Multimedia

Candelaria Nature Preserve celebrates four years of restoration

On Jan. 31, the Candelaria Nature Preserve in Albuquerque hosted a tour of its ongoing rewilding project. The public tours are given on the last Friday of every month from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and cover the preserve’s efforts to restore the 90 acres of former farmland in the North Valley, according to the Ciudad Soil & Water Conservation District website. Partnering with the City of Albuquerque Open Space Division, the Ciudad Soil & Water Conservation District provides an annual report on some goals for the Candelaria Nature Preserve, including plans for soil health. The project is in the fourth year of its 20-year span. The 2023 report can be found on its website.

OPINION: Bobbleheads of the week — NFL championship edition

The stage is set as the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs will meet for the second time in the Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 9 after winning their NFC and AFC championship games. On the opposing side, the Washington Commanders and the Buffalo Bills were defeated, in part thanks to these bobbleheads whose performances lost them the shot at the trophy.

ASUNM spring semester opens with quiet full senate meeting

The Associated Students at the University of New Mexico held its first full senate meeting of the spring semester Wednesday, Jan. 29 — though it was hardly full, as many members were absent due to the date coinciding with UNM Day at the New Mexico capitol. The senate’s repeated close calls in pursuit of the required quorum — ⅔ of sitting senate members present — have been discussed previously by ASUNM Vice President Mutazz Jaber. ASUNM’s newest President Pro Tempore, Bailey Rutherford, led the meeting in Jaber’s stead in their official capacity, having been elected at last semester’s final meeting when Sen. Hope Montoya’s term ended.

EPA launches investigation into City of Albuquerque and City Council due to civil rights concerns

On Jan. 17, the Environmental Protection Agency announced an investigation into the City of Albuquerque and the Albuquerque City Council over allegedly discriminating against a South Valley neighborhood by taking action to prevent the adoption of a rule to reduce pollution in the area. The investigation stems from two complaints filed by the Mountain View Coalition and the New Mexico Environmental Law Center. The EPA will investigate complaints alleging that actions taken by the Albuquerque City Council and the Albuquerque Environmental Health Department “discriminated against persons in Albuquerque on the basis of race, color, and national origin, in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,” the EPA’s complaint acceptance letter reads.

Stokes announces UNM rapid response teams after Trump administration actions

One week into President Donald Trump’s administration, University of New Mexico President Garnett Stokes announced the creation of four rapid response teams to address federal changes that could impact UNM. The teams will focus on inclusive excellence, immigration policy implications, research funding impacts and patient care considerations, according to a Jan. 27 campus-wide email. The teams will be composed of the best experts on each topic, guided by Stokes and the University’s three executive vice presidents, according to UNM Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Cinnamon Blair. The UNM Office of Government & Community Relations is helping gather information for UNM at the federal level, Blair said.

Two injured after shooting at Lobo Village

On Friday, Jan. 31, a man shot two residents at Lobo Village and fled the scene with four other people. The victims were taken to the hospital with non-fatal injuries, according to University of New Mexico Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Cinnamon Blair. There has been no new information about the suspects, and witnesses are still being interviewed as of Sunday, Feb. 2, she said. “If anybody has video, was there or has any information that they can share, they should contact UNMPD,” Blair said.

Comic, Feb 3, 2025

UNM community responds to the ceasefire in Gaza

On Jan. 19, a three-stage ceasefire deal was negotiated between Israel and Hamas after 15 months of war in Gaza. Some students, faculty members and staff members say the pressure on the University of New Mexico to divest from Israel will not slow down. The first stage of the deal will allow greater humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza strip, Hamas’ release of 33 hostages in exchange for the release of hundreds of imprisoned Palestinians, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from populated areas and displaced Palestinians to return to their homes, according to The Associated Press.

City Council passes housing reform ordinances

On Jan. 6, the Albuquerque City Council approved two ordinances targeted at improving housing availability through home development and reducing the amount of vacant property Downtown. The first bill, O-24-69, amended the existing Integrated Development Ordinance to allow for the development of multifamily homes in areas that are within a quarter-mile of Main Street and Premium Transit Station (ART) areas. The bill was sponsored by Council President Dan Lewis and Councilor Joaquín Baca, and passed by a vote of 7-2. The bill also made changes to the appeal process against city projects. To file an appeal opposing a city project, a majority of property owners or tenants who live within 660 feet of the project site must now sign a petition in support of the appeal.

Guild Cinema February preview

The following are a few of the films of note that will be shown at Albuquerque’s Guild Cinema in February. From Feb. 4-6 at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., the Guild will screen “From Ground Zero: Stories from Gaza.” The film gathers work from 22 different Palestinian filmmakers, documenting their experiences living through the 2023 Israel-Hamas war. “From Ground Zero” was Palestine’s submission for the 2025 Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, making the category’s shortlist in December 2024, but failing to receive an Oscar nod when nominations were announced in January.

Roadrunner Foodbank ‘Souper Bowl’ warms hearts and stomachs

Ladles clashed, steam rose and flavors battled for supremacy at this year’s Souper Bowl, a competition and fundraiser hosted by the Roadrunner Food Bank. With rich broths, bold spices and secret recipes on the line, the competition was fierce — but only one soup reigned supreme. The Old Town Catering Company, a local Albuquerque favorite, dominated the Bowl, winning first place for People’s Choice Soup, first place for Critics’ Choice Soup and third place for People’s Choice Vegetarian Soup. The team’s chef and owner, Mike Tafoya, credited the victory to serving soups that are distinctly New Mexican.

Men’s basketball: Lobos silence Aggies

On Saturday, Feb. 1, the Lobos took the top spot in the Mountain West standings. The game was fueled by a dominant second half against the Utah State Aggies in Logan, Utah, winning 82-63. While neither team shot especially well in the first half, the Lobos were able to find the bottom of the basket with efficiency in the second half while the Aggies’ percentages steadily declined. Despite struggling to make 3-pointers in the first half, making only 1-9, their outside shooting was what won the Lobos the game. They finished 7-22 and 6-13 in the second half from behind the arc.

REVIEW: James Gunn’s “Creature Commandos” brings new life to comic book media

In December 2024, Max released a new DC animated series, “Creature Commandos,” directed by James Gunn. The series is a sequel to Gunn’s 2022 series “Peacemaker” and his 2021 film “The Suicide Squad.” The Suicide Squad, in all its iterations, is a group of high-powered yet apprehended supervillains who assemble to take on high-stakes, covert missions in exchange for time off of their prison sentences. The team is led by Amanda Waller, who implants bombs in the brains of the team members that will detonate if they disobey. In “Creature Commandos,” Waller is no longer allowed to put bombs in human brains or force them to go on dangerous missions. However, nothing prevents her from using nonhuman entities.

‘Swiftie-nomics’: First Lobo Living Room of the year

On Thursday, Jan. 30, the University of New Mexico Alumni hosted 2025’s first Lobo Living Room — a series of events that will showcase distinguished UNM alums engaging in discussions, demonstrations and performances related to their fields of expertise. The first event, called “Swiftie-nomics: The art, industry, and influence of Taylor Swift,” was held in George Pearl Hall.

The Guild gets to the meat of the matter with ‘The Jungle’

On Jan. 23, Albuquerque’s Guild Cinema hosted a showing of Matt Wechsler’s new documentary, “The Jungle,” which dives into the problems with and history of the modern meat industry. The title comes from Upton Sinclair’s 1906 novel, which first exposed corruption and contamination in the meat industry. The free screening was put on by the New Mexico chapter of Food & Water Watch, an organization that pushes for policies to help curb climate change.

OPINION: An ode to David Lynch — and Laura Palmer

When I heard that David Lynch died, I simply froze, mouth agape, and stared at the wall for upwards of ten minutes. Obviously he was getting older, and he’d made his battle with emphysema — a chronic lung disease — public in 2024 but he was somebody I imagined would always be with us. I’m hard-pressed to think of another filmmaker of the past 50 years as influential on both the medium as a whole and specific aesthetic and narrative techniques as Lynch. He has quite literally changed how people both view and make movies. The word “Lynchian” has become commonplace in promotional material and reviews for films with the slightest modicum of surrealism, to the point where the term is devoid of meaning.

LETTER: A call to action — engage with textbook affordability

Dear Editor, I am the Open Educational Resources Librarian at the University of New Mexico, and I am also the principal investigator on a Department of Education grant that awarded UNM nearly $2.125 million to create an OER consortium in New Mexico. One focus of my work is to save students money on textbooks. UNM has scheduled a virtual Town Hall Meeting from 2-3 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 30 to discuss the fall 2025 implementation of a flat-rate automatic textbook billing program for undergraduate students. I urge all faculty and administrators to learn more about this program.

Comic, Jan. 27, 2025

Small bird, big energy: UNM research could help with land conservation causes

Research from the University of New Mexico biology department could help show how climate and land use change might affect hummingbirds that migrate through New Mexico. Authored by Shayne Halter, Blair Wolf and Carlos Martinez del Rio, the Jan. 15 study looked at why hummingbirds use torpor — a hibernation-like state. Hummingbirds usually go into torpor at night when it is colder, and this can help them survive, Halter said. “They live at a sort of metabolic knife edge where if they don’t get enough food, they don’t get enough energy day to day, they don’t survive,” Halter said. “They have certain mechanisms they can use to ensure they make it, especially when they migrate.”

OPINION: 2025 NFL mock draft — Top five picks

As collegiate athletes climb their way into the draft, here are five players who I think could be in the first round for their talent. 5. Jacksonville Jaguars: defensive tackle Mason Graham The Jacksonville Jaguars have the fifth overall pick of the NFL season after a disappointing 4-13 finish. With trouble on the defensive line, the Jaguars should draft defensive tackle Mason Graham from the University of Michigan to patch up holes in the defense. The 6-foot-3-inch, 320-pound player had 3 ½ sacks and 46 total tackles this season, making him a solid pick for the Jaguars.