COVID-19 Workforce Issues, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez & New PFAS Contamination

This week on New Mexico in Focus, senior producer Matt Grubs speaks with Secretary Bill McCamley of Workforce Solutions about the state’s expanded response for workers who have been laid off because of actions to stop the spread of the new coronavirus.

Matt Grubs also follows up with Our Land correspondent Laura Paskus, who broke the news this week that the Pentagon has identified four more possible contamination sites as she continues to investigate toxic chemicals in groundwater near military bases.

Correspondent Antonia Gonzales talks with President Jonathan Nez of the Navajo Nation and National Indian Health Board CEO Stacy Bohlen about how they are dealing with scarce resources in their response to virus outbreaks on tribal lands.

Gene Grant and The Line opinion panel discuss Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s recent statewide “stay-at-home” order, what it means for people being laid off or furloughed, and what it means for the businesses that employed them. The Line also debates the best way to go about a legislative special session that is surely inevitable. For their final segment, The Line panelists look toward the possibility of holding an all-mail primary election.

Host:
Gene Grant     

In Focus Interviews:
COVID-19 Worker Response
Correspondent: Matt Grubs
Guest: Sec. Bill McCamley, Department of Workforce Solutions

PFAS Update
Correspondent: Matt Grubs
Guest: Laura Paskus, Our Land Correspondent

COVID-19 Response from Native Tribes
Correspondent: Antonia Gonzales
Guest: Jonathan Nez, Navajo Nation President
Guest: Stacy Bohlen, CEO, National Indian Health Board

The Line Opinion Panel:
Lonna Atkeson, UNM Political Science professor
Tom Garrity, The Garrity Group PR
Laura Sanchez-Rivét, attorney