May 22, 2025
Featured Presentation
We were fortunate to hear from Kyla Navarro, who works with Friends of the Organ Mountains Desert Peaks organization. Kyla started out telling us a little bit about herself. She immigrated to Las Cruces in 2009 from the Philippines, and said she grew up with a fear of the outdoors. When she joined Friends of the Organ Mountains, she learned that a lot of young people experienced the worries Kyla had, and as a result their organization has worked with community youth, introducing them to our public lands and forming a strong connection as they are the next generation who will advocate for our environment.
Unfortunately, it seems that the Department of Interior wants to expand mining, and oil and gas leasing in the Organ Mountains, without considering what the communities think. To address this, Friends of the Organ Mountains is hosting a Day of Action on June 7 so the community (including folks up in Taos with the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument) can voice objections to taking away our monuments. The protest will be at Tortugas Mountain. Also, join Friends of the Organ Mountains for a poster making session on June 5. Want to do even more? Write to the Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum, and make your opinion known! Here is the address:
Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, N.W.
Washington DC 20240
Get the accurate information about Mexican wolves
Peter Ossorio said that we should not believe all of the happy talk that is coming from the Fish and Wildlife Service or Arizona or New Mexico state agencies regarding Mexican wolves. He said some of it is accurate and some of it is wishful thinking. There are very powerful interests that align with trying to go after public lands which are using the wolf as a fulcrum. For good information, please go to MexicanWolves.org. This resource links to a number of other organizations, providing a consortium of organizations.
On a personal note, Peter & Jean consider PVA their extended family, so they wanted to share an important date: on June 8th, they will have been married 60 years. Congratulations and best wishes to Peter and Jean!
Peter can be reached at peterossorio203@gmail.com.
The “weeds guy” has some thoughts about bicycle friendliness
Several months ago, Jim Wilcox shared his experience with weeds. The city said he had weeds and he received a ticket. Jim asked how they knew what were weeds and which were native plants. It turned out that the city couldn’t tell which was which, so Jim took it to court and won.
Now he’s dealing with a new issue: getting serious about making it safe for bicyclists to ride on city streets. Jim is a bicyclist and a member of the bicycle pedestrian advisory committee. He reported that the city just passed a plan to add more roads in the city, but only .02 of the total budget will go to making bicycles safe to ride. Jim said the city has made proclamations–“We support cycling” but he’d like to see bicyclists to get a bigger piece of the transportation pie.
Jim can be reached at Jimwilcox@comcast.net.
For a change, Donald Trump said and did some crazy things
Jim Hoerst is an advocate for separation of church and state, and he told us that this week Donald Trump did three crazy things. First–wait, put down your coffee–Donald Trump said he’s a man of God. Second, Donald Trump moved the office of faith relationships inside the White House. Third, Donald Trump doesn’t know whether or not separation of church and state is a good idea after all. Jim said, “Separation of church and state is a big deal. We either fight for it or lose it.” Jim thanked everyone who came out to the “Day of Reason” rally.
Jim can be reached at seattletags@gmail.com.
Do you know what Nones is?
Diane Starbuck is a member of the Las Cruces Nones, which advocates for separation of church and state, through education and engagement. Diane thanked those who attended the Day of Reason.
Diane can be reached at deendrewnribaudo@gmail.com.
Las Cruces has an active Parkinson’s Support Group
Lynn Austin reminded everybody that Las Cruces has a very active Parkinson’s support group that meets once a month. The group offers lots of activities for people with Parkinson’s and their caregivers, so come on out! You can always find Lynn near the door on your way out of the PVA meeting and he has flyers if you want to find out the date and time. You can also check the website.
Lynn can be reached at laustin@interserv.com.
The Rio Grande makes WAVES
Rene Romo wanted to make everyone aware of two organizations: Doña Ana Village Association and Rio Grande WAVES, which stands for Water Advocates for Vital Environmental Sustainability. Rena invited everyone to a very special event on May 31st at 8.30 a.m. at Leasburg Dam State Park. That is the day and the time when the Rio Grande makes its grand re-entry into our valley. And, Rene said, we should celebrate, because without the Rio Grande, he doubts this community would be here. When the river fills up and we temporarily forget about the months and months we spent without a living river, it brings relief to people beleaguered by the heat. It replenishes the aquifer. It sustains agriculture. The river will snake its way down in other parts of the river, but this is a place where we can all come together. The river is back!
Rene can be reached at rene.m.romo@gmail.com.
Representative Doreen Gallegos’ post-session actions
Adam Sommers is Rep. Gallegos’ District Legislative Aide and offered several updates on what she’s done since the session ended. Doreen is deeply concerned about the devastating benefits cuts that could come down from the federal government and she’s ready to work with her colleagues to try to protect New Mexicans and keep them enrolled. It’s also interim committee season and the Representative is happy to be the vice chair of Economic and Rural Policy and Development as well as being back on Revenue and Taxation and Revenue Stabilization. And, finally, Adam reminded us that all of the representatives now have a full time legislative aide, so for anybody who lives in Doreen’s district or knows people who live in District 52, he is here to help you with any issues, including gaining access to municipal or county or state services.
Adam can be reached at adam.sommers@nmlegis.gov.
Introducing Rep. Sarah Silva’s full-time legislative aide
Carlos Salmon is Rep. Sarah Silva’s District Legislative Aide, and he will be available to everyone in District 53. Sarah is a new elected official so Carlos is trying to get to know the community. If you know anybody in District 53 who is seeking help, contact Carlos.
Carlos can be reached at HD53.DLA@nmlegis.gov.
Write postcards to keep CD2 Blue!
Gayle Eads has organized another round of postcard writing to get out the vote! She emphasized the importance of getting messages out to people who are reluctant voters and/or live in large rural districts. People need to be reminded that there will be another election. So if you want to participate, contact Gayle. You need to buy your own stamps, but if you cannot, Gayle has some generous friends who would help with the cost of stamps. One additional requirement is writing in print rather than cursive so people can easily read the postcard. There will be 3 rounds of postcard writing: Round 1 starts in late June when you get the postcards and you mail them in early July; Round 2 starts in late August when you get the cards and in early September you mail them; and, Round 3 is in late October and you mail the postcards in early November. You can choose whether to write 25 or 50 postcards. Gayle said they’d love to have a few more of you. Thank you very much!
Gayle can be reached at gayle.s.eads@gmail.com.
Call to action
Liz Bennett started out her two minutes with some important information. She told us that “Due to the Israeli blockade on Gaza 2 million Palestinians are currently without food, water or medicine as they have been for the last 11 weeks nearly 3 months. Half of the population are under the age of 18 and all of them risk starvation in the coming days and weeks. This is after 80% of domestic infrastructure, 100% of schools and nearly all hospitals have been decimated by the Israeli military siege on Gaza. The U.S. government, who funds the Israeli military with billions of dollars in weapons, is facilitating this ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people.”
Liz asked all concerned citizens, people, community members to call their representatives and demand an immediate end to the blockade on Gaza, an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Palestine and an immediate and total arms embargo on Israel. More specifically you can ask your representatives to support Senate Resolution 224 calling for the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza and ask your representatives to support House Joint Resolution 68 and 69 to end arms transfers to Israel.
Liz can be reached at lizbennett@nmsu.edu.
Mark your calendar for this rally
Pam Hett from Indivisible Las Cruces invited everyone to attend the upcoming No Kings Rally, planned for Saturday, June 14, from 10 am to Noon at the corner of Picacho and Main in Las Cruces. Prior to the rally, on June 12, there will be a Protest Poster Making Party at 2 pm at the First Christian Church.
Pam can be reached at hettagency@gmail.com and (575) 281-0847.
Now mark your calendar for this class
Mary Brannon from Indivisible Las Cruces invited attendees to The Resistance Lab Recap Class. The Resistance Lab is an online course offered by Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal. Ms. Brannon attended said course and condensed it into a single class that she will be offering on June 19, from 6 to 7:30 pm at 1809 El Paseo. Indivisible Las Cruces will be offering an education night once a month but the date is yet to be confirmed.
Mary can be reached at mbrannon44@yahoo.com.
Las Cruces is a welcoming city!
Sylvia Ulloa with NM CAFe sounded the alarm about immigration enforcement. She warned that ICE agents are snatching people when they have appointments at immigration courts, and invited people to help create a rapid response network in response to aggressive enforcement.
Sylvia can be reached at sylvia@organizenm.org.
(DLA stands for District Legislative Aide)
Andre Gonzales introduced himself as DLA for Senator Carrie Hamblen.
Andre can be reached at (505) 946-5588 and andre.gonzales@nmlegis.gov.
Preventing and managing diabetes
Shirley Cohen, a clinician from Greeg Family Health Care announced that they received funding from the NM Rural Health Care Fund to run an 18 month comprehensive program against obesity and diabetes. They are a multimodal clinic, meaning that they have a nutritionist, a behavioral therapist, a cognitive behavioral therapist, education classes, and free tickets for some dance classes and exercises focused on helping people with their weight, either preventing or managing their diabetes.
Shirley can be reached at smcohen97@gmail.com and (505) 377-1999.
Listen to KTAL
Peter Goodman announced an interview with Las Cruces Police Chief Jeremy Story during his weekly show Speak Up Las Cruces, broadcasted every Wednesday from 8 to 10 on 101.5 FM, Las Cruces Community Radio. Click here to listen to the interview that aired on May 28.
Peter can be reached at peter@pgoodmanphotos.com and (575) 489-7090.
Important information about food assistance
Pamela G. Daves made a list of the places where people can find free food in Las Cruces: Calvary Chapel Community Action Agency of Southern New Mexico, Casa de Peregrinos, El Caldito Soup Kitchen, Calvary Baptist Church, and City of Hope.
Pamela can be reached at bobcat3936@yahoo.com.
There are some good things happening
NM Rep. Nathan Small reminded the audience that despite the headwinds, there is progress in some areas locally, like the largest investment in food banks in NM of $30 million which is a large investment in climate resilience. Also, the mitigation of the impacts of climate change as New Mexico grows its renewables and is down to only one more coal plant left in the entire state. Rep. Small also mentioned the threat to the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument and announced a conversation about public lands on Thursday, May 29th, at the Friends of the Organ Mountain Desert Peaks Office.
Nathan can be reached at nathan.p.small@gmail.com.
Welcome home, Xochitl!
Xochitl Torres Small talked about the bill that passed the house, that includes cuts to Medicaid, SNAP and food assistance, and adds work requirements to receive benefits and additional blockades to benefits like accepting families with two parent households but not single parent households. She also shared that the most effective way to combat this is by sharing stories of personal impact. Poll after poll shows that when you talk about the way the bill drives up your personal costs, it will have the most impact in reaching your neighbors. And it also empowers them to be able to share their stories too. Xochitl asked that you send your personal stories to members of Congress and then email them to her at xochitltorres@gmail.com.
“They are a cult!”
Elisa Sanchez invited the audience to rethink how we look at the supporters of the president; she doesn’t think they are regular republicans but instead members of a cult, and she asked the audience to refer to them as Maga Cult and not Republicans.
Elisa can be reached at xiqana100@aol.com.
A big win
Terry Miller thanked the City Council, the Mayor, as well as people like Beth Bardwell for standing up for Realize Las Cruces.
Terry can be reached at terrymiller575@gmail.com.
Become an anti-racist
Jorge Aguirre spoke about the connection between racism and zoning regulation, and recommended a book about the topic named The Color of Law, by Richard Rothstein.
Jorge can be reached at jorgeluis.aguirrebaez@gmail.com.