Latest news with #MarisaDemarco
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
NM utility to shut off power to area of East Mountains amid high winds and wildfire risk
Power lines in Barelas, Albuquerque in February 2022 (Photo by Marisa Demarco / Source NM) About 10,000 customers in the East Mountains near Albuquerque should gear up for a power shutoff in anticipation of high winds and wildfire risk, electric utility officials said at a news conference Thursday. High winds are expected throughout the day, particularly in Las Vegas, N.M., Santa Fe and the East Mountains. Gusts could reach 50 mph or higher, according to the National Weather Service. The shutoff would affect all customers in the map below, including schools, officials with the Public Service Company of New Mexico said at a news briefing Thursday. The shutoff will begin at noon Thursday and is scheduled to last until 6 p.m. tomorrow, but conditions could change to shorten or lengthen the amount of time power is out, officials said. PNM officials also said conditions are improving in the East Mountains, but they are going forward with a shutoff as planned for now. 'We are monitoring the system and conditions real time,' said PNM spokesperson Jeff Guell. On Wednesday, the utility put customers in three areas on notice that shutoffs were likely. But the conditions improved in Santa Fe and Las Vegas such that the shutoffs will not occur, at least for now, officials said. Customers can sign up for outage alerts by texting #REG to 78766 from a phone number associated with their account. Then text #ALERT to 78766. Customers should update their contact information at or call us at 888-DIAL-PNM. Customers can report a power outage at or by texting #REG to 78766 and then #OUT to 78766. Customers can view the power outage map at In both areas, officials warned that the power grid would be more 'sensitive' to debris or trees coming into contact with power lines and would not automatically re-energize, as the system does during calmer weather. Instead, lines would be inspected in person before being re-energized, so power outages could be longer than normal. The San Miguel/Mora Electric Cooperative also put customers on alert that it may have to shut off power for its customers in the Las Vegas area, as well. If the shutoff occurs as planned, it would be the first time in PNM's history that it preemptively shutoff power during a weather event, officials said. They cited the increase in extreme weather and other factors as reasons for the unprecedented step. They also said the shutoff is not an attempt to prevent lawsuits if a tree falls on a live power line sparks a wildfire, though utilities have been on the hook for multi-billion-dollar lawsuits elsewhere. In 2013, a series of wildfires in California deemed to have ignited from trees hitting PG&E power lines resulted in a $13 billion lawsuit. PNM is also currently fighting a lawsuit for the McBride Fire in Ruidoso in 2022. Shortly after the fire, lawyers began suing PNM and its contractor, Trees, Inc., ultimately representing hundreds of plaintiffs. The lawsuit alleges that the McBride Fire's cause was a pine tree that blew over onto a power line maintained by the utility. They say PNM and its contractor were negligent in allowing the tree to be tall enough and close enough to the power line to cause a fire on a windy day. PNM previously denied any wrongdoing in a statement to Source New Mexico: 'Public reports have noted a tree spanning approximately 50 feet tall that was outside of our right-of-way had contacted a power line due to unanticipated wind gusts of over 90 miles per hour,' spokesperson Eric Chavez told Source New Mexico. 'PNM proactively employs vegetation management and wildfire mitigation practices that comply with applicable authorities.'
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Two bills to make life easier for renters are headed to NM House floor
An apartment for rent in Albuquerque in September 2021 (Photo by Marisa Demarco / Source NM) Bills that would crack down on rent price-gouging and expunge old eviction records successfully cleared their second committee hearings Tuesday evening and are now headed to the House floor for consideration. House Bill 215, sponsored by Reps. Andrea Romero (D-Santa Fe) and Angelica Romero (D-Las Cruces), prohibits the use of artificial intelligence to manipulate rent prices. The bill seeks to prevent out-of-state companies from using an algorithm to coordinate rent prices, which has been done in other areas with housing shortages. Committee Chair Christine Chandler (D-Los Alamos), in announcing her support of the bill, compared it to the ways airlines use 'dynamic pricing' for tickets to maximize profits in periods of high demand. Bill banning 'source of income' discrimination fails in narrow House committee vote 'It's all in this algorithm. A black box. It's run by a company, and they can help the landlord squeeze out every penny in a profit,' she said. 'I do think we need to start getting a handle on this stuff.' The committee passed the bill, a substitute for an earlier version, on a 6-4 vote. The new version specifies that algorithms used by governments or for research are exempt. Later Tuesday evening, the committee passed another bill that would expunge eviction records for an aspiring tenant after five years. That bill passed 5-4. Sponsors Rep. Janelle Anyanonu (D-Albuquerque) and Rep. Wonda Johnson (D-Church Rock) said the bill is necessary to help renters move past an old eviction and into stable housing. Both bills now head to the House Floor. Another bill, also of interest to renters, would prohibit landlords from refusing to rent to tenants who receive Section 8 or other subsidies. So-called 'source of income discrimination' ordinances have been adopted in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and other cities. House Bill 339, also sponsored by Reps. Rubio and Romero, is on the calendar today at 1:30 p.m. in the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee. It's been introduced for the last several years but tabled.
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
House Judiciary approves two public safety bills over the weekend
Police in Albuquerque in mid-September, 2021. (Photo by Marisa Demarco / Source NM) On Saturday, the New Mexico House Judiciary Committee passed two public safety bills forward in advance of additional proposals in the queue for later this week. House Bill 31 would more severely punish the crime of threatening to shoot people by increasing the attached penalty from a misdemeanor, which carries a maximum possible jail sentence between six months and one year, to a fourth-degree felony, which comes with 18 months in prison. Three years ago, Senate Bill 34 similarly called for this crime to be punished as a fourth-degree felony, but it was amended down to a misdemeanor and included in the omnibus crime package signed into law. House Bill 50 would group together the sentences for four different crimes related to stealing motor vehicles. State law already requires longer prison terms if someone commits one of these crimes on multiple occasions, but HB50 would make subsequent convictions carry greater sentences for having violated any of the four statutes. 'In other words, a first time violator of the one statute would be considered a repeat offender of the larger statutory scheme if they have a prior conviction for a different Article 16D offense,' the Law Offices of the Public Defender explained in its analysis of the bill. 'This may lead to further litigation since an accused person may challenge the legality of an enhanced punishment for 'repeating' conduct they have not actually repeated.' The committee has heard two other bills that lawmakers intend to include in the crime package. The committee is expected to vote on the package on Wednesday. House Bill 4 would give prosecutors more options to involuntarily commit people into a locked psychiatric facility if they are found to be dangerous and unable to stand trial. House Bill 38 would ban devices that can convert semi-automatic firearms into fully automatic ones. The committee is scheduled to hold hearings on House Bill 16, which would increase sentences for trafficking fentanyl, and House Bill 86, which would remove the statute of limitations for prosecuting a human trafficking offense. House Bill 12 is headed to a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives. It would create an alternative process for police officers to ask a judge for an Extreme Risk Firearm Protection Order, if a reporting party isn't available or doesn't want to be involved.
