New Mexico

FEMA to close Roswell offices Saturday; at least one spokesperson headed to California fires • Source New Mexico

Published

1 year ago

January 14, 2025

FEMA to close Roswell offices Saturday; at least one spokesperson headed to California fires • Source New Mexico

Federal officials will wrap up their offices in Roswell as at least one employee heads to California to respond to ongoing fires.

In a press release, FEMA said it would continue working with the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

The application period for federal disaster assistance from the Roswell floods closed on Thursday, Jan. 2. However, residents have an additional 60 days to provide a late application, but an explanation for the delay must be provided “by phone, in writing or in-person,” according to the website. Those applications are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Details on Roswell office closure

The Disaster Recovery office in the Roswell Mall will close permanently after 5 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 18.

For assistance visit the FEMA page for Roswell resources (or DisasterAssistance.gov/es para español) or call the FEMA live helpline at 800-621-3362 (TTY 800-462-7585) seven days a week between 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Talking Disaster

Maria Padron, who’s worked for FEMA for 25 years, managed public affairs for the South Fork and Salt fires and the destructive Roswell floods.

Padron announced her reassignment to the California fires, in an email Tuesday, writing. “My city needs me. I had been redeployed to Los Angeles.”

In a call with Source NM, she said hers is the only reassignment she knows of.

Source NM: The U.S. experienced a near-record number of destructive storms, and that’s poised to escalate, considering the effects climate change is having. Do you have anything to say to the people experiencing disasters, many for the first time?

Padron: Always be prepared, have a prepared kit in your car, because you never know when a disaster is going to strike. People need to be aware of what’s going on with the climate, and their surroundings at all times.

In your departure letter, you said ‘your city needs you,’ and you went to school in Carson, California. How do these fires personally affect you?

I live in – not quite the Valley. I live in a safe place, away from the hills. I have two friends, they’ve lost their homes, one in Pasadena the other in Pacific Palisades. So even though I wasn’t affected, I’m affected indirectly.

Is there anything you learned from Roswell or Ruidoso that you think is going to inform your work in LA?

You know, it’s a different ball game. This one is a catastrophic event. There were 1,000, maybe – I forgot how many houses were destroyed in Ruidoso – but this one is miles and miles of destruction. Every disaster is a different ball game, but lessons learned: If you live close to the mountains, in the woods, you need to be prepared all the time for emergencies.

Source NM note: more than 1,400 structures including more than 856 homes were destroyed in the South Fork and Salt Fires.

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New Mexico

Federal court orders New Mexico prison officials to allow magazine’s delivery

Published

3 hours ago

March 11, 2026

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Federal court orders New Mexico prison officials to allow magazine’s delivery

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New Mexico

Tanya Tucker to perform at New Mexico State Fair

Published

15 hours ago

March 10, 2026

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Tanya Tucker to perform at New Mexico State Fair

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Tanya Tucker will perform at the 2026 New Mexico State Fair, officials announced Tuesday.

Tucker will take to the stage Friday, Sept. 18, after the Chevron PRCA rodeo. The Grammy Award-winning icon has racked up 10 No. 1 country hits since her first hit, “Delta Dawn,” at age 13.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to bring the legendary Tanya Tucker to the New Mexico State Fair,” said Dan Mourning, general manager of the New Mexico State Fair. “Tanya is one of the greatest icons in country music history and is the perfect fit for the Fair.”

Tucker has 23 Top-40 albums and 56 Top 40 singles on the Billboard country music charts. She has won two Country Music Association awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, three CMT Awards and two Grammys for Best Country Album and Best Country Song.

Tickets are set to go on sale on Friday at 10 a.m.

Here is the full 2026 New Mexico State Fair rodeo-concert lineup:

Friday, Sept. 11

Turnpike Troubadours with Chevron PRCA Xtreme Bulls

Saturday, Sept. 12

Ian Munsick with Chevron PRCA Xtreme Bulls

Wednesday, Sept. 16

Chevron PRCA Standalone Rodeo

Thursday, Sept. 17

Everclear with Chevron PRCA Rodeo

Friday, Sept. 18

Tanya Tucker with Chevron PRCA Rodeo

Saturday, Sept. 19

The Warning with Chevron PRCA Rodeo

Sunday, Sept. 20

Chevron PRCA Rodeo – Matinee

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New Mexico

New Mexico prosecutors launch search of Jeffrey Epstein’s secluded former Zorro Ranch

Published

1 day ago

March 10, 2026

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New Mexico prosecutors launch search of Jeffrey Epstein’s secluded former Zorro Ranch

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — State investigators began searching a secluded ranch in New Mexico on Monday where financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein once entertained guests amid allegations that the property may have been used for sexual abuse and sex trafficking of young women.

The office of state Attorney General Raúl Torrez announced that the search was being done with the cooperation of the current ranch owners.

Torrez last month reopened an investigation of the ranch. New Mexico’s initial case was closed in 2019 at the request of federal prosecutors in New York, and state prosecutors say now that “revelations outlined in the previously sealed FBI files warrant further examination.”

Epstein purchased the sprawling Zorro Ranch in Stanley, New Mexico, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Santa Fe, in 1993 from former Democratic Gov. Bruce King and built a hilltop mansion with a private runway.

The property was sold by Epstein’s estate in 2023 — with proceeds going toward creditors — to the family of Don Huffines, a candidate in Texas for state comptroller who won the Republican primary last week.

“The New Mexico Department of Justice appreciates the cooperation of the current property owners,” the agency said in a statement. Prosecutors “will continue to keep the public appropriately informed, support the survivors, and follow the facts wherever they lead.”

Additionally, New Mexico state legislators have established a new commission to look into past activities at the ranch.

Epstein killed himself in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial in 2019 on charges that he sexually abused and trafficked dozens of underage girls.

Epstein never faced charges in New Mexico, but the state attorney general’s office in 2019 confirmed that it had interviewed possible victims who visited Epstein’s ranch.

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