News

By Nadine Arroyo Rodriguez

Albuquerque, New Mexico – Arizona is doing all it can to save an endangered species from one of Arizona's wildfires. Arizona Department of Game and Fish officials say the leopard frog's habitat could be threatened and their removal from the area is vital to their survival.
Nadine Arroyo Rodriguez reports from Phoenix for the Fronteras Changing America Desk.

By Albuquerque, New Mexico

Patrick Terpstra –
The federal government is about to launch a study with implications for the oil and gas industry in New Mexico. KUNM Capitol reporter Patrick Terpstra is following developments from Washington DC.
 

By Mary Kay Mallonee

Albuquerque, New Mexico – Senate Democrats are pushing to pass an immigration law that would help the children of illegal immigrants go to American colleges. Mary Kay Mallonee reports from Washington on a heated Senate hearing where Republicans pushed back saying the bill is full of dangerous loopholes.
 

By Elaine Baumgartel

Albuquerque, NM – The Espanola Animal Shelter is receiving animal evacuees from the Las Conchas fire and Los Alamos. They are accepting dogs, cats and caged pets from people who have evacuated Los Alamos and surrounding areas. The shelter is serving as a staging area for poultry, horses, donkeys, goats and sheep in small numbers.

The shelter is accepting donations of dry food, non-clumping cat litter, bowls, crates, litter boxes, and towels. Volunteers may be needed for walking, cleaning, and feeding the animals.

By Sarah Gustavus

Los Alamos, NM – The Las Conchas wildfire began yesterday afternoon and has already grown to about 49,000 acres.

Authorities ordered a mandatory evacuation evacuation of Los Alamos. The town is famous for the nearly Los Alamos National Lab, where the atomic bomb was developed during World War II. Nuclear materials are stored on lab property today.

By Laurel Morales

Albuqueruqe, NM – The Wallow Fire has burned more than half a million acres in eastern Arizona. Ongoing research shows as forest fires become larger and more intense they emit more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and cause more global warming.

The Fronteras Changing America Desk's Laurel Morales reports.
 

By Michel Marizco

Albuquerque, NM – The U.S. Forest Service is studying the impact of using air-dropped fire retardant to fight wildfires. On the one hand, the retardants help put out fires like the massive Wallow Fire in southern Arizona. Critics say delivery is risky for pilots and damages the environment.

Michel Marizco reports from the Fronteras Changing America Desk.
 

Mon 7/4 at 930pm: To celebrate Bandone?n Day, we play tango music with more bandoneon instrument than ever, featuring Troilo, Piazzola, Mederos... and more!

Host: Cristina Baccin

Slideshow photo: "Bandone?n I" by William Haenraets

Sat. 7/2 at 7pm: Known for his extraordinary exploration and personalization of the blues, Bibb talks with Art of the Song's Vivian Nesbitt in depth about his creative process, his early influences and his life growing up as a musician in New York and Europe.

Eric Bibb graciously performed for Concerts and Conversations a collaboration with AMP Concerts recorded at the Outpost Jan 18.

The program features tunes recorded at the concert as well as from his CDs.

More about Eric Bibb

By Laurel Morales

Albuquerque, NM – The U-S Fish and Wildlife Service today unveiled its recovery plan for the threatened Mexican Spotted Owl. This comes at a time when the Wallow Fire burning in eastern Arizona has likely destroyed much of the bird's habitat.

Laurel Morales reports from the Fronteras Desk.

By Sarah Gustavus

Albuquerque, NM – Every Friday we talk about business news around the state. Megan Kamerick has a story in today's Business Weekly about a state law that was created to protect people who've had their identities stolen.

KUNM's Sarah Gustavus checked in with Megan about why the law has taken years to be implemented.
 

By Elizabeth Wynne Johnson

Washington, D.C. – It's been said it takes money to make money. But increasingly, it seems you have to have a job to get a job.

KUNM Capitol reporter Elizabeth Wynne Johnson has this story on an emerging form of employment discrimination, and what lawmakers in Washington are trying to do about it.

By Laurel Morales

Cameron, AZ – About 40% of the people who live on the Navajo Nation don't have running water. That's nearly 70,000 people. The tribe has been struggling for decades to get more drinking water.

As Laurel Morales reports from the Fronteras Changing America Desk, the Navajo Nation is now on the verge of an historic agreement that will help them get a share of the Colorado River.
 

By Michel Marizco

Tuscon, AZ – The repercussions of a busted Mexico gun-running sting run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are being felt from the southern border to Washington, D.C. The operation collapsed earlier this year after a federal agent was killed on the Arizona border.

As Michel Marizco from the Fronteras Changing America Desk reports, the blame for the operation may scatter to several federal agencies.
 

Thurs. 6/30 at 9am: During the summer, oboes, violins and flutes can be heard floating on the mountain air of Northern New Mexico. Tune in for a diverse collection of classical pieces recorded live at the Angel Fire Chamber Music Festival.

Wed. 6/29 at 7pm: Everybody knows Patti Littlefield as a jazz singer, but tonight she makes her KUNM debut as a blues singer. Plus, songs about gambling and luck, and a late appearance by local acoustic blues man, Les Cano.

More about Patti Littlefield

By StoryCorps

Albuquerque, NM – One conversation at a time, StoryCorps Historias is collecting the Latino stories and voices of our time.

Arturo Estrada was raised the 8th of eleven children on a farm in Las Animas, Colorado. With only a high school education, he became director of the Council de la Raza, both in New Mexico and Washington, D.C. He offers his advice for a new generation of job seekers and talks about the breakthroughs he witnessed while working with the Farmworkers Movement.

By Laurel Morales

Flagstaff, AZ – Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Monday that he'll extend a temporary ban on any new uranium mining claims surrounding the Grand Canyon National Park. As Laurel Morales reports from the Fronteras Changing America Desk, during the next six months his agency will complete an environmental review and recommend a 20-year moratorium.
 

By Jim Terr

Santa Fe, NM – Two productions in Santa Fe this week - one theater, one documentary. The theater production conveys the tortured life and brilliant work of artist Vincent Van Gogh, and the other is as straightforward a documentary as possible about the Nuremberg trials of the Nazis.

Our reviewer Jim Terr says both productions have interesting twists. Terr is a song satirist, actor and video producer in Santa Fe.
 

By Ruxandra Guidi

San Diego, CA – In response to criticism, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has announced a series of reforms to its Secure Communities program, intended to get rid of immigrants who are dangerous criminals.

From the Fronteras Changing America Desk, Ruxandra Guidi has our story.
 

Sun. 6/26 at 11am: Crypto-Judaism is the secret adherence to Judaism while publicly professing to be of another faith; practitioners are referred to as "crypto-Jews." The term crypto-Jew is also used to describe descendents who maintain some Jewish traditions of their ancestors, often secretly, while publicly adhering to other faiths, most commonly, Catholicism.

Sat. 6/25 at 7pm: Hear Gamelan Encantada - an Albuquerque-based percussion ensemble performing traditional Javanese, contemporary and experimental music.

Slideshow photo: Gamelan Encantada and Friends at the Festival of Asian Cultures, May 2006, at GamelanEncantada.net

By Monica Ortiz Uribe

Carlsbad, NM – Arizona is not the only state overwhelmed by wildfire. New Mexicans began this week with a total of three fires, including the big Wallow fire IN ARIZONA which crossed the state line. Aggravating the fire season this year is a severe drought especially in southern New Mexico.

So far the number of acres burned statewide has already more than doubled the yearly average. From the Fronteras Changing America desk Monica Ortiz Uribe reports that so far New Mexico has done a fair job of managing the blazes.
 

By Ruxandra Guidi

San Diego, CA – Forty years ago today, President Richard Nixon declared a "war on drugs." Today, drug policy represents one of the most contested issues in the U.S. and in Mexico. From the Fronteras Changing America Desk, Ruxandra Guidi has our story.
 

Thurs. 6/23 at Noon: Tune in this week for an interview between Host Mark Weber and accomplished and versatile flutist, James Newton.

James Newton is back in town -- on summer break from his professorial duties at UCLA music department -- he and his wife Jo Ann and daughter Sydney keep a summer home in Corrales, and wish they could stay year round, like the rest of us........

By Diane Schmidt

Albuquerque, NM – As unrest continues in many Middle Eastern countries, some are wondering what the impact will be on the Israel/Palestine conflict. Commentator Diane Schmidt says she's finally ready to participate in the debate. Schmidt is a writer and photojournalist. She lives in Albuquerque.

By Sara Van Note

By Ruxandra Guidi

San Diego, CA – On any given day, there are about 37,000 immigrants in detention throughout the U.S. Before they get deported, many are often transferred to remote jails. From our the Fronteras Changing America Desk, Ruxandra Guidi has our story.

By Editing by Candace Murphy

Albuquerque, NM – One conversation at a time, StoryCorps Historias is collecting the Latino stories and voices of our time.

By Monica Ortiz Uribe

El Paso, TX – The U.S. government has granted asylum to a Mexican human rights activist who claimed she was threatened by the Mexican military. From the Changing America Desk, Monica Ortiz Uribe reports the announcement was made during a bi-national peace march in El Paso.

Correction: Cirpriana Juarado lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico not El Paso, Texas as originally reported in this story.