State Economists Forecast Record Revenue for New Mexico

State economists yesterday told New Mexico legislators the state has the highest general fund revenue forecast in its history, with $3.48 billion in “new money”—a 3.5% increase in recurring revenue for fiscal year 2025. “New Mexico’s energy companies have continued to expand production rates and enhance well productivity, consistently breaking monthly production records,” the forecast says. The record production has “elevated severance tax and federal royalty payments,” and account for “a significant portion of the general fund’s growth forecast for FY23 and FY24,” the report says, 62% and two-thirds of growth, respectively. Retail trade and construction are also contributing to strong gross receipt tax collections, economists say, and consumer spending is expected to continue growing into Fiscal Year 2024. “Even with this favorable position of unprecedented revenue growth, we still need to maintain fiscal responsibility as we determine the optimal use of these funds,” Finance Secretary Wayne Propst said in a statement. “There’s plenty of money both in revenue and reserves that we need to consider as we start building the budget for the 2024 Session.” As the Albuquerque Journal notes, the state’s positive economic outlook contrasts sharply with the bleak financial position faced in 2016 and 2017 following an oil crash. At present, New Mexico’s fortunes remained closely tied to oil and gas production, with the current report noting that of the total activity resulting in GRT revenue growth, more than 55% is occurring in Eddy and Lea counties, driven by activity in the Permian Basin. “As GRT revenue grows from the industry, the risk of losses that would result from an oil and gas industry bust grows as well,” the report says.

Chief District Judge Bryan Biedscheid ruled yesterday a civil lawsuit against Rust actor and producer Alec Baldwin and other producers can proceed. Biedscheid also declined to delay proceedings, the Associated Press reports, even though Baldwin’s lawyers argued not doing so puts their client at risk of self-incrimination as the state decides whether or not to refile criminal charges against Baldwin regarding the Oct. 2021 fatal shooting of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Prosecutors dropped charges against Baldwin in April; however, a new forensics analysis says Baldwin must have pulled the trigger on the gun—a finding that jibes with prior FBI conclusions. One of the prosecutors on the case, Kari T. Morrissey, has not yet said whether the state will refile charges. The civil lawsuit against Baldwin from three Rust crew members accuses Baldwin and other producers of endangering their lives by failing to heed safety protocols, among other “negligent and reckless conduct.” Meanwhile, former Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who faces involuntary manslaughter charges for the fatal shooting, is scheduled for trial in February.

The largest number of health workers in history have received student debt relief through the state’s Heath Loan Repayment Program, the state’s Higher Education Department announced yesterday: 724 New Mexico health care professionals will receive $14.6 million in student debt relief as a condition of maintaining a three-year commitment to working in high-need communities across the state, versus 44 who received debt relief last year. The surge follows a $13 million increase to the program this year, a news release says. “For many years, the New Mexico Higher Education Department has had a greater number of applicants for our Health Professional Loan Repayment Program than available funding could support,” Higher Education Secretary Stephanie M. Rodriguez says in a statement, “but with this year’s funding, we can finally meet the needs that exist across our state.” This year’s recipients include 335 nurses, 159 mental health professionals, 84 medical doctors, 79 nurse practitioners, 62 allied health practitioners and five dental professionals with an average debt load of $75,000. For example, Kiana Cateriano, a psychotherapist at Solace Sexual Assault Services in Santa Fe, had $52,000 in debt, $51,000 of which will be forgiven through the program over the next three years. “This program makes public service work more attractive and will go a long way toward filing the needs in New Mexico,” Cateriano said in a statement. “I wasn’t eligible for mortgage assistance because of my debt load, but now I plan to move forward toward buying a home, which is something I didn’t foresee being possible for myself.” For more information about financial aid programs at the New Mexico Higher Education Department, visit hed.nm.gov.

Veterans’ Services Secretary Donnie Quintana will step down effective Friday, Sept. 1, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced yesterday, after just eight months in the position. Quintana replaced former Secretary Sonya Smith, who stepped down in November of 2022 after approximately two years in the position. “I appreciate Secretary Quintana’s work in his time at the Department of Veterans’ Services, and also his decision to step aside to allow for new leadership to accelerate the work of the agency,” the governor said in a statement. “I am looking forward to launching a broad search for the next leader of the Department, who must deliver on that mission for the men and women who served our state and country.” Brig. Gen. Jamison Herrera, the Deputy Adjutant General of the New Mexico National Guard, will serve as acting secretary until a permanent replacement is named. By the Albuquerque Journal’s count, Quintana will be the tenth secretary to leave Lujan Grisham’s administration since November.

Listen up

As SFR recently reported, early childhood education advocates have pursued an ambitious multi-pronged strategy to improve New Mexico’s educational and social outcomes starting with its youngest citizens. On a recent episode of the national No One Is Coming to Save Us podcast, host Gloria Riviera talks with Early Childhood Education Secretary Elizabeth Groginsky, Keres Children’s Learning Center founder Trisha Moquino (Cochiti, Ohkay Owhingeh, and Santo Domingo) and Speaker of the House Javier Martinez, D-Albuquerque, about the over-a-decade grassroots movement that spurred the state to prioritize funding early childhood programs and resources. Groginsky also highlighted the state’s progress to lawmakers yesterday during a Legislative Finance Committee hearing, telling them: “Other states now see New Mexico as the roadmap for building a comprehensive prenatal-to-5 system that centers the needs of families and children…We have seen tremendous progress over the last year, and the state can expect to see steadily improving outcomes for families and children as these investments continue to bear fruit.”

Holy New Mexico

The Santuario de Chimayó comes in at #72 on online religious and spirituality website Patheos’ list of the 100 most holy places on earth. While Santuario de Chimayó “is formerly a Roman Catholic church and ‘sacred site’ for practitioners of that faith, it is worth noting that the chapel is build atop a spot that the indigenous Tewa Pueblo Indians perceived as sacred long before Spanish Catholics constructed a church upon the heavily venerated place,” Patheos writes. “Thus, the Sanctuary of Chimayó is ‘holy ground’ for more than one tradition. Christians and non-Christians alike have perceived it as ‘sacred space’ for many centuries.” The write-up runs through the site’s history of ownership, as well as its religious significance. The story also references a 2013 Skeptical Inquirer story that casts doubt on the “miracle dirt” partially responsible for the sanctuary’s fame and popularity (the dirt can be shipped by request, by the way). “Some will apply it to pictures of their ill or afflicted loved ones—in the hopes of a miracle for them (even if they were not well enough to make the pilgrimage on their own),” Patheos says, also noting another room includes the “canes, braces and crutches” of those who were healed. “With these and other miracles filling the chronicles of El Santuario de Chimayó, it is understandable why this place has become an important pilgrimage site for Catholics and non-Catholics alike. For centuries, people of many faith traditions insist that, on the spot where the Sanctuary of Chimayó stands, God has manifested Himself through healings and other recorded miracles. Those many miracles have hallowed this otherwise un-noteworthy space.”

Versatile Santa Fe

While some come to New Mexico for holy dirt, others will find it an excellent spot for a “girls trip.” So says Cosmopolitan magazine, which lists Santa Fe as #2 on its list of 40 “flawless vacation spots across the country for you and your friends to lounge in for the ultimate girls’ trip.” Santa Fe, Cosmo writes, is “home to incredible restaurants, art galleries, spas (Ten Thousand Waves and Sunrise Springs are musts), and one of THE most charming downtowns on this list.” The best time to visit, the magazine says, “is probably late fall, when tourist season has died down a bit and temperatures are dropping.” Somewhat relatedly (in our minds), the Travelbinger website lists Santa Fe third on its list of the best vacations for mental health and spiritual retreats in the US. “Visitors can expect an unmistakeable transformative quality in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and don’t be surprised to find people finding themselves on wellness retreats, solo journeys, through wonderful hikes and yoga trips,” Travelbinger proclaims, while recommending such seekers stay at the Four Seasons Rancho Encantado. Afar magazine also recommends Rancho Encantado on its list of the six best hotels to watch October’s solar eclipse: “Cozy up by an alfresco firepit as the ring of fire fills the sky, or head to the pool to watch the desert change as the sky dims,” Afar suggests. “The adobe-style casitas, with wood-burning fireplaces and heated floors, include private terraces to eclipse watch in your slippers. Relax and view the sky via cozy patio furnishings, from hammocks to lounge chairs.”

That’s cool

Showers and thunderstorms seem likely today after 3 pm, according to the National Weather Service, which forecasts a 60% chance of precipitation. Otherwise, it will be partly sunny and much cooler, with a high temperature near 72 degrees and southeast wind 5 to 15 mph becoming south in the afternoon.

Thanks for reading! As much as The Word loves satire, she kind of wishes Mary Oliver Garden was a real restaurant.