contended the bill’s passage would attract a better pool of candidates. We’ll talk to Melanie about FOG’s opposition to that bill and what became of it.Another proposed bill, House Bill 232, would revise New Mexico’s public records law to exempt from release certain cybersecurity records and law enforcement video of death notifications, nudity or certain other images. It would also require people requesting law enforcement video to include either a police report number, computer dispatch number or a date range. A request using a date range would need to include the officer’s name, time or location of what the requester is seeking. While FOG was involved in discussions surrounding the bill, the organization did not formally oppose the changes.
On this week's episode, we’re talking to New Mexico Representative Nathan Small, a Democrat from Las Cruces. We’ll be talking about how he has approached this year’s 60-day session of the New Mexico Legislature. We’ll take a look at many of the big-ticket items lawmakers are discussing as they set about crafting an historically large budget.Totaling more than $9.5 billion in recurring spending — an 11.9% increase from the last fiscal year — there is no shortage of ideas on how best to spend that money. And that doesn’t include the one-time, nonrecurring funds that will be doled out this year.Legislators have put forth ideas to improve education, public safety, early childhood development, bail reform, water conservation and energy, just to name a few. We’ll talk to Representative Small about all of those things and more.We’ll also talk about the state’s Land Grant Permanent Fund — sometimes referred to as the “rainy day fund” — which has long been closely guarded by legislators, though that may be changing.Small, who has served in the House since 2017, is a conservationist by trade and currently serves as chair of the House Appropriations and Finance Committee and is a member of the House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee and the House Printing and Supplies Committee.This week, I’m pleased to have Representative Small joining us.
In this week’s episode of The Reporter’s Notebook Podcast, we’re joined by Adrian Hedden, who covers energy, oil and gas for the Carlsbad Current-Argus. As you likely know, time is winding down on this year’s 60-day legislative session. As we’ve discussed in several recent episodes, New Mexico is looking at a record-breaking budget surplus; it could very well be the state’s largest budget in history.And, by and large, we’ve got the state’s oil and gas sector to thank for that. But is the “goose that laid the golden egg” on the chopping block? Several bills put forth this year seek to curb the oil and gas industry — with further restrictions, regulations and oversight.It has long been acknowledged that New Mexico must find ways to diversify its revenue streams and reduce the state’s reliance on extractive industries. Legislators, however, have failed to reach a consensus on a path forward.This year, several bills have been put forward that specifically address the state’s relationship with the oil and gas industry. Others focus on alternative energies. With less than a week left in the session, some bills have died and others may have a chance of making it to the governor’s desk. Adrian will walk us through some of the hot-button issues and proposed legislation.
On this week’s episode of The Reporter’s Notebook Podcast, we’re talking to New Mexico Senator Bill Soules, a Democrat from Las Cruces. We’ll be talking about how he has approached this year’s 60-day session of the New Mexico Legislature. We’ll take a look at many of the big-ticket items lawmakers are discussing as lawmakers set about crafting an historically large budget.We’ll talk to Sen. Soules about many of the state’s most pressing issues — education, public safety, early childhood development, bail reform, water conservation and energy, just to name a few.Soules, who has served in the Senate since 2013, is a retired educator and currently serves as chair of the Senate Education Committee and is a member of the Senate Conservation Committee.We also talk about Soules’ bill to make the smell of “green chile roasting in the fall” the official state aroma — a bill Soules sponsored, with expert testimony from some Las Cruces elementary students. Senate Bill 188 passed the Senate on a 31-4 vote on Saturday, Feb. 25. It now must make it through a couple of committees in the House and a full House vote in order to reach the governor’s desk. If passed, New Mexico would become the first state in the nation to have an official state aroma.This week, we're grateful to have Senator Soules joining us.
This week, we’re talking to Ted Alcorn, a New Mexico native and a freelance journalist who has written for The New York Times, teaches at Columbia University and NYU, and previously worked for the Mayor’s Office in New York City. Ted recently wrote a long series for New Mexico In Depth called “Blind Drunk,” which you may have also read in the Las Cruces Sun-News.It detailed how alcohol is killing New Mexicans at a higher rate than anywhere else in the country — at a rate that’s about three times higher than the national rate, actually — yet the state has largely neglected the growing crisis. That series recently won an award for Excellence in Reporting from the Association of Health Care Journalists.House Bill 230 is a proposed tax increase on alcohol. The bill cleared its first committee on Friday, Feb. 10. If passed, it would add a 25-cent tax to every pint of beer, glass of wine or shot of liquor. The bill’s sponsors said increasing the state’s alcohol tax is long overdue.New Mexico hasn’t raised the alcohol excise tax since 1993 — that’s nearly 30 years. Since then, we have seen inflation strip away the effects of having an alcohol tax to help reduce consumption. The sponsors said the proposal could decrease total alcohol consumption in New Mexico by 7%.More than 2,700 New Mexicans died from alcohol last year — more than six people a day – a nearly 50% increase from 2020. That doesn’t include DWI cases and other health impacts.Despite the lower consumption, the proposed alcohol tax would still generate more than $155 million a year in revenue, according to projections, which could be funneled into prevention and treatment programs long-term.But… We may not see it pass. On Monday, Feb. 20, the bill was tabled by the House Taxation and Revenue Committee, which voted unanimously to shelve it. This may be a post-mortem on the bill, unless something changes. There’s a chance it could be folded into an omnibus tax bill, according to the bill’s proponents. We’ll talk to Ted about that; he has been following the issue closely.This week, we're happy to have Ted joining us.
This week, we’re talking to Las Cruces Sun-News Lead Sports Reporter Jason Groves. We’ll talk about everything that has happened in recent weeks surrounding the New Mexico State University’s men’s basketball team — and it’s been a lot.Jason took over coverage of the team just days after the deadly Nov. 19 shooting on the campus of the University of New Mexico, following the departure of former Sun-News reporter Stephen Wagner. Since then, he has covered the team as they struggled to win games. Then, on Feb. 10, things got even less predictable.The Aggies were pulled off a road trip and Head Coach Greg Heiar and his coaching staff were placed on paid administrative leave following allegations of hazing among Aggies players. According to police documents, at least three players assaulted a teammate. The incident was reported to New Mexico State University Police Department on Feb. 10; the incident report was made public on Sunday, Feb. 12.Minutes after the hazing details were made public, NMSU Chancellor Dan Arvizu announced that the remainder of the team’s season was “suspended indefinitely.” Later, it was made clear that the season was canceled entirely.On Tuesday, Feb. 14, Arvizu announced Heiar was fired as the men's basketball coach after less than one season.While both situations are still under investigation, some strong language has been thrown around by university officials since details started coming to light.This week, I’m excited to have Jason joining us.
This podcast contains discussions of suicide. If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts, consider reaching out to the National Suicide Hotline by dialing 988. Help is available.This week, we’re talking to Carissa McGee. In 2006, when she was only 16, she was a star basketball player at Mayfield High School and a Gatorade Player of the Year.But then, everything changed.McGee was charged after police say she stabbed her mother and older sister Marie, who tried to intervene. Both were hospitalized but survived. The details are much more complicated and involve issues of isolation and mental health. But, ultimately, she entered a no-contest plea to charges of attempted murder and was sentenced as an adult to 21 years. At age 17, she was incarcerated at the Western New Mexico Correctional Facility in Grants alongside much older women.Due to good time and other adjustments to her sentence, she was granted parole after serving about nine years. Since her release, McGee has proven that she has turned her life around. She has returned to her love of basketball — officiating middle school and high school basketball games for the New Mexico Activities Association. She has also created her own nonprofit, Women in Leadership, an organization that helps women whose lives have been impacted by the criminal justice system.During this year’s legislative session, lawmakers are considering Senate Bill 64, which would prohibit life sentences without the possibility of release or parole for serious youthful offenders. We’ll talk about what’s in the bill, how things are going, and why Carissa has been testifying in the Legislature, urging lawmakers to support it.We’ll also be joined by Denali Wilson, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico — the ACLU — who has also been advocating for the passage of the bill.This week, we're happy to have Carissa and Denali joining us.
On this week's episode, we’re joined by New Mexico House Minority Floor Leader Ryan Lane, an attorney who represents San Juan County. We’ll be talking about how he is approaching this year’s 60-day session of the New Mexico Legislature. We’ll take a look many of the big-ticket items lawmakers are discussing as lawmakers set about crafting an historically large budget.Totaling $9.4 billion in recurring spending — an 11.9% increase from the last fiscal year — there is no shortage of ideas on how to best spend that money. And that doesn’t include the one-time, nonrecurring funds that will be doled out this year.Unlike 30-day sessions, which happen in even-numbered years and are focused nearly exclusively on the state’s budget, 60-day sessions allow any legislator in the House or Senate to introduce any bill they’d like. As a result, many are pitching their ideas to address some of the state’s most pressing issues — education, public safety, early childhood development, bail reform, water conservation and energy, just to name a few. We’ll talk to House Minority Floor Leader Lane about all of those things and more.We’ll also talk about the state’s Land Grant Permanent Fund — sometimes referred to as the “rainy day fund” — which has long been closely guarded by legislators, though that may be changing. Well, maybe a little, anyway.Lane, who has served in the legislature since 2021, currently serves as a member of the House Education, House Judiciary, House Printing & Supplies and House Rules & Order of Business Committees.This week, we're appreciative to have House Minority Floor Leader Lane joining us.
This week, we’re talking to New Mexico Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth. We’ll be talking about how he is approaching this year’s 60-day session of the New Mexico Legislature. We’ll take a look at many of the big-ticket items lawmakers are discussing as lawmakers set about crafting an historically large budget — one Wirth described as larger than any lawmaker, living or dead, has ever seen.Totaling $9.4 billion in recurring spending — an 11.9% increase from the last fiscal year — there is no shortage of ideas on how to best spend that money. And that doesn’t include the one-time, nonrecurring funds that will be doled out this year.Unlike 30-day sessions, which happen in even-numbered years and are focused nearly exclusively on the state’s budget, 60-day sessions allow any legislator in the House or Senate to introduce any bill they’d like. As a result, many are pitching their ideas to address some of the state’s most pressing issues — education, public safety, early childhood development, bail reform, water conservation and energy, just to name a few. We’ll talk to Majority Leader Wirth about all of those things and more.We’ll also talk about the state’s Land Grant Permanent Fund — sometimes referred to as the “rainy day fund” — which has long been closely guarded by legislators, though that may be changing. Well, maybe a little, anyway.Wirth, who has served in the legislature for 19 years, and in the Senate since 2009, currently serves as the vice chair of the Senate Committees’ Committee and is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Tax, Business and Transportation Committee.This week, we're grateful to have Senate Majority Leader Wirth joining us.
On this week's episode of The Reporter's Notebook Podcast, we’re talking to Las Cruces Public Schools Superintendent Ralph Ramos. We’ll be talking about the school district’s priorities during this year’s 60-day session of the New Mexico Legislature. We’ll take a look at the impact proposed legislation might impact LCPS.As New Mexico’s state legislature began work Tuesday, Jan. 17, to allocate an historically large budget — totaling $9.4 billion in recurring spending, an 11.9% increase from the last fiscal year — school districts around the state will be asking for a piece of that pie.Some have suggested things like fully funding and implementing the Hispanic, Indian, Black, and Bilingual Multicultural Education Acts, significantly increasing school employee salaries, increasing instructional hours, and continuing to increase targeted funding through the “at-risk” index.Teachers are asking for more planning time, reduced class size, adequate staffing, an expansion of community schools and a greater voice in the allocation of federal COVID relief funds.And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. We’ll ask Superintendent Ramos if those things align with the district’s goals and, if so, how?In the interest of full disclosure, I want to mention that I was once the district’s Director of Communications, though it was under a previous superintendent.This week, we're glad to have Superintendent Ramos joining us.
We’re talking to NMSU professors Martha Desmond and Tim Wright this week. Desmond is a Regents professor in the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Ecology, while Wright is a professor in the Biology Department.We’re diving into the mystery of a recent die-off of migratory birds in New Mexico. In 2020, possibly hundreds of thousands of migratory birds were found dead across the state. We’ll talk to Tim and Martha about what caused it, what is being done to address it, and a new partnership with Las Alamos National Labs that is designed to help.Wright explained the program will provide graduate and undergraduate students with research experience, life skills, critical thinking and broader experiences to be successful leaders in the face of rapidly changing biomes. During the academic year, students will conduct mentored research on migratory bird biology. During the summer, they will intern in agencies, present their work at scientific conferences, take core courses in migration biology (with a foreign study component), scientific communication and science and ethics, and work with individualized mentor teams.But what does all that mean, on a practical level?This week, we're happy to have Tim and Martha joining us.
This week, we’re talking to New Mexico State University Chancellor Dan Arvizu. Ahead of this year’s 60-day legislative session, we wanted to find out what sorts of legislation the university would like to see passed. We’ll take a deep dive into how proposed legislation may impact NMSU.Some of the things Arvizu and his colleagues in higher education around the state would like to see are a 10 percent average increase in compensation, fully funding the mandated 1 percent increase in retirement benefits for the next two years, a five percent increase in instruction and general funding, and $10 million to invest in workforce training.While New Mexico is looking to have an historically large budget in the coming fiscal year, no one seems to have much of an appetite for allocating it to recurring costs. Instead, the thinking seems to be focused on ways to make one-time, non-recurring investments that will benefit the state in the long run. NMSU is also hoping to get a healthy dose of capital outlay and general obligation bond funding — totaling nearly $60 million — to improve facilities on its campuses around the state.We’ll also be talking to Clayton Abbey, NMSU’s Interim Assistant Vice President for Government and Community Relations, who will be doing much of the work for the university in convincing lawmakers in Santa Fe to make these investments, and Sherry Kollmann, associate vice chancellor for digital learning.This week, I’m grateful to have Chancellor Arvizu, Sherry and Clayton joining us.
This week, we’re talking to Lucas Peerman, the outgoing news director of the Las Cruces Sun-News, and Jessica Onsurez. Until recently, Jessica was the news director of the Carlsbad Current-Argus, the Alamogordo Daily News and the Ruidoso News — a role she'll continue into 2023. All of the aforementioned papers are owned and operated by Gannett — the largest newspaper company in the United States.On Jan. 1, Jessica took over as the news director for the Sun-News. We’ll talk to Lucas about his time at the paper and his future plans, and to Jessica about how she intends to pick up the torch and carry it forward — what this might mean for the future of the newspaper.This week, I’m grateful to have Lucas and Jessica joining us.
This week, we’re talking to Rajaa Shindi, an assistant professor at New Mexico State University. Shindi received a $150,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to continue an effort to improve the lives of Afghan refugees in southern New Mexico through education and job training. She has partnered with Angela Owens, college assistant professor and director of the Glass Family Research Institute for Early Childhood Studies at NMSU, to provide free child care for Afghan refugees who participate in free English and computer literacy classes.Shindi received the one-year grant in June of this year — less than a year after she and her daughter started the NMSU Afghan Refugee Response Project, an initiative that gained widespread attention for its efforts to aid refugees who fled Afghanistan after the Taliban seized control of the country in August 2021.We talk about Shindi's background as an Iraqi immigrant, how she ended up in Las Cruces — which she now considers a second home — why this project was important to her and what she hopes it will accomplish. We also talk about how multi-denominational religious groups in the community have come together to achieve these goals using governmental funds.This week, I’m thankful to have Rajaa joining us.
This week, we’re talking to Dulcinea Lara, the academic department head and professor of Borderlands and Ethnic Studies at New Mexico State University.Borderlands and Ethnic Studies began in 2019 as a multi-disciplinary program at NMSU to build awareness and cultural understanding of what it means to live along the U.S.-Mexico border.Known as BEST, the department in the College of Arts and Sciences offers a multi-disciplinary graduate certificate to address the growing need for knowledge in the areas of cultural competency, equity and inclusion to work effectively with diverse populations.Lara championed the program from its inception and advocated for its designation as a department. Her goal is to guide students in examining the intersection of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality and other identities and how those identities impact people living in border communities.We also talk at some length about Critical Race Theory, which has become a hot topic in education — and, for various reasons, particularly in New Mexico — as of late. We talk about what it means, and how it can be put into practice at various levels of instruction.I’m grateful to have Dr. Lara joining us this week.
This week, we’re talking to Las Cruces Sun-News News Director Lucas Peerman, and Mario Moccia, the director of athletics at New Mexico State University. We’re talking about NMSU football’s Cinderella season — how a team that started NM State started the season 0-4 and they lost a home game to Florida International where the Aggies were actually 14.5-point favorites to drop to 1-5. Then came the rally. NMSU tore back to finish the season 6-6 — including a clobbering of Valparaiso on Dec. 3 — the team’s 12th game, after its homecoming game against San Diego State was canceled due to the tragic automobile death of 18-year-old Spartans’ freshman Camdan McWright, who was killed in a traffic crash near the San Jose State campus. The Spartans never made the trip to Las Cruces.Of course, that’s certainly not the only news surrounding NMSU athletics. We’ll also talk a little about the recent shooting on the campus of UNM in the early morning hours of Nov. 19 involving NMSU’s starting power forward, Mike Peake, in the hours ahead of the Aggie/Lobo rivalry — and all that has happened since, including his suspension from the team. This week, I’m truly grateful to have Lucas and Mario joining us.
This week, we’re talking to El Paso Times reporter Lauren Villagran, who covers immigration and the U.S.-Mexico border for the Times and the USA Today network of newspapers.The journey of Kristian González Pérez and his family of four is not particularly unique — insomuch as his was one of thousands of families bussed to other parts of the country, sometimes for practical reasons, sometimes for political reasons.They were four of 10,713 asylum seekers who took the same route to New York on city-chartered buses. The family captured the journey on cameras provided by the El Paso Times and the USA Today Network.As Lauren notes, it was just hours earlier on Oct. 19 — exactly 35 days after they left Venezuela — González Pérez and his family had lined up in the parking lot of El Paso's Migrant Welcome Center. They smiled into the cellphone camera as the bus idled beside them.Lauren, and Times photojournalist Omar Ornelas, were not allowed to be on that bus. But they flew to New York to meet the family when they arrived, and they continued chronicling the family’s journey.This story was a collaboration between the El Paso Times and USA Today for the fifth episode in the series “States of America.” The full episode of “States of America” exploring the migration crisis premiered on Nov. 25 on USA TODAY NETWORK’s streaming channel. You can also find it on YouTube.This week, I’m grateful to have Lauren joining us.
This week, we’re talking to Las Cruces Sun-News reporter Justin Garcia. Justin covers local government and public safety for the newspaper. Through a public records request, he recently obtained Las Cruces crime statistics for this year through June — the last month for which stats are currently available.What we’ve found, in raw numbers, is that more crimes have been reported in every category, year-to-date, except for robbery and rape. But, as Justin will explain, it’s not that simple. In fact, it can be really difficult to compare "apples to apples," so to speak, because of external factors that change from year to year.We’ll talk about that — and some of the caveats that, as reporters, are important for us to consider when crunching the numbers.This week, we’re pleased to be joined by Justin.
New Mexico State beat writer Stephen Wagner bids farewell to Las Cruces and previews the Aggies' upcoming game against New Mexico.
In this week’s episode, we’re talking to Algernon D’Ammassa. Algernon has been a reporter for the Sun-News since 2018. Before that, he was at the Deming Headlight. Earlier this month, Algernon returned to the Headlight as the newspaper’s editor-in-chief. The Headlight was recently purchased from Gannett by the Silver City Independent Publishing Co., which owns the Silver City Daily Press and Independent.During his time in Las Cruces, Algernon was a great asset to our newsroom — and to our community. He’s not one to shy away from a big, hard-to-report story — particularly if the reporting is of vital public interest. And during his time at the Sun-News, he reported a great number of genuinely impactful stories. This week, we’re grateful to be joined by Algernon.
Mike Peake joins The Aggie Wagon Podcast to discuss this week's upcoming rivalry game against UTEP.
This week, we’re doing something a little bit different. I’ll be talking to Walt Rubel, a longtime reporter and editor in southern New Mexico who has covered New Mexico politics for many years — and many of THOSE at the Las Cruces Sun-News.We’re talking about the 2022 midterm elections, redistricting, and some of the state’s biggest offices up for grabs.We should note, this podcast was recorded Saturday, Nov. 5.This week, we’re grateful to be joined by Walt.
Greg Heiar joins the podcast to preview the upcoming season and his first game as a Division I head coach.
In this week’s episode, we’re talking to Sun-News sports reporter Stephen Wagner.We’re talking about, well, a lot of things. Stephen was recently selected as a voter in the Associated Press Media Poll for college football. The Aggie basketball team just had their first Crimson/White scrimmage, giving us an early look at the team. I want to know what Stephen is thinking of both of these teams as the seasons progress — or, in the case of basketball, as the season approaches.We’ll also share the latest episode of The Aggie Wagon podcast, to take you a little deeper into the story. It includes some WAC predictions, some off-season recaps and more.This week, we’re honored to be joined by Stephen, who will talk about his reporting and how he has covered the sports beat as a reporter.
New Mexico State men's basketball beat writer Stephen Wagner recaps the Aggies' offseason and explains why fans should temper their expectations heading into the upcoming season.
This week, we’re talking to former Las Cruces Sun-News reporter Bethany Raja — who was Bethany Freudenthal when she worked as a public safety reporter at the Sun-News. She now works as a city hall reporter for @WYPR in Baltimore.We’re talking about Adnan Syed, whose case first rose to prominence because of the first season of the Serial podcast. First, a little history.Eight years after the shaky case against Adnan Syed became the center of the hit podcast "Serial," prosecutors said Tuesday that DNA evidence suggests Syed is innocent and murder charges against him have been dropped.Syed was previously convicted in the 1999 killing of Hae Min Lee and served about two decades in jail before the state's attorney's office in Baltimore asked a judge to vacate the conviction in September. At the time, the office said Syed could still be retried for Lee's death.But the state has now dropped its case against Syed entirely."Today, justice is done," Marilyn Mosby, the state's attorney for the city of Baltimore, said at a Tuesday news conference.This week, we’re honored to be joined by Bethany, who will talk about her reporting, why this case matters to her personally, and how she has covered it as a reporter.
In this week’s episode, however, we’re doing something a little different. We’re talking poetry. Specifically, we’re talking about the role of New Mexico’s Poet Laureate. First, a little history.In 2014, companion memorials in the New Mexico House and Senate requested that the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs develop a "New Mexico Poet Laureate position and program to foster a greater appreciation of the reading and writing of poetry and to highlight the importance of poetry in the everyday life of ordinary and extraordinary people to the creation of the New Mexico Poet Laureate position." Lack of funding, however, prevented the recommendation from being implemented.Ultimately, SB 536 of the 2019 Regular Session of the New Mexico Legislature — signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on April 5, 2019 — allocated $107,000 to the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs for the creation of a state poet laureate program. On January 30, 2020, Albuquerque poet Levi Romero was appointed New Mexico's inaugural Poet Laureate. This made New Mexico the 46th state to offer an official state poet or state writer position.Romero served as New Mexico Poet Laureate until Sept. 1 of this year, when Lauren Camp was named as the state’s second poet laureate.This week, we’re honored to be joined by both Levi and Lauren, who will talk about the role, the importance of poetry in everyday life, and the reward that comes from promoting literacy in the state.
This week, we’re speaking to Algernon D’Ammassa. Algernon is an investigative and enterprise reporter for the Sun-News. We’re talking about the recent Yacone family tragedy — in which local restaurateur Bob Yacone is accused of killing his wife, Kimberly, before engaging deputies from the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office in a shootout that left him injured.
As is often the case in situations like this, official information trickled out at a relatively slow pace. Meanwhile, in the newsroom, we were beginning to put the pieces together much more quickly.
Apart from the tragedy itself, the situation raised a number of ethical questions and prompted many conversations in our newsroom. It was important that our reporting be thoughtful, and that decisions be deliberate. This week, we’ll talk to Algernon about how he approached his coverage of this story — and his coverage of Bob Yacone through the years.
In this week’s episode, we’re speaking to Michael McDevitt, who has covered city and county government for the Sun-News for the past three years, since 2019. Michael will be moving on to a new opportunity in Chicago, where he attended college.
During his three years covering Las Cruces and Doña Ana County, Mike has seen a lot — and has shared his reporting with our community. There was the search for a new city manager, municipal elections, a historic city council election, the city’s first instance of ranked-choice voting, multiple initiatives, a few scandals and so much more.
Michael has been a relentless watchdog reporter and a true asset to the Sun-News newsroom. We’ll miss his keen reporting and attention to detail when writing stories for Doña Ana County readers.
In this week’s episode, we’re speaking to Justin Garcia, who covers public safety for the Sun-News. We’re returning to a familiar topic — talking about the number of police shootings in Doña Ana County this year.
We’ll speak in depth about the most recent shooting. It happened on the afternoon of Aug. 2, after Las Cruces police responded to a shoplifting call at a gas station. Over the next hour, the situation escalated and ended abruptly with 36-year-old Presley Eze killed by a police officer.
It was at least the fifth police shooting within Doña Ana County this year. Does this point to a trend? And, if so, what does it mean?
In this week’s episode, we’re talking to Algernon D’Ammassa, who generally covers statewide issues for the Las Cruces Sun-News. He recently spoke with Darcy Morrison, an inmate at the Western New Mexico Correctional Facility in Grants. It’s a life she describes as “a quiet one.”
For much of the day, she works in the prison’s library, where she tutors other inmates. She told Algernon she completed her bachelor’s degree last year, and that she finds joy in teaching other inmates. After the daily 4 p.m. head count, she typically reads or watches “Jeopardy!” In her unit, inmates room together in pods of four. She said her companions are quiet and all get along well.
The New Mexico Corrections Department still lists her under her former married name, Darcy Smith. As a teenager, she was briefly wedded to Eric Smith, whom she described as violent and controlling in a relationship marked by substance abuse as well as physical and psychological violence. What led to Morrison’s arrest — and ultimately being sentenced to life in prison — dates back to a night in November 1992. It’s complicated, and at the end of the night, 17-year-old Adam Price was dead.
This week, we’re talking to Darcy, who was kind enough to join us to discuss her ongoing fight to have her sentence reconsidered. We’re also joined by attorneys Denali Wilson and Lalita Moskowitz from the American Civil Liberties Union — the ACLU — who are representing Darcy going forward.
In this week’s episode, we’re talking to Stephen Wagner, who is a sports reporter for the Sun-News. We’re talking about Abe Romero, a middle-linebacker for Organ Mountain High School who was tragically injured after sustaining a hit Friday, Aug. 26, during his football team's 28-7 victory over Deming.
Romero sustained a hit in the second quarter that appeared minor; he got up and played a couple more downs before collapsing on the field. He was immediately taken by ambulance to Mimbres Memorial Hospital in Deming, where a medevac helicopter transferred him to a trauma center in El Paso.
The entire team took a knee on the field as the helicopter passed over the field. Since then, it’s been touch-and-go for Romero. He’s undergone multiple surgeries, and as of Friday, Sept. 2, he was still in the ICU. His prognosis remains unclear.
Stephen was kind enough to join us this week to discuss his coverage of Abe’s story — and how the Las Cruces football community has come together to support Abe’s family.
In this week’s episode, we’re talking to Leah Romero, who covers trending stories for the Las Cruces Sun-News — and NOTHING is more “trending” this time of year than Hatch Green Chile. We’re also joined by Adrian Hedden of the Carlsbad Current-Argus, who recently wrote about the chile crop — and the commencement of roasting — around the state.
This year, the annual Hatch Chile Festival celebrates its 50th anniversary. Leah has been working to track down residents who were there for the iconic festival’s beginnings. Adrian has been covering the upspring of chile roasters around Southeast New Mexico. Sometimes, the chile being roasted is from Hatch; other times, it’s from the Pecos Valley — which also grows some respectable green chile.
Leah and Adrian were kind enough to join us this week to discuss their coverage of these events.
In this week’s episode, we’re talking to Justin Garcia, who covers public safety for the Las Cruces Sun-News. Justin recently traveled to Albuquerque in the wake of the killings of several Muslim men — which set the entire community on edge. Muslims in Albuquerque were fearful of an Islamophobic serial killer after four people were murdered over the span of several months.
But the reality of what happened was much more complicated and much harder to comprehend. On Aug. 9, police arrested 51-year-old Muhammed Syed, a Muslim and known community member. Syed was charged in two of the killings, and authorities say they are continuing to gather evidence to charge him in the other two.
Theories abound about the alleged killer’s motivations; none have yet been confirmed. The married father of six has denied involvement in the killings.
Albuquerque police say "an interpersonal conflict may have led to the shootings" and said the suspect appeared to know several of the victims. Authorities were examining whether he may have been motivated by religious zeal — such as the political and religious divides between Sunni and Shiite Muslims that underlie modern conflict in the Middle East, but those in the community have rejected such divides and refuse to be defined by them.
Now, the community is working to move forward, both with grieving over the deaths and processing how a member of their community could have done this.
Justin was kind enough to join us this week to discuss what he learned during his time in Albuquerque.
In this week’s episode, we’re talking to Lauren Villagran, who generally covers border issues for the El Paso Times. But she recently crossed a different border — the U.S./Canadian border — to take on an issue that is near and dear to the hearts of El Pasoans and fronterizos. Lauren traveled to Portapique, Nova Scotia, where, one night in April 2020, “in the time it took for the Bay of Fundy’s high tide to drain into the Atlantic and swell back up again to the wooded coast,” as Lauren wrote, “a deranged man gunned down 22 people in their homes and on the street, in Portapique and the idyllic communities that line the west shore.”
As Lauren notes, there were echoes of El Paso's Aug. 3, 2019, mass shooting tragedy nine months earlier: the same number of initial victims, a shooter with easy access in the U.S. to "assault-style" firearms, a hashtag ending in "strong." But Canada’s response was much different from those in Texas and across the United States.
Lauren was kind enough to join us this week to discuss her trip, and her reporting.
In this week’s episode, we’re talking to Cassie McClure, who has written the column “My So-Called Millennial Life” for the Las Cruces Sun-News for many years. Since then, it has been picked up and nationally syndicated by Creators — a media and syndication company that has represented more than 250 of the most talented writers and artists in the world. Its talent has won several Pulitzer Prizes, Reuben awards and Peabody awards.
In recent years, Cassie has also been a prolific freelance writer. She has worked for a number of publications around the city, and has also done freelance writing for some of the biggest employers in Doña Ana County. We wanted to talk to her about what is often called the “gig economy.” Cassie has also worked in a more “traditional” public relations job, so she has a unique perspective to share.
In this week’s episode, we’re talking about alcohol — specifically, New Mexico’s crisis of alcohol-related deaths. In a massive eight-part series, New Mexico In Depth recently took a look at many of the reasons drinking kills New Mexicans at a far higher rate than anywhere else in the nation. And it’s getting worse, not better. In the thoroughly-reported series, reporter Ted Alcorn discovered a long history of failures by state leaders to address the escalating problem.
We’re joined by New Mexico In Depth Managing Editor Marjorie Childress and by Ted, who talks about his reporting on this series.
In this week’s episode, we’re talking about Latinos in the outdoors. This series, written by Mónica Ortiz Uribe at the El Paso Times, profiles several champions of the cause — and also features some ways southern New Mexico and El Paso residents can get out and enjoy our public spaces.
We’ll talk about how this series of stories came about, and then dive deeper into the individual stories of those profiled — like Nicole Roque, Eddie Misquez, Jerome Ford and Gabe Vasquez.
We’ll also talk about easily-accessible places that you can explore — pretty much “on the cheap” — if you’re in El Paso or southern New Mexico.
We’re joined by Mónica Ortiz Uribe, who talks about her reporting on this series.
This week, we’re talking about nuclear waste. In recent weeks, there has been a lot of news on this front, most of which is coming out of southeast New Mexico. The region has a long history with nuclear waste — dating back to the mid-1970s, when the area was first selected to be the site of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. There were bumps in the road along the way — lots of them, in fact. And it wasn’t until 1999 that WIPP received its first actual shipment of nuclear waste.
Now, new talks are underway about a second storage facility in the area — the consolidated interim storage facility. The proposed storage facility in New Mexico would ultimately have a capacity to hold up to 100,000 metric tons of spent nuclear at the surface in southeast New Mexico. One New Jersey-based company intends to transport its waste about 1,400 miles to the facility.
Additionally, New Mexico State University recently received millions of dollars in federal Department of Energy grants to explore the possibility of recycling nuclear waste.
We talk to reporter Adrian Hedden, the energy reporter from the Carlsbad Current-Argus — who frequently writes about nuclear waste — about big changes afoot for southeast New Mexico, which appears poised to become the nuclear storage capital of the world.
In this week’s episode, we’re talking about a new law impacting all New Mexico workers. As of July 1, private employers in New Mexico must allow their employees to earn paid sick leave if they don't already do so.
Workers covered by the Healthy Workplaces Act of 2021 may use the time off to recover from an illness or injury, assist an ailing family member or address covered legal or domestic situations. They will be able to accrue 64 hours annually in most cases — and will also be able to accumulate unused time year to year, although the employer does not have to allow them to take more than 64 hours off.
It’s a little complicated, but it’s also a game-changer for many New Mexico workers. We’ll dive into what it means, why it matters, and the difference it may make for people working around the state.
We’ll talk to Las Cruces Sun-News reporter Algernon D’Ammassa — who recently wrote about this for the newspaper — and to Stephanie Welch, the Workers' Rights Director for the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty. We’ll also be joined by Melissa Martinez from OLÉ — Organizers in the Land of Enchantment.
In this week’s episode, we’re talking about an annual event that has returned to our area after a two-year, COVID-inspired hiatus. That’s the Spaceport America Cup — which was recently described by someone in our newsroom as March Madness for aspiring rocket scientists.
We talk to Las Cruces Sun-News reporter Algernon D’Ammassa — who regularly covers the Spaceport, its anchor tenant Virgin Galactic, and related topics — and to photojournalist Meg Potter, who is relatively new to New Mexico, about their experiences covering the first day of the event.
In this week’s episode, we’re talking about Pride month — celebrated every June — the time of year when we recognize the impact that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer individuals have had on history. Celebrated in various countries around the world, Pride celebrations take a variety of forms, from parades and parties to proms and protests. Since the beginning of the modern LGBTQ+ liberation movement in the 1970s, hundreds of independent Pride events have sprung up in cities worldwide, each distinctly local and generally tied in some way to the foundational Stonewall Riots in June.
After 50 years of Pride celebrations, these events have become so varied that you can usually find a way to celebrate that feels best to you, whether it’s the raucous jubilation of the NYC Pride parade, or the massive crowds that attend World Pride — held in a different city every two years.
The Stonewall riots started with a police raid on a hot summer night in Greenwich Village. In the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, police stormed the Stonewall Inn, a well-known gay bar, arresting patrons and forcing them into waiting police vehicles. But a nearby crowd grew restless and angry, and eventually someone started spurring onlookers into fighting back. They pelted the police, forcing homophobic cops to retreat, and aggressive street confrontations continued over the next few nights.
The Stonewall riots are generally viewed as the beginning of the modern LGBTQ rights movement.
We’ll talk to Las Cruces residents Kat Sanchez, J.T. Perez, and Casey Combs about why — more than 50 years after Stonewall — it’s important to continue observing Pride month.
In this week’s episode, we’re talking about recent conversations about homelessness and crime in Las Cruces. Business leaders recently organized a forum to address a gap they say the city council created by ignoring the issue of homelessness and property crime citywide.
On June 2, the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce, the Las Cruces Association of Realtors and the Las Cruces Home Builders Association hosted a forum for business owners to discuss concerns about theft, vandalism, substance abuse and homelessness in Las Cruces. The forum was held at the Home Builders Association event hall.
On Monday, June 6th, many showed up to speak during the public comment portion of the Las Cruces City Council meeting to address the same issues.
This week, we talk to Las Cruces Sun-News reporters Justin Garcia and Michael McDevitt — and photojournalist Meg Potter. Michael covers city and county government for the paper; Justin writes about public safety, cops and courts. We’ll talk about the issues expressed by the business community, the stats behind crime, locally — based on a recent Sun-News analysis — and what stories we’ll be following in the coming weeks.
In this week’s episode, we’re talking about education.
We talk to Miranda Cyr, who has covered education for the Sun-News for the past couple of years. Miranda is a Report for America fellow; Report for America is a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. An initiative of the nonprofit media organization, The GroundTruth Project, it is structured to harness the skills and idealism of an emerging group of journalists plus the creative spirit of local news organizations.
Last week was Miranda’s final week with us. She’ll be leaving Las Cruces to join the staff of the Register-Guard in Eugene, Oregon — where she’ll also cover education. We wanted to talk to her about some of the biggest stories she’s covered during her time here, some of the throughlines in her reporting, and what we should be looking for as we move forward.
In this week’s episode, we’re talking about the shooting of 75-year-old Amelia Baca by an officer from the Las Cruces Police Department. Family members say she suffered from signs of dementia — which was undiagnosed.
When police arrived, they say they found the elderly woman holding a large kitchen knife in each hand. Videos obtained by the Sun-News show that Baca was shot as she took a step toward the responding officer.
Our efforts in reporting this story have been rife with transparency issues, stemming from the City of Las Cruces and the Las Cruces Police Department. Days passed before the department acknowledged the fatal shooting. Eventually, they named the victim. And our subsequent records requests shined a little more light on what happened that Saturday before Easter.
There are a lot of issues to dissect in this — both in our reporting and in the facts of the case. Why did Amelia Baca have to die? Why weren’t less-lethal measures used? Unfortunately, we don’t have the answers to THOSE questions. Someday, we might. The incident is still under investigation by the Doña Ana County Officer-Involved Task Force.
We’ll talk to Justin Garcia, who covers public safety for the Sun-News, about this story — and the challenges of covering it.
In this week’s episode of The Reporter's Notebook, we’re talking about interesting figures in Las Cruces. Anita Rockett, for instance, is 69 years old. Nearly 50 years ago, she almost lost a leg in a boating accident. Since then, she has run countless marathons, and in June, she hopes to complete her first Ironman Half Triathalon.
We’ll talk to Sun-News reporter Leah Romero, who has reported these stories for the newspaper. Florence Hamilton, who just turned 100 years old, is a great storyteller. She uses her talent to share Black history. Newly-established Las Crucen Lyn Barrett explores her personal battle with Dissociative Identity Disorder in her new book, "Crazy: Reclaiming Life from the Shadow of Traumatic Memory.”
Barrett, 74, arrived in Las Cruces in early March from her longtime home in Upstate New York — a move made for closer proximity to children, grandchildren and warm weather. Jenny Matsler of Las Cruces has collected dozens of medals during her years involved with Special Olympics New Mexico. This summer, she will get her first opportunity to compete during the national games in Orlando on the state’s bocce team. David Hill, a Las Crucen, recently summited Mount Kilimanjaro on his second attempt, three years after suffering a debilitating injury. They all have interesting stories to share.
Thanks for listening this week, and remember you can subscribe to The Reporter's Notebook from the Las Cruces Sun-News on Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeart, TuneIn, Stitcher — and wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
In this week’s episode, we’re talking about the local economy as a number of interesting factors collide. On one hand, the nation’s economy is shrinking as inflation and other factors drive up gas prices — creating a pinch at the pump and at the supermarket. Las Cruces certainly isn’t immune to these large-scale factors — but, according to one economist we spoke to, we may be a little better insulated.
We’ll talk to Sun-News reporter Algernon D’Ammassa, who has followed several facets of this story quite closely. We’ll talk about the state’s recent legalization of the sale of recreational cannabis, the nationwide nursing shortage and other factors.
And, finally, we’ll talk to Meg Potter — the newest addition to our newsroom. Meg is a photojournalist — or, a visual journalist — who just started last week. We’ll talk about her experience, her motivation, and settling into life in a new city in the desert southwest.
In an emergency episode of The Aggie Wagon Podcast, Stephen breaks down the state of NMSU basketball over the last month, what the new coaching hires mean for the program and what effect they've had on the rosters.
In this week’s episode, we’re talking collaborative, solutions-based journalism. We’ll be joined by Diana Alba Soular — a former reporter for the Sun-News — and my former co-worker — who is now Project Manager of the Southern New Mexico Journalism Collaborative, and Reyes Mata III, a reporter for the Southern New Mexico Journalism Collaborative and a freelance reporter for the Las Cruces Sun-News. For the past year or so, he has written the Border Report, which you’ll often find in Sunday’s edition of the newspaper and online at www.lcsun-news.com.
At the Sun-News, we’ve been involved with the Southern New Mexico Journalism Collaborative from the ground up; in 2021, loyal readers may recall Walt Rubel’s coverage of a very unusual Legislative session — due, in large part, to the COVID-19 pandemic.
And that brings us to the Collaborative’s next steps — a deep dive into solutions-based journalism, looking at how COVID-19 has impacted southern New Mexicans and the steps forward — toward recovery, rebuilding and resilience. Reyes will be tasked with covering that effort for news outlets across Southern New Mexico through his new role at the Collaborative.
But what is solutions journalism? And what will this mean for readers of the Sun-News? We try to explain that.
New Mexico State has drawn UConn in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Stephen breaks down what you need to know about the Round of 64 matchup, and former Aggie assistant Keith Roberts joins the show to discuss what goes on behind the scenes.
In this episode, we’re joined by Adrian Hedden, who covers energy, oil and gas for the Carlsbad Current-Argus. While the Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused Americans pain at the gas pump, the oil shortage could lead to a shot in the arm for New Mexico’s oil and gas industry — particularly in the Permian Basin, where Adrian lives and covers these issues every day.
Of course, the U.S. only gets a small percentage of its oil from Russia — so the tensions in Eastern Europe, the war and subsequent sanctions are only part of the equation.
That’s why we’re happy to have Adrian join us this week to help explain how all of this works.
This is The Reporter’s Notebook from the Las Cruces Sun-News, a podcast in which we attempt to pull back the curtain on our reporting process while diving deeper into some of the biggest stories and topics of the week.
In this episode, we’re joined by Algernon D’Ammassa, who covers statewide issues for the Sun-News, as well as Adrian Hedden, the energy and environment reporter for the Carlsbad Current-Argus, to look at the just-adjourned session of the New Mexico Legislature.
Several major bills made it to Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s desk. Many others died in committee or on the floor. We’ll attempt to capture what you need to know — and the big takeaways from the 30-day session.
Immediately following the adjournment, Gov. Lujan Grisham lifted the statewide mask mandate, which we also discuss.
A special thanks to KOB-TV in Albuquerque for many of the audio clips used in this episode.
This is The Reporter’s Notebook from the Las Cruces Sun-News, a podcast in which we attempt to pull back the curtain on our reporting process while diving deeper into some of the biggest stories and topics of the week.
On the evening of Dec. 2, 2016, Marine veteran Joshua Dunne was shot and killed by officers from the Las Cruces Police Department.
This story contains discussions of suicide and PTSD experienced by veterans. Help is available at National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255.
In this episode, we’re joined by Sun-News public safety reporter Justin Garcia, to look at the life, death and legacy of Joshua Dunne — a 36-year-old Marine veteran who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. Dunne also suffered from a traumatic brain injury after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Dunne was shot and killed by Las Cruces police officers Dec. 2, 2016 following an hours-long standoff at the Sleep Inn on Triviz Drive.
Dunne was a father of two, and was a graduate student studying social work at New Mexico State University at the time of his death.
The hours leading up to the shooting clearly paint a picture of a man in the throes of a mental health crisis. To help explain how that day unfolded, we’ll also be joined by Josh’s widow, Melanie.
The incident left Dunne's family stunned and heartbroken, and it left the community asking how this could happen.
The two officers who killed Dunne were long-ago cleared of wrongdoing, yet the City of Las Cruces reached a settlement with Melanie Dunne in January of this year over her wrongful death claim.
I knew Josh, both personally and professionally.
To get a sense of how Dec. 2, 2016 unfolded, we’ll start by talking with Melanie.
This is The Reporter’s Notebook from the Las Cruces Sun-News, a podcast in which we attempt to pull back the curtain on our reporting process while diving deeper into some of the biggest stories and topics of the week.
Garrey Carruthers was selected by the staff of the Las Cruces Sun-News as our Distinguished Resident of 2021. The former governor of New Mexico and New Mexico State University chancellor and president has long considered Las Cruces home, since moving here in 1957.
We hope this helps explain why Carruthers was chosen as our Distinguished Resident.
This is The Reporter’s Notebook from the Las Cruces Sun-News, a podcast in which we attempt to pull back the curtain on our reporting process while diving deeper into some of the biggest stories and topics of the week.
In this episode, we’re joined by Las Cruces Sun-News education reporter Miranda Cyr — a Report for America fellow now in her second year with the newspaper —to look at some of the big issues facing Las Cruces Public Schools.
We talk about the impact that COVID-19 — and, more specifically, the omicron variant — has had on schools throughout the district. We also talk about what’s being done to address the substitute shortage, the pending demolition of Columbia Elementary, and the upcoming one-year anniversary of the untimely death of Superintendent Karen Trujillo, who was struck and killed by a vehicle while out walking her dogs on Feb. 25, 2021.
Miranda’s working on a special project to mark that anniversary, so we’ll talk to her about her reporting, and the mark Dr. Trujillo left on her family, and on students and educators around the state.
This is The Reporter’s Notebook from the Las Cruces Sun-News, a podcast in which we attempt to pull back the curtain on our reporting process while diving deeper into some of the biggest stories and topics of the week.
Warning: This episode of “The Reporter’s Notebook” contains graphic accounts of child abuse, sexual assault and murder. Listener discretion is advised.
In this episode, we’re joined by Sun-News public safety reporter Justin Garcia, as well as former Sun-News reporter Bethany Brunelle-Raja to look at three of Doña Ana County’s biggest crimes of the past several decades all of which mark anniversaries in the first half of February.
First… It’s been one year since the death of New Mexico State Police Officer Darian Jarrott, who was shot and killed by a motorist on Feb. 4, 2021 after conducting a traffic stop east of Deming while assisting Homeland Security Investigations. Jarrott was 28 years old.
Then, we talk about the abuse and murder of 5-month-old Brianna Lopez — Baby Brianna — who would have turned 20 years old on Valentine's Day this year.
Finally, we're joined by Anthony Teran as we mark the 32-year anniversary of the Las Cruces bowling alley massacre. Anthony's brother, Steven Teran, and his two young nieces — Paula and Valerie — died in the attack. It remains unsolved to this day — one of the largest unsolved mass shootings in the nation.
This is The Reporter’s Notebook from the Las Cruces Sun-News, a podcast in which we attempt to pull back the curtain on our reporting process while diving deeper into some of the biggest stories and topics of the week.
In this episode, we’re joined by Michael McDevitt, who covers city and county government for the Sun-News, to look at the city’s recent revocation of the business license for Speak Easy — the cannabis-themed merch shop which first became embroiled in controversy last summer.
Speak Easy's license was pulled by the city after Jason Estrada was charged with a cannabis-related felony. He allegedly sold cannabis to undercover narcotics agents at the store, though the case has since been dismissed without prejudice and Estrada has asserted he did nothing wrong. While Estrada appealed the license revocation, the Las Cruces City Council denied it, allowing the revocation to go forward Feb. 8.
Estrada also was planning to run for Las Cruces mayor in 2023, but dropped those ambitions following the license revocation.
The now-closed shop, located at El Paseo and Idaho, will become a new cannabis business after Speak Easy's business registration license was yanked by the City of Las Cruces last week.
At the heart of the arrest and closure is a practice known as “gifting.” There’s a lot going on here, and I’m glad we’ve got Michael to help sort it all out.
This is The Reporter’s Notebook from the Las Cruces Sun-News, a podcast in which we attempt to pull back the curtain on our reporting process while diving deeper into some of the biggest stories and topics of the week.
Amid rising tensions between Doña Ana County Sheriff Kim Stewart and County Manager Fernando Macias, the sheriff is now facing an employment discrimination complaint by one of her sergeants who claims he was wrongfully denied a promotion and a code of conduct complaint related to the same incident.
DASO Sgt. Eric Flores was told he was the third top-scoring candidate in a process to select three new DASO lieutenants last summer, but he didn't get the job.
Who gets promoted, and by whom, within the ranks of county law enforcement has left in limbo officers like Flores and highlights a growing rift between county leaders.
On this week's podcast, we dive deep into the department's operations — and its independence, which has also proven to be problematic for sheriff's departments around the state. You'll hear from Stewart and Macias, as well as Sun-News reporter Algernon D'Ammassa, who covers statewide issues, and reporter Justin Garcia, who covers policing, courts and public safety for the Sun-News.
Stewart recently announced she'd seek a second term in office, but now faces three challengers — a Democrat in the primary elections, and two Republican hopefuls. We also talk about the candidates and what they bring to the table.
This is The Reporter’s Notebook from the Las Cruces Sun-News, a podcast in which we attempt to pull back the curtain on our reporting process while diving deeper into some of the biggest stories and topics of the week.
Audiences have seen actor William H. Macy appear on screen in hits like “Fargo,” “Room,” “Magnolia” and “Shameless,” and now Las Crucens will have the chance to see him in person at the Las Cruces International Film Festival where he will be presented with the 2022 award for Outstanding Achievement in Entertainment.
The seventh annual film festival will take place in-person March 2-6 at Cineport 10. On the second day, “Fargo” will be on the big screen followed by a question-and-answer session with Macy.
This week, we talk to Las Cruces Sun-News trending reporter Leah Romero about her interview with Macy — and we hear from Macy himself.
This is The Reporter’s Notebook from the Las Cruces Sun-News, a podcast in which we attempt to pull back the curtain on our reporting process while diving deeper into some of the biggest stories and topics of the week.
It’s been more than a year since a scathing report was released to the public detailing $1.7 million in mishandled public money within Visit Las Cruces, the city's convention and visitors bureau.
A year later, the city pointed to a number of organizational changes inspired by the report, but admitted it was not following all of the investigators' recommendations.
We're joined by Las Cruces Sun-News reporters Algernon D'Ammassa and Michel McDevitt for a closer look.
Stephen breaks down the WAC Touranment, and Jabari Rice joins the show to talk about All-WAC honors.
New Mexico State's losses to Chicago State and Stephen F. Austin may be good for those teams, but they're bad for the WAC as a league. Stephen explains in this week's episode.
You could say basketball runs in the Allen family. Teddy and his younger brother, Timmy, now a star at Texas, both have "Buckets" attached to them as a nickname. Playing each other in the NCAA Tournament would be a dream come true.
Two miscarriages was hard on NMSU forward Johnny McCants and his girlfriend, Samantha. So when Samantha gave birth to the couple's first child, Johnny Lashon McCants III, Johnny was almost at a loss for words. But he could still describe the feeling as better than hitting a game-winning shot.
Johnny McCants is going to be a dad, and Virshon Cotton can relate to him. New Mexico State's backup point guard has been a father for four years. He shares part of his story on this week's episode.
Is New Mexico State - Grand Canyon a rivalry? Jabari Rice weighs in. And Stephen finds a key to success present in nearly every Aggie victory this season.
Stephen recaps Teddy Allen's historic 41-point performance, previews this week's upcoming games against Sam Houston State and Stephen F. Austin, and Johnny McCants joins the show to talk about the Aggies season.
Stephen takes a peek at where WAC teams stand during the third week of conference play, and walk-on Cameron Crawford joins the show to discuss his experience.
Stephen breaks down the latest Covid news, the Aggies' most recent cancellation and why Covid will hit some WAC teams will be hit harder than others.
Stephen breaks down a fascinating new stat which indicates NMSU might be luckier than people think, and Mike Peake joins the show to talk about Christmas.
Stephen breaks down why NMSU's chances against Washington State shouldn't be determined by Kenpom rankings alone, and Clayton Henry talks about his return from injury.
New New Mexico State men's basketball beat writer Stephen Wagner breaks down what NMSU's move to Conference USA will mean for the men's basketball team, and Jabari Rice previews the Aggies' 2021-22 season and the season opener against UC Irvine. Jabari also shocks Stephen with his favorite restaurants list.
Justin Martinez recaps the WAC tournament, provides an update on transfer portal news and gives a look at the five new conference teams.
Justin Martinez gives his takeaways from New Mexico State's series against Dixie State and previews the WAC tournament with the help of Aggie guards Tennessee Owens and Bryce Rewalt.
Justin Martinez recaps New Mexico State's recent games, gives his Week 9 WAC predictions and previews the Aggies' regular-season finale against Dixie State.
Justin Martinez recaps New Mexico State's series against Utah Valley, gives his Week 8 WAC predictions and previews the upcoming Tarleton State series in the latest episode of Straight Shooter.
Justin Martinez recaps the Seattle series, gives his Week 7 WAC predictions and previews the Utah Valley series.
Justin Martinez recaps New Mexico State's series against Cal Baptist, gives his Week 6 WAC predictions and previews the Seattle series.
Justin Martinez gives his takeaways from New Mexico State’s series against Grand Canyon, interviews Marcus Watson and previews the Cal Baptist series.
Justin Martinez gives his takeaways from New Mexico State's game against Western New Mexico, provides injury updates and previews this week's series against Grand Canyon in the latest episode of Straight Shooter.
Justin Martinez provides an update on New Mexico State's quarantine, details the state restriction changes and gives his Week 3 WAC predictions in the latest episode of Straight Shooter.
Justin Martinez provides an update on New Mexico State's quarantine, breaks down the potential impact of recruiting targets and gives his Week 2 WAC predictions in the latest episode of Straight Shooter.
Justin Martinez details the events leading up to New Mexico State's quarantine, talks to Johnny McCants and gives his predictions for this week's WAC games in the latest episode of Straight Shooter.
Justin Martinez gives his takeaways from the CSUN game, provides roster updates and previews the Santa Clara game in the latest episode of Straight Shooter.
Justin Martinez provides injury updates for New Mexico State, interviews Jabari Rice and details the Aggies' ongoing scheduling process in the latest episode of Straight Shooter.
Justin Martinez discusses New Mexico State's return to the court, the eligibility status of Mayan Kiir and Marcus Watson and more in the latest episode of Straight Shooter.
Justin Martinez gives updates on New Mexico State's quarantine, interviews C.J. Roberts and details the costs of the Aggies' move to Phoenix in the latest episode of Straight Shooter.
Justin Martinez provides injury updates for New Mexico State, interviews Clayton Henry and previews the Aggies' next two games in the latest episode of Straight Shooter.
Justin Martinez gives his bold predictions for this season, previews New Mexico State's upcoming game against Arizona Christian and talks with senior point guard Evan Gilyard II in the Season 2 premiere of Straight Shooter.
Justin Martinez previews the WAC tournament, and New Mexico State guards Tennessee Owens and Bryce Rewalt cohost the episode.
Justin Martinez recaps last week's win over UTRGV, interviews Evan Gilyard II and previews the Grand Canyon game.
Justin Martinez recaps last week's games, interviews senior forward Trevelin Queen and previews Saturday's home game against UTRGV.
Justin Martinez recaps last week's games, interviews senior Ivan Aurrecoechea and previews Thursday's game against Seattle.
Justin Martinez recaps last week's games, interviews Albert "Slab" Jones and previews Thursday's road game against Chicago State.
Justin Martinez recaps the UTRGV game, interviews senior Terrell Brown and previews Thursday's home game against Cal State Bakersfield in the latest episode of Straight Shooter.
Justin Martinez recaps last week's games, interviews redshirt sophomore Jabari Rice and previews Saturday's game against UTRGV in the latest episode of Straight Shooter.
Justin Martinez recaps last week's games, talks with Shawn Williams and previews Thursday's game against Utah Valley in the latest episode of Straight Shooter.
Justin Martinez recaps New Mexico State's win over California Baptist, talks with point guard Evan Gilyard II and preview's Thursday's Chicago State game in the latest episode of Straight Shooter.
Justin Martinez recaps the Aggies' wins over Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Mississippi State, talks with senior Shunn Buchanan and previews Sunday's game against Northern New Mexico in the latest episode of Straight Shooter.
Justin Martinez recaps this past week's games, gives his predictions for the rest of the season and previews the Arkansas-Pine Bluff game in the latest episode of Straight Shooter.
Justin Martinez recaps this past week's games, talks with redshirt senior C.J. Bobbitt and breaks down Tuesday's game against Denver in the latest episode of Straight Shooter.
Justin Martinez recaps the Cayman Islands Classic, talks with redshirt junior Johnny McCants and previews Tuesday's rivalry game against UTEP in Episode 5 of Straight Shooter.
Justin Martinez recaps the New Mexico game, talks with senior Ivan Aurrecoechea and previews the Cayman Islands Classic in the latest episode of Straight Shooter.
Justin Martinez recaps the Aggies' recent stretch of games, talks with senior guard Terrell Brown about his recovery process and previews the upcoming rivalry game against New Mexico.
On this episode of Straight Shooter, Justin Martinez recaps the Aggies' win over Western New Mexico, talks to a number of players on the team and previews New Mexico State's upcoming rivalry game against UTEP.
Las Cruces Sun-News reporter Justin Martinez gives his predictions for the upcoming New Mexico State men's basketball season, talks with redshirt sophomore Jabari Rice and previews the season opener against Western New Mexico in the first episode of Straight Shooter.