Newly-released data show the distinctions between prescription opioid and heroin use, and how that has shaped public perceptions of the Española Valley and Rio Arriba County. And once the opioid crisis accelerated to become a national issue prior to the 2016 elections, Española became a scapegoat for the entire state’s drug problems.
Local educator and activist Luis Torres asked the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission Sept. 18 to hold a public meeting for all member-owners of rural electric cooperatives that purchase their electricity from Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association to air their grievances abou…
Throughout the years as the Rio Grande SUN has compiled these lists, the conversations about substance use has shifted dynamically. Gone are the days where it was appropriate and acceptable to use terms like ”tecato” or “junkie” when referring to the people who live in Rio Arriba County.
The New Mexico Supreme Court issued an order Aug. 22 stating parts of House Bill 407, which was passed during this year’s legislative session and signed into law by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham April 3, are unconstitutional.
The Jemez Mountains Electric Cooperative quietly settled a Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint in the United States District Court of New Mexico late last year.
Española Pathways Shelter overcame a major barrier to becoming the first homeless shelter in the city’s history Sept. 12, with the successful acquisition of a special use permit to operate a shelter at a prospective site on Calle Delgado on the West Side, but organizers say they are already …
The Española School District regained control of its financial operations before completing all the requirements set forth by the Public Education Department, state legislative analysts have found.
Government officials from across New Mexico expressed grief and shock Tuesday at the death of Sen. Carlos Cisneros, D-Questa.
Rio Arriba County Sheriff James Lujan has not completed the legally-required in-service or biennium training to maintain his certification as a law enforcement officer but has not faced any action from the Law Enforcement Academy, records show.
The New Mexico Department of Transportation announced Aug. 21 the approval of nearly $50 million in road improvement funds for dozens of local governments.
The New Mexico Oil Conservation Commission reversed a 2018 Commission decision that would have allowed Hilcorp Energy Company to double its number of wells in the San Juan Basin in Rio Arriba and San Juan counties.
An Aug. 7 event at the future site of the Española Lowrider Museum showcased potential exhibit layouts and featured speeches from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and a slew of community leaders from Rio Arriba County.
About 70 community members attended a peace vigil to support the proposed Española Pathways Shelter Aug. 1 at a potential location for the homeless shelter on North Railroad Avenue.
The two newest members of the Rio Arriba County Board of Commissioners drew lots to see who would extend his term by two years July 22 at the New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office.
New Mexico State Police is opening an internal investigation into statements made by one of their officers when Sen. Richard Martinez, D-Española, was arrested for allegedly driving while intoxicated.
The Española Pathways Shelter is now able to receive donations, thanks to some assistance from the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness. The Coalition will act as the fiscal agent for the soon-to-be Española shelter while it awaits designation as a registered nonprofit.
Employers in New Mexico can no longer ask people on their applications if they have been convicted of a crime, thanks to Senate Bill 96, also known as the “Ban the Box” law.
Northern New Mexico College is significantly closer to creating a community college district with five local school districts.
Rio Arriba County officials are in negotiations to purchase the building that formerly housed the Española Valley Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.
Maribel Conde, 39, is a cook at Socorro’s Restaurant in Hernandez. She has been in the service industry for nine years since she started as a cook at Northern New Mexico College.
By hiring the Blue Bus, officials from the Village of Angel Fire hope to expand public transportation and tourism throughout the ski resorts and recreational parks in the Enchanted Circle.
The Rio Arriba County Democratic Party is under new leadership.
District 40 Rep. Joseph Sanchez, D-Alcalde, is the first person to announce their candidacy for Congressional District 3.
While a bill to create a statewide Rural Library Endowment is headed to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s desk for her signature, the appropriation to start the endowment was gutted in the last days of the legislative session.
Instead of focusing on what he was not able to accomplish during his first legislative session, District 40 Rep. Joseph Sanchez, D-Alcalde, said he is happy with what he was able to get done.
New Mexico House District 41 Rep. Susan Herrera, D-Embudo, said she foresees a “Rio Arriba Renaissance” following the 2019 legislative session, which saw a $1 billion budget surplus and a Democratic-controlled House of Representatives that made it relatively easy for her to achieve her goals.
A bill that would have transferred the assessing authority for certain oil and gas pipelines from the state to county assessors failed March 8 to move past a hearing in the House Taxation and Revenue Committee.
The New Mexico Senate has unanimously approved the appointment of two new regents to the Northern New Mexico College Board of Regents.
While some Democratic lawmakers on the New Mexico House Judiciary Committee have taken the position that voting is an inherent right held by all New Mexicans, they ultimately agreed that the right should not go beyond the walls of the Corrections Department.
The House Local Government, Land Grants and Cultural Affairs Committee Tuesday tabled a house memorial to study tax distributions from Los Alamos National Laboratory to the surrounding areas.
A substitute bill to create a Rural Library Endowment Fund has been passed by the Senate and is making its way through House committees.
The Rio Arriba County Commission unanimously passed a resolution to make the County a gun sanctuary.
The Rio Arriba County Commission passed a resolution in support of a Senate bill that would allow the state’s Oil Conservation Division and Commission to penalize companies that break the Oil and Gas Act.
Despite losing last year's Democratic primary, Debbie Rodella still has a place in the Roundhouse.
Rio Arriba County’s contracted lobbyist, Eric Martinez, was arrested Jan. 20 for an aggravated DWI after he allegedly passed out in his Mercedes in the Taco Bell drive through.
A woman who died at a Northern New Mexico hospital in November remains unclaimed at a local funeral home.
During the 2018-2019 school year, school districts around the state were awarded $65,238,725 in federal Impact-Aid (IA) funding.
District 22 Sen. Benny Shendo Jr., D-Bernalillo, McKinley, San Juan, Sandoval and Rio Arriba counties, has thus far sponsored two pieces of legislation, one that would allow the production of cannabis on tribal land and another proposing a moratorium on permits for fracking.
In a legislative first, freshman Rep. Andrea Romero, D-46 Santa Fe, asked the Speaker of the New Mexico House of Representatives to table House Bill 437, the “Right to be Forgotten Act & Private Info,” amid public backlash from the media and First Amendment activists.
Sen. John A. Sapien, District 9, (Bernalillo and Sandoval) has introduced a bill in the New Mexico Senate that would significantly change the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA) – requiring New Mexicans to pay substantially more for electronic copies of public records.
A bill that would let people convicted of a felony retain their voting rights is making it’s way to the floor of the New Mexico House of Representatives.
Freshman Rep. Christine Chandler, D-Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, Sandoval and Santa Fe counties, planned to file a bill that would increase notification requirements before the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer can approve water rights leases.
District 6 Sen. Carlos Cisneros, D-Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, Santa Fe and Taos counties, prefiled 12 bills for the 2019 New Mexico Legislative session.
Three state lawmakers introduced a bill to create the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Womens Task Force. While the goal is to conduct a study into how to increase resources for reporting and identifying Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women throughout New Mexico, it does not address the imme…
District 46 Rep. Andrea Romero, D-Santa Fe County, District 46, a freshman lawmaker, said she will be supporting any effort to transform the education system, including funding early childhood education, raising teacher pay and investing in education.
This will be District 41 Rep. Susan Herrera’s, D-Rio Arriba, Santa Fe and Taos counties, first term in public office.
District 40 Rep. Joseph Sanchez took over the seat held for 46 years by former rep. Nick Salazar.
Ahead of the 2019 New Mexico legislative session, counties, cities and government entities put in requests for Capital Outlay funding, and Rio Arriba County is no exception.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham came out of the gate Jan. 3 by suspending the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) standardized test and the New Mexico Public Education Department's questionable teacher evaluation system, fulfilling two of her major …
With an expected $1.2 billion surplus, the 2019 New Mexico legislative session could prove to be quite the spectacle in regard to funding and overhauling programs that are in desperate need of a face lift, especially in education.
At birth, the average size of a baby’s brain is about a quarter of the size of the average adult brain, according to First Things First, an early childhood development program in Arizona.
New Mexicans voted Nov. 6 overwhelmingly (75 percent) in favor of Constitutional Amendment 2, establishing an ethics commission to oversee the foxes in the hen house aka the Roundhouse. That message can’t get much clearer for those representing us in the state legislature.
Voters have two constitutional amendments before them Nov. 6. Constitutional amendments look intimidating and many people’s eyes glaze over as they try to read what each amendment is about.
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