Searchlight New Mexico
@searchlightnm.bsky.social
NEW: Western New Mexico University's new Board of Regents unanimously voted to void former President Joseph Shepard's $1.9 million severance and 5-year teaching contract
Whether — or how — the school recovers that money remains to be seen.
Whether — or how — the school recovers that money remains to be seen.
WNMU regents ax Joseph Shepard’s severance and teaching contract | Searchlight New Mexico
Unanimously, the newly appointed regents at Western New Mexico University have approved a plan to strike down former President Joseph Shepard’s previously
searchlightnm.org
July 31, 2025 at 8:17 PM
NEW: Western New Mexico University's new Board of Regents unanimously voted to void former President Joseph Shepard's $1.9 million severance and 5-year teaching contract
Whether — or how — the school recovers that money remains to be seen.
Whether — or how — the school recovers that money remains to be seen.
Blandina was known for steering outlaws away from violence, saving a man from lynching and pushing officials to provide health care. She was an immigrant who created a settlement house for immigrants. If the Vatican canonizes her, she’ll be the patron saint of immigrant children.
July 24, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Blandina was known for steering outlaws away from violence, saving a man from lynching and pushing officials to provide health care. She was an immigrant who created a settlement house for immigrants. If the Vatican canonizes her, she’ll be the patron saint of immigrant children.
@searchlightnm.bsky.social's Molly Montgomery did a great job on this story about the campaign to canonize Sister Blandina Segale, a nun who did a lot for New Mexico during its Wild West days. Whether you're a believer or skeptic, there's much to admire in her life. searchlightnm.org/new-mexico-c...
Fact-checking miracles: inside the multiyear effort to canonize Sister Blandina Segale | Searchlight New Mexico
The Vatican may grant sainthood to a nun who knew Billy the Kid, tended the sick, taught children and advocated for immigrants. Making that happen requires a unique blend of faith and boots-on-the-gro...
searchlightnm.org
July 24, 2025 at 7:21 PM
@searchlightnm.bsky.social's Molly Montgomery did a great job on this story about the campaign to canonize Sister Blandina Segale, a nun who did a lot for New Mexico during its Wild West days. Whether you're a believer or skeptic, there's much to admire in her life. searchlightnm.org/new-mexico-c...
For the first time, New Mexico’s downwinders have become eligible for government compensation. But many of them will suffer from Medicaid cuts, even as spending on nuclear weapons skyrockets. That now amounts to 84 percent of Los Alamos National Laboratory’s total annual costs.
July 16, 2025 at 12:35 PM
For the first time, New Mexico’s downwinders have become eligible for government compensation. But many of them will suffer from Medicaid cuts, even as spending on nuclear weapons skyrockets. That now amounts to 84 percent of Los Alamos National Laboratory’s total annual costs.
Today is the 80th anniversary of Trinity. At 1 P.M. Eastern, the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium will dedicate the first permanent public marker to the New Mexicans who died or were made ill by radioactive fallout that nobody told them was coming. searchlightnm.org/trinity-bomb...
“They didn’t want to see us” | Searchlight New Mexico
New Mexican downwinders, receiving financial compensation for the first time, reckon with the ongoing tragedy of the Trinity bomb detonation — and fight to ensure remembrance
searchlightnm.org
July 16, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Today is the 80th anniversary of Trinity. At 1 P.M. Eastern, the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium will dedicate the first permanent public marker to the New Mexicans who died or were made ill by radioactive fallout that nobody told them was coming. searchlightnm.org/trinity-bomb...
Just over a month after the death of Jaydun Garcia at a CYFD facility, another teenager in foster care, 17-year-old Makamy Anderson, took her own life. searchlightnm.org/new-mexico-c...
Another life lost in New Mexico’s foster care system | Searchlight New Mexico
Makamy Anderson’s death is the most recent tragedy to come to light amid a string of deaths of children in the state’s care.
searchlightnm.org
July 10, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Just over a month after the death of Jaydun Garcia at a CYFD facility, another teenager in foster care, 17-year-old Makamy Anderson, took her own life. searchlightnm.org/new-mexico-c...
A new lawsuit in the 2024 fatal police shooting of teenager Elijah Hadley could shed light on a persistent problem in New Mexico: an outsized portion of police violence begins with a welfare check
When a call for help ends in gunfire | Searchlight New Mexico
A new lawsuit in the 2024 fatal police shooting of teenager Elijah Hadley could shed light on a persistent problem in New Mexico: an outsized portion of police violence begins with a welfare check
searchlightnm.org
July 3, 2025 at 3:54 PM
A new lawsuit in the 2024 fatal police shooting of teenager Elijah Hadley could shed light on a persistent problem in New Mexico: an outsized portion of police violence begins with a welfare check
NEW: In a lawsuit quietly filed Friday, the NM State Ethics Commission accuses former WNMU President Joseph Shepard of misappropriating money meant for an ADA-compliant project and spending it instead on a patio for his daughter's wedding reception.
Joseph Shepard sued by the New Mexico State Ethics Commission | Searchlight New Mexico
In addition to staying at five-star resorts, buying luxury furniture and traveling the world on the taxpayers’ dime, former Western New Mexico University
searchlightnm.org
June 28, 2025 at 7:50 PM
NEW: In a lawsuit quietly filed Friday, the NM State Ethics Commission accuses former WNMU President Joseph Shepard of misappropriating money meant for an ADA-compliant project and spending it instead on a patio for his daughter's wedding reception.
New at @searchlightnm.bsky.social: our own Molly Montgomery spoke with @mariahblake.bsky.social, author of “They Poisoned the World,” an important new book about the history and toxic legacy of “forever chemicals.” (Which were an outgrowth of the Manhattan Project.) searchlightnm.org/new-mexico-p...
"They poisoned the world" | Searchlight New Mexico
A new book by New Mexico-born author Mariah Blake explains how a previously unknown Manhattan Project program ushered in the age of toxic “forever chemicals”
searchlightnm.org
June 24, 2025 at 7:21 PM
New at @searchlightnm.bsky.social: our own Molly Montgomery spoke with @mariahblake.bsky.social, author of “They Poisoned the World,” an important new book about the history and toxic legacy of “forever chemicals.” (Which were an outgrowth of the Manhattan Project.) searchlightnm.org/new-mexico-p...
New at @searchlightnm.bsky.social: During its lobbying campaign in the 2025 session, New Mexico Safety Over Profit demanded “corporate transparency” for hospitals. Now the State Ethics Commission is suing the dark money group for violating transparency laws. searchlightnm.org/new-mexico-s...
Bringing dark money to light | Searchlight New Mexico
New Mexico Safety Over Profit successfully fought against medical malpractice reform during the 2025 session. A state commission now says it broke the law.
searchlightnm.org
June 16, 2025 at 7:17 PM
New at @searchlightnm.bsky.social: During its lobbying campaign in the 2025 session, New Mexico Safety Over Profit demanded “corporate transparency” for hospitals. Now the State Ethics Commission is suing the dark money group for violating transparency laws. searchlightnm.org/new-mexico-s...
@searchlightnm.bsky.social enjoyed collaborating with @apnews.com on this important story. Many thanks.
May 29, 2025 at 9:02 PM
@searchlightnm.bsky.social enjoyed collaborating with @apnews.com on this important story. Many thanks.
Natural gas from New Mexico has led to cleaner air for much of the country, and has brought huge amounts of money to the state budget. But students whose schools sit near gas wells are paying a price for those gains.
May 29, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Natural gas from New Mexico has led to cleaner air for much of the country, and has brought huge amounts of money to the state budget. But students whose schools sit near gas wells are paying a price for those gains.
New at @searchlightnm.bsky.social: Fossil fuel revenues bankroll education spending in New Mexico, but schools exposed to industry pollution face environmental risks that can affect children’s health and performance. searchlightnm.org/new-mexico-s...
Is the oil and gas boom harming New Mexico’s students? | Searchlight New Mexico
Fossil fuel revenues bankroll education spending in this state, but schools exposed to industry pollution face environmental risks that can affect children’s health and performance.
searchlightnm.org
May 29, 2025 at 9:01 PM
New at @searchlightnm.bsky.social: Fossil fuel revenues bankroll education spending in New Mexico, but schools exposed to industry pollution face environmental risks that can affect children’s health and performance. searchlightnm.org/new-mexico-s...
@searchlightnm.bsky.social is grateful to our colleagues at @highcountrynews.org for co-publishing this important story. See more of their work at www.hcn.org
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May 22, 2025 at 7:34 PM
@searchlightnm.bsky.social is grateful to our colleagues at @highcountrynews.org for co-publishing this important story. See more of their work at www.hcn.org
Impacts on workers aren’t carefully tracked, and labor laws aren’t consistently enforced. If harm is considered, it’s usually only after a violent accident has occurred. But there’s a slower toll on workers’ mental and long-term health. This is a story about that cost.
May 22, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Impacts on workers aren’t carefully tracked, and labor laws aren’t consistently enforced. If harm is considered, it’s usually only after a violent accident has occurred. But there’s a slower toll on workers’ mental and long-term health. This is a story about that cost.
New Mexico is the second highest oil producing state in the U.S. It’s heavily dependent on the industry: around 40% of the state's general fund comes from oil and gas operations. But state government seems to be doing little to protect the workers who generate this income.
May 22, 2025 at 7:32 PM
New Mexico is the second highest oil producing state in the U.S. It’s heavily dependent on the industry: around 40% of the state's general fund comes from oil and gas operations. But state government seems to be doing little to protect the workers who generate this income.
NEW: The oil & gas industry in New Mexico’s Permian Basin subjects workers to brutal conditions. Molly Montgomery takes an unforgettable look at the lives of men whose jobs lead to death, injury, disease and terrible tolls on mental health and family life. searchlightnm.org/new-mexico-p...
The boots on Buck Jackson Road | Searchlight New Mexico
New Mexico is the second-largest oil producer in the U.S., behind Texas. Drawing immense wealth from the Permian Basin, the state relies on a workforce — often Latino men — who are subjected to harrow...
searchlightnm.org
May 22, 2025 at 7:31 PM
NEW: The oil & gas industry in New Mexico’s Permian Basin subjects workers to brutal conditions. Molly Montgomery takes an unforgettable look at the lives of men whose jobs lead to death, injury, disease and terrible tolls on mental health and family life. searchlightnm.org/new-mexico-p...
Jacob Johns and Malaya Peixinho allege that Rio Arriba County sheriff's deputies left the scene of the anti-Oñate protest in 2023, moments before Martinez shot Johns
The lawsuits have the potential to test the relatively young NM Civil Rights Act, signed into law in 2021
The lawsuits have the potential to test the relatively young NM Civil Rights Act, signed into law in 2021
May 13, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Jacob Johns and Malaya Peixinho allege that Rio Arriba County sheriff's deputies left the scene of the anti-Oñate protest in 2023, moments before Martinez shot Johns
The lawsuits have the potential to test the relatively young NM Civil Rights Act, signed into law in 2021
The lawsuits have the potential to test the relatively young NM Civil Rights Act, signed into law in 2021
A new lawsuit alleges that Rio Arriba County officials violated the civil rights of two protestors by fostering an environment that let Ryan Martinez open fire into an anti-Oñate demonstration in Española in 2023
Protect and serve: Did county officials enable Ryan Martinez’s violent actions at a 2023 protest in Española? | Searchlight New Mexico
Two survivors have filed suit against Rio Arriba County office-holders, alleging that their civil rights were violated when they failed to control dangerous conflicts surrounding the proposed reinstal...
searchlightnm.org
May 13, 2025 at 4:36 PM
A new lawsuit alleges that Rio Arriba County officials violated the civil rights of two protestors by fostering an environment that let Ryan Martinez open fire into an anti-Oñate demonstration in Española in 2023
Meet our new colleague at @searchlightnm.bsky.social, a great young writer from Santa Fe, Molly Montgomery. searchlightnm.org/the-searchli...
The Searchlight team is growing | Searchlight New Mexico
Santa Fe-based Molly Montgomery comes aboard as a full-time reporter covering topics that include land use, the environment and immigration
searchlightnm.org
May 7, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Meet our new colleague at @searchlightnm.bsky.social, a great young writer from Santa Fe, Molly Montgomery. searchlightnm.org/the-searchli...
In an image shared with Searchlight, one employee’s laptop screen displayed a ransomware message. “We have downloaded compromising and sensitive data from your system/network ... If you refuse to communicate with us and we do not come to an agreement, your data will be reviewed and published."
April 25, 2025 at 9:06 PM
In an image shared with Searchlight, one employee’s laptop screen displayed a ransomware message. “We have downloaded compromising and sensitive data from your system/network ... If you refuse to communicate with us and we do not come to an agreement, your data will be reviewed and published."
Publicly, Western New Mexico University has simply said it’s “working through technical issues,” but employees’ computers are displaying threatening messages signed by a notorious group, Qilin, that claims to have access to employee Social Security numbers, driver’s licenses and more.
An infamous group of Russian-linked hackers appears to have launched a crippling cyberattack on WNMU | Searchlight New Mexico
For nearly two weeks, Western New Mexico University’s website and digital systems have been held hostage by what officials in internal emails have called
searchlightnm.org
April 25, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Publicly, Western New Mexico University has simply said it’s “working through technical issues,” but employees’ computers are displaying threatening messages signed by a notorious group, Qilin, that claims to have access to employee Social Security numbers, driver’s licenses and more.
Meanwhile, administration costs at the school jumped from $166,000 to nearly $500,000 between 2021 and 2024. In the spring of 2024, the head of school, Karla Haas Moskowitz, was earning $145,000.
April 24, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Meanwhile, administration costs at the school jumped from $166,000 to nearly $500,000 between 2021 and 2024. In the spring of 2024, the head of school, Karla Haas Moskowitz, was earning $145,000.
One parent complained to the state that the school withheld special education services from her son. Two teachers filed a whistleblower lawsuit, alleging that they had both been retaliated against when they attempted to bring problems with special education to light.
April 24, 2025 at 5:22 PM
One parent complained to the state that the school withheld special education services from her son. Two teachers filed a whistleblower lawsuit, alleging that they had both been retaliated against when they attempted to bring problems with special education to light.
New at @searchlightnm.bsky.social: How did The MASTERS Program, a prominent charter school in Santa Fe, breeze through its renewal process with state officials amid allegations—including a lawsuit—citing serious problems with its performance and leadership? searchlightnm.org/masters-prog...
Accountability goes missing at The MASTERS Program | Searchlight New Mexico
A prominent charter high school in Santa Fe easily earned five-year renewal from the state of New Mexico — despite red flags about its current administration
searchlightnm.org
April 24, 2025 at 5:21 PM
New at @searchlightnm.bsky.social: How did The MASTERS Program, a prominent charter school in Santa Fe, breeze through its renewal process with state officials amid allegations—including a lawsuit—citing serious problems with its performance and leadership? searchlightnm.org/masters-prog...