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.

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.

@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.

@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.

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.

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

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."

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.