NMiF discusses governor’s final legislative session

This week on New Mexico in Focus, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham sits down with Host Nash Jones to take stock of her final regular legislative session.

Nash asks the governor about the newly established universal child care system created during the session, and how the program can help families. Then, the two discuss the session's "rocket docket," a bundle of bills that sped their way through the early days at the Roundhouse. Later, Lujan Grisham talks to Nash about two signature pieces of legislation that died before reaching her desk: a gun control bill and a bill that would have cemented her climate goals in law.

Searchlight New Mexico investigative reporter Ed Williams has followed the plight of foster kids for years. This week, he stopped by the NMIF studio to discuss an executive order from the governor that bans the Children, Youth and Families Department from continuing its long-time practice of housing foster children in office buildings.

NMPBS Senior Producer and Director Tara Walch pays a visit to an engineer who built a system that converts sunlight directly into electricity - all while providing shade for crops and, at the same time, decreasing evaporation to conserve water and the Rio Grande.

NMiF airs on NMPBS 5.1 (KNME HD) on Friday, March 13, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, March 15 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
Jeff Proctor

NMiF Segments

• Universal Child Care, ICE Detention Centers
• 'Rocket Docket,' Transparency in Santa Fe
• Failed Climate and Public Safety Bills

Correspondent
Nash Jones

Guest
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, D-NM

CYFD Ordered to Stop Housing Kids in Offices
Correspondent
Nash Jones

Guest
Ed Williams, investigative reporter, Searchlight New Mexico

Harvesting the Sunshine, Conserving the Rio Grande
Producer/Director
Tara Walch

Photography
Tara Walch
Ella Daniel
Ethan Weiner

Camera Assist/Audio
Joey Dunn, RJ Torres, Elijah de Billie and Aydan Muro

Music
Spanish Castle by Dario Benedetti
About The Flame by Dario Benedetti
El Guapo by Wayfair
Solar Irradiance Map: National Renewable Energy Laboratory

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. Producer is Antonio Sanchez. 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.