Anthony Moreno

Dr. Peter DeBenedittis has announced that he is running in the Democratic Primary for Governor of New Mexico. He recently stopped by the KRWG-FM studios to share more about why he is running as a candidate. He also, shared his thoughts on issus the state faces, and he also discusses challenges that he says exist within the Democratic party.

The personal finance website WalletHub recently ranked New Mexico 4th in the country when it comes to having the most underprivileged children. WalletHub analyst, Jill Gonzalez says New Mexico did poorly when it comes to children’s education.  

“We’re seeing that there’s very low public high school graduation rate that gets even lower among economically disadvantaged students,” says Gonzalez.

Across the country, thousands of people facing behavioral health issues end up in prisons and jails. But they often encounter law enforcement officials before that happens.

During his many years on patrol, Lt. Shane Briscoe with the Las Cruces Police Dept. has been dealing with behavioral health issues. He says there are four common groups.

“The ones that we deal with are depression, bipolar disorders, schizophrenic disorder, a combination of schizophrenia and bipolar, those are the categories that we really deal with,” says Briscoe.

President Trump’s executive actions aiming to enhance border security along with constructing a border wall has drawn criticism from environmental groups who say they are concerned about the impact a wall would have on ecosystems along the border.

The Trump Administration has officially made it clear that it wants to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. On the campaign trail, and into his first months in office, President Donald Trump has made it no secret that he was not a fan of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

On a recent taping of “In Focus” on KRWG-TV, Jerry Pacheco, President of the Border Industrial Association shared his thoughts on the Trump Administrations efforts to renegotiate the trade deal. He says he hopes the efforts are to improve NAFTA.

Senate Republicans pushed back a vote on their proposed healthcare bill aimed at repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act until after the Fourth of July congressional recess.

This past weekend marked the third anniversary of the Organ Mountains Desert Peaks National Monument. It comes after President Donald Trump issued an executive order reviewing national monuments of 100,000 acres or more that were designated as far back as 1996.

Since the designation of the monument, some Las Cruces-area businesses say they have found opportunities to get creative with new brands and expand.

This summer, a new clinic is scheduled to open that will offer counseling services to Post 9/11 veterans and their loved ones with mental health issues.

Construction is underway at what is scheduled to be the Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at Family Endeavors on El Paso’s east side. Family Endeavors CEO Travis Pearson explains what the clinic will offer.

“The clinic is going to offer free counseling to veterans and their family members free of charge," says Pearson. 

"The Final Mission: Preserving NASA’s Apollo Sites," is a new book that highlights not just the space race, but book shares much about the research, training, and manufacturing that it took to put human beings on the moon.

Weldon Lamb, retired NMSU adjunct professor in the Department of Anthropology recently sat down with KRWG to discuss his book "The Maya Calendar." Lamb talks about his interest in the culture and what discoveries he made while conducting his research on the calendar. 

Las Cruces Public Schools Superintendent, Dr. Gregory Ewing sits down with KRWG to talk about challenges facing the school district.

In the interview, Ewing talks about the state budget crisis and how it is impacting the school district. Ewing also shares how the district would respond to any possible immigration enforcement actions that may impact students. Also, Ewing shares his thoughts on the district's recent interactions with New Mexico Education Secretary Hanna Skandera and the state public education department. 

Next month, The Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument will celebrate its third anniversary, and now some in Las Cruces are worried that their recently designated national monument may be sized down thanks to a new executive order by President Trump.

Friday a crowd of people filled a ballroom at the Ramada Las Cruces Hotel and Conference Center to speak out against President Donald Trump’s executive order that called for a review of national monuments that were designated back to the start of 1996 and covered at least 100,000 acres.

This week, President Donald Trump issued an Antiquities Act executive order that calls for a review of national monuments designated back to the beginning of 1996 with 100, 000 acres or more. The move also opens the monuments up for review for possible modifications. U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich has spoken out against the executive order and he says he will work to protect New Mexico’s newly designated national monuments.

In February, Las Cruces Public Schools had over 2,300 students miss class after a reported immigration raid in the community.

Dr. Gregory Ewing, Superintendent of Las Cruces Public Schools says that the most important thing is that students come to school. He says that parents who may be concerned about any possible immigration enforcement actions have options in the district when it comes to getting their children to school if they notify the district.

“We will ensure that a bus comes to your residence to pick up your child and bring them to school,” says Ewing.

School districts across the state have felt the impact of the budget crisis and has left them planning for the next fiscal year without a finalized budget agreement for the state.

Dr. Gregory Ewing, Superintendent of Las Cruces Public Schools says the New Mexico Public Education Department has taken $2.7 million from the district’s operating funds. Ewing says the PED also took $500,000 from the district's transportation budget which is used to transport students to school. He also says LCPS also had $191,000 from instructional materials and supplies account.

“The Final Mission: Preserving NASA’s Apollo Sites” is a new book that discusses in great detail NASA’s Apollo sites, and the need to preserve them. The book is authored by Lisa Westwood, a professional archeologist and professor at Chico State University, Wayne Donaldson, Chairman of National Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and Beth O’Leary, Professor Emerita of NMSU’s Anthropology Department.

Beth O’Leary recently was a guest on KRWG-TV’s “In Focus.” O’Leary says that the book is about space archeology and heritage.

Bev Courtney is former president and a current member of the Las Cruces Tea Party. Courtney on a recent episode of “In Focus” shares why she got involved with the organization.

“There was so many people there, and there was high energy, I liked the things they said, I agreed with them,” says Courtney.

Courtney says she is a supporter of President Donald Trump. She says Trump was successful in his campaign, because his message resonated with people like her.

The Republican Proposed American Healthcare Act failed to gather enough support last week in Congress, and that had some healthcare consumer groups relieved for older adults who they say could have faced great burden.

In part two of KRWG’s In Focus interview with Roman Jimenez, Chairman of the Doña Ana County Republican Party, Mr. Jimenez shares his thoughts on immigration enforcement, The North American Free Trade Agreement, and shares his perspective on why Republicans lost control of the New Mexico House of Representatives in the 2016 election.

The Republican-proposed American Healthcare Act has some consumer groups speaking out saying that the bill may threaten access to essential health benefits like maternity care, or mental health services, which are covered under the Affordable Care Act. 

Some consumer groups say the bill may also impact another essential health benefit…treatment for substance abuse disorders.

One of the provisions that the American Healthcare Act aims to remove is the individual mandate penalty from law and aims to replace it with a so-called “Continuous Coverage” penalty, and that has consumer groups speaking out against allowing companies to charge more to those who go without insurance.

Roman Jimenez, Chairman of the Doña Ana County Republican Party was a recent guest on KRWG’s In Focus. On the program, Jimenez shared what he says he wants people to know what the Republican Party stands for.

“We stand for the liberties that have been given to them. Their inalienable rights to free speech, their inalienable rights to own property, to make their voices heard and to live basically a free life over an intrusive government,” says Jimenez.

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office says that under the GOP proposed American Healthcare Act 24 million people may be uninsured in 2026 if the bill changes Medicaid funding along with changes to subsidies for insurance.

A recent teleconference has some consumer groups raising concern that a repeal of The Affordable Healthcare Act may lead to the return of so-called high-risk pools.

As Congress debates GOP-led efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act many are concerned about how funding Medicaid may be affected. This week, consumer groups held a teleconference to voice their concerns about Medicaid funding.

Under the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid funding by states is matched by the federal government dollar for dollar. That system would change in 2020 under the Republican proposed American Healthcare Act.

For over a year, The Islamic Center of Las Cruces has offered classes to educate the Las Cruces community on Islam.

Radwan Jallad, President of the Islamic Center of Las Cruces said in a recent taping of “In Focus” the outpouring of response from the community has been very supportive.

“They recognize us as neighbors and friends,” says Jallad.

Community members reached out to the center for encouragement to offer presentations that provide a basic education of Islam, and what the faith is about to provide better understanding to the community.

A 2015 Pew Research report estimated there were around 3.3 million Muslims living in the United States. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/01/06/a-new-estimate-of-the-u-s-muslim-population/

In a taped episode of “In Focus” Radwan Jallad, President of The Islamic Center of Las Cruces shared some history about the center and the faith. Jallad says the center was formed in the early 1980s.

Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima gave the “State of the City” address Wednesday which focused on economic development. He stated how important the diversity of the economy was, along with the potential growth in the region at the border in Santa Teresa. The mayor also stated how crucial federal and state jobs were to the city, and he also cast blame on what he said were  “irresponsible tax cuts by the last two state administrations.”

“These cuts benefiting high-income individuals, and out-of-state-corporations have done little to grow our economy, ” says Miyagishima.