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NM Supreme Court pauses key elements of Project Jupiter development

Penelope Loyd Sment | September 2

On Sunday, Aug. 23, the New Mexico Supreme Court paused two key elements of Project Jupiter — the hyperscale AI datacenter being constructed in Doña Ana County — after non-profit New Energy Economy and the Center for Biological Diversity filed emergency petitions, challenging the constitutionality of the project’s air permit hearing and the approval of well drilling, respectively. The court decided to stay emergency drilling of a well intended to supply the data center, as well as the air quality permit proceedings that have evoked public discontent for allegedly being unfairly expedited. The court has set a response date of Sept. 2 for the agencies involved to present evidence and legal arguments.

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Dry conditions leave bears hungry, vulnerable to euthanasia

Leila Chapa and Paloma Chapa | August 31

As the state’s drought conditions become increasingly severe, bears have turned towards humans to find sustenance, with this decision often resulting in their death, experts say. Due to low availability of food, bear activity has increased in areas where people reside, Natasha Montoya, a spokesperson for New Mexico Department of Wildlife wrote in a statement to the Daily Lobo. “Once a bear becomes accustomed to humans providing an easy food source, they can become habituated and may return to the same areas,” Montoya wrote. “When they become habituated in this way, humans and pets are put in danger and bears are put in a situation where they must either be relocated or euthanized.”

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Flood control authority accused of burying wildlife during drainage operation

Max Ulz | August 31

Employees from the Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority were accused of burying animals alive at a site along the Rio Grande this week in a Facebook post by a page belonging to the Volunteers of the Valencia County Animal Shelter. Witnesses Angela Shomin and Brittany Walters say they encountered AMAFCA workers pumping the La Orilla Outlet Water Quality Structure dry and filling it with dirt on Tuesday, suffocating the animals that called the basin home, according to the post. On Wednesday morning, volunteers came to the site with nets and buckets to catch any wildlife left in the basin.

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NM’s student newspapers adapt to changing local news landscape, decreased revenue

Paloma Chapa | August 31

A February 2026 article published by the Student Press Law Center this year described U.S student news outlets to be “cash starved and censored.” But despite the changes and challenges student newspapers are facing at the local and national level, current and former student journalists say they continue to see the value of their beloved college newspapers. Former Daily Lobo Editor-in-Chief Lily Alexander, who is now State Accountability Reporter with the Santa Fe New Mexican, said that in places like New Mexico especially, where there are “a lot of news deserts,” student newspapers can be the only source of news about what is impacting a campus community.

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Prominent Palestinian pop singer to perform at Popejoy Hall

Leila Chapa | August 31

Mohammed Assaf, a Palestinian pop singer known for winning the second season of “Arab Idol”, a television competition show, will be bringing a taste of Palestinian music and culture to Albuquerque in a live performance on Sept. 6 at Popejoy Hall. As the ongoing war in Gaza continues to make headlines overwhelmed by a sense of hopelessness, music can bring people together, preserve cultural identity and celebrate perseverance, Albuquerque Palestinian-American activist Samia Assed told the Daily Lobo. Assed and her son Mohammed Jaber, a UNM alum, helped organize the performance through their family’s business, Zahriah Events.

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‘250 years of survival’: UNM alum debuts new mural at Albuquerque Museum

Elliott Wood | August 24

The first thing that hits you about Eric Garcia’s new mural in the Albuquerque Museum, “Since 1776…”, is the sheer size of it. “I wanted to first play with the architecture,” Garcia said on Thursday during the ceremony devoted to him, his team and the mural itself. “I wanted to do something that no one had done before. I wanted to go bigger.” Garcia, a Daily Lobo and University of New Mexico alum, opened the exhibition this month as part of the Frederick Hammersley Visiting Artist Program to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the United States of America’s founding.

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What New Mexicans should know as nationwide foodborne illness outbreaks surge

Leila Chapa and Paloma Chapa | August 24

If you have been nervous about the food you’re eating lately, you are not alone. Eggs, blueberries, jalapenos and alfalfa sprouts are among the growing list of foods that have made national headlines recently for being recalled for salmonella, E. coli and other forms of contamination, as the cyclospora outbreak in lettuce continues to chart its own path. Last week, eggs were updated to the Class I contamination level by the Food & Drug Administration, which warns of a “reasonable probability that the use of or exposure to a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.” The update was issued to six distribution states, including New Mexico.

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Protesters rally at NMED office over Project Jupiter air quality permit, secrecy

Penelope Loyd Sment | August 24

On Friday, Aug. 21, over 100 protesters gathered outside the New Mexico Environment Department building in Santa Fe, urging NMED not to approve the air quality permit application for Project Jupiter, which would allow the construction of two power-generation microgrids needed to create 2.45 gigawatts of electricity for AI infrastructure. Members of Youth United for Climate Crisis Action led the demonstration, during which residents from across New Mexico came carrying signs with phrases such as “Our children can’t drink data,” “Water is for living beings, not for Project Jupiter” and chanting “We need clean air, not another billionaire.”

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Keller introduces ‘abundance agenda’ during ninth ‘State of the City’ address

Elliott Wood | August 17

Mayor of Albuquerque Tim Keller sought to foster a new “abundance agenda” during his ninth State of the City address on Saturday, highlighted by multiple policy announcements he said were meant to grow the city government’s role in “reducing the pain of everyday life” for Albuquerque residents. Among the new policies was a new “say yes first” approach to certain types of permitting requests, offering up unused city properties and lengthening the operating hours of others. Keller also announced a “backyard exchange” stocked by homegrown goods and produce volunteered by city residents and an expansion of mental health and drug treatment programs.

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Albuquerque sees record consecutive triple-digit temperatures for August

Leila Chapa and Paloma Chapa | August 17

Earlier this month, Albuquerque reached a record of three consecutive days of triple digit temperatures, along with record high temperatures for August, with August 3 and 4 reaching 101 degrees, and August 9 reaching 100 degrees, according to a National Weather Service Albuquerque statement sent to the Daily Lobo. Three consecutive days of triple digit temperatures for August is a record, according to the statement. Temperatures are recorded at the Albuquerque Sunport, which is the official observation site.

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Project Jupiter: where the AI data center project stands in NM

Penelope Loyd Sment | August 17

The proposed hyperscale AI data center Project Jupiter has sparked controversy across New Mexico since it was first announced in February 2025. The massive endeavour that was approved 4-1 by the Doña Ana Board of County Commissioners in September 2025 is projected to cover 1,400 acres in Santa Teresa and emit more greenhouse gases than Albuquerque and Las Cruces combined, according to Source NM. Stack and BorderPlex Digital Assets are constructing and developing the project, with an estimated price tag of $165 billion. It is actively under construction, but facing legal obstacles after being denied permission to build the “robust natural gas pipeline” needed for the project by Commissioner of Public Lands Stephanie Garcia Richard and an active investigation by the NM Department of Justice for fraudulent public comment submissions.

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Frijoles Fire prompts health alerts and evacuation orders

Leila Chapa | August 11

The Frijoles Fire burning north of Santa Fe has grown to cover over 3000 acres in the Pecos Wilderness area and remains 0 percent contained, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The fire originated from a lightning strike on August 4 and has expanded at a rate of hundreds of acres per day. Santa Fe County issued a mandatory evacuation order on Monday evening, placing residents on Camino de Cañon Street in Cundiyó under “GO status,” meaning residents should evacuate immediately with an emergency supply kit, according to a Santa Fe County press release. Santa Fe County Communications Coordinator Shawna Graves shared an update on the fire’s status with the Daily Lobo after the evacuation order went into effect.

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Blackstone acquisition of PNM faces opposition, gains labor union support

Leila Chapa and Paloma Chapa | August 10

During a July 28 Public Regulation Commission hearing regarding Blackstone’s acquisition of PNM, New Mexico residents filled the UNM Student Union Building ballroom and staged a “mic check” protest, calling the 6-hour hearing a “mockery of the democratic process.” The PRC determined in June that TXNM — PNM’s parent company — and the private equity firm Blackstone violated state law in 2025 when they conducted a $400 million stock sale connected to the acquisition, according to Source NM.

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Religious leaders address anti-Islamic rhetoric after attack at North Valley church

Leila Chapa and Paloma Chapa | August 7

Leaders from multiple faiths gathered for a press conference on July 29 at the St. Therese of the Infant Jesus Catholic Church to address recent attacks toward the church’s pastor, Father Vincent Paul Chavez, who had previously shown his public support for a proposed mosque in Albuquerque’s North Valley.

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What New Mexicans should know about nationwide lettuce parasite

Paloma Chapa | July 24

The phrase “explosive diarrhea” has recently been making national headlines since the cyclospora parasite outbreak began in May, with no confirmed link to any one specific food or supplier. The parasite causes a corresponding gastrointestinal disease, cyclosporiasis, which has seen an increase in cases since the cyclospora surveillance period began on May 1, with 4,173 confirmed cases and 308 hospitalizations across 41 states, according to July 20 data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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School of Law Dean Camille Carey to serve second term

Paloma Chapa | July 12

On Monday, July 6, University of New Mexico Provost Barbara Rodriguez announced the reappointment of School of Law Dean Camille Carey, who will be serving her second term as dean of the school. Carey’s current term will conclude on June 30, 2027, and her second term will last for three years, beginning July 1, 2027, and ending on June 30, 2030, according to a statement from Rodriquez.

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Zimmerman Library to host new local coffee spot as Starbucks departs for SUB

Leila Chapa | July 11

The coffee scene on campus will be seeing major changes this fall as Starbucks — which has lived in Zimmerman Library for over 10 years — will be moving to the Student Union Building, and a new local coffee spot, named Cà Phê Culture, will be opening its doors in its place.

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Governor, DEA demand investigations amid claims federal agency allowed fentanyl trafficking

Elliott Wood | June 26

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has asked Attorney General Raúl Torrez to investigate allegations by a former Drug Enforcement Agency agent that the DEA allowed tens of thousands of fentanyl pills to be trafficked into New Mexico in the name of tracing the drugs’ path to make more major arrests from 2023 to 2025, according to a statement the govorner released on Wednesday, June 24. “If the justification for letting these pills flood our communities was that it would somehow make New Mexico safer down the road through bigger eventual busts, the results say otherwise,” the governor’s statement reads.

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UNM Law community continues push for new dean over multiple concerns

Paloma Chapa | June 23

The University of New Mexico School of Law community is continuing to call for new leadership at the school after pressure for such change peaked this spring when students, faculty and alumni sent letters to UNM leadership, urging them to not recommend the renewal of Dean Camille Carey’s contract. During a press conference at the UNM School of Law on June 22, alumni spoke about their concerns, including admissions being primarily based on LSAT scores, low numbers of New Mexican and Indigenous students, inability to retain law school faculty and loss of confidence in the school's ability to support students with multiple grievances. The press conference was held to “demand Provost Barbara Rodriguez reject UNM School of Law Dean Camille Carey's contract renewal,” according to a press release from a representative for the Center for Civic Policy in Albuquerque.

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50 years of Pride tradition, legacy and community in Albuquerque

Lexis Lovato | June 22

Albuquerque kicked off Pride Month with a double event on Saturday, June 13, starting with a morning parade in Nob Hill followed by Pride Fest at Civic Plaza, marking a 50-year legacy of celebrating Pride annually in the city. Starting at 10 a.m. and lasting two hours, an intergenerational crowd of around a few thousand people gathered along Central Avenue between Wellesley Drive and San Mateo Boulevard and cheered on the several parade floats representing local businesses, organizations, schools and community members.