Indigenous Community Members React to Española Shooting & Public Employee Shortage in NM

New Mexico in Focus (A Production of NMPBS)

Lou DiVizio opens the show with some of the headlines from around the state, including a ruling from Judge Fred Van Soelen in a redistricting lawsuit filed by the Republican Party of New Mexico and seven individuals.

A 23-year-old man wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat is accused of shooting Native American activist Jacob Johns during a prayer event last week in Española, where local officials were planning to reinstall a statue of Spanish conquistador and war criminal Juan de Oñate. Ryan David Martinez is charged with first-degree attempted murder, as well as a fourth-degree felony count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. New Mexico in Focus correspondent Antonia Gonzales speaks with two indigenous community leaders about the shooting and the violent history surrounding colonial monuments like the Oñate statue.

Then, we introduce KUNM reporter and first-time New Mexico in Focus correspondent Nash Jones. They host a special roundtable to discuss why government agencies continue to struggle with hiring and retaining employees in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the first of two conversations, Jones asks the panelists to identify the scope of the employment problem and detail what it's like to work at hollowed-out agencies throughout New Mexico.

In their second discussion, Nash asks the roundtable how residents are impacted by the short-staffed public sector and how government agencies can best compete against the private market.

Host: Lou DiVizio

Indigenous Community Leaders React to Española Shooting at Planned Oñate Statue Site

Correspondent:

Antonia Gonzales

Guests:

Janene Yazzie (Diné), Southwest Regional Director, NDN Collective

Nathana Bird (Ohkay Owingeh and Kewa Pueblo), community member

Public Employees Shortage in New Mexico
Correspondent:
Nash Jones
Guests:

Dylan Lange, acting director, New Mexico State Personnel Office

Casey Padilla, president, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 18: New Mexico and Colorado

Sarita Nair, secretary, New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions

Searching for Solutions to Staffing Problems in NM State Agencies

Correspondent:
Nash Jones
Guests:

Dylan Lange, acting director, New Mexico State Personnel Office

Casey Padilla, president, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 18: New Mexico and Colorado

Patricia Tafoya-Harris, acting director of Human Resources for the City of Albuquerque

For More Information: 1 injured, 1 arrested in shooting at protest regarding Oñate statue in Rio Arriba County – KOAT

Key Quarterly Performance Measures Report: Quarter 3, Fiscal Year 2023 – New Mexico State Personnel Office

State and Local Workforce 2023 Survey Findings – MissionSearch Research Institute

City of Albuquerque joins with union to plead for workers – KUNM

--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nmif/message