By Rob Nikolewski │ New Mexico Watchdog
SANTA FE – After 10 days and with thousands of New Mexicans unable to log onto the federal website, state insurance officials have posted a static page, allowing people to at least get an idea about what Affordable Care Act options are available.
“For example, we’re putting up the rates [...]

By Rob Nikolewski │ New Mexico Watchdog
SANTA FE — Two major national labs based in New Mexico have so far avoided the brunt of the partial government shutdown that, by estimates, has affected 17 percent of the federal budget.
But absent a deal on Capitol Hill, it appears as though it will only be a matter [...]

By Rob Nikolewski │ New Mexico Watchdog
New Mexico taxpayers’ $209 million investment in Spaceport America soon will be part of a reality show on NBC-TV but it isn’t clear how prominently the facility will be featured and what kind of economic impact the show will have.
Plus, while the reality show highlighting Virgin Galactic blasting well-heeled [...]

By Rob Nikolewski │ New Mexico Watchdog
SANTA FE — The potential success of the New Mexico Health Insurance Exchange that rolled out Tuesday is largely predicated on whether a significant number of young adults sign up.
But it’s an open question whether enough of them, which health care workers call “the young invincibles,” will take the [...]

By Rob Nikolewski │ New Mexico Watchdog
Talks in Capitol Hill have touched on approving emergency funding to reopen the national parks, but superintendent at Carlsbad Caverns National Park isn’t optimistic.
“Our headquarters in Washington D.C., is full of well-connected people to the political scene and they’re kind of pessimistic,” Superintendent John Benjamin told New Mexico Watchdog [...]

By Rob Nikolewski │ New Mexico Watchdog
The U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate are divided, and so is the New Mexico delegation on Capitol Hill.
The federal government shut down just after midnight Monday, and it didn’t take long for the Democrats and Republicans to start blaming one another.
“I had hoped that a shutdown [...]

By Rob Nikolewski │ New Mexico Watchdog
SANTA FE – The good news about a possible government shutdown? It won’t affect the vast majority of people in New Mexico, even most state employees.
The bad news? Since the state’s economy is so heavily reliant on federal dollars, a shutdown centered in Washington, D.C., will have more financial [...]

By Rob Nikolewski │ New Mexico Watchdog
SANTA FE – New Mexico Human Services Department Secretary Sidonie Squier had a busy day Friday.
First, she issued a public apology for an email she wrote about child hunger in the state. Then, she told New Mexico Watchdog she’s confident the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office will find evidence [...]

By Rob Nikolewski │ New Mexico Watchdog
SANTA FE — A long-running court case surrounding an alleged fake documentary that aired on New Mexico’s largest Public Broadcasting System affiliate will continue.
Judge Nan G. Nash on Wednesday denied a motion to dismiss filed by attorneys for KNME-TV and other defendants in a case that has dragged on [...]

By Rob Nikolewski │ New Mexico Watchdog
SANTA FE – It’s not a sagebrush rebellion, but it’s close.
Five western states — Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming — have set up legislative studies or task forces to consider transferring immense tracts of federal land to the control of state governments.
And there’s talk of exploring the issue [...]