The number of New Mexico teenagers who reported attempting suicide in 2013 has decreased by more than a third from a decade earlier, but the rate of young people in the state who take their own lives still remains above the national average. The Albuquerque Journal reports a survey from the state Department of Health found that less than 10-percent of high school students reported attempting suicide in 2013, down from nearly 15-percent in 2003. State officials say the drop can be attributed to suicide-prevention programs, which have been implemented on school campuses statewide. New Mexico's suicide rate among people ages 15 to 24 still exceeds the national average, ranking seventh highest among the states. The state's suicide-prevention program received about one-million dollars’ in funding last year.
A new media campaign being launched in New Mexico by a coalition that promotes breastfeeding encourages hospitals to adopt an array of practices for maternity and infant care.The campaign includes billboards and bus signs encouraging people to find out whether hospitals are taking steps hospitals to be equipped to encourage breastfeeding from the moment of birth. The task force says eight of New Mexico's 30 hospitals have designations associated with encouraging breastfeeding.
Governor Susana Martinez travels to Farmington today to join the Four Corners Economic Development Group to discuss the new energy policy she unveiled in Carlsbad Monday. Martinez’s blueprint calls for an all-of-the-above approach, similar to the energy prescription being pushed at the federal level. The governor says New Mexico is one of the most energy-rich and energy-diverse states and policymakers need to take advantage. She’s calling for more infrastructure, renewable energy and job training. The Governor’s office says the energy plan was more than a year in the making. It drew a response from Eleanor Bravo, the southwest organizer at Food and Water Watch, who criticized it for continuing the false belief that we can continue to exploit fossil fuels instead of hastening our transition to clean energy. Bravo says New Mexico has great potential for wind, solar and geothermal energy development. The state’s priorities should be on pushing development of these truly clean sources, while keeping fossil fuels in the ground.
The Monroe Gallery of Photography in downtown Santa Fe will host a special panel discussion later this week on the role of photojournalism in the civil rights movement to the present day. The discussion featuring photographer Whitney Curtis, veteran LIFE magazine reporter Richard Stolley and the interim director of the UNM Art Museum Kymberly Pinder, is set for 5:30-pm Friday. The event highlights the gallery’s current show, titled “The Long Road from Selma to Ferguson.” Gallery co-owner Michele Monroe says the “Long Road” exhibition comes at a time of heightened awareness on civil rights, and not only from the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King's march and the acclaimed film "Selma," but from recent racial tensions, too. The show features iconic photographs from the historic 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, alongside images from many other important keystones of the civil rights movement. Monroe says originally, the show was meant to be a tribute and discussion and memorial to the 50th anniversary of the Selma march.
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The show is running through September 27th.
Santa Fe Weather: Mostly sunny today and tomorrow with the high both days, 81. Tonight: Partly cloudy with the overnight low, 56. There’s a ten-percent chance of showers and thunderstorms today, tonight and tomorrow.