New Mexico
New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs ask for $4 million in funding – NM Political Report
New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs is asking the legislature for a $4 million appropriation in recurring money from the general fund this year, executive director, Alexandria Taylor told NM Political Report. Taylor said the money goes to sustain services for the 15 sexual assault program providers and 11 sexual assault nurse examiners, often […]
New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs is asking the legislature for a $4 million appropriation in recurring money from the general fund this year, executive director, Alexandria Taylor told NM Political Report.
Taylor said the money goes to sustain services for the 15 sexual assault program providers and 11 sexual assault nurse examiners, often referred to as SANE, plus one satellite SANE provider.
Taylor said that of the $4 million, $2 million would replace federal dollars that will no longer be available starting July 1.
The federal dollars come from the Victims of Crime Act. The fund is sustained by fees and penalties awarded from federal criminal prosecution. But the VOCA fund has diminished over the years due to fewer fees and penalties in federal criminal convictions.
President Joe Biden signed a VOCA “fix it” bill in 2021 but Taylor said it did not change some of the problems, so the fund has not recovered. She said there is unpredictability as to whether the funds will ever recover.
“The VOCA fund is how some organizations got started. Historically, it was a stable core funding for programs,” Taylor said.
Taylor said there is no standalone bill this year, but that the New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs has been advocating for the legislature to include the $4 million in the appropriation bill.
Taylor said that virtually all social issues that often dominate headlines, from crime to housing to substance abuse to child protective services are all related to sexual assault. She said that by underfunding sexual assault services, society “pays for it on the back end.”
“Often sexual assault providers are some of the only safety nets that exist. If we start to destabilize those providers, we’re only increasing the crisis. People have no idea the level of holding these programs provide in a community,” Taylor said.
Taylor said that the funding appropriated in recent legislative sessions has enabled sexual assault programing to grow across the state. She said that services have expanded in Valencia County and a SANE program now exists in that area. That helps to reduce driving times for victims of sexual assault who, because of the dearth of services in some rural parts of the state, have had to drive up to three hours to see a sexual assault nurse examiner. SANEs are specially trained to both examine a victim and to gather evidence if there is a future trial.
But, Taylor said the need still overwhelms the efforts to meet it. She said there is a two week to 10-month wait list for counseling for victims of sexual assault.
“We don’t have a program that doesn’t have a wait list for counseling services,” she said.
She said sexual assault services have expanded to Alamogordo, Carlsbad and Hobbs and that a provider in Las Cruces opened satellite offices in Deming and Truth or Consequences.
“For us it’s not just quantity, it’s the quality,” Taylor said.
She said the coalition is in the process of creating a sexual assault helpline and it will debut before June 30.
Taylor said data from Fiscal Year 2023 shows that sexual assault services in New Mexico served an additional 7,200 victims of sexual assault and 3,800 family members of those survivors. She said 40 percent of the 7,200 were children under the age of 18. She said 30 percent of them were located in rural areas.
“They don’t just see one person. We’re talking (about) the whole community needing support,” Taylor said.
She said that if the state doesn’t make up for the loss of the federal VOCA funding, the sexual assault providers around the state won’t be able to serve as many survivors and family members of those survivors. She said it would lead to staffing cuts, which in turn would mean fewer resources available to survivors.
“They’re already stretched thin,” she said.
She said therapeutic services would be significantly impacted, and the ability to ensure the SANE program has adequate funding would also be in jeopardy.
“It’s an impossible and critical situation,” Taylor said.
New Mexico
Landlord AC ordinance, Rio Grande water levels, Spotty rain, New legislative office, New Mexico Motorfest
Monday’s Top Stories
Monday’s Five Facts
[1] ABQ City Councilor aims to bolster protections for renters amid unseasonable warmth – Albuquerque city councilor is looking to make sure city landlords are not only providing cooling systems, but also ensuring they actually work when they’re needed. City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn spearheaded an ordinance in December of 2024, requiring all Albuquerque rental properties to have a cooling system. Now, Fiebelkorn is taking it a step further, hoping to establish cooling system performance requirements. The ordinance is expected to be voted on in final action at Monday’s city council meeting.
[2] Rio Grande showing dry spots in Valencia County amid record-low snowpack – Portions of the Rio Grande are now seeing dry spots earlier than expected. Officials say the timing is not normal. In Valencia County, parts of the river are already running dry. Near the river crossing in Los Lunas, the river has open pockets. Further south, it is being reported as dry as well. There is a slight positive outlook for the monsoon season, with forecasters and officials predicting a strong season in the Middle Rio Grande Valley.
[3] Very spotty rainfall, warmer, & mostly calm week – Warmer weather will continue building in across the state throughout the upcoming week. A few isolated rain chances will return Monday in parts of New Mexico, but some of that rain may evaporate before reaching the ground. Temperatures will continue to increase through the middle of the week.
[4] NM representatives celebrate grand opening of new office with open house – A new state legislative office made its debut for representatives Eleanor Chavez and Yanira Gurrola. The new location is just one of the handful of new legislative offices now open across the state. They hosted a grand opening for the building that was open to the public. Representative Gurrola says it’s just one step towards modernizing the state’s legislature. The new office will allow residents to stay more connected to each representative.
[5] New Mexico Motorfest 2026 takes place in celebration of Route 66 Centennial – Another Route 66 celebration took place over the weekend and this one was all about cars. The New Mexico Motorfest happened at the Expo New Mexico racetrack. Over 300 vehicles from classic hot rods to lifted trucks were featured at the event. Some of the proceeds went to New Mexico veterans.
New Mexico
Los Alamos Public Schools Students Compete At 2026 New Mexico State Science & Engineering Fair
Students from Barranca Mesa Elementary, Mountain Elementary, Los Alamos Middle School, and Los Alamos High School at the 2026 New Mexico State Science & Engineering Fair at New Mexico Tech. Photo CourtesyLAPS
LAHS junior Tate Plohr and freshman Linus Plohr qualified to attend the 2026 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in May in Phoenix, Ariz. Photo Courtesy LAPS
Los Alamos Middle School student Branden Keller was awarded the CO2 & Greenhouse Gas Scholarship in the amount of $2,000 at the 2026 New Mexico State Science & Engineering Fair. Photo Courtesy/LAPS
LAPS NEWS RELEASE
Twenty students from Barranca Mesa Elementary, Mountain Elementary, Los Alamos Middle School (LAMS) and Los Alamos High School (LAHS) competed, with several garnering awards at the 2026 New Mexico State Science and Engineering Fair held at New Mexico Tech in Socorro.
LAHS junior Tate Plohr qualified to attend the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) next month in Phoenix, Ariz. He was awarded the 3rd-place Grand Award. Freshman Linus Plohr qualified as an alternate and will also be attending the Regeneron ISEF.
Students who participated in the state competition include, from Barranca Mesa Elementary, Sydney Chen, Mary Beth Kelsey, Lily Neale, Aurora Roberts Voss and Henry Rodarte; and Glyn Lo and Ernest Maupin, Mountain Elementary.
Students from LAMS who competed include Evelyn Fobes, Mason Garcia, Andrew Gilbertson, James Junghans, Sequoya Ke, Brandon Keller, Nejan Liyanage and Daniel Yampolsky.
LAHS students Julia Neale, Linus Plohr, Tate Plohr, Lilia Veteva, Helena Welch and Kalliope Welch competed at the senior level.
2026 Award winners:
Category Awards – Junior Division
- Animal Science, Cellular & Molecular
- Biomedical & Health Science
- Honorable Mention: Sequoya Ke
- Embedded Systems, Math, Robotics, Software & Technology
- 2nd place: Nejan Liyanage
- Physics & Astronomy
- 1st place: Sydney Chen
- 2nd place: Mason Garcia
- Honorable Mention: Marybeth Kelsey
- Plant Science
Category Awards – Senior Division
- Behavioral & Social Science:
- Honorable Mention: Linus Plohr
- Earth & Environmental
- Honorable Mention: Lilia Viteva
- Embedded Systems, Math, Robotics, & System Software
- 3rd Place: Helena Welch and Kalliope Welch
- Physics & Astronomy
Grand Awards
- ISEF finalist 3rd place: Tate Plohr
- Brandon Keller received the CO2 & Greenhouse Gas Scholarship in the amount of $2,000. James Jungans and Marybeth Kelsey garnered Thermo Fisher Awards.
Other special award winners include:
- CO2 & Greenhouse Reduction Awards (Junior Division)
- Daniel Yampolsky, 2nd place, Earth & Environmental Sciences
- Sequoya Ke, 1st place, Biomedical & Health Science
- Brandon Keller, 1st place, Energy & Materials Science
- Andrew Gilbertson, 1st place, Physics & Astronomy
- CO2 & Greenhouse Gas Reduction Award (Senior Division)
- Lilia Viteva, 1st place, Earth & Environmental Sciences
- Office of Naval Research Award
- David Shortess Award
- New Mexico AVS Award
- Citadel Award
- Naval Research Award
- NM Network for Women in Science & Engineering Award
- Yale Science & Engineering Award
- Rose Baca Rivet Award
Related
Arizona State baseball will host a four-game homestand, beginning with New Mexico State on Wednesday, April 22.
The Sun Devils and Aggies faced each other in late March, with ASU winning 10-4. The two teams will meet for the final time at 6:35 p.m. at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
ASU will then welcome Baylor on Friday, April 24, for a three-game series. The Sun Devils have yet to face the Bears this season, but ASU has been doing well so far and has been in the top 25 for four weeks.
Sophomore center fielder Landon Hairston earned Big 12 player of the week honors on April 13, after delivering five home runs in five games. His 10 runs in that stretch were tied for the second-most nationally and his 14 runs batted in were tied for third-most nationally. All nine of his hits went for extra bases, three more than any other player.
ASU’s series against Baylor will start at 6:35 p.m. for the first two games, followed by a 1:05 p.m. start on Sunday, April 26.
April 19
Softball at Houston, Cougar Softball Stadium, noon.
April 22
Baseball vs New Mexico State, Phoenix Municipal Stadium, 6:35 p.m.
April 23
Women’s golf at Big 12 Championship, Dallas Athletic Club, TBA.
Track and field at Penn Relays, Franklin Field, 1:22 p.m.
Beach volleyball at Big 12 Championship, Bear Down Beach, all day.
April 24
Baseball vs Baylor, Phoenix Municipal Stadium, 6:35 p.m.
Softball vs Texas Tech, Farrington Stadium, 7 p.m.
April 25
Lacrosse at Colorado, Prentup Field, 11 a.m.
Softball vs Texas Tech, Farrington Stadium, 3 p.m.
Baseball vs Baylor, Phoenix Municipal Stadium, 6:35 p.m.
Reach the reporter or send tips for stories at jenna.ortiz@arizonarepublic.com, as well as @jennarortiz on X.
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