Taylor Velazquez
ReporterTaylor is a reporter with our Poverty and Public Health project. She is a lover of books and a proud dog mom. She's been published in Albuquerque The Magazine several times and enjoys writing about politics and travel.
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Over the last seven years $1.6 billion dollars have been spent on New Mexico studentsâ, especially those named in the landmark Yazzie/Martinez lawsuit, but inequities have persisted. Advocates are outraged as years of promises have been broken and many kids in the stateâs public education system have been left behind. On the next Letâs Talk New Mexico weâll dig into why the state has yet to carry out the plans. -
New Mexico ranks 50th in the nation for child wellbeing, covering ages from birth through 24. Thatâs according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The organization's president, Lisa Lawson, has recently penned a book exploring how teens are often left out of this conversation and how we can use their unique brain science to best support them. -
New Mexico has made major investments in early childhood and education programs and now itâs going to offer free universal child care to all families, regardless of income â the first such state to do so. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham made the announcement Monday. -
New numbers highlight the shortage of school-based mental health professionals in New Mexico. The University of New Mexicoâs Project ECHO has launched a program seeking to target these gaps by mentoring those working directly with kids. -
September marks Suicide Prevention Awareness Month and suicide remains a serious problem in New Mexico. -
The state of New Mexico is still not doing enough to improve its foster care system, despite a 2020 settlement and a report earlier this year calling out the lack of progress. That prompted the arbitrator in the case to issue a second remedial order in the case. -
The one âBig Beautiful Bill Act,â also known as H.R. 1, was enacted last month and will have serious impacts on clean energy and its affordability in 2026. Those will include New Mexico families, who already face high energy cost burdens. -
A few years have passed since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but researchers estimate millions of people are still living with the effects of long COVID. The Keystone Symposia on âLong COVID and Other Post-Acute Infection Syndromesâ will kick off this Sunday in Santa Fe, bringing in researchers from across the world to discuss issues like diagnostic procedures and clinical trial design. -
Researchers at the University of New Mexico are preparing to launch a phase 1 clinical trial for an Alzheimer's vaccine after receiving $1 million from the Alzheimerâs Association. -
The growing danger of adolescent gun violence hit close to home at the University of New Mexico last week, as a shooting took the life of one teen, sent another to the hospital, and left a third facing serious charges.On the next Letâs Talk New Mexico, weâll discuss the impacts on the Universityâs community and young people facing the persistent threat of gun violence.
