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New Mexico

The Battle Of Socorro, New Mexico And Uprising Against AI Data Centers

If there is any place on the map that captures the depth of the global revolt over AI data centers, it might well be little Socorro County, New Mexico. Located astride the Rio Grande and almost smack dab in the center of New Mexico, at first glance, rural Socorro County seems an unlikely center for the rebellion. But at a May town hall, matters of environment and climate change, gaping economic inequality and creeping oligarchy, local land use, legacies of the nuclear weapons age and space exploration, democratic governance and transparency, and then some all boiled over in a lively, memorable meeting fit for the history books.

New Mexico Becomes The Latest State To End Cooperation With ICE

Grassroots coalitions in a growing number of states are working to pass legislation to cut municipal or state ties to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The efforts are gaining momentum as the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda throws long-standing problems with the nation’s immigration regime into sharp relief. “We see a tremendous upswelling of this type of legislation being proposed in different states across the country,” Rebecca Sheff, a staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, told Truthout.

Secretive New Mexico Data Center Plan Races Forward

At the very Southeastern tip of New Mexico bordering Texas and Mexico, a new artificial intelligence (AI) data center is gearing up to be a greenhouse gas and air pollution behemoth, an additional water user in a drought-afflicted region, and a sower of community discontent. Project Jupiter is one of five sites in the $500 billion Stargate Project, a national pipeline of massive AI systems linked with OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank. “Health is my biggest concern. I’m worried about the air pollution, the ozone, and the buzzing noise,” local resident José Saldaña Jr., 45, told Truthout.

Santa Fe’s Plan For A Real Minimum Wage Offers Lessons For California

California has in recent years turned up its effort to establish minimum wages that allow workers to afford life in the Golden State. But the most daring experiment may well be coming not from particularly high-cost Los Angeles or San Francisco, but from a couple of states east. On Nov. 13, the City Council in Santa Fe, New Mexico, voted to integrate the cost of housing in its calculation of the citywide minimum wage going forward. According to the UC Berkeley Labor Center, this marks the first time in the U.S. that a city has factored local housing costs directly into setting its minimum.

Childcare Can Be Free And Universal

I was drawn to the childcare profession because of my love for children. I just love seeing their smiling, hopeful faces, watching them grow and learn, and welcoming the trust and love they bring to us every day. At the same time, working in this field can be challenging. Babies and young children require a great deal of love and care, informed by expertise in early childhood development. Low pay is challenging for providers, and high costs are challenging for families. But some states are looking for answers — and I believe mine has found one. New Mexico is now expanding its free, high-quality child care program so that all families can access it. It’s the first of its kind in the nation — and I hope other states will follow.

In Albuquerque, Developers Turn Old Motels Into Affordable Housing

As a housing crisis pummels the West, from Sun Valley, Idaho, to Tucson, Arizona, there’s a dull irony in the number of abandoned houses and old hotels. Some of them cluster around former mining boomtowns; Bannack, Montana, for instance, was briefly the state’s capital before the veins of gold ran dry and the 10,000 residents moved on. Today, some 60 buildings still stand, including the handsome red-brick Hotel Meade. Two Guns, Arizona, once served Dust Bowl migrants and other travelers along Route 66, but when the interstate highway passed it by, the town collapsed. Today, its ruins include homes and motels as well as campgrounds for travelers and the remnants of a zoo that once housed mountain lions and Gila monsters.

What Free Transit Looks Like In Albuquerque, Nearly Two Years Later

Sabina Wohlmuth’s days used to include long, hot walks across the city of Albuquerque, sometimes two or three miles at a time. Wohlmuth relies on the bus, but when she was short on cash, she walked instead of paying the fare. “It was only a dollar for a one-way trip, but still, if you’re homeless and you’re poor that’s a lot of money,” Wohlmuth says. Wohlmuth now takes the bus every day, to her job at McDonald’s, to the store, and to the sober living facility where she stays. And each of those bus trips cost Wohlmuth zero dollars.

Human Blockaders Shut Down Holloman Air Force Base

Alamogordo, NM - Holloman (Drone Training) AFB -  Anti-drone activists from across the U.S. shut down the West Gate entrance here at Holloman AFB early Wednesday morning – with one arrest - for nearly an hour in the 3rd annual "week of resistance" to the covert U.S. Drone Warfare Program.  Activists donned signs with names and ages of young Gazan children's killed, and blocked traffic while chanting “15 thousand children killed in Gaza. No drones for genocide.” One protester, Toby Blomé, was arrested after lying down on pavement in front of a stalled car when military police threatened to arrest her.

The New Mexico Mom Growing Political Power From A Community Garden

Alamogordo is a working-class town. Because of its proximity to three military bases, lots of veterans live here. Like many places in New Mexico, housing costs have skyrocketed and rent is taking up a bigger portion of locals’ paychecks, making family’s food purchases—and particularly the quality of food—dwindle. As a result, 16.5% of Otero County’s population is food insecure, higher than both the state and national averages. In the county, 19% of residents live below the poverty line, including 28% of those under age 18 and 13% of those 65 or older. Food is often the first thing a family skimps on when facing tough budgets; you can’t pay half the light bill, but you can cut back on groceries.

America’s Nuclear ‘Downwinders’ Deserve Justice

It’s been nearly 80 years since the first atomic bomb was tested in New Mexico. Communities have been reeling ever since. For generations, Americans who live “downwind” of nuclear testing and development sites have suffered deadly health complications. And this summer, funding for the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) expired, putting their hard-earned compensation at risk. Coming alongside sky-high spending on nuclear weapons development, this lapse is an outrage. Funding for these communities, which span much of the country, should be not only restored but expanded. Alongside New Mexicans, people in Nevada, Idaho, Arizona, Utah, and beyond have suffered health complications from nuclear testing in Nevada. And fallout from decades of tests ravaged the Marshall Islands, which were occupied by the U.S. after World War II.

2023, A Year Of Progress: Expanding Voting Rights Across The Country

This year, thanks to the tireless efforts of dedicated advocates and organizations, we’re witnessing a remarkable shift in the political landscape when it comes to expanding and protecting the right to vote for justice-impacted people. Advocacy Based on Lived Experience (ABLE) – an organization dedicated to working to engage people in the democratic process – held several community events across Kentucky, allowing attendees and lawmakers to hold discussions on pertinent issues in their communities, regardless of their political affiliation. Participants frequently discussed state legislation that would restore the right to vote to over 160,000 Kentuckians who are disenfranchised due to their history with the criminal legal system.

The Transit Equity Movement Wins Biggest Zero Fare Victory Yet

Albuquerque, New Mexico - It’s happening: The city of Albuquerque is permanently eliminating public bus fares, becoming the largest U.S. city to embrace this critical step toward racial and economic equity. A coalition headed by Together for Brothers — a community organizing and power-building group led by and for young men of color — made the victory possible. In an interview with Inequality.org, the group’s Co-Founder and Executive Director, Christopher Ramirez, explained that it all started in 2017 when Together for Brothers applied for a Health Impact Assessment grant. “When we were applying for the grant, we had a couple sessions with the young men of color we were working with,” Ramirez said.

Wells Fargo Workers At Two Branches Move To Unionize

Wells Fargo employees at two of the bank’s branches filed for union elections on Monday, laying the groundwork for potential unionization in an industry that has largely been immune to such labor campaigns. In a petition to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), bankers and tellers at Wells Fargo branches in Albuquerque, New Mexico and Bethel, Alaska declared their intent to join the Communications Workers of America’s Wells Fargo Workers United (WFWU). Labor action in the United States has picked up pace this year, with unions confronting companies across industries like automotive, entertainment and aerospace.

On Indigenous Peoples Day, Unity And Justice In The Wake Of A Hate Crime

Albuquerque, NM –  Marking Indigenous Peoples Day, Indigenous groups and supporters are calling for unity and justice for Jacob Johns, an Indigenous activist from Spokane, WA, who was shot and gravely wounded by a domestic terrorist at a peaceful prayer ceremony on September 28, 2023, in Española, New Mexico.  “This is a hate crime,” said Johns’ attorney John Day. “It needs to be recognized and prosecuted as such. Jacob’s heroism in protecting the lives of innocent people, including children, is important in itself, but there’s an even larger principle at stake here: we cannot afford to minimize or normalize targeting lawful, peaceful assembly of people with violent crime because they belong to a different group.

Show Support For Activist Shot In Hate Crime

Many in our Backbone community know Jacob Johns, climate activist, artist, dad. Jacob was shot on Friday by someone wearing a red MAGA hat, while at a prayerful rally, celebrating the postponing of resurrecting a conquistador monument in New Mexico. After being airlifted to the hospital, he had emergency surgery last night to assess the damage; his spleen, liver and diaphragm were damaged, and his spleen had to be removed. He has another surgery scheduled for tomorrow. He is intubated, heavily sedated and will be in the ICU for a few days. He will likely be in the hospital for 1-2 weeks. His mother, brother, and daughter fly in tomorrow. All of his vitals are good, which is extremely good news!
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