New Mexicans, if you’re a registered voter and haven’t yet voted, get out there and vote! Answers to all of your voting-related questions (including polling locations) can be found here: https://www.sos.state.nm.us/voting-and-elections/voter-information-portal/.

Photo courtesy ABC News.

It’s not too soon to start preparing for next year’s growing season, and New Mexico State University’s Cooperative Extension Service is hosting a six-part online series on sustainable agriculture topics to help growers get a head start this fall.

Due to the global health emergency, the NM WSARE program will forgo the traditional NM Sustainable Agriculture Conference this year. In its place, a series of webinars will be presented that focus on the many aspects that make a farm sustainable in New Mexico. Topics include: Seed saving, preventing herbicide-resistant weeds, promoting beneficial insects, growing vegetables in NM, fruit tree pruning, and drip irrigation. The free webinars will be 3 to 4 p.m. every Thursday from Oct. 1 through Nov. 5.

Did you ever want to learn how and why drip irrigation can be useful for your growing operation? In this week’s webinar, Dr. Bradley Tonnessen, Program Specialist in Vegetable Extension, will map out what it takes to start with an empty field and install a working irrigation system.

Register for Drip Irrigation on the Small Farm here.

As the COVID-19 pandemic struck, schools across America scrambled to respond. This fall, many K-12 school leaders opted not to resume in-person instruction as the public health risks remained too great. The resulting nationwide shift to online learning has posed many challenges for school districts and families, particularly those in lower-income and rural communities without high-speed internet access. Currently, some students are going to extraordinary lengths to access a Wi-Fi connection, even sitting in the parking lots of fast-food restaurants or on the stoops of closed schools and libraries. Vulnerable K-12 students are also experiencing penalties for not logging on—including disciplinary actions—which serves to widen achievement gaps among U.S. students.

On November 9 from 11am-12pm MST, the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings will host a webinar on what the coronavirus pandemic has taught us about the digital divide in America’s schools ​and how the lack of access during this time may result in stifling the social mobility of students left offline. Expert panelists will discuss key lessons learned and highlight the most effective emerging strategies to secure a safe and quality education for every child, even amid a health crisis. Panelists will also discuss how federal, state, and local policymakers ​should be working together along with philanthropies to address digital disparities and alleviate some of the burdens on students, families, and school districts.

Viewers can submit questions via email to [email protected] or via Twitter at #DigitalSchools.

More info and register: https://www.brookings.edu/events/what-has-covid-19-taught-us-about-the-digital-and-opportunity-divides-in-americas-schools/

The State Land Office and the NM Healthy Soil Working Group proudly present a collaborative fall webinar series for the benefit of New Mexico’s farmers and ranchers and advancement of healthy soil principles on working lands.

Tuesday November 10th – 1:00-2:00pm
Webinar with Gregg Simonds, Open Range Consulting

Gregg Simonds has consulted and/or managed ranches in the Western United States since 1974. For nearly two decades he worked with Deseret Land and Livestock (UT, WY, and MT) which has been called “a model for self-sufficiency that excels at protecting land and wildlife.”

Gregg developed cutting edge land monitoring methods using remote sensing technologies to meet real management needs identified from forty years of practical experience. These technologies provide a statistically valid and economically feasible means to assess rangeland and riparian habitats. He is perhaps best know for his work with Nevada ranchers and government agencies to find common solutions toward healthy sage lands and economically viable cattle operations.

Register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdOisuxCDuqM4vKL4yVTfeAOpYtu7tdIaNzCbprZqOQvoJ5nQ/viewform

Public Banking Institute invites you to join them and folks from around the country to discuss public banking the second Friday of the month at 10am MST. This hour-long interactive conversation will give you a chance to ask questions of any sort about public banking, as well as find out about what’s going on in the movement, what problems are appearing and what developments are taking place. Instructions for joining this video and audio conference will be included in your registration confirmation. If you have questions, please contact the Administrator at [email protected] We hope to see you then!

Calls take place at 10:00 am MST on the second Friday of each month.

To register, follow this linK:

https://zoom.us/meeting/register/cbb483b293ec510f34538d7d4481ef37?mc_cid=f9e2a67e04&mc_eid=107b9b7ab1