New Mexico
Advocates allege Fish and Wildlife Service isn’t protecting an endangered mouse from grazing – NM Political Report
The Center for Biological Diversity says that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is not taking the steps necessary to protect an endangered mouse living in the Lincoln National Forest from cattle grazing. The wildlife advocacy group, along with the Maricopa Audubon Society, is pressuring the federal government to end cattle grazing in critical habitat […]
The Center for Biological Diversity says that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is not taking the steps necessary to protect an endangered mouse living in the Lincoln National Forest from cattle grazing.
The wildlife advocacy group, along with the Maricopa Audubon Society, is pressuring the federal government to end cattle grazing in critical habitat and has filed a notice of intent to sue should the Fish and Wildlife Service fail to take steps to protect the New Mexico meadow jumping mouse within the next 60 days.
The mouse once ranged from southern Colorado into central New Mexico as well as eastern Arizona, but riparian habitat loss and degradation has caused a significant decrease in the areas where the rodent is found.
Advocates say cattle grazing in the Sacramento Mountains in Lincoln National Forest is destroying riparian habitat that the mouse relies upon.
The Fish and Wildlife Service designated critical habitat within the national forest in 2016, but the wildlife advocates say cattle grazing in that critical habitat continues to degrade the riparian areas.
Additionally, the habitat where the mouse occurs is also home to the Mexican spotted owl.
“The jumping mouse and these spotted owls will only survive if the meadows and streams they rely on in the Sacramento Mountains are healthy, but cattle are wreaking havoc here,” Robin Silver, co-founder of the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a press release. “Federal officials have a years-long pattern of failing to control destructive cattle grazing. It’s immoral and illegal for the Forest Service to neglect its responsibility to protect this critical habitat, and that failure will cause a local extinction.”
The U.S. Forest Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service concluded in a biological opinion that allowing cattle to graze in the area would not jeopardize habitat for either the owl or the mouse. That decision, according to the advocacy groups, leaves “42 percent of the designated critical habitat unprotected on the Sacramento Allotment and 74 percent unprotected on the adjoining Agua Chiquita Allotment.”
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Police arrested two young men on murder charges after a deadly shooting outside the Frontier Restaurant near the University of New Mexico.
Police said 19-year-old Junior Lewis and 20-year-old Evan Rogers are in custody and both face murder charges.
Police said both men are set to face a judge Saturday.
Investigators said they found both suspects inside Rogers’ dorm room at UNM.
The shooting happened in the early morning hours Thursday just south of Central between Cornell and Stanford.
Police said the man who was shot died at the scene.
Leapfrog released its 2026 spring hospital safety grades.
Grades are assigned based on overall performance, including patient safety.
The Leapfrog Group’s goal is to publicly report patient safety and quality information for the benefit of consumers, purchasers, and referring physicians as they make decisions about where to seek care and where to direct patients,” the company stated on its website.
Here’s how your local hospitals performed.
MountainView Regional Medical Center – A
Leapfrog gave MountainView an “A.”
“Being the only hospital in Doña Ana County to earn an ‘A’ from The Leapfrog Group speaks to the high standards our team sets – and meets – every day,” said MountainView CEO Patrick Shannon. “This achievement reflects the dedication of our physicians, nurses, and employees to deliver the safest care possible for our community.”
“An ‘A’ Grade is a strong sign that MountainView is deeply committed to protecting patients from harm,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “We commend the leadership, Board, clinicians, staff and volunteers for the role each played in earning this distinction.”
The hospital performed better than average in several areas including low infection rates, addressing safety problems, and ICU care. The hospital received below average performances ratings in surgical site infections post colon surgery, communication about medicine and discharge, communication with doctors and nurses and nursing and bedside care for patients.
Memorial Medical Center – B
Memorial Medical Center received a “B” grade from Leapfrog.
The hospital performed well in effective leadership, reduction and prevention of infections and addressing safety problems.
The hospital received below average ratings for kidney injury after surgery, serious breathing problems, harmful events, communication about medicine and discharge, and communication with doctors and nurses.
Not rated by Leapfrog were Three Crosses Regional Hospital.
Nearby top rated hospitals
Leapfrog gave an A to William Beaumont Army Medical Center and Del Sol Medical Center in El Paso. Las Palmas Medical Center in El Paso received a B.
How did other New Mexico hospitals perform?
A recipients were:
- CHRISTUS Southern New Mexico in Alamogordo
B recipients were:
- Lovelace Women’s Hospital in Albuquerque
C recipients were:
- Carlsbad Medical Center in Carlsbad
- CHRISTUS St. Vincent in Santa FE
- Eastern New Mexico Medical Center in Roswell
- Lovelace Medical Center-Downtown in Albuquerque
- Lovelace Regional Hospital in Roswell
- Lovelace Westside Hospital in Albuquerque
- University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque
D recipients were:
- San Juan Regional Medical Center in Farmington
- UNM Sandoval Regional Medical Center in Rio Rancho
Explore the full survey results at https://www.hospitalsafetygrade.org/.
Jessica Onsurez is editor of the Las Cruces Sun-News. Reach her by email at jonsurez@usatodayco.com.
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) — The Social Security Office released the most popular baby names for 2025 on Thursday. And here in New Mexico, we saw some familiar names top the charts once again.
Coming in at No. 1 for girls is Mia, and as for the boys, Noah ranks No. 1. That’s no change from 2024 when Mia and Noah also led the pack, both coming in at No 1. For 2025, there were a total of 66 babies named Mia and 115 babies named Noah, while in 2024, there were 81 Mias and 105 Noahs.
What do the names mean? Online sources list a few different interpretations for Mia, but one common association is with the Italian word “mia,” which means “mine.” As for Noah, the name is most commonly associated with the prominent bible figure. It’s thought to mean “rest,” or “comfort.”
Here’s a look at some of the other top baby names in New Mexico for 2025.
- Girls:
- Olivia (65 total)
- Sophia (65 total)
- Sofia (60 total)
- Camila (59 total)
- Eliana (57 total)
- Isabella (56 total)
- Amelia (53 total)
- Aria (45 total)
- Aurora (45 total)
- Boys:
- Liam (109 total)
- Mateo (99 total)
- Elijah (76 total)
- Santiago (70 total)
- Sebastian (69 total)
- Ezra (67 total)
- Elias (66 total)
- Ezekiel (66 total)
- Levi (69 total)
Nationally, Olivia and Liam are the most popular baby names, and have been for the past seven years, according to the Social Security Administration. As for the fastest-rising names, Klarity jumped nearly 1,400 spots on the girls’ list, and Kasai jumped 1,108 for boy names.
Other names rising in popularity for boys include Atlas, Adriel, Emiliano, Arthur, and Archer. On the girls’ list, Ailany, Sienna, Amara, and Georgia are becoming more popular.
You can find the full list by state online.
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