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NM legislature: Vaping legislation in Santa Fe

Lissa Knudsen | January 20

In the next few weeks, New Mexico legislators will consider several changes to the e-cigarette and vaping industry, including establishing a licensure process for retailers and raising the age limit for purchase. These bills come in response to the number of young people who have taken up vaping and the recent epidemic of lung injuries associated with Vitamin E Acetate, an additive in some vaping liquids. The CDC reported 2,602 cases of e-cigarette related lung injuries and 57 deaths related to e-cigarette use as of early January.

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Keller addresses crime in second state of city address

Alyssa Martinez | January 12

Despite the opening licks of a Judas Priest song, Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller’s second State of the City gave off a subdued feel. After introductory jokes about Colorado chile feuds and penguins in the desert subsided, Keller addressed a more sobering topic — crime. Since the start of Keller’s administration, the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) hired 100 new officers. Keller said that for the first time in a decade, APD is “1,000 officer strong.”

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UNM Journalism Department rebuked by professional organizations

Justin Garcia | December 26

Two prominent journalism organizations have rebuked the Department of Communication and Journalism's response to a Daily Lobo records request via the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA). The two statements — one from the New Mexico chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, the other from the Rio Grande chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists — came after department chair David Weiss said he was "disturbed" by what he said was the "use/misuse/abuse of IPRA" by the Daily Lobo in emails exchanged within the department. Those emails were obtained by the Daily Lobo via a records request. The Daily Lobo requested documents associated with the department's student grievance procedure in October 2019.

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UNM student assists Española water clean-up

Makayla Grijalva and Amanda Britt | December 18

University of New Mexico law student Mara Yarbourgh is working to bring environmental justice to the community members of Española, New Mexico and ensuring the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is sticking to their primary goals of protecting human health and the environment. Since giving a dissertation on the North Railroad Avenue Plume (NRAP) superfund site last year, Yarbrough said she realized there is a lack of communication and understanding between the people in Española and what the EPA is doing.

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Benton prevails in runoff: Retains UNM area council seat

Lissa Knudsen | December 11

City Councilor Isaac “Ike” Benton takes the race. With 100% of precinct results reporting, Benton (D-District 2) received 52.2% of the vote in Tuesday's runoff election, while challenger Zack Quintero (D) got 47.8%. The gap between the two candidates was just over 4%. Benton will retain in his seat for another four-year term.

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Justice Department ends three-year oversight of UNM

Justin Garcia | December 10

The U.S. Department of Justice released the University of New Mexico from a three-year oversight, UNM President Garnett Stokes announced in a Board of Regents meeting on Dec. 10 as well as in a letter to all students, staff and faculty. The DOJ formally ended its oversight in a letter dated Dec. 6, 2019. DOJ closed its monitoring of the agreement because they felt UNM had met its requirements of the three-year oversight agreement, according to the letter. “Please note that this determination does not preclude the Department’s investigation of future complaints against UNM, if any,” the letter said.

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UNM adapts to enrollment slide

Amanda Britt and Bianca Hoops | December 8

University of New Mexico student Madelyn Lucas has been a New Student Orientation (NSO) leader for two years. During the last two summers, Lucas would get to main campus early Monday morning and chauffeur dozens of incoming students around UNM until Thursday evening. Lucas said she hasn’t noticed a decline in the hundred or so incoming students she has worked within her two years as an NSO leader; however, in her other job as a student leader of the undergraduate student government, she grapples with it every day. Since the fall semester of 2012, student enrollment has plummeted by one-fifth (21.68%), according to data from UNM’s Office of Institutional Analytics (OIA). The decline is in response to national trends and campus events, according to Provost James Holloway — which has led to budget shortages, departmental scale back and a drastic shift in life for all UNM community members.

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Kayleigh Maes defines college experience though art and friendship

Beatrice Nisoli | December 8

Kayleigh Maes’s passion for her major in Media Arts is the end product of an affinity for film and photography rooted in childhood. Maes’s strong foundation in her degree path is built upon her family’s equally artistic background, and according to Maes, this foundation has reassured her whenever she questions her career plan. “My whole family has been in the film industry since I was little. My dad started out as a graphic designer and then became an art director in film here. So, I grew up going onto set and taking photographs of what I saw,” Maes said, adding that her parents have wholeheartedly supported her selecting a Media Arts route over a film and photography career. In addition to her sturdy personal foundation, Maes maintains an equally secure professional impact in Albuquerque. She plans to continue developing her existing photography business after graduation and continue working at the magazine Perfect Wedding Guide New Mexico.

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Climate strike demands UNM to call state of climate emergency

Amanda Britt and Liz Pritchard | December 7

Students, staff and members of the University of New Mexico community called for the University to declare a state of climate emergency Friday afternoon. University President Garnett Stokes was not in attendance to hear that message. The climate strike included a march from Johnson Field to the outside Stokes' office in Scholes Hall. UNM LEAF — a climate group — and Fight For our Lives led the march in order to present Stokes with a letter demanding a regenerative campus, investing in education on climate change action and the elimination of UNM’s investment in the fossil fuel industry.

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Law students offer legal advice to Española residents with contaminated water

Makayla Grijalva and Amanda Britt | December 5

University of New Mexico law students are assisting Española community members with legal advice as the town faces water contamination through the Environmental Law Clinic. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) initiated a remedy a decade ago but has reported that the fix was inadequate at cleaning the deeper portions of the aquifer, which remain contaminated.

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UNM sexual assault cover-up suit settled

Justin Garcia and Andrew Gunn | December 5

The University of New Mexico settled a civil lawsuit pertaining to the school’s handling of a 2016 rape allegation by a former student. What UNM will pay the plaintiff — or to what degree they will admit fault — remains unclear. The settlement stemmed from a civil lawsuit brought by former UNM student Teriana Bagley, on Jan. 23 this year which alleged: “a campaign of misinformation, intimidation and retaliation (was) being conducted by and through Coach (Bob) Davie and the UNM football program.” UNM declined to provide a statement about the settlement or its terms except to say “the settlement is confidential per state statute.”

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ASUNM plans for NM Legislature

Alyssa Martinez and Alex Hiett | December 4

As 2019 comes to a close and next year’s New Mexico legislative session nears, ASUNM President Adam Biederwolf is preparing to request new capital outlay funds from the Roundhouse, While previous ASUNM President Becka Myers’ capital outlay request has yet to see completion. Last spring, Myers’ administration secured capital outlay from the legislature to fund solar panel installations on the roof of the Student Union Building (SUB). Before the project could start, it was discovered that the SUB roof had extensive weather damage.

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And that's a wrap: ASUNM Senate closes for the semester

Alyssa Martinez and Alex Hiett | November 24

In the culmination of the fall 2019 semester defined by budget concerns, the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico held their final full senate meeting of the semester on Wednesday, Nov. 20. The liveliest debate of the night centered around Resolution 3F, supporting Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s proposed “Opportunity Scholarship.” Senator Matthew Zank decreed the resolution as partisan legislation which would set a “precedent” for politicizing Senate business. He also took issue with the Senate passing a bill that Zank said not all students would agree with.

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UNM to terminate internet service at SFH

Colin Peña | November 20

The University of New Mexico provided internet service at the Student Family Housing (SFH) apartment complex will be terminated in July 2020 — leaving residents to pay for their own internet. SFH is an off campus UNM Resident Life & Student Housing complex of 200 apartments designed specifically for “UNM students, both undergraduate and graduate, with spouses, domestic partners or families,” according to the UNM housing website. According to an internal survey conducted by the SFH community, most of the residents at the SFH are graduate students and are employed by the University as teaching assistants or graduate assistants.

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ART open house shows off new bus system

Justin Garcia | November 20

ABQ RIDE hosted an “Open Bus” for the Albuquerque Rapid Transit bus system on Wednesday, as ART's Nov. 30 launch date nears. On the corner of Cornell Drive and Central Avenue, the event encouraged students and people passing by to familiarize themselves with the controversial city project. “A few months ago, when we were looking at establishing service sometime during the winter before the end of the year, we wanted to bring the bus to folks so that would familiarize themselves,” ABQ RIDE Public Information Officer Rick De Reyes told to the Daily Lobo.

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Nob Hill Flying Star reopens after renovations

Beatrice Nisoli | November 20

The anticipation is over. The Nob Hill Flying Star — the closest Flying Star to campus — has just reopened its doors to hungry and eagerly waiting for Burquenos. After a three-month remodel period, the local establishment is resuming regular business at its location in 3416 Central Ave. SE. The Flying Star originated as a Double Rainbow Ice Cream in the bright age of 1987, and this location operated consistently until Aug. 1 of this year.

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Asbestos found in the Humanities Building

Alyssa Martinez and Lissa Knudsen | November 20

The Humanities building in between the Student Union Building (SUB) and Woodward Hall, and opens out to Smith Plaza, is sometimes overlooked. However, an asbestos alert sent out via email took some students pause and raised questions about transparency and safety of the building. At around 3 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 14, English graduate students were sent an email notifying them that an asbestos abatement team would begin working on the second floor of the building the following day. In the email, Sandy Rodrigue, a department administrator for English Language and Literature, said it was confirmed: “that there is asbestos in the drywall” and that the drywall would need abatement before the previously planned hallway construction could start.

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Crime Briefs: November 21, 2019

Makayla Grijalva | November 20

Editor's Note: The weekly crime briefs are to give the students, faculty and staff at the University of New Mexico a quick look into the crimes reported on campus. They do not provide all perspectives of the incident. All of the information is retrieved through UNM police department incident reports.

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UNM Money-Makers

Makayla Grijalva | November 18

The Executive Vice President and Chancellor for the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center Paul Roth announced his retirement this month, setting an end date to the school's highest-paid employee. In addition to Roth’s other duties, he also wore the hats of the dean of the School of Medicine and chief executive officer of the UNM Health System. According to the UNM sunshine portal, Roth makes a total of $676,127 per year as of 2019 — about 50,000 dollars more than the next highest-paid University employee. The Daily Lobo took a look at the highest annual salaries at UNM and the jobs connected to them.

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New Mexican-grown Capitol Christmas Tree makes way to D.C.

Luisa Pennington | November 18

Cut out of the Carson, the Capitol Hill Christmas tree is currently en route to Washington D.C. According to the Capitol Christmas Tree website, the tradition of the Capitol Christmas tree began in 1964. Each year since, the Capitol architect pairs with the United States Forest Service in order to provide Christmas trees for U.S. Capitol Building’s lawn. Capitol Christmas trees are selected from a variety of states. This year, a little piece of New Mexico will be represented in the country's capital. New Mexico has been awarded this honor only two times before.