KUNM News Update
After more than 50 school districts sued the state and its education secretary over extending the school year to 180 days, a state judge has issued a temporary restraining order. The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the order prevents the Public Education Department from enforcing the rule it passed in March amid pushback from school staff and lawmakers.
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Recent research suggests that gun buybacks don't reduce overall levels of violence, but advocates say that thousands of New Mexicans have brought along guns because they were worried about safety in their homes.
Let's Talk New Mexico
The state Public Education Department recently mandated public schools to operate for 180 days – that’s a 5 day school week. Districts across the state are pushing back with a lawsuit citing lacking funding and transportation, especially in rural areas. Is the mandate overreaching, or, does it fulfill the state’s obligation to students?
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Among Native American communities, people go missing and experience violence at disproportionately high rates. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) - the first Native cabinet secretary - has been working to implement the Not Invisible Act, which she helped pass as a Congresswoman in 2019. A commission traveled round the country hearing testimony from survivors, advocates, law enforcement and tribal leaders. It released a list of recommendations last November, and now the Departments of Justice and Interior have responded.
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Indigenous designers gathered at a glitzy party at the Governor's mansion. They say the appreciation of their work is long overdue.
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Maxeon Solar Technologies' planned factory in Albuquerque was set to break ground in the first quarter of 2024. That is now delayed until at least the second half of the year, as a process of negotiating a federal loan continues.
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Albuquerque City Councilors held their first meeting this week to discuss and hear from constituents about the mayor’s $1.4 billion proposed budget for the next fiscal year. They'll hold another next Thursday following a regular meeting Monday.
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Pro-Palestinian protestors on college campuses have taken up “Disclose and divest” as a rallying cry.The ask is for universities to stop sending money to entities that stand to profit from the war in Gaza, and to make more information about their finances public so it’s clear what those investments are.KUNM’s Megan Myscofski spoke with Ernesto Longa, a University of New Mexico law librarian who is helping to organize faculty and students calling for divestment. He says that there’s precedent at UNM for this.
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