By Matt Grubs, NMiF Producer

Here’s a quick excerpt from this week’s interview with longtime ABC newsman Sam Donaldson. The New Mexico resident (his family has run cattle in Lincoln and Dona Ana counties for years) arrived in Washington, D.C. in 1961. Donaldson has covered Vietnam, Watergate, and a succession of presidents as Chief White House Correspondent for Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.

This week on NEW MEXICO IN FOCUS, political psychologist and women’s issues expert Martha Burk joins The Line opinion panel. The “gang of four” will talk about New Mexico’s slide away from swing state status as the Land of Enchantment leans more Democratic for federal races.

The role of Super PACs in political advertising will also get attention from The Line, as will a feared exodus of top-flight professors from the University of New Mexico.

Host Gene Grant sits down with Dr. Susan Baum, medical director of the New Mexico Department of Health’s Chronic Disease Prevention and Control Bureau. Baum examines recent controversies over the efficacy of cancer screenings. How should screenings be used? Are some screenings closer to useless than useful?

—GUESTS:
Dr. Susan Baum, Medical Director/Epidemiologist, New Mexico Department of Health

—THE LINE Guest Panelists:
Martha Burk, Political Psychologist and Women’s Issues Expert
Jamie Estrada, Former U.S. Commerce Department Official

—THE LINE Panelist:
Dan Foley, Former New Mexico House Republican Whip
Sophie Martin, Editor in Chief, New Mexico Law Review

—Host/Commentator:
Gene Grant

The Producers of NEW MEXICO IN FOCUS are Matt Grubs and Kathy Wimmer. Funding for this program was provided in part by the McCune Foundation.

New Mexico in Focus Audio, May 11: Episode 546 [ 58:28 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This week on NEW MEXICO IN FOCUS, Albuquerque’s mayor and chief of police sit down to talk about the city’s reaction to a string of shootings by police that began in 2010. Both the chief and mayor have been scrutinized as shooting totals rise.

The Line opinion panel convenes to talk about Bernalillo County Commissioner Michael Wiener’s controversial photographs taken in a Filipino red light district well-known for its role in the sex trade. Republicans statewide have called on Wiener to resign. The commissioner refuses.

Plus, Sunland Park is a seemingly rudderless ship in Southern New Mexico, adrift in a sea of allegations and criminal charges against a roster of public officials. A newly appointed mayor was prevented from taking office after a legal opinion argued the city council met illegally when it named him to the city’s top post.

And just what does the Internet giant Google have a right to know as they cruise the streets under the guise of mapping the globe? The Line looks at new concerns raised in a federal investigation into data snatching.

—GUESTS:
Richard Berry, Mayor of Albuquerque
Ray Schultz, Chief of Albuquerque Police Department

—THE LINE Guest Panelists:
Laura Sanchez, Environmental Attorney
Rob Nikolewski, Capitol Report New Mexico
Matt Reichbach, New Mexico Telegram
Sophie Martin, Editor in Chief, New Mexico Law Review

—Host:
Gene Grant

The Producers of NEW MEXICO IN FOCUS are Matt Grubs and Kathy Wimmer. Funding for this program was provided in part by the McCune Foundation.

NMiF Audio May 4: Episode 545 [ 56:34 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

New Mexico in Focus Audio from Episode 543, April 20.

Gene Grant hosts a special EARTH DAY program dedicated entirely to Ecological issues.

GUESTS: John Bemis, Secretary of Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Dept. & Ray Powell, New Mexico Land Commissioner.

THE LINE Guest Panelists: Wally Drangmeister, Director of Communications, New Mexico Oil and Gas Association; Allan Oliver, CEO, New Mexico Green Chamber of Commerce; Sidsel Overgaard, Conservation Reporter, KUNM & Laura Paskus, Environmental Journalist.

NMiF Audio April 20: Episode 543 [ 59:29 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download