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<![CDATA[Abiquiu News - News]]>Sat, 11 May 2024 15:24:42 -0600Weebly<![CDATA[Northern New Mexico College and Española Valley High School Students Engineer Glove to Help Mitigate Parkinson’s Disease Symptoms]]>Wed, 01 May 2024 19:19:37 GMThttps://abiquiunews.com/news/northern-new-mexico-college-and-espanola-valley-high-school-students-engineer-glove-to-help-mitigate-parkinsons-disease-symptomsFrom Northern New Mexico College

Locally designed Parkinson’s glove could provide an affordable treatment option

ESPAÑOLA, N.M. — Students from Northern New Mexico College’s (NNMC) engineering program and Española Valley High School’s (EVHS) Math, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) program are applying engineering skills they are studying to a project that could significantly improve the lives of Parkinson’s patients. Under the direction and mentorship of Dr. Steve Cox, Associate Professor/Engineering Technology at NNMC, and Española Valley High teachers Janice Badongen Patal-e and Lyne Salero, the students are designing a glove that applies small brief vibrations to the fingertips to alleviate symptoms of the disease.

“I like the fact that this has the potential to improve someone’s life. It’s not just trying to achieve a grade,” said Anita DeAguero, one of two Northern students involved in the project. “It just makes it more exciting, and it makes you enjoy the work you’re doing a lot more.”

Both DeAguero and Jafett Garcia, her partner on the project, have earned Associate of Engineering in Pre-Engineering degrees from Northern and are pursuing their Bachelor in Engineering of Electromechanical Engineering Technology. Both are currently interns at Los Alamos National Laboratory and are considering pursuing careers at LANL after graduation.

Creating a Community and Educational Connection

Minna Santos, whose husband Brandon was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2014, suggested the project to Cox. Brandon had reached the highest dosage of his medication while his symptoms continued to worsen. Minna saw a story on the Today Show about researchers at Stanford Medicine creating a Parkinson’s glove that reduced symptoms such as freezing gait and tremors (https://www.today.com/video/new-vibrating-glove-eliminates-parkinson-s-tremor-157390405854). If further testing confirmed the results, researchers anticipated the glove would be on the market in two years.

“I was hoping we could come up with a very affordable intervention for the motor symptoms of Parkinson’s, because I’m sure once this does come out on the market, it’s going to be very expensive,” Minna said.

For Cox, this was a study project with practical applications and an opportunity to connect his NNMC engineering students with the MESA students he regularly works with. Garcia was already assisting Cox in that effort, and he and DeAguero both mentored the MESA students throughout the project.

The Parkinson’s glove designed by Dr. Peter Tass and his team at Stanford Medicine stimulates the fingers with a random pattern of vibrations, which resets nerve cells that misfire in the brains of Parkinson’s patients. Twenty patients who participated in the first trial all showed improvement, some of it remarkable. The students set out to reverse engineer the glove created by Stanford.

“We took the Stanford research and converted that research into code, and the code is the magic,” said Garcia, “It’s helping us to create the patterns and shuffles and necessary bursts that we need for the patient to have these mechanical vibrations through small DC motors.”

The major challenges were writing code to create vibro-tactile vibrations to stimulate the nerves in the right frequencies and sequences, using a 3-D printer to build a wearable container for the circuit boards and creating a glove to hold the wiring to the fingertips that could be worn comfortably for two hours at a time (the duration for maximum benefit), which Cox called “a full-blown manufacturing problem.”

“This combination of hardware, software and manufacturing is a big deal. We typically put them in silos: you learn about each of those, but it’s not until you get out into the real world that you realize this all has to come together if you’re going to make a product,” Cox said. “So making a product that integrates these three silos is a huge learning opportunity for our students. Those are life skills that will help all of them in their journey.”

The teams created several prototypes, working to make the gloves more comfortable, more ergonomic and more efficient. The first microcontroller prototype was relatively large, requiring the patient to sit in a chair for the entire treatment. To make the gloves portable, they purchased and programmed an ATtiny 85, a microcontroller small enough to fit into a casing about the size of a smart watch. The prototype the teams developed could be produced for about $25.

“It was not easy. We struggled trying to change it from that big thing to the little microcontroller,” Garcia said. “It is a process, and you have to be positive and persistent.”

Mesa Students with Cox

The MESA connection

MESA students Chelsea Sisneros, Dafne Rodriguez, Angel Zavala and Emilio Samaniego had more personal involvement with Minna and Brandon. Cox suggested this project for entry into the MESA U.S.A. competition, which had to address eliminating inequity thru human-
centered engineering design. Minna shared information about Brandon’s situation with the students, who were eager to make a glove he could wear comfortably either sitting or standing, since sitting for long periods was difficult for him. They developed multiple versions based on Brandon’s feedback, striving to make the glove more user-friendly.

“One thing I thought was really cool about the project is that it informed the kids about a real problem in the world and it put a face on it. It’s good to have kids challenged with a real problem that makes a difference,” Minna Santos said.

“I think it gave more inspiration to the students,” said Badongen Patal-e, mathematics teacher at EVHS. “I’m very proud of them taking on the challenge. They could have just brushed it off, saying, that is not what we came for in this class. But they were committed to do it.”

The class met with Brandon several times via Zoom, and even measured his hand using the platform. When Cox delivered the first of several prototypes to Brandon on July 15, 2023, his gratitude was evident. The students’ understanding of Brandon’s needs, especially in terms of getting the glove on and off by himself, greatly increased when Brandon was eventually able to meet with them in person.

“The high school students had an amazing relationship with Brandon,” Cox said. “Clearly these kids have spent a lot of time with elders in their family. They were so gentle and patient and understanding, working really hard to make sure that they understood the quality-of-life issues affecting Brandon. That empathy led to changes in his symptoms.”

After the students’ first Zoom meeting with Brandon, he was so energized he asked Minna to take him to Santa Fe for lunch. Not only was that a rare request, he read a magazine during the trip. He had not read anything for a couple years. “I think it was really inspiring to him to have someone interested in his problem and trying to solve it,” Minna said.

The students’ commitment to the project was evident as they displayed their various prototypes and talked about working with Brandon and the thrill of seeing the coding they were learning put to practical use.

“Imagine that you can’t do anything independently, you need help to even walk to the bathroom,” said Chelsea Sisneros. “There’s a lot of people we could help. I know a couple people as well. It really makes you think how it would be for you to be in that position.”

“It started as just a class and then it turned into a real thing. We just kept going on with it and it got more and more interesting,” said Dafne Rodriguez. “It felt good knowing that what we’re doing can help a real person, instead of just being one of those little projects that you forget about in a week.

Brandon reported that his tremors decreased after just a few days of wearing the glove, but the severity of his disease prevented him from consistently wearing the device two hours a day, limiting his progress.

Badongen Patal-e and Salero were instrumental in the project’s success. The students had high praise for them, not only for their help on the Parkinson’s glove but for pushing them to excel academically on every level and using their own money to buy classroom supplies.

“The teachers did an amazing amount of work helping me mentor these students,” Cox said.

Steady Hands Wins in Competition

The students won 1st place for their design brief in the statewide 2023 MESA competition (https://www.nmmesa.org/), and 2nd place for academic poster, prototype pitch, technical interview and overall project. Their high scores in competition against a half dozen other schools (some with multiple teams) are especially impressive considering this was the first time any of them had competed and they were sleep deprived for their presentation. Their prototype stopped working the night before, so instead of rehearsing the team ran to Walmart to buy parts and worked until 3 a.m. to repair it.

In 2024, the original team, joined by Jeremy Vigil, Juan Andres Maestas, Jordan Martinez,
Dylan Sandoval, Matthew Abeyta Jr. and Silvy Talamante Baca, went on to win one of the coveted New Mexico Governor’s STEM Challenge awards (https://newmexicostem.org/). In this competition, Industry Sponsors judge teams, with each company choosing their top team. Arcadis sponsored the EVHS STEM Team’s “Steady Hands” project, praising their research-based technical knowledge, methodologies for product development, testing, documentation and multiple iterations of product improvement. They also commended the students for their teamwork, each member’s investment in and deep understanding of the project and the empathy they brought to it.

“We love that someone in the local community came to these students with a complex problem, a very personal problem, one that is not easy to solve – and the students chose to accept this challenge as their own. They embraced Mr. and Mrs. Santos in their hearts and the real suffering associated with Parkinson’s disease…They literally followed the full product development process until they had created the gloves Mr. and Mrs. Santos could previously only wish for. They created access to medical technology and improved quality of life! The Steady Hands project demonstrates the power of designing with empathy.”

Deployment of the Prototype
For these students, developing the glove was more about helping Brandon and other community members than winning awards. Most of the original team has been working with Cox, DeAguero and Garcia to improve and develop 10 more prototypes of the glove, made possible by support by STEM Santa Fe and the Encantado Foundation. Cox is working to get approval from Northern's Institutional Review Board to deploy those gloves in the community. He is also seeking grant funding to continue improving the glove, including further miniaturization and wi-fi capabilities.

“Our vision is not to make a profit. It is to help people, to help the community, to actually help others that cannot afford expensive devices for Parkinson’s disease,” Garcia said.

“I’m glad because these kids made it more than a competition, that they are not giving up,” Badongen Patal-e said. “Even though the competition is finished, they’re like still here, willing to help. So I’m challenging the students to do more, to improve more, and maybe join more competitions as a part of information dissemination.”

Cox has two hopes from the Parkinson’s glove project. One is to design an effective and affordable glove for the community. The other is that this type of project will encourage the students involved to continue their STEM education at Northern.

“I’m super proud of Northern, but unless we build projects with the high school, we’re going to remain an empty vessel. Jafett and Anita are the entire class,” Cox said. “So we need to change that pipeline. My bigger goal is renewing conversations with the high school, making Northern a relevant place.

]]><![CDATA[LANL: Biologists Use Audio Files To Study Declining Jay Bird Populations Impacts]]>Thu, 29 Feb 2024 22:02:38 GMThttps://abiquiunews.com/news/lanl-biologists-use-audio-files-to-study-declining-jay-bird-populations-impactsCourtesy of the Los Alamos Reporter

The pinyon jay, pictured here, has a fairly uniform blue coloring, which is different from the more common scrub jay that also makes its home in Northern New Mexico. Photo Courtesy LANL

Milu Velardi installs an acoustic recording unit in TA-70 to capture pinyon jay vocalizations, an indication of how the birds use the land on Lab property. Photo Courtesy LANL

Biologists from Los Alamos National Laboratory have been collecting birdsong audio files from the pale blue, long-billed bird that relies heavily on piñon-juniper woodlands, a prevalent habitat on Lab property.

The efforts to monitor the pinyon jay, a native New Mexican species in decline, are to better understand its on-site presence and avoid impacts to the Lab’s mission deliveries. It's also part of the Lab's responsibility to steward its natural resources.

The jay lives in groups of 50 to 300 and forms smaller colonies of lifelong nesting pairs during the breeding season. A single bird may collect and cache as many as 2,600 piñon seeds from their estimated 15- to 25-square-mile home range. With impeccable spatial memory, pinyon jays return to their hidden seed caches year after year. As they move about, jays disperse seeds that help sustain piñon tree regrowth, creating a continuous cycle of a healthy piñon pine ecosystem.

Unfortunately, scientists estimate pinyon jay populations have declined approximately 85% between 1970 and 2014 due to a variety of environmental and anthropogenic impacts, according to the landbird conservation network Partners in Flight.

"There's an incredible amount of uncertainty regarding the pinyon jay," said Ethan Ditmanson of the Lab’s Environmental Stewardship group. "By collecting data and information, we can minimize that uncertainty and better understand potential impacts to operations relative to an Endangered Species Act listing."

The jay was petitioned by wildlife advocates in April 2022 for listing under the Endangered Species Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is currently following its regulatory procedure to review the petition, and will ultimately determine whether the jay warrants federal protections.

A spectrogram shows the distinct vocalization from a pinyon jay on Lab property. The call is distinguished by its cackling laugh. Courtesy LANL

In November 2022, Lab biologists began a sitewide pilot monitoring study of the pinyon jay to understand what areas of the Department of Energy’s property the jays use for breeding and seed caching.

Biologists are also identifying how Lab operations may be affecting the species, as well as potential impacts to Lab operations from an Endangered Species Act listing.

The study began with biologists deploying autonomous recording units in suitable habitat around the Lab, which measures into the 11,000-acre range. They recorded positive jay vocalizations during the breeding and nonbreeding seasons, then followed up on the detections with standardized ground surveys.

"We now know that pinyon jays are here year-round, so we are working to develop a better understanding of how they are using the landscape at LANL," said Jenna Stanek, also of the Environmental Stewardship group. "Such understanding will help ensure a beneficial balance between mission operations and compliance if the jay does receive federal protections."
"Proactively monitoring this species will help us prepare for an Endangered Species Act listing, potentially minimizing operational impacts like timing delays and geographic access limitations, while also protecting the pinyon jay on Lab property," added Audrey Sanchez from Environmental Stewardship.

The Lab is currently home to three animals protected under the Endangered Species Act: the Mexican spotted owl, Jemez Mountains salamander and southwestern willow flycatcher. Compliance requirements often result in additional project planning considerations and constraints, and the Lab works to balance operations and development while preventing adverse impacts to federally listed species.

"We are fortunate to have such a diverse and rich ecosystem that supports many species," said Jenette Hyatt, senior director for the Lab's Environment and Waste Programs. "To me, it's reassuring that the manner in which we execute our mission is being reviewed to understand our impact on the natural environment and ensure the beauty and benefit of the LANL ecosystem endures for generations to come."

Lab biologist Elisa Abeyta surveys the piñon-juniper woodlands in TA-70 for the pinyon jay, a declining species of bird in Northern New Mexico. Photo courtesy LANL

Acoustic recording units were placed throughout the southeast portion of the Lab where piñon-juniper woodlands dominate the landscape. The red stars indicate where the jays were detected. Courtesy LANL

]]><![CDATA[NNMC President Hector Balderas Affiliates with Excelencia in Education’s Presidents for Latino Student Success Network]]>Fri, 23 Feb 2024 07:00:00 GMThttps://abiquiunews.com/news/nnmc-president-hector-balderas-affiliates-with-excelencia-in-educations-presidents-for-latino-student-success-network

Northern New Mexico College demonstrates commitment to becoming a learning environment where Latino and all students thrive

ESPAÑOLA, N.M. — Excelencia in Education, the nation’s premier authority on efforts
accelerating Latino student success in higher education, announced today that President Hector Balderas of Northern New Mexico College has chosen to affiliate with the national network of Presidents for Latino Student Success (P4LSS). The network comprises a group of presidents and chancellors who have committed to making their campuses learning environments where Latino and all students thrive.

Excelencia formed their network of common cause in 2011 and Presidents for Latino Student Success in 2014 to support institutional leaders who are transforming higher education to make our country stronger with the contributions, skills and talents of Latino college graduates. Programs and initiatives that work for Latinos support increased attainment for all students.

Latinos are a young, fast-growing population, yet degree completion gaps have increased between Latinos and their White peers. Excelencia’s analysis shows that closing the gap in degree completion by accelerating Latino student success will strengthen America’s workforce and civic leadership. Their goal is 6.2 million degrees earned by 2030.

Higher Education institutions in the P4LSS network are focused on advancing success for Latino and other low-income and first-generation students. Participants in their network have documented higher retention rates and double the Latino faculty representation found at other institutions.

Through the P4LSS network, Balderas will collaborate with Excelencia and other postsecondary leaders to leverage collective expertise and resources, foster partnerships and amplify current efforts to accelerate Latino student success in higher education at the national level.

“Institutional leadership focused on intentionally serving Latino, and all, students is the hallmark of the presidents and chancellors in this network," said Sarita Brown, co-founder and president of Excelencia in Education. “We are proud to catalyze and support them as they advance student success and grow talent for our country’s bright future."

Balderas joins more than 150 leaders that belong to the P4LSS network and lead the nation in enrolling and graduating Latino students. Although the network represents only five percent of the thousands of colleges and universities across the country, the network enrolls 32 percent and graduates 34 percent of all Latino students in higher education.

"It is an honor to join this outstanding group of leaders, who are dedicated to the success of Latino and Hispanic students across the nation," said President Balderas. "As the president of an institution that serves an overwhelmingly Hispanic and Indigenous student population, I am honored to learn and work side by side with this group, as we work to strengthen student success for our communities.”

Excelencia is honored to make common cause with the action-oriented, trendsetting presidents and chancellors who have answered their national call to accelerate Latino student success in higher education and ensure America’s future. To learn more about the Presidents for Latino Student Success network and other institutional leaders across the country affiliated with Excelencia, visit https://www.edexcelencia.org/leadership/presidents-latino-student-success.

###

About Excelencia in Education:

In 2024, Excelencia in Education marks 20 years of service to accelerate Latino student success in higher education by promoting Latino student achievement, conducting analysis to inform educational policies, and advancing institutional practices while collaborating with those committed and ready to meet the mission. Excelencia has established a network of results-oriented educators and. policymakers to address the U.S. economy’s needs for a highly educated workforce and engaged civic leaders. For more information, visit https://www.edexcelencia.org/.

About Northern:

Northern New Mexico College has served the rural communities of Northern New Mexico for over a century. Since opening in 1909 as the Spanish American Normal School in El Rito, NM, the College has provided affordable access to quality academic programs that meet the changing educational, economic and cultural needs of the region.

Northern is an open-admissions institution offering the most affordable bachelor’s programs in the Southwest. Now one of the state’s four regional comprehensive institutions, with its main campus in Española, Northern offers more than 50 bachelor’s, associate, and certificate programs in arts & human sciences, film & digital media, STEM programs, business, education, liberal arts, and nursing. The College has reintroduced technical trades in partnership with two local unions and five public school districts through its new co-located Branch Community College, the first of its kind in the state’s history. Northern is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) and has earned prestigious program specific accreditations for its engineering, nursing, education, and business programs. Learn more at https://nnmc.edu/.

]]><![CDATA[New Mexico reports first hantavirus pulmonary syndrome case of 2024]]>Fri, 23 Feb 2024 07:00:00 GMThttps://abiquiunews.com/news/new-mexico-reports-first-hantavirus-pulmonary-syndrome-case-of-2024

SANTA FE – The Scientific Laboratory Division of the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) has confirmed the first case of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) this year. A man living in San Juan County was hospitalized, released, and is at home recovering.

HPS, however, is often a severe, sometimes fatal, respiratory disease in humans caused by the Sin Nombre virus. In 2023, New Mexico had seven cases of HPS in residents of McKinley, San Juan and Taos counties, with two of these patients dying.

In New Mexico, deer mice are the primary carriers of hantavirus. The virus is found in mice droppings and urine, and people are typically exposed to hantavirus around their homes, cabins or sheds, especially when cleaning out or exploring enclosed areas with mouse droppings.

“Mice tend to try to enter buildings to find shelter, so it is important to seal up homes and other structures,” said State Public Health Veterinarian Erin Phipps, DVM, MPH. “While there is no specific treatment for HPS, the chances of recovery are better when medical attention is sought early, and the healthcare provider is informed about any environmental contact with rodents.”

Symptoms typically develop within one to six weeks after rodent exposure and may look and feel like the flu or a stomach bug. Individuals with HPS may experience fever and muscle aches, possibly accompanied by chills, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain and cough, which can progress to respiratory distress and severe illness.

Avoid exposure to rodents and their nests – and reduce the risk of contracting hantavirus – by following these important steps:

Air out closed‐up buildings such as cabins and sheds, as well as abandoned or stored vehicles before entering.
Trap mice until they are all gone.
Seal up homes and shelters to prevent rodents from entering.
Soak nests and droppings with a disinfectant such as a 10% bleach solution before cleaning them up.
Do not sweep up rodent droppings into the air where they can be inhaled.
Put hay, wood, and compost piles as far as possible from your home.
Dispose of trash and junk piles.
Do not leave your pet’s food and water where mice can access it.

For more information about this virus, including fact sheets in English and Spanish, visit the Department of Health’s HPS webpage

]]><![CDATA[Native American Oñate Statue Protest Shooting Victim Jacob Johns Is at Home in Spokane Still Suffering from Wounds.]]>Thu, 11 Jan 2024 22:01:54 GMThttps://abiquiunews.com/news/native-american-onate-statue-protest-shooting-victim-jacob-johns-is-at-home-in-spokane-still-suffering-from-wounds

By Jake Arnold

Defendant Shooter Ryan Martinez Remains in Jail on No-Bond Hold

Onate Statute Protest Shooting Victim Jacob Johns Coverage by Spokane Newspaper

The Spokane, Washington, Spokesman-Review newspaper in its Monday 1/8/24 edition has a comprehensive update on the medical condition of Jacob Johns, the Native American environmental/political activist and artist who was critically wounded in a shooting incident during a protest over the planned, but later aborted, installation of the Juan de Oñate statue at the Rio Arriba County complex in Española in late September, 2023.

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2024/jan/08/two-months-after-he-was-shot-activist-jacob-johns-/

(The link above is one of several in this report taking readers to news stories published by the Spokane Spokesman-Review in 2015, 2023 and 2024. That newspaper has a semi-paywall type requirement that only allows visitors to read no more than three of its recent/past stories on any given day without a registration).

The Spokesman-Review story of 1/8/24 details Johns’ medical condition and the specific damages done to his body by the gun shot fired at him by Oñate statue installation proponent Ryan Martinez of Sandia Park, New Mexico.

As a result of that gunshot wounding, doctors had to remove Johns’s spleen. Other internal organs were severely damaged.

Between participations in climate/environmental and other Native American-oriented events/protests, Johns has been living in Spokane (where is mother, Laverne McGrath had relocated) since his release from an Arizona prison after serving a long sentence after his conviction on charges unrelated to environmental, political, or Native American issues in 2015.

A Spokane Spokesman-Review story regarding that conviction, his spiritual journey while incarcerated, his own relocation to Spokane to be near his mother, and her support of him while he was in prison is available at the following link:
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2015/dec/09/prison-time-helped-artist-find-clarity/

An excerpt from that S2015 Spokane Spokesman-Review story reads:

At 17, Jacob Johns held the lifeless body of his younger brother in his arms, trying to revive him.

“His brother’s suicide left Johns feeling helpless and he stepped onto a reckless path.

While driving drunk on his way home to the reservation, Johns, who grew up in Mesa, Arizona, ignored the police as they attempted to stop him. The high-speed chase ended when he hit a police car.

Charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on an officer, Johns was sentenced to a maximum security prison for eight years. “I was in ‘the hole’ a lot,” he said, “Where I had no other company but my own.”

For much of his time in prison, Johns conversed with himself through prayer, meditation, writing, drawing and painting and reading.

“In retrospect, my time in prison wasn’t so bad,” he said. “It gave me a lot of time to find clarity.” In his cell, he wrote a book called “The Good Path,” parts of which he sent to his mother who transcribed it to a website (letterstomamafromprison.blogspot.com).”

That transcribed blogspot posting is available at the following link:

https://letterstomamafromprison.blogspot.com/

Please note, however, that this item, posted by Johns’ mother in 2009, Laverne McGrath according to the Spokane Spokesman-Review account of 2015, identifies her imprisoned son as “Charlie” and does not identify him as” Jacob Johns.”

Presuming that this posting was in fact actually submitted by Laverne McGrath and does recount her interactions with son Jacob Johns, this extensive document is rather illuminating.
This document describes the despair of “Charlie” (Johns?) over his brother’s death from alcoholism.

Shortly after the September, 2023, Espanola Onate stature shooting incident that same Spokane newspaper published an account of the Onate statue protest and the wounding of Johns.

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2023/sep/29/he-is-a-spokandian-he-is-your-family-spokane-indig/

The account at the link above additionally chronicles the public displays of numerous pieces of Johns’ artwork in Washington state.

The Other Side—Support on Behalf of Incarcerated Defendant Ryan Martinez

Martinez, his legal defense team, and a family member do not dispute that Martinez fired the shot wounding Johns, but say in a variety of public statements, interviews with law enforcement officers, Internet postings and court filings that Martinez did so in self-defense.

In October, 2023, Ryan Martinez’ mother, Adelita Martinez—also of Sandia Park briefly sponsored a “gofundme” campaign to raise money for her son’s legal defense, but shortly ended that effort, albeit after receiving a minimal amount in contributions/pledges.

Her withdrawn “gofundme” plea read:
Hi, I am Ryan‘s mom, Adelita Martinez. Ryan was attacked, and now he is being attacked even harder by the media. Ryan has always been conservative young man who is outspoken about what he believes. He has worn a “Make America Great Again” hat for longer than I can remember. He was at an event at which there were no law-enforcement present, which clearly they should have been. Even one of the county commissioners has commented numerous times that law enforcement should have been there. After being attacked by multiple men and having his head hit on a wall, he defended himself. This is all shown on video, but all the media is showing as him pointing his gun, like if he was shooting into a crowd of people. As we all know, the media is taking this and running with it for the liberal agenda. We desperately need your support. We will do whatever we have to to help our son. Please keep him and us in your prayers. If you’re unable to donate, please share this as we need it to go far and wide. God bless you.

The details of Adelita Martinez “gofundme” effort, with a photo of the shooter wearing his “MAGA” (Make American Great Again/Donald Trump Political Campaign hat) can be reviewed at this link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-ryan-he-needs-your-support

(Conversely A “gofundme” campaign sponsored on behalf of Jacob Johns by one of his supporters in Austin, Texas--data current as of early October, 2023—less than three weeks after the Onate stature shooting incident--raised $266,218. https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-jacob-johns-recover-from-terrorist-shooting)

New Mexico First Judicial District Judge (who sits in Tierra Amarilla) determined that Martinez was a danger to society and after a series of hearings regarding a possible release on bond while awaiting trial, scheduled for May, 2024, and review of his ruling by the New Mexico Court of Appeals, Lidyard determined that the defendant should remain incarcerated at the county detention center until that time.

Lidyard’s ruling denied a defense team claim that Martinez was justified in shooting Johns in an act of self-defense.

The next court event scheduled in this case is what would normally be a “routine” Docket Day hearing on March 18, 2024, but that hearing, usually just a procedural housekeeping event, may turn into battle between opposing counsel.

In a recent court filing Martinez’ attorneys reference Johns’ Arizona conviction/prison term as well as other instances of Johns’ arrests—all of them involving misdemeanor cases stemming from his environmental / Native American activism.

The Ryan Martinez legal defense team - Albuquerque attorneys Nicole W. Moss and Marhsall J. Ray - and First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altweis and her assistants have engaged in a contentious tit-for-tat exchange of court filings related to Johns’ run-ins with the law and the political dimensions of this case.

Moss and Marshall had filed a “Brady” discovery motion demanding that the prosecutors disclose any exculpatory (tending to exonerate the defendant) data regarding Johns‘ legal troubles over the past decades or other documents helpful to the defendant.

A Brady motion is a common defense tactic when the defendant’s attorneys are suspicious (or are “posturing for the court record/public consumption) that the prosecution has not been completely forthcoming - as required by law/court rules with disclosing evidence or other data known to the prosecution that could be of benefit to the defendant.

In support of their Brady motion non-compliance allegations, the defense attorneys cite and recount the very Jacob Johns court and other materials cases that they allege the prosecutors have failed to disclose.

Jacob Johns Native American Identity
Johns is of both Hopi and Akimel O’odham tribal descent.

The Hopi homeland is in northern Arizona, surrounded by the much larger Navajo Nation reservation.

The Akimel O’odham people are one of several interrelated O’odham tribes whose homelands are situated in the Salt River and Gila River watersheds in southern Arizona in and south of ‘Phoenix and southwestern New Mexico. The O’odham people are closely related culturally to the Pima Indian people inhabiting the same overall territory.

The water from those two rivers flow into the Colorado River near Yuma, Arizona.

The “O’odham” homeland also includes portions of Mexico adjacent to the USA and “O’odham” people have the legal right cross the border between those bi-national homelands without regulation/interference on the part of U.S. Homeland Security (Border Protection/Immigration/Customs) authorities.

At one time the common term for the O’odham people used by non-Native Americans (including the Bureau of Indian Affairs) was “Papago,” a label many Indian people found offensive.

]]><![CDATA[Recently Appointed Special Prosecutor Dismisses NCSWA Perjury Cases]]>Fri, 22 Dec 2023 07:00:00 GMThttps://abiquiunews.com/news/recently-appointed-special-prosecutor-dismisses-ncswa-perjury-casesBy Jake Arnold

The Office of 13th Judicial District Attorney Barbara Romo Tuesday (12/19/23) filed "nolle prosequi" (decline to prosecute) notices in the perjury indictments handed up earlier this year by a special grand jury against sitting Rio Arriba County Commissioner Alex Naranjo and former County Manager Tomás Campos.

After a tortuous and convoluted series of legal maneuvers beginning 2019 with a petition drive (organized by Antonio "Ike" DeVargas) to convene a special grand jury to examine allegations/suspicions of corruption, malfeasance and misfeasance within the North Central Solid Waste Authority (NCSWA), the special jury did convene over the strenuous and repeated objections of First District Attorney May Carmack-Altweis, who had previously requested First District Judge Matthew to appoint a special prosecutor due to multiple issues in the history of this matter that Carmack-Altweis identified as conflicts of interest for her office.

At a joint hearing in these cases in November, Carmack-Altweis strongly advised the judge that he bore responsibility for appointing a special in these cases. Carmack-Altweis had filed a voluminous brief setting out the history of her office in opposing the NCSWA special grand investigation Wilson seemed then to agree with the district attorney. Counsel for at that November hearing both defendants endorsed the proposition that Wilson should make such a special prosecutor appointment. Carmack-Altweis and and counsel representing Naranjo and Campos all agreed that the best choice for Wilson's appointment of a special prosecutor would be District Attorney Romo of the 13th District, which includes Sandoval, Valencia and Cibola Counties. In the past, former First District it Attorney Henry Valdez (under whom Romo once worked as a top prosecutor) referred cases in which he had a conflict to the13th District Attorney's Office

But several days later Wilson rejected the Carmack-Altweis motion for him to make the appointment and stated in this ruling that the Carmack-Altweis was herself completely capable of appointing a special prosecutor for both perjury cases.

Acquiescing to the judges admonition , Carmack-Altweis did then in early December issue a succinct, one-page appointment documents naming Romo as the special prosecutor in both cases. Romo quickly accepted the appointments and she, along with one of her and one of her prosecutors, completed paperwork establishing themselves as (special prosecutor) assistant district attorneys in the First District. A procedural hearing in both cases was initially sent for 12/21.23, but now the matter is effectively moot as Romo's team's office had dismissed the cases.

Doing so in short order, Romo's justification for dismissing the cases was a single sentence:

"The indictment(s) returned by the specially convened grand jury exceeded their lawful authority."

One analysis of this development suggests that, in theory, a special grand just convened pursuant to a citizen petition is authorized to investigate and recommend action, but that that authorization does not include handing up indictments with the endorsement and agreement of the district attorney (in this case the First District District Attorney) technically overseeing those proceedings even if that district attorney's office had sought to scuttle the special grand just process at every step along the way (going back to 2029 in this instance).

Read Earlier Article NCSWA Indictments and Special Grand Jury Report

]]><![CDATA[Early Voting Now Underway for Seats on Española and Mesa Vista School Boards]]>Fri, 13 Oct 2023 06:00:00 GMThttps://abiquiunews.com/news/early-voting-now-underway-for-seats-on-espanola-and-mesa-vista-school-boardsBy Jake Arnold

The odd-number year "local elections" (some city councils, school boards, and conservation districts statewide) are scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023, but early voting for those contests is now underway at two Rio Arriba County locations--the Rio Arriba county clerk's "warehouse" facility on Calle Don Diego in downtown Española (near the Plaza, Convento and Bond House Museum) and the county clerk's office in Tierra Amarilla.

Several other early voting locations will be open for those wishing to cast ballots before the actual election beginning October 21 and October 24, depending on the location:

Hernandez Community Center (10/21)

Jicarilla Apache Tribal Building in Dulce (10/24)

Ohkay Owingeh Senior Center (10/24)

Santa Clara Pueblo Senior Citizens Building (10/21)

The last day for early voting at all these locations is Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023.

The Mesa Vista school district covers portions of Rio Arriba and Taos Counties.

The Espanola school district covers portions of Rio Arriba and Santa Fe Counties.

Information regarding early-voting locations for voters residing in those counties is available from the respective county clerks of those counties.

Two candidates are vying for an Española Board (members elected according to a specific geographic district) seat for the Abiquiu/Medanales/Hernandez area:

Incumbent Jeremy Maestas and challenger Dale T. Salazar.

Maestas is the Rio Arriba County manager and has previously held a variety of appointive, administrative positions in county and City of Española governments. The county commissioners appointed Maestas county manager after they dismissed former county manager Lucia Sanchez, a political ally of Rio Arriba Sheriff Billy Merrifield, earlier this year.

Salazar’s previous run for elective office was opposing Alex Naranjo for a seat on the Rio Arriba Board of County Commissioners in 2022. In that election Salazar received a remarkable number of votes as a write-in candidate, but lost to Naranjo 1,127 (31%) to 2,507 (69%) in the general election. Salazar was the campaign manager for Merrifield in his successful race to fill a vacancy in that office in 2022.

In compliance with recent changes in state statues regulating these add-year local elections, the Mesa Vista School Baird ballot has a new format never utilized previously.
All Mesa Vista School Board seats are now “at large” districtwide and candidates do not run for a specific at-large “position” as in the past. Three at-large seats are up for election this year and five candidates are seeking those seats.

The ballot for those seats allows a voter to cast votes for three candidates (or just one or two if that should be the voter’s preference—no “ranked choice” order of preference selection is included on this ballot). The top three candidates receiving votes are then elected.

Some incumbent Mesa Vista board members, whose terms are expiring, are not seeking reelection.

The five candidates seeking those three Mesa Vista eats are:

Anthony Xavier Vigil of El Rito (incumbent Mesa Vista School Board president)

Edwin J. Gurule of Tres Piedras (longtime Mesa Vista school bus driver)

John Garcia of Ojo Caliente (former board member defeated for reelection a few years back)

Juan J. Manzanares of La Madera

Daniella Irene Gallegos of El Rito

Both the Espanola and Mesa Vista ballots also include questions asking voters to approve or reject proposed the issuance of general obligation property tax bonds.

Also on the ballot are Chama Valley and Dulce school board seats as well as seats on two soil & water conservation districts covering portions of Rio Arriba County.

A complete list of all statewide local offices up for election this November is available at one of NM Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver’s official website pages.

]]><![CDATA[Robots!]]>Fri, 13 Oct 2023 03:55:57 GMThttps://abiquiunews.com/news/robots

By Brian Bondy

I don’t know, but I thought robots and AI would be just a perfect combination. What could go wrong?

Robots have been around for a long time. A really long time. You should look at the history of robots CLICK HERE.

It’s a great review of some of the inventions through the ages considered to be part of the robot’s making.

I like the Automatons the best. Very mechanical, clockwork mechanisms, especially the one’s that write and look a bit human. Check out Wikipedia’s story of them CLICK HERE.

Okay, so the reason I’m writing this article is because a reader of the AI article mentioned the replacement of human jobs by AI. Since it’s already happening, and since robotics have been replacing humans for decades, I thought I’d poke around for some interesting things that have happened and I found one, in particular. One of my favorite YouTube science people had a video purported to be of an Elon Musk related robot. This particular beast was doing some things new to the humanoid robot world, and I thought I’d put that video..

So what are some real world applications for robots taking away human jobs? Certainly the car industry has been using robotics for decades to help build automobiles. The mining industry has been using robotics as well, arguably, that one is a great, but there are thousands of jobs lost to robots for people who may not readily be able to be retrained to do something else, and where would they do that something else anyway? It’s not like every mining town has a whole another industry for folks to work at.

Robots are entering the food production market. Watch this short Pizza video Here.

While Abiquiu does not currently employ any robots, per se, there are plenty of examples of robotics taking over the food production world, though generally, we are talking about fast food products like pizza and burgers. Still, I remember seeing a bar that didn’t have a bar tender, but a robot that made and served drinks. Or maybe that was in The Shining remake.
While this may seem cutting edge, there are plenty of companies making these robots, and more and more companies buying into them. Amazon is heavily using robotics, and they pretty much own the world. Like AI, for good and for bad, robotics are here and they aren’t going away, they are just getting started.

Here’s an interesting 20 minute video on 10 restaurants already using robots.

]]><![CDATA[New Mexico AG Raul Torrez Declines to Prosecute NCSWA Perjury CasesDA Seeks Appointment of Predecessor as Special Prosecutor]]>Thu, 05 Oct 2023 15:45:30 GMThttps://abiquiunews.com/news/new-mexico-ag-raul-torrez-declines-to-prosecute-ncswa-perjury-casesda-seeks-appointment-of-predecessor-as-special-prosecutorBy Jake Arnold

First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies this week renewed her request to District Judge Matthew Wilson for appointment of a special prosecutor in the perjury cases against current Rio Arriba County Board of Commissioners Chair Alex Naranjo and former County Manager Tomás Campos.

Both defendants are facing indictments handed up in May by a special grand jury that investigated allegations of corruption/criminal conduct on the part of employees and board members of the beleaguered North Central Solid Waster Authority, (NCSWA) a joint-powers governmental entity created by the county, the City of Española and other units of local government. Both Naranjo and Campos served on the NCSWA during Naranjo's previous tenue as a county commissioner and Campos' service as county manager.

The indictments do not recount any such criminal activity as NCSWA officials, but rather charge both defendants with lying in their respective testimonies related to their knowledge of possible wrongdoing within the NCSWA when they were board members. The special investigative grand jury was convened pursuit to a citizen petition circulated by Antonio (Ike) DeVargas, a former county official, a longtime critic of Naranjo and numerous other county officials. DeVargas began his petition-gathering efforts in 2019, when Marco Serna was DA.

Carmack-Altweis had filed a notice with the court requesting that either the AG take over prosecution of the perjury cases or that a special prosecutor be assigned to the case. The DA stated in her initial request of early August (and reiterated in her filing this week) that the relations between her office, DeVargas, and the special grand jury members was so contentious that the DA could not continue to prosecute these cases.

Carmack-Altweis also identifies a conflict prohibiting her continued involvement in these cases since one of her prosecutors, Douglas Woods, is likely to be a to be a witness in these perjury cases both scheduled for trial in early May, 2024, just a month before next year's primary elections.

In her renewed request, the DA revealed that AG Raul Torrez had declined to take over the case. Consequently, the DA is asking Judge Wilson to appoint a special prosecutor and recommends that her predecessor, former DA Marco Serna receive that appointment.

The special grand jury, in their report to the court, recommended that additional investigation into what they perceived likely to be internal NCSWA criminal conduct continue since they could not complete such a task before their statutory term of authority to do so ended. It is unclear if an appointed special prosecutor in the Naranjo/Campos perjury cases would also pursue the perceived internal criminal NCSWA conduct suggest in in the special grand jury report.

Serna returned to private practice after choosing not to seek re-election as DA in 2020 and losing a bid for a congressional seat in the Democratic primary that same year. Later, Serna accepted a position with the statewide NM District Attorney's Association (NMDDA), which is effectively an adjunct agency affiliated with the AODA. In that role, Serna serves as an auxiliary prosecutor/special prosecutor on behalf of local DAs who may need specialized assistance provided by those agencies.

Carmack-Altwies has indicated if she will seek reelection as DA next year.

Serna recently hinted that he might run for First District Attorney (the position his successor, Carmack-Altweis now holds) again in 2024. The First District includes Rio Arriba, Santa Fe and Los Alamos Counties.

A story earlier this month by courts reporter Phaedra Haywood of the Santa Fe New Mexican stated:

"... (Serna) said in a phone interview supporters have approached him about again seeking the post. “It’s humbling,” Serna said. “I have not made any decisions, but if people want to continue to speak to me about it, I’m not going to deny them that. I’m considering all opportunities at this point. ... It’s a big decision, one I won’t take lightly.”

In her letter to Judge Wilson, Carmack-Altweis identifies Serna as a special prosecutor (in his role with the AODA/NMDDA, with a relatively light case load, thereby allowing him to prosecute the perjury cases. Carmack-Altweis also proposes that Serna is familiar with the continuing efforts by DeVargas to have a special grand just convened since Serna was DA in 2019 when DeVargas initiated his petition-gathering.

Carmack-Altwies asked Judge Wilson to hold a hearing re: her request. The judge has not yet set a hearing date.

]]><![CDATA[Perjury Cases Against Rio Arriba Commission Chair Naranjo and Ex-County Manager Campos in Limbo]]>Thu, 28 Sep 2023 15:52:16 GMThttps://abiquiunews.com/news/perjury-cases-against-rio-arriba-commission-chair-naranjo-and-ex-county-manager-campos-in-limboDistrict Judge Yet to Rule on Critical Procedural Motions
By Jake Arnold

Both the current Rio Arriba County Commission Chair, Alex Naranjo and former Rio Arriba County Manger, Tomás Campos have their respective trials set for May, 2024. They were indicted in July by a special grand jury on single counts of giving false testimony before that body. The special grand jury was investigating allegations of corruption and associated criminal conduct within the operations of the North Central Solid Waste Authority. As a county commissioner and county manager, both Naranjo and Campos served on the NCSWA governing body in past years. The indictments handed up against them do not address any NCSWA corruption or illegal activity, and only involve allegations of lying to the grand jury

Currently, the cases are on hold as their defense attorneys await action on motions by First Judicial District Matthew Wilson and/or the New Mexico Attorney General to deal with roadblocks impeding progress in adjudicating the cases.

Naranjo’s defense attorney, Justin Pennington, and Campos’ defense attorney, Tom Clark, in late August filed a joint motion in both cases claiming that district court staff have improperly blocked them from receiving transcripts of the grand jury proceedings leading up to the indictments. The motion seeks to have Wilson order production of the transcript so that the defense attorneys can proceed with preparing their defense on behalf of their clients.

Additionally, a motion filed in late August by Clark, on behalf of Campos, seeks to have the First Judicial District Attorney removed from any continued involvement in prosecuting these cases. District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altweis in early August filed a notice stating her office had a conflict of interest and could no longer continue as prosecutors in these cases.

The conflict outlined by Carmack-Altweis involves her office's contentious relationship with the organizer of the successful petition effort to convene the special NCSWA grand jury, Antonio (Ike) DeVargas. The Carmack-Altweis notice requested that the NM Attorney General take over the cases or that a special prosecutor be appointed to handle these cases.

The toxic relationship involving DeVargas, the special grand jury, and the D.A.'s Office required the intervention of the district judge then-overseeing that special grand jury, Jason Lidyard, who later recused himself from the Naranjo/Campos perjury cases.

As of today, however, court records continue to state that the D.A.'s Office remains the prosecutorial agency in these cases. The defense motion re: the Carmack-Altweis notice, seeks compliance with her interpretation of court rules requiring her office to hand the case over to another prosecutorial entity. In this instance, the defense and the prosecution appear to be in agreement: the D.A.'s office is ineligible to continue prosecuting these cases and some other prosecutorial agency (the A.G.) or a special prosecutor must take over.

These defense motions do not request a hearing on the merits of these motions and Judge Wilson has not scheduled such hearings on his own. Consequently the cases are in limbo and cannot proceed with the normal series procedural pre-trial actions by either side that often transpire over the course of several months during the run-up to actual jury selection and trial.

Meanwhile, it is unclear if any transfer of these perjury cases to the A.G. or a special prosecutor would concurrently result in continued investigation by one or the other of those entities into alleged corruption/criminal conduct within the NCSWA. In their report at the conclusion of the special grand jury's term, the jurors suggested that such an investigation should be conducted, as many allegations could not be fully considered by that grand jury before the required termination of that that body's term.

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