Page 22 - Peter Wirth News Today

Premium Content Subscriber only More than half of the patients who visit Mackay GP Kerry Summerscales are veterans or first responders because she knows first-hand the trauma of being on the frontline. Dr Summerscales served in the Australian Defence Force for 30 years including at Bougainville, Timor-Leste and the Solomon Islands. She helped save countless lives abroad, and has turned that dedication to ensuring fellow Australian veterans survived civilian life. Dr Summerscales has thrown ...

Prescribed Burning Act Passes New Mexico Senate EMNRD News: Santa Fe — Sunday, the Prescribed Burning Act, an Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD) priority bill, passed the New Mexico Senate with a 37-1 vote. The bill, sponsored by Reps. Matthew McQueen and Gail Armstrong and Senators Peter Wirth and Pat Woods, focuses on managing our forests for a changing climate and aims to prevent future catastrophic fires. Having previously passed the House, the bill now goes to Gov...

Mar. 14—Wealthier New Mexicans, as well as corporations earning more than $500,000 annually, would pay a higher tax rate under legislation the Senate Tax, Business and Transportation Committee passed on a party-line 7-4 vote Saturday. The proposal to raise the personal and corporate income tax rate for higher earners is part of an effort to increase and expand two tax break programs that are ...

.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... State officials predict New Mexico will not return to pre-pandemic employment levels until late 2023. Even that’s a rosy scenario. The Congressional Budget Office forecasts national employment won’t regain pre-pandemic levels until 2024. Despite those ominous projections, lawmakers are moving for...

Premium Content Frontline responders are more than twice as likely to be suicidal than other adults. Their exposure to traumatic and graphic scenes in their roles as paramedics, police officers, firefighters, electrical workers, doctors, nurses and more can be debilitating. A BeyondBlue survey of more than 21,000 first responders found more than one in four experienced probable post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition impacting their lives and that of their families. Plans that would make ...

Mar. 12—Days remaining in session: 9 Hair-based discrimination: As a youngster, Harold Pope Jr. was teased so badly when his mother braided cornrows in his hair that he went home from school one day. "I can remember going to school and being treated unfairly; I was the only Black student at my school," said Pope, now a state senator. On Thursday, the Albuquerque Democrat championed a bill that ...

Legislative Roundup: 9 Days Remain In 2021 Session SFNM Bad for box office: Thanks to the pandemic, 2020 was not a good year for movie theaters. Most shut down completely nearly a year ago, and the few that have found a way to keep operating have had to contend with small, socially distanced audiences; a fraction of the usual crowd. The National Association of Theater Owners has estimated up to 70 percent of small or midsize cinemas won’t survive long enough to reopen after health order rest...

Credit Senator Gregory A. Baca - (R) - Minority Floor Leader LAS CRUCES – New Mexico Senate Minority Leader Greg Baca, R-Rio Rancho, was able to force a debate Wednesday, March 10, on his bill to limit the governor’s powers during an emergency, but nothing more. Early in Wednesday’s session, while legislators were still on announcements, Baca moved that Senate Bill 74 be made the next order of business. After about an hour of debate, the motion was defeated 24-14 on a straight party-line...

Legislative roundup, March 10, 2021 Santa Fe New Mexican, The (NM) Mar. 10—Days remaining in session: 11 Prayer for senator: Members of the state Senate offered a prayer for Sen. Bill Sharer and his family at the onset of Tuesday mornings floor session. But no other details were provided. Sharer, a Republican from Sen. Craig Brandt, a Rio Rancho Republican and retired pastor who led the chamber in prayer, said, "Lord, we just pray for Sen. Sharer and his family." As a result of Sharers ...

By Daniel J. Chacón, Santa Fe New Mexican | March 9, 2021 A bill that would allow the state and certain local authorities to enact environmental protections more stringent than federal regulations stalled Monday when Republicans pulled a legislative maneuver that requires every member of the chamber to be physically present in the Roundhouse. “We’re gonna roll over this bill,” said Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe. “At this point, it doesn’t make sense to have us just ...