NMiF discusses how Trump’s spending bill could reshape New Mexico

This week, New Mexico in Focus discusses President Donald Trump's massive tax and spending bill and digs into a few key changes coming to our state.

Tina Cordova, the president and co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders, has advocated for decades for those who were exposed to radiation during and after the Trinity Test - the first-ever detonation of a nuclear bomb. Host Nash Jones speaks with Cordova about her life's work, including her efforts to push for reparations for New Mexico victims and what the newly revived Radiation Exposure Compensation Act entails.

In collaboration with nonprofit news organization Capital and Main, oil and gas reporter Jerry Redfern stopped by our studio to interview Kyle Tisdel, senior attorney with the Western Environmental Law Center. The two examine Trump's tax and spending bill, and how it fits with Trump's executive orders to roll back federal regulations on the oil and gas industry.

State Sen. Jim Townsend, a Republican from Artesia, sits down for a conversation with Senior Producer Lou DiVizio. Although he praises the bill, Townsend tells Lou that he wants state leaders to help fill funding gaps left in the wake of Trump's cuts.

In collaboration with New Mexico In Depth, Indigenous Affairs Reporter Bella Davis visits a local farm to learn about the meaning and importance of Indigenous food sovereignty in New Mexico and beyond.

NMiF airs on NMPBS 5.1 (KNME HD) on Friday, July 18, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, July 20 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
Downwinders Added to RECA
Correspondent
Nash Jones

Guest
Tina Cordova, co-founder, Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium

President Trump's Push to Deregulate the Oil and Gas Industry
Correspondent
Jerry Redfern

Guest
Kyle Tisdel, attorney and climate and energy program director, Western Environmental Law Center

Republican NM Senator Praises Trump's Tax and Spending Bill
Correspondent
Lou DiVizio

Guest
Sen. Jim Townsend, R-Artesia

How Indigenous Food Sovereignty Actually Works?
Host/Producer
Bella Davis (Yurok)

Director/Producer
Benjamin C Yazza (Diné)

Camera
Joey Dunn (Diné)
RJ Torres

Guests
Kara Bobroff (Navajo/Lakota), co-founder & executive director
Maximo Lopez, farm director
Kevin Mahkee (Zuni Pueblo)
Mali Nichols
Alan Brauer, co-founder & senior director
Maya Kwon (Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate), Native American Community Academy liaison
Orenda Martine (Navajo & Laguna/Zuni/Santo Domingo Pueblos), Native American Community Academy alum

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 health, education, and art issues and explores them in-depth with a critical eye to give them 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.