Good morning, Albuquerque.

The Albuquerque Better Way Forward program is helping former homeless resident Orel Stanley rebuild his life with stable work cleaning city streets + access to mentorship as the program nears its two-year milestone.

Best-selling author Anne Hillerman and Albuquerque Museum director Andrew Connors were named recipients of this year's Governor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced the honorees on July 30 and the awards ceremony will occur on Oct. 15 (at St. Francis Auditorium in Santa Fe).

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham named eight winners of the 2026 Governor's Awards for Excellence including author Anne Hillerman and museum director Andrew Connors on July 30 (part of a state honor roll).

They will be presented on Oct. 15 at the New Mexico Museum of Art’s St. Francis Auditorium.

Rebecca Sánchez, a long-time UNM professor and interim associate vice provost for academic personnel, was chosen as UNM's new senior vice provost – effective Sept.

1. She will work with academic leaders on policies that support faculty and advance the university's mission.

The University of New Mexico will host Welcome Back Days from Friday, Aug.

14 to Friday, Aug. 21 to connect new and returning students with events and free activities (includes movie nights, ice cream socials and a campus job fair). Departments and organizations can register until Aug. 17.

Puesta del Sol Preschool welcomed 100 4-year-olds on Tuesday, Aug.

10, as Rio Rancho Public Schools set high expectations for the class of 2040, promising a supportive path to graduation & the district will also boost advanced math for fifth-graders at Puesta del Sol Elementary.

New Mexico advocates (Fire on the Mountain) unveiled a billboard near Santa Fe Tuesday urging the DOE to move 2,500 barrels of nuclear waste in tents away from wildfire-prone areas near White Rock.

State regulators are now modifying guidelines for WIPP waste deposits.

Rep. Stansbury visited Roadrunner Food Bank on Aug.

10, warning that federal cuts reduced food assistance for over 21,000 New Mexicans—roughly half of whom are children—and urging state lawmakers to renew support at the Legislature in January.