New Mexico in Focus (A Production of NMPBS)

This week, we dig into this year's ongoing fire season. Since New Mexico's fire season began this spring, about 25 local jurisdictions have imposed some level of fire restriction. In May, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham declared a state of emergency due to the state's severe drought and increased fire risk. Source New Mexico reporter Patrick Lohmann speaks with State Forester Laura McCarthy about how New Mexico officials are preparing for this year's wildfire season – and the recovery efforts of the future. NMiF Host Nash Jones sits down with two members of the Santa Fe-based nonprofit Forest Stewards Guild to talk about their use of prescribed burns and rebuilding public trust in that often-controversial forest-management tool. Podcast Host: Lou DiVizio Segments: What NM Officials Expect from the 2025 Fire Season Correspondent: Patrick Lohmann Guest: Laura McCarthy, State Forester, New Mexico Forestry Division Forest Stewards Guild Talks Prescribed Burns and Resiliency in NM NMiF Host: Nash Jones Guests: Eytan Krasilovsky, Deputy Director, Forest Stewards Guild Maya Hilty, Fireshed Coordinator, Forest Stewards Guild

City Councilor Nichole Rogers ran for her seat in 2023 in part on a platform of improving policing. Rogers speaks with NMiF Host Nash Jones about how she and her constituents’ relationship with APD stands as the consent-decree era ends. Podcast Host: Lou DiVizio Correspondent: Nash Jones Guest: Nichole Rogers, Albuquerque City Councilor for District 6

Longtime civil rights lawyer Mark Fine has monitored the situation at APD for years. Fine joins Executive Producer Jeff Proctor for a long-view perspective on how effective federal intervention has been in tamping down APD's culture of aggression.  He also talks about some of the under-discussed benefits of the reform effort — with transparency at APD topping that list. Host: Lou DiVizio Correspondent: Jeff Proctor Guest: Mark Fine, Civil Rights Lawyer

When Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller appointed Harold Medina as APD chief in 2020, the department was still not fully in charge of itself, having blown past the deadline to end a court-approved settlement agreement the city signed with the U.S. Department of Justice six years prior. DOJ investigators had identified a deeply embedded culture at APD that led to the unconstitutional use of excessive force — and a leadership structure that enabled it. Medina was at the helm of APD when U.S. District Judge James Browning signed an order ending the consent decree on May 12. NMiF Host Nash Jones recently sat down with Medina to discuss how APD has changed through this 11-year reform project — and ask why federal oversight of his department has come to an end now. Podcast Host: Lou DiVizio Correspondent: Nash Jones Guest: Harold Medina, Chief, Albuquerque Police Department

This week on the podcast, we explore what the end of federal oversight at the Albuquerque Police Department means for the city. Today's episode features the parents of a man who Albuquerque Police shot and killed on April 12, 2011, when two plainclothes detectives killed 27-year-old Christopher Torres, shooting him three times in the back in his family's backyard. Since that day, his parents, Steve and Renetta Torres, have been prominent voices in the push for reform at APD. Executive Producer Jeff Proctor recently met with the Torres's to talk about what they lost 14 years ago, and to get their perspective on the decade-plus of trying to clean up the department that killed their son. Host: Lou DiVizio Correspondent: Jeff Proctor Guests: Renetta Torres, Son Killed by APD in 2011 Steve Torres, Son Killed by APD in 2011