West Side Forum

By Janna Nelson In recent decades, the Republican Party has come to be seen as the “religious” party – the one promoting the language of faith and the notion that religious beliefs should guide voters’ decision making. But the voters the Republicans are addressing are overwhelmingly white and Christian. During this month of April 2020, when the major holidays of Passover, Easter, and the first week of Ramadan all take place, it’s worth examining the more inclusive Democratic engagement of faith and politics.  …

By Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II Take care of yourself, take necessary precautions so we can take care of one another. When you can, help others, especially poor and low wealth people who can’t afford basics. Take seriously the need to push our government to do what the community can’t—guarantee free testing, paid sick leave, basic income and healthcare for those who need it.Take the initiative to demand that this country do some things now that it should have done long ago, such as guarantee healthcare,…

By Lance Chilton As I write this, the US has just surpassed all other countries except Italy and China for the most cases of coronavirus, or COVID-19, and the number of cases will certainly have increased much more by the time you read this. I’m frightened by the curve, and by early statistics from Italy indicating a death rate of 9.3% among those diagnosed with the disease. Leaving aside the apparent mismanagement of the early course of the disease in the US and the…

The Governor’s office is working with food banks, food pantries, meal providers, homeless shelters, and advocates across the state to help address food supply and other issues, but the most IMMEDIATE NEED in the community is for volunteers to help package and distribute food. If you are healthy, do not have health risk factors, have not been under quarantine, and can—please sign up to volunteer. Food banks like Roadrunner Food Bank in ABQ—need people to help package food to get it out to meal sites and smaller food banks across…

No evictions in NM - for now The New Mexico Supreme Court has temporarily barred evictions due to the inability to pay rent during the COVID-19 crisis. The goal is to prevent people from losing their housing when so many have lost their jobs and income – all at the same time they’re being told to stay home by the governor and public health officials. Prior to the Court’s decision, Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller (D) had already ordered that evictions from all city-owned housing…

In the event that school is directed to remain closed longer than the current three-week closure, Albuquerque Public Schools, we are asking for the support of our area elected officials and communities to help create individual, at-home supply kits for our students. In APS, we have 36,808 students in Kindergarten through Fifth Grade. Read more...

By Tricia Holser Editor’s note: This article was researched and drafted before the Coronavirus crisis; therefore the projections do not reflect current economic realities or anticipated ramifications. In all probability, the housing crisis will intensify, due to shuttered businesses and high unemployment (among many other economic factors) when we emerge from the pandemic. The high cost of housing adversely impacts millions of Americans and calls for solutions at the national, state and local levels. According to a 2018 report by the National Low Income Housing…

By M. Benevento In his budget proposal released on Feb 10, 2020, Donald Trump called for deep cuts to affordable housing efforts and other important safety net programs in favor of his plan to bolster spending for the U.S. military and nuclear arsenal and lower the deficit. His budget would actually decrease funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by 16.4 percent from 2019.  Trump also requested less money for rental assistance programs, such as Housing Choice Vouchers, and proposed that…

March is Women's History Month By Patricia Milner March is one of those fun months. There’s March Madness, St. Patrick’s Day, Daylight Savings, Pi Day and the Spring Equinox. Lots of reasons to celebrate and get happy. But let’s take a deep dive into some other reasons to celebrate. March marks the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment of the Constitution which prohibited states from denying the vote on the basis of sex. As we stand on the shoulders of those…

By Lance Chilton It wasn’t very good to begin with. Then, on June 24, 2013, it was thrown into complete chaos in an office in Santa Fe. “It” was the behavioral health “system” in New Mexico, and the Santa Fe meeting, informing 15 New Mexico providers of behavioral health services that there were “credible allegations of fraud, waste and abuse” in their Medicaid billing, and that Medicaid payments to them would cease They were told that they must continue to provide services to all…