NM’s Yazzie Martinez Draft Plan, Mapping Wildfires & Upending the West’s Water Narratives

This week on New Mexico in Focus, the Line Opinion Panel reviews the state’s new draft plan to address the Yazzie Martinez lawsuit. Among other things, that plan sets new goals for graduation rates, along with math and science proficiency. Panelists will discuss whether the plan goes far enough to bridge the gaps in education access highlighted in the 2018 lawsuit. Plus, new information from a legislative economist shows the state could be in for even more surplus revenue than expected. Our Panel brainstorms how the money could be most effectively used, and how our reliance on oil and gas revenue impacts the state’s shift towards renewable energy. The Panel also discusses the now record-setting wildfire burning near Las Vegas. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham wants the federal government to cover all the costs for all our fires, but is that a realistic request? 

Environment Reporter Laura Paskus talks with an expert from The Nature Conservancy to understand how maps of these wildfires are plotted each day, and how important that data is for both active firefighting as well as understanding the impacts of climate change. And, Laura gives us a bit of a reality check when it comes to our perception of the changing environment during a discussion with a professor from the University of Arizona.  

Hosts: 
Lou DiVizio 
Kevin McDonald

The Line opinion panel: 
Merritt Allen, Vox Optima public relations 
Laura Sanchez, attorney 
Dan Boyd, capitol bureau chief, Albuquerque Journal 

Segments: 

Wildfire Mapping 
Correspondent: Laura Paskus 
Guest: Steve Bassett, Dir. Planning and Spatial Analysis with The Nature Conservancy 

Upending the West’s Water Narratives 
Correspondent: Laura Paskus 
Guest: Andrew Curley, University of Arizona, School of Geography, Development & Environment