New Mexico
New Mexico Democrats mostly rebuff calls from Democratic governor to address high crime rates
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Democrats in the state legislative majority on Thursday resisted calls by New Mexico’s governor for immediate action to address the “dangerous intersection” of crime and homelessness, shunning her proposals to enhance criminal penalties, restrict panhandling and expand involuntary detention and treatment for mental health problems.
Instead, the Legislature sent the governor a solitary bill that expands pilot programs for voluntary treatment of people with severe mental illness and addiction problems, along with an emergency aid package in response to devastating wildfires that burned through a village in southern New Mexico in June.
“We absolutely have a responsibility to do something about those people who are on the merry-go-round through our court system,” Democratic state Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino, of Albuquerque, said as the Legislature convened. “But the answer isn’t to say we should start putting them in jail. The answer is to say we should start providing services.”
The bill won final legislative approval on a 30-0 vote of the Senate, which adjourned the special session over the objections of Republican lawmakers who found common cause with Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a two-term Democrat.
The governor accused Democratic legislators of having “no interest in making New Mexico safer.”
“Not one public safety measure was considered,” Lujan Grisham said in a statement. “Not one, despite the bills having the backing of police chiefs, public safety unions, mayors, prosecutors.”
It fell to Republicans in the legislative minority to introduce initiatives from the governor that would provide longer minimum sentences for gun-toting felons, combat fentanyl trafficking, restrict loitering on narrow roadway medians and take aim at organized crime by amending racketeering statutes. Those bills from state senators were referred to committees that never met.
“We embarked on this special session for one reason … it was crime, front and center,” said Republican state Sen. Greg Baca of Belen. “We had an opportunity here, and I want to thank the governor. … Why would we not take an opportunity to take a step?”
Democratic legislators said they shared the governor’s sense of urgency — but also are awaiting the research and recommendations of an ongoing state Supreme Court commission on mental health and competency.
“What we don’t need are bad bills that pass that are rushed, and then we are dealing with unintended consequences,” said Democratic state House speaker Javier Martínez of Albuquerque.
Senate majority leader Peter Wirth of Santa Fe acknowledged a rift between Democratic lawmakers and the governor. But he urged her to support a $3 million allocation toward voluntary treatment programs for people with severe mental illness, through both civil and criminal court proceedings.
“I would suggest that by signing this treatment diversion money into law, it’s an important first step towards rebuilding the collaborative relationship that needs to exist between the three equal branches of government,” Wirth said. “New Mexicans want that.”
Separately, the bill would provide $10 million from the state general fund to assist the Mescalero Apache Tribe with wildfire losses and reconstruction.
And it contains a $70 million allocation from the general fund to local governments as they replace and repair infrastructure destroyed by wildfires, including a conflagration that raced through the village of Ruidoso in June. That funding is designed to speed up projects already approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The state expects to be reimbursed.
Lujan Grisham convened the special session in an effort to address stubbornly high crime rates. She repeatedly referenced a “revolving door” within the state’s criminal justice system that has resulted in dangerous individuals and those who need mental health services remaining on the streets.
“This should be a terrifying environment for anyone,” said Lujan Grisham.
FBI data shows steep drops in every category of violent crime across the U.S. in the first three months of 2024 compared with the same period a year earlier, continuing a downward trend since a coronavirus pandemic surge.
That’s not the case in the Albuquerque metropolitan area — home to roughly one-third of New Mexico residents — where violent crime rates are holding steady at about three times the national average. Criminal cases involving juveniles and guns rose last year, as authorities also grappled with encampments of homeless people on sidewalks and in riverside parks.
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said Wednesday that the city cleared 1,000 encampments in June alone and spends $1 million a month on housing vouchers. It’s not enough, he said.
Several states including California and Tennessee are embracing a more forceful approach to untreated mental illness and addiction issues amid concerns about crime and homelessness.
Lujan Grisham wanted legislators to make it easier to place a person involuntarily into treatment. She also wants to give courts and prosecutors more leeway to detain and evaluate criminal defendants when mental competency is in question.
The American Civil Liberties Union and other advocacy groups warned that the governor’s initiatives would make it easier to force someone into a locked mental health facility.
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Associated Press writer Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque contributed.
NMSU introduces Adeniyi Amadou as its next women’s basketball coach
Adeniyi Amadou is the next NMSU women’s basketball coach. Hear from him, NMSU President Valerio Ferme and NMSU AD Joe Fields on the move.
New Mexico State’s women’s basketball team has entered a new era with the hiring of Adeniyi Amadou as its new coach. He’ll try to take the Aggies back to the NCAA Tournament, where they appeared multiple times in the 1980s and 2010s.
NM State has six NCAA Tournaments, four conference tournament championships (all won as part of the Western Athletic Conference) and eight regular-season conference championships to its name in women’s basketball. The Aggies have reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament once in 1988, although that was when teams could receive first-round byes if they were a high enough seed (they were a No. 6 seed then and lost to Washington in their first NCAA Tournament game).
Let’s look back on some of those seasons. Here are the three best March Madness moments in NM State’s women’s basketball history:
First conference tournament win (2015)
NM State began its WAC dynasty in 2015.
The Aggies won their first-ever conference tournament in women’s basketball in the 2015 WAC Tournament. NM State was the regular-season conference champion and earned the No. 1 seed and a bye to the semifinals of the WAC Tournament as a result. The Aggies went 2-0 to secure a conference tournament championship.
Bolstered by 22 points from Sasha Weber and 16 rebounds from Brianna Freeman, NM State pulled out a 79-75 overtime win in the semifinals over Seattle. Another 20 points from Weber helped the Aggies win the WAC Tournament championship game 70-52 over UT-Pan American (which has since merged with UT-Brownsville to form UTRGV) and reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1988. Freeman was named the WAC Tournament MVP.
Three in a row (2017)
The Aggies would then make it three consecutive WAC Tournament championships two years later.
NM State entered the 2017 WAC Tournament with a perfect 14-0 conference record, and it kept that unbeaten run going. The Aggies defeated UMKC (now referred to as Kansas City) 71-63 in the semifinals thanks to four players scoring in double figures, including Moriah Mack’s 21 points in 40 minutes of action. NM State then took down Seattle 63-48 in the championship game off the back of a double-double from Tamera William at 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Mack won the WAC Tournament MVP that year. She scored 18 points against the Redhawks in the championship game. It was the third and final WAC Tournament championship for then-coach Mark Trakh before he joined USC.
Resilience in overtime (2019)
Another regular-season conference championship wasn’t enough in 2018, as the Aggies lost to Seattle in the semifinals. But NM State got back on its perch in the WAC in the following year.
Guided by second-year coach Brooke Atkinson, the Aggies needed two overtime victories to win the 2019 WAC Tournament after defeating Chicago State in the quarterfinals (the WAC Tournament went from seven to eight teams starting in 2018, with no byes to the semifinals). The first one came in a 91-80 win over UMKC after NM State allowed just five points in overtime. The Aggies were forced into double overtime during the championship game against UTRGV, which ended with a 76-73 win.
Gia Pack scored 86 points across the WAC Tournament, including 36 against UMKC, to win the tournament’s MVP. Brooke Salas scored a team-high 29 points in the championship game.
BERNALILLO COUNTY, N.M. (KRQE) — Wood carvings, glass bottles, and other odds and ends help make up an art museum tucked away on Sandia Crest Road. It all started over 40 years ago with a man aiming to be as creative, as curious, and as open to experience as possible – Ross Ward.
“I often describe a walk through the museum as kind of walking through the head and the heart of my dad… You begin to understand that this person was very passionate, very curious, very excited, and just incredibly creative,” said Ross’s daughter, Tanya Ward Goodman. “And it inspired you to do the same.”
Tinkertown is an artist-built environment that first opened its doors in 1983. There you can find animated miniature figures, various artifacts from Ross’s travels, and thousands of glass bottles, among much more. The spot has been around for quite a bit now, but they’ve recently made an exciting new change that’s been in the works for years.
“We have turned the entire museum into a 501(c)(3),” said Tanya. “And our mission is to preserve and protect the work and the artistic legacy of Ross Ward and translate his vision into a rousing call to live a more creative and colorful life.” Tanya added that it “has always been a little bit of a self-sustaining enterprise… the fact that all proceeds already went into the operation and management of the museum, it really isn’t a huge leap for us.”
Their main goal as a non-profit? To ramp up art and writing workshops while encouraging rural collaboration between New Mexico artists. It’s also a way to potentially bring more helping hands to the museum.
“My dad died in 2002. He had early onset Alzheimer’s. He was diagnosed at 57, and he died at 62. And my stepmother, Carla Ward, has been running the museum since his death, and she’s getting to a place where she would like to retire or take some steps back,” said Tanya. “I think she’ll always be involved because she loves it and it’s been such a deep labor of love on her part… We had been sort of exploring different options and thinking about how to keep the museum open while also having some sort of retirement for her, and we would need to bring in extra people.”
The change comes in time for Tinkertown’s 2026 season opening on Friday, April 3, with a grand opening celebration on Sunday, April 5 – Ross’s birthday. There will be live music, cake, book signings, and more. “I wrote a memoir called ‘Leaving Tinkertown’ that was published by the University of New Mexico Press,” said Tanya. “I will be signing books. University of New Mexico Press will sell that book. We have other books about Tinkertown. Other authors will be there.”
As for the 2026 season overall, Tinkertown hopes to see more familiar faces and new faces alike come through the doors. “People come from not only all over New Mexico and the rest of the U.S., but all over the world,” said Tanya. “We have a huge map and there are, by the end of the season, there are colored pins in almost every continent and country in the world… I think what I hope that they learn is just that if you have an idea and an interest that you can follow that and wonderful things will happen.”
You can learn more about Tinkertown on their website.
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