NMiF reviews concerns over produced water and police oversight

This week on New Mexico in Focus, an environmental attorney criticizes a recent decision by the state's Water Quality Control Commission to revisit how and where fracking wastewater can be used in New Mexico. Tannis Fox, a senior attorney with the Western Environmental Law Center, tells Host Nash Jones why she, and a coalition of environmental groups she represents, opposes it - and what's to come in the rulemaking process.

For decades, some workers at the National Hispanic Cultural Center (NHCC) have been state employees - but only in name. Classified as "temporary," they were denied benefits like health insurance, paid time off and retirement, even though they work full-time schedules. After nearly two years fighting for their rights, Cailley Chella reports, the state labor board has ruled in the employees' favor, putting them on the doorstep of a massive victory.

In 2023, state Sen. Antonio "Moe" Maestas penned a bill meant to overhaul the state's struggling police misconduct board. This week, Maestas tells Executive Producer Jeff Proctor how his legislation has fallen short in practice to improve a board plagued with a long list of problems.

The U.S. Senate has confirmed former New Mexico Republican Congressman Steve Pearce to lead the Bureau of Land Management. The Senate approved Pearce's nomination as part of a package with 48 others in a 46-43 party-line vote. Both New Mexico senators, Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujan, voted against the confirmations. Nash Jones revisits Pearce's confirmation hearing held back in February.

A hantavirus outbreak on a Dutch cruise ship made international headlines beginning last month. While New Mexico has the most Hantavirus cases of any state in the U.S., it's a different strain than what infected the ship's passengers and crew. A leading expert on the virus at the UNM Health Sciences Center, Dr. Steven Bradfute, stopped by the studio to discuss the differences along with his new research on the version found in New Mexico.

NMiF airs on NMPBS 5.1 (KNME HD) on Friday, May 22, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, May 24 at 7 a.m. and streaming on the PBS video app. Involved, informed, in-depth media: watch New Mexico in Focus again online shortly thereafter.

Host
Nash Jones

NMiF Segments
Environmentalists Oppose Reuse of Fracking Wastewater
Correspondent
Nash Jones

Guest
Tannis Fox, senior attorney, Western Environmental Law Center

NHCC Workers Fight for Labor Rights
Correspondent
Cailley Chella

Guests
Rosemary Gallegos, employee, National Hispanic Cultural Center
Jacob Saavedra, employee, National Hispanic Cultural Center
Grace Saavedra, employee, National Hispanic Cultural Center
Nan G. Nash, chair, NM Public Employee Labor Relations Board
Peggy Nelson, vice chair, NM Public Employee Labor Relations Board
Pilar Vaile, executive director and hearing examiner, NM Public Employee Labor Relations board
Megan Green, union president, Communication Workers of America Local 7076

Police Misconduct Board Criticized for Lacking Transparency
Correspondent
Jeff Proctor

Guest
Sen. Antonio "Moe" Maestas, D-Albuquerque

Former NM Congressman Steve Pearce Joins Trump Administration
Correspondent
Nash Jones

Hantavirus Expert on How Disease Differs in NM
Correspondent
Nash Jones

Guest
Steven Bradfute, Ph.D., UNM Health Sciences Center

New Mexico in Focus is the New Mexico PBS prime-time news magazine show covering the events, issues, and people shaping life in New Mexico and the Southwest. NMiF takes a multi-layered look at social, political, economic, educational, and art issues, exploring them in depth with a critical eye to provide context beyond the "news of the moment."

NMPBS Executive Producer, Public Affairs is Jeff Proctor. New Mexico in Focus's senior producer for public affairs is Lou DiVizio. Host and producer of New Mexico in Focus is Nash Jones. The producer is Antonio Sanchez, and the multimedia journalist is Cailley Chella.

Funding for New Mexico in Focus is provided by the McCune Charitable Foundation and Viewers Like You. Funding for the Your New Mexico Government Project comes from the Thornburg Foundation and New Mexico Local News Fund. Funding for Our Land: New Mexico's Environmental Past, Present & Future is provided in part by the Neeper Natural History Programming.