New Mexico continues to be grateful that even as the coronavirus case count goes up--it hit one hundred Tuesday--the state still reports zero deaths. Of course, that could change but with social distancing measures in effect, we have reason for continued hope.

(Unfortunately, the state reported its first coronavirus death Wednesday, an Eddy County man in his late 70's with underlying health issues.)

Now to the blog news of the day and we kick it off on the media beat. . .

The state's newspapers are getting hit hard, very hard, by the coronavirus crisis. Advertisers are pulling ads as they shutter their businesses. That leaves the papers in the lurch. Already the Santa Fe New Mexican, Taos News and Santa Fe Reporter have laid off employees. Ads in the ABQ Journal are so few they seem like an oddity.

Also, our Alligators report the coronavirus has struck the media, with a male employee of KOB-TV being stricken. The individual had recently traveled out of state. Like all the TV stations, KOB is deluged with news and is now running a one hour news broadcast at 10 p.m to keep up.

The local stations will take a revenue hit but they are owned by out-of state-corporations that can weather the storm. The newspapers we mentioned are all locally owned.

The irony here is that the number of news consumers is skyrocketing because of the coronavirus but with everything shuttered there is no spending and thus no way to monetize the surge in readers and viewers.

New Mexico, like everywhere else, was waiting Tuesday night for the massive $2 trillion dollar federal stimulus bill to win congressional approval. What exactly our state will get is not yet known.

At ABQ City Hall a staffer involved in the economy watch said the the bill is key to the recovery here. It will pay the salary of furloughed workers for several months of which there are now tens of thousands in the state and metro. The measure would also send $1,200 checks to citizens and give funds to boost the ABQ Sunport and transit, among other things. The bill awaited US Senate action as the blog went to press. . .

The State Investment Council has approved $100 million in loans that will go to mid-sized businesses. The funds come from the Severance Tax Permanent Fund.

That could be just a smidgen of what is needed to keep the economy afloat but it's a start. The problem? The SIC wants interest on the loans--as much as 12 percent. Critics immediately pounced, saying that's punitive and prohibitive and the loans need to be interest free.

OIL CRASH NEWS

Coronavirus is crashing demand for oil. Combined with the Saudi-Russian price war the SE NM Permian Basin is flat on its back. And it's apparently going to start that way for quite some time. The news:

Chevron now expects to pump about 125,000 fewer barrels of oil and gas per day in the Permian Basin by the end of this year, down 20% from its 600,000 barrel per day target. Chevron cut its capital spending budget by $4 billion on Tuesday, leading a wave of cost-cutting announcements across the reeling oil-and-gas industry as the coronavirus pandemic has slashed demand and triggered a dramatic slide in oil prices. The field is its “most flexible” for spending reductions. Chevron has 16 drilling rigs at work in the field now, down from 20 last year, and will drop to fewer than 8, This is the first indication from an oil major of how sharply it would pull back in the Permian, which has made the United States the world’s largest oil producer.

That means widespread layoffs in the SE NM oilfields are right around the corner.

DEFENDING MLG

We had readers defending MLG from the critics who did not care for her Monday news conference where she announced more measures to deal with the coronavirus. Janet Steele came with this:

Yes, the criticisms of the Governor’s presentation are nitpicking. I felt reassured by her calm firmness. And she told the truth—unlike the words coming from the White House. Truth over slick presentations anytime.

And reader Rodger Beimer writes:

Compare the MLG news conference/announcement to the rambling non-sensical daily political base rallying posturing of “The Orange One”. I’ll take MLG any day.

BIG BILL BEAT

Former NM Governor Bill Richardson was on the job when the 2009 financial crisis hit the nation. In an interview with Politico he gave his take on today's crisis:

. . .Former NM Gov. Bill Richardson said “some of the issues that are being proposed and voted on now are going to become the norm in our political system, both with Republicans and Democrats.” He predicted a new normal including paid sick leave, and even guaranteed income of some kind. “In other words,” Richardson said, “the era of big government is back, and both parties are going to embrace it to resolve problems. And [the change] is caused by the virus.”

Veteran politics watcher Steve Cabiedes says Libertarians, who advocate for smaller government, "are on the run. You don't find many of them on social media during this crisis," he reports.

CAMPAIGN WATCH

There's little campaign action to report as the health threat is pushing politics aside but here's a few items.  Unsuccessful GOP US Senate candidate Louie Sanchez has endorsed Elisa Martinez for the nomination in the June primary. . .

And there's a doctor running for the state House in what could obviously be a timely candidacy. He's Dr. Willie Orr and is challenging fellow Democrat and State Rep. Marian Matthews who was appointed to District 27 in the ABQ NE Heights seat to replace another medical doctor, Rep. Bill Pratt who passed away.

Dr. Orr says he "specialized in geriatric in private practice, treating the elderly and eventually being the Long-Term Care Medical Director for United Healthcare in Albuquerque."

The R's have several candidates running in their primary so this one will be a spirited contest.

This is the home of New Mexico politics.

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2020