Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Alex Heard @aheard.bsky.social · Jul 24

@searchlightnm.bsky.social's Molly Montgomery did a great job on this story about the campaign to canonize a legendary nun who did a lot for the people of New Mexico during the Wild West days: Sister Blandina Segale. This piece is beautiful, nuanced, and deep. searchlightnm.org/new-mexico-c...

Fact-checking miracles: inside the multiyear effort to canonize Sister Blandina Segale | Searchlight New Mexico

The Vatican may grant sainthood to a nun who knew Billy the Kid, tended the sick, taught children and advocated for immigrants. Making that happen requires a unique blend of faith and boots-on-the-gro...

searchlightnm.org

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Alex Heard @aheard.bsky.social · Jul 24

@searchlightnm.bsky.social proud that one of our staff investigators, Alicia Inez Guzmán, is in this great group of young journalists.

NYTimes Communications @nytimespr.bsky.social · Jul 24

We are thrilled to announce the 2025-26 class of the Local Investigations Fellowship. The journalists, who hail from four states, will produce signature investigative work focused on the state or region they’re reporting from. www.nytco.com/press/introd...

Introducing the 2025-26 Local Investigations Fellows | The New York Times Company

www.nytco.com

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Alex Heard @aheard.bsky.social · Jul 16

For the first time, New Mexico’s downwinders have become eligible for government compensation. But many of them will suffer from Medicaid cuts, even as spending on nuclear weapons skyrockets. That now amounts to 84 percent of Los Alamos National Laboratory’s total annual costs.

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Alex Heard @aheard.bsky.social · Jul 16

Today is the 80th anniversary of Trinity. At 1 P.M. Eastern, the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium will dedicate the first permanent public marker to the New Mexicans who died or were made ill by radioactive fallout that nobody told them was coming. searchlightnm.org/trinity-bomb...

“They didn’t want to see us” | Searchlight New Mexico

New Mexican downwinders, receiving financial compensation for the first time, reckon with the ongoing tragedy of the Trinity bomb detonation — and fight to ensure remembrance

searchlightnm.org

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Alex Heard @aheard.bsky.social · Jul 10

New at @searchlightnm.bsky.social: We're sorry to report that there has been a second suicide by a teenager under the foster care of the troubled New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department. searchlightnm.org/new-mexico-c...

Another life lost in New Mexico’s foster care system | Searchlight New Mexico

Makamy Anderson’s death is the most recent tragedy to come to light amid a string of deaths of children in the state’s care.

searchlightnm.org

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Alex Heard @aheard.bsky.social · Jul 3

New at @searchlightnm.bsky.social: A lawsuit in the 2024 fatal police shooting of teenager Elijah Hadley could shed light on a persistent problem in New Mexico: an outsized portion of police violence begins with a welfare check. searchlightnm.org/when-a-call-...

When a call for help ends in gunfire | Searchlight New Mexico

A new lawsuit in the 2024 fatal police shooting of teenager Elijah Hadley could shed light on a persistent problem in New Mexico: an outsized portion of police violence begins with a welfare check

searchlightnm.org

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Alex Heard @aheard.bsky.social · Jun 28

Sounds like they had a good time, though.💃🕺🤠

From the wedding invitation: “Southwestern/Mexican optional! Aka oral print, rues, skirts/sundresses, bright colors … If you own cowboy boots, this maaaay be a fantastic time to plan an outfit around them.”

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Alex Heard @aheard.bsky.social · Jun 28

New at @searchlightnm.bsky.social. Former Western New Mexico U. president Joseph Shepard got sued again. This time for allegedly spending money intended for ADA-compliant walkway/ramp construction on a $177,000 patio used for his daughter's wedding reception. searchlightnm.org/joseph-shepa...

Joseph Shepard sued by the New Mexico State Ethics Commission | Searchlight New Mexico

In addition to staying at five-star resorts, buying luxury furniture and traveling the world on the taxpayers’ dime, former Western New Mexico University

searchlightnm.org

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Alex Heard @aheard.bsky.social · Jun 24

New at @searchlightnm.bsky.social: our own Molly Montgomery spoke with @mariahblake.bsky.social, author of “They Poisoned the World,” an important new book about the history and toxic legacy of “forever chemicals.” (Which were an outgrowth of the Manhattan Project.) searchlightnm.org/new-mexico-p...

"They poisoned the world" | Searchlight New Mexico

A new book by New Mexico-born author Mariah Blake explains how a previously unknown Manhattan Project program ushered in the age of toxic “forever chemicals”

searchlightnm.org

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Alex Heard @aheard.bsky.social · Jun 19

The archive of Outside magazine back issues—PLUS early 1980s interview transcripts with key creators like Tim Cahill, Terry McDonell, Larry Burke, and Jan Wenner, are now in the hands of the Outdoor Recreation Archive at Utah State. 🛻🍾

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Alex Heard @aheard.bsky.social · Jun 16

New at @SearchlightNM: Ed Williams' February story on a dark money group that lobbied against medical malpractice reform has prompted a legal complaint by the New Mexico State Ethics Commission. searchlightnm.org?p=100887&pre...

Bringing dark money to light | Searchlight New Mexico

New Mexico Safety Over Profit successfully fought against medical malpractice reform during the 2025 session. A state commission now says it broke the law.

searchlightnm.org

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Alex Heard @aheard.bsky.social · Jun 5

One of my best friends from high school, who died last fall, had a tradition of putting up a "flower wall" in front of his house in Colorado Springs. (As you can tell, he was good with plants.) His kids and a local neighborhood association are keeping that tradition going. Here's what it looks like.

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Alex Heard @aheard.bsky.social · Jun 4

On June 10 at Collected Works bookstore in Santa Fe, I'm speaking with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Caroline Fraser about her great new book, "Murderland," which will be officially published that very day! Please attend! www.collectedworksbookstore.com/events-1/car...

Caroline Fraser, Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers | CW Bookstore

From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of "Prairie Fires" comes a terrifying true-crime history of serial killers in the Pacific Northwest and beyond—a gripping investigation of how a new strain of ps...

www.collectedworksbookstore.com

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Alex Heard @aheard.bsky.social · May 30

I spent some time walking around downtown Santa Fe today, which I hadn't done for a while. Here's a shot of just a few of the hundreds of hand-painted windows inside the La Fonda Hotel.

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Alex Heard @aheard.bsky.social · May 29

@searchlightnm.bsky.social thoroughly enjoyed collaborating with @apnews.com on this important article about New Mexico schools near oil and gas production facilities. 👏 to ‪@aliaemily.bsky.social‬, Susan Montoya Bryan, and ‪@sharonlurye.bsky.social‬. apnews.com/article/scho...

Oil and gas have boomed in New Mexico. Its schools are contending with pollution’s effects

Natural gas has become a go-to fuel for power plants from coast to coast, sometimes replacing dirtier coal-fired plants and, by extension, improving air quality.

apnews.com

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Alex Heard @aheard.bsky.social · May 26

Anyone have contact info for someone at CBS who fields media requests for Scott Pelley? Thanks.

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Alex Heard @aheard.bsky.social · May 23

I just met this comfort dog, whose beat is most of the wards in St. Vincent's hospital, where a relative is currently in for a few days. Maizy. I'm told, not surprisingly, that she's extremely popular around here.

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Alex Heard @aheard.bsky.social · May 22

NEW: The oil & gas industry in New Mexico’s Permian Basin subjects workers to brutal conditions. Molly Montgomery takes an unforgettable look at the lives of men whose jobs lead to death, injury, disease and terrible tolls on mental health and family life. searchlightnm.org/new-mexico-p...

The boots on Buck Jackson Road | Searchlight New Mexico

New Mexico is the second-largest oil producer in the U.S., behind Texas. Drawing immense wealth from the Permian Basin, the state relies on a workforce — often Latino men — who are subjected to harrow...

searchlightnm.org

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Alex Heard @aheard.bsky.social · May 22

Greetings: I'm trying to reach Carla Hayden, the former Librarian of Congress. If you have contact info and could forward an email from me, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.

Alex Heard @aheard.bsky.social · May 17

Hi. Just sharing the greatest thing I've seen on Facebook in the past 100 years.

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Alex Heard @aheard.bsky.social · May 15

Hello, esteemed New Mexico Secretary of State!

You're probably right.

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Alex Heard @aheard.bsky.social · May 15

I don't know anything about behind-the-scenes books about presidents. Assuming this is true (I dunno), is it typical not to fact check with the central character in the book? www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

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Alex Heard @aheard.bsky.social · May 13

New at @searchlightnm.bsky.social: A civil lawsuit alleges that Rio Arriba County officials violated the civil rights of two protestors by fostering an environment that let Ryan Martinez open fire into an anti-Oñate demonstration in Española, New Mexico, in 2023.

searchlightnm.org/ryan-martine...

Protect and serve: Did county officials enable Ryan Martinez’s violent actions at a 2023 protest in Española? | Searchlight New Mexico

Two survivors have filed suit against Rio Arriba County office-holders, alleging that their civil rights were violated when they failed to control dangerous conflicts surrounding the proposed reinstal...

searchlightnm.org

Alex Heard @aheard.bsky.social · May 10

Great idea, thanks.

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Alex Heard @aheard.bsky.social · May 10

Greetings: I'm trying to reach Dave Eggers. While gathering material for the Outside magazine archive, I came across some archival stuff that I think he'll want to hear about. (Nothing bad, just fun.) If you have his contact info, perhaps you could forward an email from me? Thanks.

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