Latest news with #GovMichelleLujanGrisham
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Governor appoints federal policy adviser as new state broadband director
Jun. 23—The Governor's Office on Monday announced a new director of the state Office of Broadband Access and Expansion, effective immediately: Jeffrey Lopez. The new leadership comes a month after former Acting Director Drew Lovelace left the office, which is housed within the state Department of Information Technology. A spokesperson for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's office at the time told the Journal the state decided to go in a "different direction" looking for its permanent executive. The Governor's Office also said Lovelace resumed his former duties as operations manager, though Lovelace's LinkedIn indicates he left the office in May. Lujan Grisham in a statement backed Lopez's ability to fulfill the role of director and deliver reliable, high-speed internet around New Mexico, including its rural and tribal communities, which have long struggled with access. Lopez's annual salary is $170,000. "Jeffrey possesses the perfect combination of federal policy knowledge, broadband program prowess and familiarity with New Mexico communities that our state needs to maximize the historic broadband investments underway," Lujan Grisham said. Lopez previously served as senior policy adviser and state staff to U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., who chaired the Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband. The Governor's Office said Lopez also worked on the federal Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Act, from which New Mexico received $675 million to connect households to good internet. But even with the federal grant, the broadband office estimates about 95,000 households in New Mexico are still left without broadband access. Lovelace approached the Legislature this year with a $70 million ask to fill the gap with satellite technology, but wasn't able to secure the funding. Lujan Grisham on Monday also appointed Aquiles "Alex" Trujillo to serve as deputy director for the broadband office, who has decades of experience in broadband and telecommunications. Trujillo will make an annual salary of $160,000.
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
100,000 acres burned by wildfires around Gila National Forest
Jun. 20—In 10 days, two wildfires around the Gila National Forest have burned over 100,000 acres, forced evacuations and spurred Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to sign an executive order declaring an emergency. The blazes, the Buck Fire and Trout Fire, have drawn over 1,596 fire personnel, including roughly 42 New Mexico National Guardsmen and Kirtland Air Force Base airmen, to the southwestern forest to aid in fire suppression. A damage assessment conducted by the Grant County Sheriff's Office and the U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement has determined that two camping trailers and three structures have been damaged by the Trout Fire, north of Silver City, which has burned over 45,000 acres. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Roughly 2,000 people have been forced to evacuate from their homes. Power companies have been working to identify outages and restore service, said Stefan La-Sky, spokesperson for Southwest Incident Management Team 4. For the first time since the Trout Fire ignited on June 10, firefighters have been able to establish a containment line of 11%. "We're very happy about that, and it's a step in the right direction," La-Sky said. "Mother Nature gave us a little help... with southerly winds bringing in some cooler air and some moisture." Southeast of the community of Aragon, the Buck Fire has burned over 57,000 acres in Catron County and was 71% contained as of Friday, according to New Mexico Fire Information. No one has been reported injured, and no structures have been damaged. A red flag warning was issued on Friday, and fire officials are watching the wind through the weekend. As the fires raged on, residents in Ruidoso experienced a flash flood Thursday evening. "We had some low water spots where we had water over the road, but as soon as the water had time to recede, we had crews stationed to remove debris," said Kelly Gladden, public information officer for the village of Ruidoso. "It was lower level, but it was not forecasted at all, so it kind of took us by surprise."
