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Searchlight New Mexico

Searchlight New Mexico is an award-winning nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization.

07/16/2025

Eighty years ago today (July 16), the U.S. detonated the first atomic bomb at the Trinity Site, without warning New Mexican citizens that radioactive fallout was heading their way. Some people were only 12 miles from the detonation. The federal government has never apologized for this, and continues to regard the Trinity blast as a contained moment in history.

At 1 P.M. Eastern, members of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium will unveil the first permanent public memorial to the many New Mexicans who lost their lives from cancer and other illnesses in the wake of the detonation. The event will take place on the roadside of U.S. Route 380, by the Stallion Gate Entrance to the Trinity Site, and is open to the public.

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

07/10/2025

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. It's the most recent tragedy to come to light for a state agency that’s under intense scrutiny for how it handles kids in its custody.

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.

07/03/2025

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.

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

07/01/2025

NEW: In a lawsuit quietly filed Friday, the New Mexico State Ethics Commission accused former Western New Mexico University President Joseph Shepard of misappropriating $177,000 meant for an ADA-compliant project and spending it on an outdoor venue for his daughter's wedding reception.

The new civil action claims that the former WNMU president misappropriated at least $177,000 meant for ADA compliance and used it on a patio to host his daughter’s wedding reception

06/24/2025

Searchlight New Mexico's Molly Montgomery conducted a great interview with Mariah Blake, author of “They Poisoned the World,” an important new book about the history and toxic legacy of “forever chemicals.” (Also known as PFAS.)

Mariah, who grew up in Taos, is appearing at Collected Works bookstore on Thursday, June 26, 6 p.m., to discuss this important and disturbing subject.

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”

06/16/2025

New at Searchlight New Mexico: During its lobbying campaign in the 2025 legisltiave session, a group called New Mexico Safety Over Profit demanded “corporate transparency” for hospitals as it worked to derail medical malpractice insurance reform. Now the State Ethics Commission is suing the dark money group for violating lobbyist transparency laws.

New Mexico Safety Over Profit successfully fought against medical malpractice reform during the 2025 session. A state commission now says it broke the law.

05/29/2025

New at Searchlight New Mexico, published in collaboration with the AP: 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.

Natural gas use has led to cleaner air for much of the country, and has brought huge amounts of money to the New Mexico state budget. But students whose schools sit near gas wells are paying a price for those gains.

Natural gas has become a go-to fuel for power plants from coast to coast, sometimes replacing dirtier coal-fired plants and, by extension, improving air quality.

05/22/2025

New Mexico is the second-highest oil-producing state in the U.S., after Texas and ahead of North Dakota. The bulk of oil extraction occurs in a boomtown region known as the Permian Basin, which spans more than 85,000 square miles across eastern New Mexico and west Texas.

New Mexico's state government relies on the oil and gas industry for close to half its revenue. But the people who generate this income — the workers in the fields, many of whom are Latino — endure brutal conditions and receive no recognition. They often work long, sleepless shifts around deadly chemicals and dangerous machinery. Because the surrounding region and the state are economically dependent on what they produce, there’s a culture of silence around the industry’s labor practices.

This is a story about the emotional and physical toll the industry — and our shared dependence on oil — takes on the workers.

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 harrowing conditions that lead to death, injury, disease and terrible tolls on mental health and famil...

05/13/2025

A new lawsuit accuses Rio Arriba County officials of turning a blind eye to the red flags exhibited by Ryan Martinez in the moments before he drew a gun and shot Native activist Jacob Johns at a 2023 anti-Oñate demonstration in Española. The suit alleges that county officials violated the civil rights of two protestors by creating an environment that enabled Martinez's display of violence.

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 reinstallation of a statue depicting Juan de Oñate

05/07/2025

Please meet our new colleague at Searchlight New Mexico, a great young writer from Santa Fe named Molly Montgomery.

Santa Fe-based Molly Montgomery comes aboard as a full-time reporter covering topics that include land use, the environment and immigration

04/25/2025

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.

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

04/24/2025

New at Searchlight New Mexico: 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?

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

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