New Mexico
New Mexico's Martin Heinrich Embraced a Struggling Electric Bus Industry. Campaign Cash from Lobbyists Followed.
When Senator Martin Heinrich’s chief of staff Joe Britton left his role, the New Mexico Democrat heaped praise on his former right-hand man, saying Britton would “continue to make a difference in the lives of everyone he meets.”
In the years following his departure, Britton did make a difference—to Heinrich’s campaign coffers.
After leaving Heinrich’s office, Britton launched both a green energy lobbying shop and an electric vehicle trade association, through which he has routinely lobbied the Senate on energy policies that would benefit his clients. Heinrich in at least one case co-sponsored a bill that Britton lobbied the upper chamber to pass, federal disclosures show. That bill, the Bidirectional Act, would have propped up an electric bus industry that has since suffered significant setbacks. One industry leader, Proterra, declared bankruptcy last year, while others have struggled to turn a profit.
In Heinrich’s case, however, embracing the electric bus industry appears to have helped his campaign’s bottom line. Days before Heinrich co-sponsored the Bidirectional Act, in September 2022, Britton and a partner at his firm contributed $2,000 to his campaign. In March 2023, meanwhile, Britton and his employees gave Heinrich another $8,500—the Democrat again co-sponsored the Bidirectional Act less than two months later. In total, Britton and his employees have contributed nearly $37,000 to Heinrich’s campaign since Britton left the Senate in November 2019, according to campaign finance disclosures.
The ordeal contradicts Heinrich’s rhetoric on “special interest lobbyists,” which the Democrat has argued wield “outsized influence” thanks to a “broken campaign finance system.” In 2021, Heinrich vowed to “break special interests’ stranglehold on Congress and the White House” through a bill that would create a public financing program for congressional campaigns. Heinrich also attacked former president Donald Trump for embracing energy industry lobbyists.
“Your decisions permit industry lobbyists to advance their agendas in your administration, confer with former clients and employers to craft government policy behind closed doors, and cash out by returning to their high-paying lobbying jobs to take advantage of those new policies,” he wrote in a 2017 letter.
Neither Heinrich nor Britton responded to requests for comment.
Britton’s foray into the lobbying world began in April 2020, roughly five months after he left Heinrich’s office. Britton at that time founded Pioneer Public Affairs, a climate-focused firm that provides green energy companies and advocacy groups with “legislative engagement” and other services. The firm’s clients include NextEra Energy and the League of Conservation Voters, both of which have contributed thousands to Heinrich in recent years.
One month later, in May 2020, Britton helped launch the Zero Emission Transportation Association (ZETA), a group of electric vehicle providers and other green companies. Britton served as the group’s inaugural executive director and remains its “founding board chair,” according to his LinkedIn. The group—which advocates for the “full adoption of electric vehicles” by 2030—counts Proterra as a member, as well as a number of electric vehicle charging companies.
“For the first time in a generation, transportation is the leading emitter of U.S. carbon emissions. By embracing EVs, federal policymakers can help drive innovation, create hundreds of thousands of new jobs, and improve air quality and public health,” Britton said at ZETA’s launch.
Britton went on to lobby the Senate on behalf of both ZETA and individual green energy companies and groups, such as NextEra and the League of Conservation Voters. In the third quarter of 2022, disclosures show, he lobbied the Senate to pass a slew of electric vehicle-related bills, including the Bidirectional Act, which Britton’s lobbying disclosure said would “require the Secretary of Energy to establish a program to encourage deployment of electric school buses and vehicle-to-grid technologies and applications.”
One day before the end of the quarter, Heinrich introduced the bill alongside Sens. John Hickenlooper (D., Colo.), Michael Bennet (D., Colo.), Amy Klobuchar (D., Minn.), and others. In a press release that touted support for the bill from Proterra and Xcel Energy—another ZETA member—Heinrich said the legislation would “make it easier for New Mexico public school districts to afford the upfront costs of replacing their aging diesel vehicles.”
“The bus fleets that take our kids to school are an ideal place to demonstrate the long-term cost and health benefits of electric vehicles,” Heinrich added.
In the weeks before and after that statement’s release, Britton and two other Pioneer Public Affairs employees combined to give Heinrich $7,000. The money continued to flow in 2023, when Heinrich again co-sponsored the electric bus bill—that year, Britton and his employees combined to give Heinrich $13,500. Xcel, an electricity provider, also gave Heinrich $2,500 two days before he co-sponsored the bill for the second time, disclosures show.
While Heinrich touted the ZETA-backed electric bus bill for its ability to help New Mexico school’s phase out their gas-powered vehicles, such a phaseout would hurt the state’s vibrant oil and gas industry.
New Mexico was America’s second-largest oil producing state in 2022, when it accounted for more than 13 percent of the nation’s production. The fuel sector employed nearly 30,000 New Mexicans in 2022, a 26 percent increase from 2021.
For Daniel Turner, founder and executive director of energy advocacy group Power the Future, New Mexico’s reliance on the oil and gas industry shows Heinrich is out of touch with his state. Last month, Turner’s group released a statewide survey showing 66 percent of New Mexicans oppose efforts to phase out oil and gas.
“The only people who dislike the industry, sadly, are the elected officials,” Turner told the Washington Free Beacon. “They go out of their way to punish the only bright spot in the state’s economy. It makes no sense whatsoever.”
The McCauley Springs Fire in the Jemez Ranger District, east of Battleship Rock, is 100% contained at 712 acres.
The fire was reported on Wednesday, June 24, 2026. The Northern New Mexico Zone Type 3 Incident Management Team (IMT), led by Incident Commander Luke McLarty, initially managed the fire before the Southwest Area Incident Management Team 3, under Incident Commander Matt Rau, took over. From June 26 to July 4, this team handled operations, after which command returned to the Jemez Ranger District. Under a Type 4 organization, firefighters worked to cool remaining hot spots and secure firelines, reaching full containment on July 13.
Although the fire is fully contained, visitors should remain aware that burned areas can present hazards. When visiting fire-affected areas, watch for changing conditions, hazard trees, unstable terrain, and other post-fire hazards. Suppression repair work may continue in some locations, and the public is asked to use caution around personnel and equipment and provide crews with plenty of space to work.
A temporary closure order for the burned area remains in place through August 11, 2026. The full order and map can be found on the Santa Fe National Forest website under Alerts. Battleship Rock, Jemez Falls Campground and Group Area, the Jemez Falls Trailhead, San Diego Overlook, and the East Fork Trail from Battleship Rock to Highway 4 will remain closed until further notice for public safety.
A multi-disciplinary Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) team evaluated the burned area to identify risks to human life, property, and critical resources. Over 80% of the fire was mapped as low soil burn severity, meaning most tree canopies and ground cover remain intact, reducing the risk of erosion and runoff. About 12% of the area showed moderate burn severity, with patchy ground cover loss and some water-repellent soils. Less than 1% was classified as high burn severity, where vegetation and soil were heavily impacted. The full summary can be found on the Santa Fe National Forest website.
For Santa Fe National Forest news and updates visit our website and social media pages (Facebook and X).
About the Forest Service: The Forest Service has brought people and communities together to answer the call of conservation for more than 100 years. Grounded in world-class science and technology — and rooted in communities — the Forest Service connects people to nature and recreation opportunities. The agency manages 193 million acres of public land, supports the nation’s forest industry and energy needs, and operates the largest and most respected wildland fire and forestry research organizations in the world. By providing assistance to state and private landowners and working with tribes and other partners, the Forest Service also helps steward an additional 900 million forested acres within the U.S.
###
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Some call the multi-million-dollar El Camino Real Heritage Center an architectural masterpiece. Others, however, call it one of New Mexico’s most expensive blunders. In 2021, former Speaker of the House Don Tripp weighed in on the project, “As far as benefit, it really didn’t have any benefit to anybody.”
Taxpayers paid more than $4,000,000 to build it, a few million dollars more to operate it and, now, a half million to tear it down.
The El Camino Real Heritage Center is a history museum dedicated to the historic ‘Royal Road of the Interior’. Established by Spanish conquistadores in 1598, the historic byway extended from Mexico City to north of Santa Fe. Armed with $4,000,000 from the state legislature and the Bureau of Land Management, consultants were hired to find the best place to build the new museum. After studying various locations, they chose a remote spot on the prairie 37 miles south of Socorro.
The experts said, ‘build halfway between Socorro and Truth or Consequences,’ and the museum will draw 100,000 visitors a year, bring in $10,000,000 to the region, and create 174 new jobs. Back in 2004, no one raised a red flag about putting a tourist attraction in an out-of-the-way location. It was only after construction was complete that officials learned the so-called experts were dead wrong. The project was doomed to fail before it even opened its doors. “Who the heck thought it was a good idea to build it where they built it?” State Rep. Gail Armstrong told KRQE News 13 last year.
The state’s newest museum opened in 2005. An estimated crowd of 2000 turned out for the dedication ceremony. Socorro Mayor Ravi Bhasker was there. “We had Bill Richardson out there cutting the ribbon, and then we had the Vice President of Spain come down here with his beautiful wife, and we had dignitaries everywhere. It was exciting,” Mayor Bhasker said.
But the excitement was short-lived. Where the historic El Camino Real trail was in use for three centuries, the museum with its namesake lasted just eleven years. The remote location meant few visitors, meager revenue, inadequate staffing, expensive utilities, and maintenance.
In 2016, New Mexico’s Cultural Affairs Department pulled the plug on the El Camino Real Heritage Center, padlocked the doors, and permanently closed the museum. The parking lot is deserted, tourists are gone, artifacts are packed away, display cases vacant, exhibits dismantled, interpretive panels removed, and the gift shop is bare. All there is to show for millions of tax dollars is an abandoned building on the prairie.
“Eleven years is disgraceful. There was a real failure in this particular project,” the late State Senator John Arthur Smith said in a 2021 interview. We asked the retired Senate Finance Committee Chair, when the history of this project is written, what will it say? “They’re going to shake their head and (use this as) another example of government waste,” the retired Senator Smith said in 2021.
So what do you do with a $4,000,000 deserted building in the middle of nowhere? Time and vandals have taken a toll. The museum was closed and boarded up in 2016, and then state officials abandoned the site. Because little effort was made to secure the empty building, it is no longer habitable. Copper wiring has been stolen. There is significant structural damage, mold, a rodent infestation, and no electricity or lights. Most of the HVAC, electrical, plumbing, water, and septic systems are either obsolete or inoperable.
Faced with a whopping $3.5 million repair bill, the Museum of New Mexico’s Board of Regents made the difficult decision last year to demolish the building. Board of Regent’s President, Dr. George Goldstein, calls the building, “A loss, a huge loss.”
“What a complete waste of taxpayer dollars,” says State Rep. Gail Armstrong who’s District 49 includes the museum site. And what did taxpayers get for their $4,000,000 investment? “Nothing. It just cost them a ton of money. Nothing,” Representative Armstrong said.
This week, a state-hired demolition crew began the task of tearing down the museum complex. Tons of concrete, steel, and glass will be hauled away. The parking lot and nearby caretaker’s house will also be ripped out. The prairie will be graded, reseeded with native plants, and returned to the Bureau of Land Management in restored, pristine condition. The demolition project is expected to take four months.
The El Camino Real museum was planned and built during the Governor Bill Richardson administration. All of the State Legislators involved in the funding of the museum project have since left government service.
Soon, the El Camino Real International Heritage Center will be just a bitter memory. All clues to the existence of a pricey government blunder will have been erased. Pay a visit to the remote spot south of Socorro later this fall, and all you will find will be desert creosote, prairie dogs, and a few rattlesnakes.
CLOVIS, New Mexico (KVII) — A baby giraffe was born at the Hillcrest Park Zoo in Clovis.
The city announced a male calf was born around 1 a.m. Thursday to Jerrica, a Rothschild giraffe who has lived at the zoo since she was born there in January 2012.
Zoo officials said Jerrica, a first-time mother, and her calf are doing well.
Baby giraffe born at the Hillcrest Park Zoo in Clovis, New Mexico on July 9, 2026 (Credit: Hillcrest Park Zoo )
The calf will make his public debut from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime moment you won’t want to miss! Bring your family, your camera, and your excitement as we welcome the zoo’s newest (and tallest!) superstar!” said the zoo.
Because the calf is male, he will eventually be moved from Hillcrest Park Zoo to another zoo or facility, according to the city.
The zoo plans to ask the public to help name the calf in the coming weeks.
-
New Mexico12 seconds agoMcCauley Springs Fire Reaches 100% Containment
-
North Carolina6 minutes agoMassive great white shark spotted off NC coast. See where its headed
-
North Dakota12 minutes agoNeighbors, not competitors
-
Ohio18 minutes agoFormer Powell residents indicted in $9.3M Ohio Medicaid fraud scheme
-
Oklahoma24 minutes agoJ.D. PicKell: ‘Oklahoma is going to be a wagon once again’
-
Oregon30 minutes agoOregon Ducks’ Big Ten Championship Chances Entering Fall Camp
-
Pennsylvania36 minutes agoLawmakers break without addressing unconstitutional murder sentences, leave 1K Pa. lifers in limbo
-
Rhode Island42 minutes agoProvidence mayor, City Council dispute over RENT fund program
