New Mexico

RECA has expired. What's next?

Published

5 months ago

June 7, 2024

Help for people sickened by radiation from nuclear tests and uranium mining, including here in New Mexico, is coming to an end after 34 years.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Help for people sickened by radiation from nuclear tests and uranium mining, including here in New Mexico, is coming to an end after 34 years.

The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act expired Friday after U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson didn’t call a vote on a bill to extend and expand it.

That’s despite a 69-30 U.S. Senate vote in March.

The expiration left New Mexicans, who worked in uranium mines and were downwind of nuclear tests, in wonder. What’s next for them and their families?

“I’m the fourth generation in my family to have cancer since 1945. And unfortunately, now I have a 24-year-old niece who’s diagnosed with thyroid cancer,” said Tina Cordova, co-founder and executive director of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium.

Advocates like Cordova are never giving up. For her and others, it’s a lifelong fight – but this is a massive setback.

“While they play politics, we’re gathering up our resources for someone to have cancer treatment. We’re having bake sales and car washes and selling cattle so we can meet our health care needs,” Cordova said.

Lawmakers are using this energy and support to chart the next steps for RECA.

Starting Tuesday, the House Rules Committee will decide which amendments could be made to the National Defense Authorization Act.

“There’s over a thousand amendments and ours is one of them,” U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez said.

Cordova is pressing local Republican leaders to call on their counterparts in Congress.

“The Republican Party of New Mexico knows and has supported our efforts to expand RECA in the past. They know that radiation exposure is not discerning. It’s affected the young, the old, the black, the white, and the Republican and the Democrat alike,” she said.

Just a simple extension isn’t enough either. With RECA the way it is, it doesn’t cover New Mexico downwinders and their families, like Cordova and her family.

Rep. Leger Fernandez says people already covered aren’t budging either.

“They’re saying no. The Navajo Nation, whose members can benefit from the existing RECA, have passed a resolution calling for the expanded RECA,” she said.

While the RECA program has expired, the office will still process claims submitted before June 10. The office will remain open until they’ve addressed all of the claims.

KOB 4 reached out to the Republican Party of New Mexico for a response to Cordova’s call to them. Chairman Steve Pierce issued the following statement:

“During my time in Congress, I supported the RECA program to provide compensation for the victims of radiation exposure from United States nuclear testing. The main challenge has always been to negotiate a bill that is fair to all parties involved. From the outside, it appears the Senate bill has provisions that House leadership is currently not willing to accept. The issue is bipartisan, so I trust that negotiations are ongoing, which will see that the program continues. Even if the bill expires, provisions can be incorporated to mitigate any disruption to the program.”

We also reached out to U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office for a statement. However, we have not heard back from them yet.

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New Mexico

How does New Mexico rank for minority-owned businesses?

Published

6 hours ago

November 8, 2024

Press Room

How does New Mexico rank for minority-owned businesses?

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New Mexico

UCLA Bruins Insider Podcast: Football Recruiting, Key Players vs. New Mexico, and More

Published

14 hours ago

November 8, 2024

Press Room

UCLA Bruins Insider Podcast: Football Recruiting, Key Players vs. New Mexico, and More

The UCLA Bruins are revved up for a few marquee matchups this Friday in a few different sports. Basketball and football seasons are colliding which means more exciting news to come out of Westwood this weekend.

In this episode of the UCLA Bruins Insider Podcast, Bruins on SI beat writer Tom Cavanaugh previews an upcoming visit for an in-state football prospect, several key players for the Bruins’ hoops ahead for their Friday matchup with New Mexico, and a former Bruin that is taking strides in the NBA.

UCLA Bruins on SI’s own Aidan Champion wrote a piece earlier this week on four key players to watch out for in the Bruins’ basketball matchup against New Mexico. You can read that article HERE.

Champion mentioned three transfers and one impact returner that will make waves for the program this season and should be on the lookout for breakout performances against a talented Lobos team.

Oregon State transfer forward Tyler Bilodeau, Louisville transfer guard Skyy Clark, former USC Trojan guard Kobe Johnson, and returning sophomore guard Sebastian Mack. All four had good showings in the season opener against Rider and will be put to the test against a much better program.

Former Bruin star turned NBA, Johnny Juzang, has taken a big stride in his second season with the Utah Jazz. A 17-point performance against the Nuggets earlier this month, followed by an 8-point game a few days later, is showing that he has the ability to play at the next level.

Bruins first-year football head coach DeShaun Foster will host another recruit this weekend for their Homecoming game at the Rose Bowl against the Iowa Hawkeyes (6-3). Elisha “Tyger” Canales is a 2025 three-star defensive back out of San Juan Capistrano, Calif.

Canales will get a taste of what it’s like to play ball in Pasadena and should be immersed in one of the most electric crowds in college football, especially on Homecoming when so many former players and alumni will be in attendance.

Foster spoke to the media earlier this week and gave his thoughts on the Hawkeyes’ disciplined, physical program and what he expects from their Heisman candidate running back, Kaleb Johnson.

“This is a real culture that we’re playing against because he’s [Iowa HC Kirk Ferentz] been there for a long time,” Foster said. “The way that he wants to play is embedded into his players and you can see that, so this is a good challenge for us at home. — This kid [Iowa RB Kaleb Johnson] is special. You can see that, and he’s a guy that the more carries he gets, the more he gets going. You just got to find a way to get him down, and it’s more of swarming to the ball and not just one guy doing it.”

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New Mexico

Emergency declared in New Mexico after early winter storm leaves thousands in the dark

Published

22 hours ago

November 7, 2024

Press Room

Emergency declared in New Mexico after early winter storm leaves thousands in the dark

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico’s governor declared an emergency Thursday after a powerful winter storm left tens of thousands of people without power as heavy snow, fierce winds and freezing temperatures marched across the northern two-thirds of the state and into Colorado.

Dozens of crews with Public Service Co. of New Mexico were mobilized to address widespread outages that had been reported overnight and in the early morning hours from Albuquerque to Santa Fe and beyond as the snow brought tree branches crashing down onto power lines.

The utility acknowledged frustrations and urged residents to be patient, saying there were about 19,000 people still affected by the outages Thursday evening. That was down from 50,000 earlier in the day.

“This really is an unprecedented storm in the fact that it came so earlier and so heavily while leaves were still on the trees. That has caused limbs to be much heavier that they would normally be,” PNM spokesman Jeff Buell said, adding that crews were dealing with hundreds of separate repair jobs in Albuquerque alone.

With more snow in the forecast, Buell said there could be additional outages into Friday.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s declaration unlocks state funding for emergency response efforts. Funding also will be funneled to the New Mexico National Guard, which has been helping to clear roads.

Schools in Santa Fe, Los Alamos and elsewhere across northern New Mexico canceled classes, while authorities warned people to stay off the roads. Plows were busy trying to keep major highways clear, but state police announced midday that Interstate 25 just south of the Colorado border was closed in both directions.

The National Weather Service in Albuquerque issued a blizzard warning for parts of the state and reported that more than 100 vehicles were stranded on highways in the state’s northeast corner. Forecasters warned of “very dangerous driving conditions” that were made worse by low visibility because of blowing snow.

Interstate 70 across Colorado’s Eastern Plains also was closed, as residents in that state braced for what some said could be the biggest snowstorm to hit the Denver area in November in years. Some people reported Thursday that they already had more than 14 inches (35.56 centimeters) of snow on the ground.

The National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center said extensive and widespread disruptions could be expected as the storm moves through New Mexico and Colorado, dropping between 1 and 2 inches of snow within an hour in some spots.

Tonja Goode Ross said she would be staying home and enjoying a cup of hot chocolate instead of trying to brave what was the “first real snow” of the season for Corona. This rural part of central New Mexico was turned into a winter wonderland, its pastures covered by a thick blanket of snow and its tree branches bowing from the weight of fresh powder.

Almost a foot of snow had fallen by early morning and another 2.5 inches fell within a 2-hour period.

“Moisture is always a blessing here — no matter the form it comes in,” she said.

The weather service warned that the storm could bring historic amounts of snow through Friday. More than 4 feet (1.22 meter) was expected in some parts. Snow drifts could top 6 feet (1.83 meter), making some travel impossible — potentially for days, forecasters said.

In Albuquerque, city officials said the frigid temperatures and snowfall resulted in about 120 traffic crashes while the fire department answered more than 100 calls related to downed power lines and fallen trees.

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