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The 2021 Data Book compiled by the state Human Services Department is a series of snapshots that, when taken together, paint a rather bleak picture of life in the Land of Enchantment.
Many of the problems are long-standing and related to poverty and low levels of education attainment. Our poverty rate of 18.2% was second only to Louisiana and far outstrips the national rate of 12.3%. We lead the nation in the percentage of people receiving Medicaid. Nearly 11% of the state’s children are being raised by grandparents, and nearly 48% of households with children are single-parent households.
Particularly telling – as we, hopefully, emerge from a COVID-19 pandemic that has claimed nearly 4,000 New Mexican lives and that at times stressed our health care system – are the data points on physicians and hospital beds. We have 17.7 general hospital beds per 10,000 population compared with 23.5 n
NEW MEXICO New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham paid out at least $62,500 to settle with a former staffer who accused her of grabbing his crotch in 2018, the Albuquerque Journal first reported.
James Hallinan, a former spokesman for Grisham's campaign, accused her of assaulting him at the home
Energy, Voting Rights Loom In Congressional Special Election - By Morgan Lee Associated Press
Republican congressional nominee and New Mexico state Sen. Mark Moores is staking out a campaign platform based on support for the oil and natural gas industry, robust police funding and taxation issues, ahead of a rapid-fire special election.
The state Republican Party sees the election as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to recapture an Albuquerque-based congressional seat controlled by Democrats including Deb Haaland before her confirmation as secretary of the Interior Department.
Early voting begins May 4 ahead of the June 1 election.
Democratic nominee and state Rep. Melanie Stansbury says she is firmly focused on responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and rebuilding the state economy, including modernizing the energy sector.
Both Lujan Grisham’s office and Armstrong have denied any such event occurred. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham removes her face mask at the start of an update on the COVID-19 outbreak in New Mexico and the State s effort to limit the impact of the disease on residents, during a news conference at the State Capitol on Wednesday. (Eddie Moore/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)
Lujan Grisham and the campaign strenuously deny that there is any merit or truth to Mr. Hallinan’s claims, including his claims about difficulty finding or keeping work after the campaign, campaign spokesman Jared Leopold told the Albuquerque Journal.
Lujan Grisham campaign spokesman Jared Leopold confirmed Tuesday the payments were linked to a settlement to resolve “dubious and disputed” potential claims by Hallinan and avoid the distraction and cost of litigation.
Leopold said in an email that the governor, her campaign organization and a state-employed adviser “deny that there is any merit or truth to Mr. Hallinan’s claims.”
Lujan Grisham spokeswoman Nora Meyers Sackett also says the claims made by Hallinan are false and without merit.
Hallinan has referred recent questions to his attorneys, Kenneth Stalter and Rachel Berlin Benjamin, who say that any differences between Hallinan and the governor have been resolved and that they cannot comment further.