New Mexico News Insiders

Water Is ’Everyone’s Issue’ In New Mexico

Every year, New Mexicans may see a different sight of the Rio Grande River, depending on how much rain or snow the state gets. And every year, water shortages, restrictions, and conservation efforts occur in the background.

Will the river run dry? How much water does New Mexico owe to Texas under the Rio Grande Compact? How have the state's water woes impacted farmers and ranchers? 

Whether you're in the ag industry, you like plants, or enjoy walks along the Bosque - you won't want to miss this week's conversation with Jason Casuga, CEO of the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MRGCD) about efforts to keep the valley green. 

We love hearing from listeners! Send feedback or story ideas to your hosts  chris.mckee@krqe.com or gabrielle.burkhart@krqe.com. We're also on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram at @ChrisMcKeeTV and @gburkNM. For more on this episode and all of our prior episodes, visit our podcast website: KRQE.com/podcasts.

Tackling The Teacher Shortage

The teacher shortage is a perennial topic when it comes to education in New Mexico. Over the years, lawmakers and other officials have put stock in loads of different efforts aimed at addressing the shortage, from increasing pay to starting new recruiting programs.

But what makes a good teacher? And why do some teachers leave the profession so quickly? Can something be done differently to fix that? A recent NMSU report indicated the state's teacher vacancies were down by 34% in New Mexico from the year prior, but the state still has a lot of work to do. This week on the podcast, Chris and Gabby are joined by Alan Mather, President of the Golden Apple Foundation in New Mexico. Mather discusses the organization's boots-on-the-ground "Scholars Program," which is aimed at recruiting and retaining teachers to work in the New Mexico communities they're from.

The Scholars Program is now open for applicants. If you know an aspiring teacher who's in high school, university, or community college, you can also refer candidates to the program. For more information, visit the program's website at this link.

Send us a note, a line, or an idea. Reach us via email at chris.mckee@krqe.com or gabrielle.burkhart@krqe.com. We're also on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram at @ChrisMcKeeTV and @gburkNM. For more on this episode and all of our prior episodes, visit our podcast website: KRQE.com/podcasts.

New Attorney General Plans For An Overhaul

New Mexico has a new Attorney General. In November, voters picked Democrat Raúl Torrez to lead the state's top prosecutorial office. Now in his third month on the job, Torrez recently sat down with Chris and Gabby to talk about how he plans to reshape the New Mexico AG’s office. His plans include adding staff and new divisions, including a Civil Rights Division for the state. Torrez explains what that division could do, including holding New Mexico's beleaguered Children Youth and Families Department (CYFD) accountable. 

We also discuss the recent legislative session and whether or not Torrez thinks lawmakers have passed any meaningful crime bills in 2023. What's the AG's main goal this year? Will he continue the prior AG's work addressing Organized Retail Crime?

Send us a note, a line or an idea. Reach us via email at chris.mckee@krqe.com or gabrielle.burkhart@krqe.com. We're also on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram at @ChrisMcKeeTV and @gburkNM. For more on this episode and all of our prior episodes, visit our podcast website: KRQE.com/podcasts.

 

Evacuee Returns To Ukraine A Year Since Invasion

More than one year since Russia invaded Ukraine, the war continues to impact New Mexicans. From evacuating her mother from a war-torn country and making several trips back to help, this week Chris and Gabby check in with Diana Horak. She’s a Ukrainian-born, Albuquerque mother of two who’s been involved with helping her home country since day one. And one year since her elderly mother was evacuated, Horak describes the tough decision to return her mom home to Kyiv. 

Listen through the end to hear Diana’s message to her Albuquerque neighbors, and head to our post about this episode on KRQE.com to see the video of her mother’s return to Ukraine and the love of her life. 

We welcome your episode ideas and feedback. Holler at us via email at  chris.mckee@krqe.com or gabrielle.burkhart@krqe.com. We're also on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram at @ChrisMcKeeTV and @gburkNM. For more on this episode and all of our prior episodes, visit our podcast website: KRQE.com/podcasts.

Dr. Scrase Is Retiring. His Thoughts On New Mexico’s Pandemic Response

The state’s top doctor who helped guide New Mexico through the COVID-19 pandemic - is officially retiring at the end of February. Referred to as New Mexico’s own ‘Dr. Fauci,’ Dr. David Scrase eventually led two departments, serving as the Secretary of the Human Services Department and Acting Secretary of the Department of Health. Ahead of his departure from state government, Dr. Scrase sits down with Gabby and Chris one more time to reflect on his role over the last few years. 

How does he feel about the state’s pandemic response? Is there anything he regrets or would have done differently? What made him want to retire? Stick around for those questions and a lot more on this week's episode.

We welcome your episode ideas and feedback. Contact us at chris.mckee@krqe.com or gabrielle.burkhart@krqe.com. We're also on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram at @ChrisMcKeeTV and @gburkNM. For more on this episode and all of our prior episodes, visit our podcast website: KRQE.com/podcasts.

The Special Agent In Charge Of Albuquerque’s FBI

Guns, fentanyl, and violent crime are some of New Mexico’s biggest problems that federal agents are tackling right alongside local law enforcement. This week, Chris and Gabby have a candid conversation with Raul Bujanda, the Special Agent in Charge of Albuquerque’s FBI field office, about what the feds have accomplished and what they’re focused on this year. 

What’s happened since the FBI made its largest fentanyl bust in bureau history? How do the feds address the idea of 'whack-a-mole' when it comes to arresting the bad guys? Also, stick around for the end when the SAC shares about the musical easter eggs he’s been dropping during some press conferences. 

We talked about a few news stories in this episode. The FBI's Albuquerque office had a record fentanyl bust in September, followed up by a second connected bust in early February. We also mentioned KRQE Investigative Reporter Ann Pierret's 2022 investigation into Albuquerque bank robberies. And finally, here's more on the recent crash that New Mexico State Police first responded to, which lead to a major fentanyl seizure.

Got a question, comment, or story idea? Contact us at chris.mckee@krqe.com or gabrielle.burkhart@krqe.com. We welcome your ideas and feedback. Also, find us on social media, including Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram at @ChrisMcKeeTV and @gburkNM. For more on this episode and all of our prior episodes, visit our podcast website: KRQE.com/podcasts.

 

School Meals Could Be Free For All New Mexico Kids

A $30 million dollar proposal could reshape school meals in New Mexico. State lawmakers are considering a bill that would pick up the breakfast and lunch tab for all K-12 public and charter schools. If it passes, the bill would give every student the option to get free food at school twice a day, regardless of their family's income.

This week on the podcast, Chris and Gabby discuss the state proposal with three guests, including an expert on the new bill and two people who could be affected by it. The Food and Hunger Coordinator for the Office of the Governor, Kendal Chavez, joins the podcast alongside a parent and school worker, Luis Ramos, and a New Mexico high school junior named Fernando.

How would the bill work? Why is it a priority for some? And how could this benefit schools without their own kitchens? Those questions and more are part of this week's discussion. If you want to take a closer look at the bill, here's a link to the text of Senate Bill 4. And here's a link to a KRQE News 13 story on the proposal.

Got a question, comment, or story idea? Contact us at chris.mckee@krqe.com or gabrielle.burkhart@krqe.com. We welcome your episode ideas and feedback. Also, find us on social media, including Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram at @ChrisMcKeeTV and @gburkNM. For more on this episode and all of our prior episodes, visit our podcast website: KRQE.com/podcasts.

Will Alec Baldwin Face A Trial In New Mexico?

More than a year after the fatal shooting on the film set of ‘Rust’ near Santa Fe, actor-producer Alec Baldwin and film armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed face criminal charges in a New Mexico court. Each is facing one count of involuntary manslaughter for the shooting that led to cinematographer Halyna Hutchins’ death. This week, Gabby and Chris outline the details of what investigators claim went wrong. Will this case go to trial? What does this mean for Baldwin? Longtime New Mexico criminal defense attorney Ahmad Assed offers his legal perspective on what this case means for the industry, and what’s to come. 

This is the second time we've covered the "Rust" shooting on the podcast. You can listen to the first episode on this podcast's feed. Look for the episode titled: "‘Rust‘ Shooting Fallout & The Use of Guns On Movie Sets."

Got a question, comment, or story idea? Contact us at chris.mckee@krqe.com or gabrielle.burkhart@krqe.com. We welcome your episode ideas and feedback. Also, find us on social media, including Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram at @ChrisMcKeeTV and @gburkNM. For more on this episode and all of our prior episodes, visit our podcast website: KRQE.com/podcasts.

Are ABQ’s mental health & violence interventions working?

Since 2019, the City of Albuquerque has leaned hard into some alternative efforts toward addressing the complexities behind two major issues plaguing the city: violent crime and mental/behavioral health. In November 2019, city leaders announced the launch of the "Violence Intervention Program," or VIP for short. The program connects streetwise social workers to victims of gun violence in an effort to stop the cycle of retaliation.

About six months later, in June 2020, Albuquerque announced the launch of the "Albuquerque Community Safety Department," or ACS. The agency uses unarmed social workers to respond to mental health crises and other non-emergency calls where police and firefighters aren't needed, or could be seen as possibly escalating the situation.

While each program started independent of each other, they now work in tandem to broadly address trauma and hardship outside of the law enforcement mechanism. The VIP program has also since moved under the umbrella of ACS.

This week on the podcast, Chris and Gabrielle are asking if Albuquerque's intervention efforts are working. Two city workers, Walter Adams and Angel Garcia join the podcast this week to discuss the programs efforts. Adams is a Behavioral Health Responder Supervisor with ACS, while Garcia is a Social Services Manager with Albuquerque's VIP effort.

How many people are being helped by ACS and VIP? Are these programs preventing violence or saving lives? What's ahead in 2023? And how do these programs work? These questions and more get answered in this week's episode.

As mentioned early in the episode, Gabby interviewed Walter Adams in 2022 about ACS. Here's a link to her investigative story.

Please leave us a rating or a review on whatever podcast app you use to listen to the NMNP. We'd also love to hear from you! Email Chris and Gabby at chris.mckee@krqe.com or gabrielle.burkhart@krqe.com. You can also find us on social media, including Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram at @ChrisMcKeeTV and @gburkNM. For more on this episode and all of our prior episodes, visit our podcast website: KRQE.com/podcasts.

Understanding The Targeted Shootings At New Mexico Lawmakers’ Homes

It is a remarkable story in New Mexico politics and something that made national headlines multiple times over the last few weeks. A former Republican candidate for the New Mexico House is accused of plotting shootings at the homes of four Democratic lawmakers in Albuquerque. Solomon Peña, who was arrested on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, now faces fifteen counts for allegedly being a "mastermind" in the case.

How did Albuquerque Police connect the dots and make an arrest? Chris and Gabby host KRQE News 13 Investigative Reporter Ann Pierret in the first part of this week's episode. Ann discusses how the criminal case unfolded, what we know about Peña's history and details behind the motive of the case.

In the second part of the episode, KRQE News 13 Political Analyst and UNM Political Science Professor Gabe Sanchez weighs in on what Peña's case says about the state of politics today. Sanchez also discusses how he thinks this case will impact New Mexico moving forward. 

Here is a link to KRQE.com's comprehensive coverage of the Solomon Peña case.

Tell us what you think about this week's episode. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts and contact us at chris.mckee@krqe.com or gabrielle.burkhart@krqe.com. We welcome your episode ideas and feedback. Also, find us on social media, including Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram at @ChrisMcKeeTV and @gburkNM. For more on this episode and all of our prior episodes, visit our podcast website: KRQE.com/podcasts.