Latest news with #Mearns
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Confusion reigns in New Mexico's militarized border zone
A cattleguard leading into the new military base along the New Mexico border with Mexico. On the right is a sign warning in English and Spanish: 'Restricted Area: This Department of Defense Property has been declared a restricted area by authority of the commander.' (Photo by Patrick Lohmann / Source NM) Late last week, acting United States Attorney for New Mexico Ryan Ellison dismissed misdemeanor charges his office had previously brought against at least three people accused of illegally entering a newly created military zone across New Mexico's southern border. Ellison explained the turnabout in a filing in which he said the arrested people had been found in an area his office thought was part of the new National Defense Area. It wasn't. As a result, three people arrested in recent weeks won't face newly created criminal charges for trespassing on a military base, punishable by up to a year in jail. The dropped charges point to the ongoing confusion the new 400-square-mile military zone has created across branches of government and the courts since the U.S. Interior Department transferred the land to the Army in April. 'It is concerning that even the Acting United States Attorney is confused by the boundaries of this new National Defense Area,' a spokesperson for U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) said in an emailed statement Thursday after Source New Mexico alerted his office to the dismissals. Heinrich has criticized the new NDA and called on the Defense Department to explain what it means for recreators and others. On April 15, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced the transfer of land from the Bureau of Land Management to the military, effectively making the 180-mile border New Mexico shares with Mexico into an extended military base tied to Fort Huachuca in Arizona. Along with increasing Army patrols and empowering the 'military [to] take a more direct role in securing our southern border,' as President Donald Trump said, creating the zone also enabled federal prosecutors to impose misdemeanor charges on those caught in the new National Defense Area. Confusion about where that area falls exists not just among federal agencies tasked with enforcing the NDA, but also among residents who live, work and attend school along the border, including ranchers with BLM cattle leases and dual citizens who cross the border daily. Source NM spent the weekend in the area and talked with residents who described whiplash from a transfer, seemingly overnight, of federal public lands into an extended military base. The land includes parcels of private property surrounded by federal lands; the Diocese of El Paso, which owns nearby pilgrimage site Mount Cristo Rey; and the State of New Mexico, which has miles of trust land. The land also traverses the Continental Divide Trail, and hosts both hikers on multi-state sojourns and hunters hoping to nab a rare Mearns quail, among heartier fare that hide among the creosote dotting the borderlands separating New Mexico from Mexico. Recently, the Defense Department issued a statement telling hikers and hunters they were prohibited from entering the NDA. That incensed Angel Peña, director of Nuestra Tierra Conservation Project, a Las Cruces-based nonprofit that tries to help marginalized communities experience and conserve public lands. 'You're really now affecting livelihoods,' Peña told Source New Mexico during a drive Memorial Day Weekend along the northern edge of the NDA. 'You're affecting dinner on the table. You're affecting recreation. You're affecting the traditional uses of this land that help families make memories and tell stories and grow ever closer.' Between April 15 and May 29, the federal government charged more than 550 people with unauthorized entry into the new National Defense Area, according to a review of federal records. Federal prosecutors dropped charges for three of them based on the errant arrests dropped May 22, per Ellison's filings. According to court records, Ellison's office learned 'on or about May 15' that portions of the border area 'previously understood as encompassed' by the newly created New Mexico National Defense Area 'were not, in fact, transferred to the jurisdiction of the Army.' The dismissed cases come amid ongoing legal challenges, with federal public defenders contesting the charges on a variety of fronts. Two weeks ago, a federal judge dismissed more than 100 charges against the defendants, largely because he was not convinced those arrested knew they were entering a restricted area. The circumstances of the recent dismissals regarding errant arrests are not clear. AUSA spokesperson Tessa Duberry declined to comment on where the defendants were arrested, saying the office can't comment beyond what was filed publicly. She also declined to say how many total cases the office has dismissed on those grounds or would dismiss, saying compiling that information would impose a 'significant burden' on staff. Duberry referred comment about arrests to the Army, which told Source in a statement Friday morning that it would not speculate on charges that are awaiting adjudication,' said Joint Task Force Southern Border spokesperson Jordan Beagle. Beagle also noted that only the Border Patrol makes arrests, though the Army will temporarily detain people to hand over to the Border Patrol. 'The Joint Task Force Southern Border remains laser focused on our mission to achieve 100% operational control of the border, in this case maintaining security within the National Defense Areas,' he said, 'which includes detection, temporary detainment, and apprehension of those who trespass within the National Defense Areas.' The Border Patrol did not respond to a request for comment from Source on Thursday. According to court filings, two of the three people feds dropped charges againt were arrested April 26 about 'four miles east of the Santa Teresa Port of Entry.' Outside of the 60-foot buffer zone along the border, that's roughly a mile from Mount Cristo Rey and other privately owned land. Source's calls to the Diocese this week were not returned. The third arrest occurred April 27, according to court filings, 'about eight miles west of the Santa Teresa Port of Entry.' Federal judge dismisses trespass charges against migrants caught in NM military zone All three criminal complaints note, as part of the justification for charges, that signs were posted in English and Spanish that 'this is a restricted area and that unauthorized entry is prohibited.' The impact of those dismissals on prosecutors' cases remains unclear. Even though prosecutors dismissed the trio's charges for unauthorized NDA entry, each appears to still be held in detention on related misdemeanors, including charges like 'illegal entry by an alien' into the United States, 'illegal entry without inspection' or entering military property, according to court records. Amanda Skinner, assistant federal public defender, declined to comment on how many of her office's clients might have been affected by the dismissals, or whether she is expecting there to be any more. Heinrich, through his spokesperson, said he remains concerned about what the military takeover of the New Mexico border will mean for due process, for citizens and non-citizens alike. 'The Trump Administration is bypassing due process for individuals who either intentionally or unintentionally enter this newly restricted area, including U.S. citizens who may be stopped and detained by U.S. Army soldiers for trespassing on an unmarked military base,' his spokesperson said. One group affected by the NDA — ranchers — has apparently reached a slightly uneasy, informal arrangement with the Army, according to ranchers along the border and the New Mexico Cattlegrowers Association. In the last two weeks, Army and Border Patrol officials have collected the names, photographs, phone numbers, license plates and other details of ranchers who enter the NDA to round up their livestock or check on water tanks, ranchers told Source New Mexico. The collection is an effort, they said, to make sure the Army does not mistake ranchers, who often carry firearms, for those who might be trespassing on a military base. 'Everybody around here in this part of the country is armed,' said Nancy Clopton, a longtime Hachita rancher with 80 square miles of leased pasture in and around the NDA. 'I don't want to be drug out of my pickup and then, you know, 'Oh, she's armed.'' The agreement allows ranchers to drive along access roads and county roads criss-crossing the NDA. Each time, they drive over cattleguards with new signs on either side that begin with, in English and Spanish: 'Restricted Area: This Department of Defense Property has been declared a restricted area by authority of the commander.' About a dozen such signs are posted on cattleguards off Highway 9 between Sunland Park and Hachita, according to Source's count Sunday. Those are the same signs prosecutors use to justify criminal charges against the 550 defendants facing the unauthorized entry charges so far. In response to questions from Source, Luis Soriano, Heinrich's spokesperson, noted that Ellison and Hegseth have both publicly said there will be 'no exceptions' for criminal trespassing in the area, and so Heinrich doesn't consider an 'informal, handshake deal sufficient to ensure the safety' of ranchers, sportsmen, hikers or others. 'For decades, ranchers and hunters alike have been accustomed to carrying firearms on what were their public lands until the transfer to the Department of Defense on April 15th,' Soriano said in a statement. 'That history, combined with the complete lack of clarity from the Administration, is a recipe for a very dangerous situation for our local residents, Army soldiers and Border Patrol agents.' Beagle, with the Army, told Source in a statement to Friday that the army is continuing to work on a formal 'memorandum of understanding' with various groups to 'support the interests of the local community and the military mission within the New Mexico National Defense Area (NDA).' 'The MOU process for commercial and recreational activities, such as hunting, mining, and ranching, is complex,' he said 'and necessitates careful coordination with multiple organizations to ensure that proposed activities do not compromise public safety and border security operations.' Beagle also said the Army would release more information to the community as it becomes available. He also noted the land order that enabled the transfer was 'subject to valid existing rights,' so he said the private 'property owners' with land adjacent to the NDA would not be affected. But he did not immediately respond to a request for comment about how that applies to ranchers who lease, not own, land in the area. Bronson Corn, president of the NM Cattlegrowers Association, defended the arrangement in an interview with Source on Thursday. He disagrees with the idea that ranchers might be skirting the law, saying, albeit informal, the agreement allows ranchers to keep their cattle alive and maintain their leases with the BLM, while also allowing the Army to harden the border. 'They have not had any conflicts with the military when it comes to being able to continue on with their day-to-day operations,' he said. 'There is some concern, there's no doubt about it, that they can't get to certain areas of their ranch due to the fact of that militarized zone.' In addition to concerns about firearms, Clopton said she is concerned an influx of army personnel, potentially from out-of-state, won't be careful to close cattle gates behind them, which is a long-standing gripe she and other ranchers have with the Border Patrol. But she is withholding judgment, for now. 'We'll see how it works out,' she said. 'It depends on the individuals on the ground, those individual soldiers, how they treat us, how we see them. It's an experiment.' Did border patrol or military officials detain or question you inside or outside of the new National Defense area? Reach out to reporter Patrick Lohmann at PLohmann@ or securely via Signal at PLohmann.61.
BBC News
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Sunset Song: We will save the church that inspired Grassic Gibbon
A historic church that played a central role in one of Scotland's most-loved novels is being put up for sale to plug a gap in Church of Scotland's finances and locals are determined to save Church, nestled in the beautiful countryside of Kincardineshire, was the inspiration for the setting of Sunset Song and the remains of its author, Lewis Grassic Gibbon, are buried in its Church of Scotland recognises the building - the oldest section of which dates back to the late 1200s - as "important and valuable", but says it needs a "significant reduction" in the properties it Roberts-McIntosh, chairman of the Arbuthnott Community Development Group, said he is determined that the building and Grassic Gibbon's cultural legacy are preserved. "We will look to raise money or apply for funds," Mr Roberts-McIntosh said."People are still interested in this history and rural life - and tourists love Scottish culture."The value culturally is incalculable. Sunset Song endures because it is a wonderful piece of literature." Sunset Song was written in 1932 by Grassic Gibbon, the pen name of James Leslie was the first book in the trilogy - A Scots Quair - telling the story of Chris Guthrie, a young woman who lives and works on her family farm in the Mearns, the farming areas south of novel is set on the fictional estate of Kinraddie which Grassic Gibbon based on Arbuthnott, where he lived as a child and where his ashes were buried after his death at the age of 33 in story told by the trilogy begins just before World War One and follows Chris from the countryside of her childhood to a big city, touching on class, war, religion and female emancipation. In 1971, a six-episode television adaptation of the novel was the first colour drama made by BBC Scotland and was greeted with huge was credited with reigniting interest in Grassic Gibbon, and Sunset Song was put on the Higher English syllabus. In 2016, it was voted Scotland's favourite book in a BBC poll, ahead of the Wasp Factory by Iain Banks and Lanark by Alasdair an introduction to the novel, published in 2020, the then First Minister Nicola Sturgeon wrote of her love for the book, which she said is her favourite novel. Alan Riach, professor of Scottish literature at the University of Glasgow, told the BBC he was "appalled" at news of the imminent closure of Arbuthnott Church."This is one of the great places of pilgrimage in literary Scotland," he said."It's not only fixed forever in our cultural history as an essential co-ordinate point in the biography of one of our greatest writers, but it's also a key reference point in his greatest novel." Scott Lyall, an associate professor of Modern and Scottish Literature at Edinburgh Napier University, described the church as a site of "genuine importance to Scotland's literary heritage".Prof Lyall said: "The minister at the end of Sunset Song, in tribute to the local fallen war dead of World War One, indicates that we must remember the past and the dead to better understand our present condition and build a better future."It would be a sad irony then if the church, with its own long history, were to be neglected. "It would be wonderful to see it as a cultural heritage site with Gibbon's life and reputation at its centre." The Church of Scotland said it expected the main church building would go up for sale later this congregation for Sunday services is small, in what is a quiet rural area of just a few hundred kirk hopes nearby Bervie Church will serve as the main focus of local worship. The Church of Scotland said that, in recent years, it had identified a need for "radical change against a backdrop of falling minister numbers, a decline in membership and a reduction in income".A statement said: "We believe a significant reduction in the number of buildings we own is necessary in order to deliver sustainable and realistic new expressions of ministry and church and to ensure all of our buildings are suitable for the needs of mission in the 21st century."As part of the process, the local presbytery has taken the decision to release Arbuthnott Church."The statement added: "There are no set dates as yet, but under the current mission plan, Arbuthnott Church would be released by the end of 2025." Mr Roberts-McIntosh said the local community was determined to save a building that was so intrinsic to one of Scotland's most-loved well as honouring the author, it is thought the building could also become a local hub for events such as concerts, aided by the acoustics of the church Roberts-McIntosh said the the building itself was "fundamentally sound"."It just needs some tender loving care," he said.
New York Times
02-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Sara Mearns and Jamar Roberts Know This: Dance Is Tough Love
The first time Sara Mearns stepped into a studio with Jamar Roberts, she knew they were cut from the same dance cloth. 'We both had the same energy of, 'What are we doing?'' Last summer, Mearns was cast in a work by Roberts at Vail Dance Festival, where both were artists in residence. Their humor aligned. They were dance lovers and dance sufferers! Their energy picked up. Mearns, 39, a longtime principal at New York City Ballet, and Roberts, 42, a choreographer who spent years as a leading dancer at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, are devoted to dance. But they're not rah-rah about it every second of the day. They know its pain. At Vail, Mearns was pondering what to do for her Artists at the Center program, which opens Thursday at New York City Center. After working with Roberts, she said she knew: 'This is it.' The resulting collaboration, 'Dance Is a Mother,' with choreography by Roberts and music by Caroline Shaw, pairs Mearns with a stellar cast: the former Ailey dancers Jeroboam Bozeman and Ghrai DeVore-Stokes; and Anna Greenberg, who Roberts met at Miami City Ballet. The surprise is that Roberts is dancing in it too, but that makes sense given the context: The work is a love letter to dance. And for both Roberts and Mearns, it's testament to a life spent pursuing it. 'I think we have very similar feelings about dance and our careers, our relationship to dance,' Roberts said. 'It's sort of this love-hate thing, at least for me.' 'Dance Is a Mother' is a reminder of why they fell for dance in the first place. The program's other work, 'Don't Go Home' — conceived by Mearns, the choreographer Guillaume Côté and the writer Jonathon Young — is a foray into dance theater that depicts the struggle a dancer goes through while preparing for a role. 'They couldn't be more opposite if they tried,' Mearns said of the two works on the program. Recently Mearns and Roberts joined up for a video interview about their shared sensibilities, their time working together and why dance is the mother you love to hate. Or is it hate to love? In either case, here are edited excerpts from that conversation. So how is dance a mother? ROBERTS Dance nurtures, and it's grown me up so much, from the time I entered the professional space at 18 until now. It teaches you the hard lessons. Dance mothers you, and sometimes you just hate her, but no matter what, you love her. You're kind of stuck with her forever. How did this collaboration start? MEARNS We met in a park, and he asked me: 'What do you want to feel when you go out there? What head space are you going to be in when you go out onstage? What do you want to look like?' I had never been asked those questions before about a piece. I almost didn't know how to answer. But it started this conversation about how we feel at this point in our careers. In what way? MEARNS We've both had very long careers and been through a lot: a lot of baggage, a lot of ups and downs, a lot of pain — but a lot of great things too. We started talking about that love and joy that we had when we were 10 years old. Is that still there? Only people at this stage would understand that or be able to answer that question or not answer that question. So I thought that was a very cool way of going in to make a piece. Jamar, how did you want the dance to feel? ROBERTS I remember agreeing that we wanted to make a slow piece. Because everything is just mad turbo these days, myself and my work included. And I wanted it to feature Sara in the way that she felt the most comfortable. When we were at the park she said, 'I don't have to be the first one onstage.' It's probably something that I would say if somebody was choreographing a piece for me. I wanted it to feel like each dancer's contribution was equal for the most part. Even though the piece is for the audience, I wanted it to feel like a glorified dance studio. MEARNS But if this is slow to him, I don't even want to know what fast movement is. ROBERTS Listen, I said it would be a good challenge. Part of this experience is being able to dance with others on equal terms? MEARNS I think I did want to have a communal situation, because I don't really get to have that. Even if I'm part of a bigger piece, it's usually, Sara, this is your movement. I'm not saying there's anything bad about that, but I miss dancing in a group. This is a very close group of five people that are dancing together and that are on the same train, going the same place at the same rate. Jamar, why did you want to be in the piece? ROBERTS That's kind of a deep question. Loaded. Choreography was feeding me in a certain way when I first started, and over time the honeymoon phase wears off, and so the question of purpose came into play. Not so much purpose in the grand sense, but a daily sort of purpose. The nearest thing that gave me that same sort of satisfaction or gratification was dance. How did you announce your plan? ROBERTS I said to Sara, 'What would you think if I danced in the show?' I was a little concerned only because I was like, It's Sara's show. Sara's a thing. I'm a thing. And I didn't want to be up there taking the shine away from Sara. Tell her what you said, Sara. MEARNS I sent back an entire text of exclamation points. I had been waiting for this moment. I was like, I can't ask him to be in it. I just can't do that to him because I don't think he's in that place anymore and I'm not going to force it. How is it going? Are you finding that satisfaction from dancing? ROBERTS I don't really need the stage and the lights and the audience to get what I need from dance. So, yes. It's tough having to divide myself between the dance maker and the dancer. But I think it's reminded me of a certain power that you get from being able to will your body into doing things. It's a strange ego booster. It's an interesting little tool that dancers have. Do you relate to that? MEARNS Oh yes. That's what I mean when we both walk in the studio the same way. I feel like we both have that feeling of, 'I don't know if this is going to happen today.' And then you get into the rehearsal vibe and you start learning steps and then you get into this groove. It's this unbelievable feeling. No one else can do that for me. I have to get there. It was much easier to get to the top, to get to this place many years ago. But then to consistently come back every single day and do it? Have you been able to return to that place of why you started dancing in the first place? ROBERTS I have. The love has always been there, even when I'm not performing. I don't think it'll ever go away. MEARNS I was told once that I was an anomaly because of how I feel about dance. I don't feel this way about anything else in my life. And sometimes that has shut me off from the world. That has made me feel alone or lonely or not like anybody else. But I wouldn't have it any other way, because this is what I've dedicated my life to.
The Independent
12-02-2025
- General
- The Independent
Deep-sea shipwreck explorer looking for anchor of HMT Empire Windrush honoured
A shipwreck hunter searching for the lost anchor of the HMT Empire Windrush said he wants to 'highlight the story of pioneers' who helped create a multicultural Britain. US-born David Mearns, 66, is leading a project on the seabed off the Algerian coast for the anchor of the ship, which brought Caribbean migrants to the UK in the 1940s. Mr Mearns has located 29 major wrecks in a career spanning 35 years, including the 16th century ship The Esmeralda from Vasco da Gama's fleet, and Ernest Shackleton's Quest ship, which went down off the coast of Canada in 1922. Speaking at Windsor Castle after collecting an OBE for services to the location and recovery of historic shipwrecks, Mr Mearns told the PA news agency: 'I choose to do ones that have the biggest impact on people, and I think to highlight the story of the pioneers who sailed on the Empire Windrush in 1948 is really historic. 'Directly, we can look at a milestone in our country that is the birth of a new Britain, a multicultural Britain.' Mr Mearns, who has a background in oceanography and marine science, holds the world record for the deepest shipwreck ever found, the German blockade runner Rio Grande, which was lying at a depth of nearly 19,000ft. The Sussex-based explorer also located the light aircraft carrying Argentinian footballer Emiliano Sala, which disappeared over the English Channel in 2019. He said: 'Each shipwreck has a different story, why it sank, the people in it, and they're all very compelling stories. 'Sometimes when they're lost, you don't know exactly how that happened, and it allows us to retell that story using the films and the images of the shipwreck as the sort of vehicle for getting that message to people. 'Also, most people are fascinated by the ocean, but they don't understand the deep ocean because it's so dark you can't see down there. 'And we illuminate the deep ocean, and we illuminate these shipwrecks and their stories using sonar and technology.'
Axios
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Conservative lawmakers question funding for "woke" colleges
The state's public colleges and universities will soon learn whether their "woke liberal agenda" will affect their state funding. Why it matters: While it varies by institution, state funding makes up a sizable portion of the budget at public schools like IU, Purdue, Ball State and Ivy Tech. Cuts to state support could impact everything from staffing to financial aid at a time when the state is trying to increase the number of Hoosiers getting a post-secondary education. Driving the news: The House Ways and Means Committee is taking public testimony on House Bill 1001, the state's two-year budget, today. The current version of the bill is Gov. Mike Braun's budget proposal. House Republicans will introduce their spending plan next week. State of play: Conservative lawmakers have raised concerns about "liberal" policies or programs on public campuses for years, but this year those concerns are increasingly turning into threats against their state funding. State comptroller Elise Nieshalla was among a group calling for IU to be defunded over its continued housing of the Kinsey Institute. IU has said it is complying with a 2023 law that prohibited Kinsey from receiving any state dollars. Several lawmakers sharply questioned IU and Ball State officials last month during budget presentations over "woke" professors and programming for LGBTQ+ students — including Ball State's gender-affirming clothing closet and IU's Lavender Graduation. What they're saying:"I get questioned quite regularly, 'Why do we continue to fund these universities at the level we do when they just go against our core values and continue to push a more woke liberal agenda?'" said Rep. J.D. Prescott, R-Union City, during those budget presentations. Prescott referenced, in particular, social media posts from well-known economist and Ball State professor Michael Hicks. "What can I say to reassure my constituents that the university is keeping their viewpoints in mind, and how can I justify continuing to fund a university that goes against our core values?" he asked Ball State University president Geoffrey Mearns. Roughly 40% of Ball State's general fund budget came from state support last year. The other side: Mearns said the university's values do align with the state's and that Hicks, "like any citizen has the right to express his views, irrespective of whether they align with the values of the institution," Mearns said. Between the lines: Last year, lawmakers passed Senate Bill 202, which put in place protections against retaliation for tenured faculty's research, regular reviews to ensure the protection of intellectual diversity and prohibitions against professors pushing political views in the classroom. Mearns said that both SB 202 and the First Amendment protect professors' rights to "express their personal views in their personal time." Zoom in: Braun's budget proposal, which cuts $700 million in state spending, holds funding for the state's public higher education institutions flat at their current level for the next two years. It also doesn't carry forward any "one-time" spending from the 2023 budget, including $5 million for Martin Universit y. The small private school is the state's only predominantly Black institution. Reality check: It's still early in the process for the budget. A final compromise likely won't be drafted until the final weeks of the session in April.
