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Gov moves forward with special session despite lawmaker concerns, makes some adjustments

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Gov moves forward with special session despite lawmaker concerns, makes some adjustments


Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is moving forward with Thursday’s special legislative session on public safety issues despite concern from lawmakers. She signed the official proclamation for the session at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

Democratic lawmakers on Monday expressed reservations that the special session would be productive, stressing the need for more time to further vet the proposals and build consensus among lawmakers and stakeholders.

House Speaker Javier Martinez said special sessions usually address emergencies, rather than being called for complex topics like crime prevention.

“And certainly not for a number of different bills that seek to change — in some cases, pretty drastically — existing public policy,” he said.

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Lujan Grisham, also a Democrat, responded Wednesday that she agrees public safety issues are “delicate.”

“But that’s why you have a Legislature,” she said. “They don’t get to just appropriate money for soccer fields. They have to also do this work too. They’re both valuable to New Mexicans. Do the work.”

She said her office had been in touch with lawmakers since they spoke out against the session and that she added a few new topics to the agenda in response. Those include relief for fire victims in Ruidoso, combating organized crime and cracking down on fentanyl.

“So, quite a bit has shifted in just those few days,” Lujan Grisham said. “If people were talking to us like that all along, there might have been other proposals that would make more sense.”

The governor is also continuing to call for lawmakers to address the original proposals they took issue with. Those include expanding who can be involuntarily committed to mental health facilities, increasing penalties for possessing a gun after being convicted of a felony, and criminalizing panhandling in some cases.

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The governor said, regardless of what legislators accomplish in the special session, she considers calling it a success in and of itself because doing so signals that the status quo “can’t stand.”

“What I have to say to New Mexicans about what happened or didn’t? I won’t know that answer until I know that answer,” she said.

The 2024 special legislative session is set to convene Thursday at noon in Santa Fe’s Roundhouse.





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New Mexico

Grants cancels Christmas parade due to shootings

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Grants cancels Christmas parade due to shootings


GRANTS, N.M. – The City of Grants is canceling this year’s annual Christmas light parade, citing the safety of the public and their own officers.

Dozens of floats were supposed to roll down Santa Fe Avenue on Saturday night, but Grants police are holding off until next year after three incidents where someone shot at law enforcement officers.

“It was definitely a difficult decision, but due to the incident that took place on December 8, where law enforcement was shot at in the area of Santa Fe Avenue, we made that decision to protect the citizens of Grants,” says Grants Police Chief Maxine Monte.

She says a New Mexico State Police officer was shot at while making a traffic stop. The officer walked away uninjured, but this was too much for the chief.

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“We’ve had three different incidents where law enforcement was shot at. One was May of 2025, the other one was August of 2025, and then the recent event of December 8 of 2025,” says Monte.

It’s not a risk the chief wants to take, and points out people would be standing exactly where the last shooting happened.

“We have a lot of citizens that attend our parade, and our main concern was that they were out in the open in the middle of the night, and in the same area that our latest shooting took place.”

Grant residents will be able to see the floats during the day on Saturday. But even some daylight isn’t convincing some residents.

“I’ll be staying home,” said Amy Brigdon. “There’s too many people in the world that want to see bad things happen to other people. I’m not one of them.”

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Police still don’t have a suspect for this week’s attempted shooting. Anyone with information is asked to get in touch with the Grants Police Department.



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New Mexico

Colorado wolf rereleased in Grand County after crossing into New Mexico

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Colorado wolf rereleased in Grand County after crossing into New Mexico


Colorado Parks and Wildlife rereleased a wolf into Grand County this week after it had traveled into New Mexico, according to a news release.

The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish captured gray wolf 2403 and returned the animal to Colorado.

Colorado wildlife officials decided to release the wolf in Grand County yesterday because of the proximity to “an unpaired female gray wolf,” nearby prey populations and distance from livestock, according to the release.

“Gray wolf 2403 has been returned to Colorado and released in a location where it can best contribute to CPW’s efforts to establish a self-sustaining wolf population while concurrently attempting to minimize potential wolf-related livestock conflicts,” said acting director of CPW Laura Clellan, according to the release.

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The wolf was once a member of the Copper Creek pack but departed from it this fall.

A memorandum of understanding between Colorado and Arizona, New Mexico and Utah requires that any gray wolves that leave Colorado and enter those states be returned. That was created in part to maintain the integrity of a Mexican wolf recovery program.



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New Mexico

New Mexico man sentenced to nearly 20 years for distributing meth

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New Mexico man sentenced to nearly 20 years for distributing meth


ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A judge sentenced a New Mexico man to nearly 20 years in prison for distributing meth and having guns in his possession to use while doing so.

Court records indicate 43-year-old David Amaya sold meth from a trailer on his parents’ property in Anthony throughout July and August 2024. Agents executed a search warrant Aug. 22 and found 1.18 kilograms of meth, two firearms and ammunition in the trailer and a makeshift bathroom.

Amaya pleaded guilty to possession of meth with intent to distribute it. A judge sentenced him to 235 months in prison.

Once he is out, Amaya will face five years of supervised release.

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The FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office and the Las Cruces Metro Narcotics Task Force investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Williams prosecuted it.



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