Talkofthetown: It's not compassionate to allow people to destroy themselves

Requiring cooling systems will pay dividends over time

As a public health and heat researcher who has spent years studying how rising temperatures affect our communities, I am thrilled to celebrate the Albuquerque City Council’s landmark decision to amend the Uniform Housing Code to require cooling systems in rental properties.

This victory isn’t just about comfort — it will save lives and protect countless residents from needless suffering.

Record-breaking temperatures aren’t an anomaly; they’re our new reality. This amendment ensures that while our most affluent residents have long enjoyed central air-conditioning or heat pumps, now all community members will have similar access to safe temperatures.

This is particularly significant for thousands of renters who previously lacked the money, permission or stability to install cooling systems in their homes. Our elders, children, and those with chronic health conditions will now have the protection they need in our warming city.

The research that helped inform this decision is clear: access to adequate indoor cooling systems is the most effective way to prevent heat-related illness and death. Many homes in Albuquerque weren’t built for the excessive hot temperatures we see each summer. Mobile homes, for example, have acted like ovens — trapping heat and resulting in indoor temperatures far exceeding outdoor temperatures.

Thanks to this amendment, no more Burqueños will have to suffer in homes that feel like ovens.

Some critics may argue that requiring cooling systems will drive up rents, exacerbating our housing affordability crisis. However, this amendment recognizes the enormous costs our community was already bearing due to inaction. Data from the New Mexico Department of Health has shown a shocking increase in heat-related emergency department visits year after year.

As anyone who has been hospitalized knows, these costs can easily be in the thousands to tens of thousands of dollars. By taking action now, we’re preventing these health care-associated costs from burdening working families and straining our entire health care system.

The benefits of this amendment extend far beyond medical cost savings. By preventing lost wages from heat-related illnesses, decreased worker productivity, children struggling to concentrate on their homework, and reducing strain on emergency services, this investment will pay for itself many times over. Rather than allowing these compounding costs to fall on taxpayers, we’ve chosen to address the root cause.

Landlords, too, will benefit from this amendment. Modern, energy-efficient cooling systems can reduce monthly utility bills, especially compared to incorrectly sized window units. Safe and comfortable properties reduce renter turnover and costs associated with cleaning, advertising and finding new tenants.

Regulated indoor temperatures will help maintain rental properties, preventing temperature-related damage to flooring, walls, and fixtures — problems which often cost significantly more to repair than to prevent.

This amendment represents our city’s recognition that cooling systems are essential infrastructure for habitable properties in our changing climate. The City Council’s decision shows that Albuquerque understands the benefits to public safety, health, productivity and community resilience far outweigh the costs of installation.

As our city grows and temperatures continue to rise, we’ve taken a crucial step to protect our community’s health and well-being. This amendment is more than just a policy change – it’s an investment in our community’s future, a statement about our values, and a recognition that in today’s Albuquerque, cooling systems aren’t a luxury — they’re a necessity.

The City Council’s decision will be remembered as a pivotal moment in making our city more livable, equitable and resilient for all.

NATHANIEL MATTHEWS-TRIGG

Albuquerque

Compassion is not allowing people to destroy themselves

Our communities are paying the price for our broken criminal justice system, which is failing those with mental health problems and/or drug addiction. Like many others, I’m wondering whether our legislators will take action to fix the situation.

Here in Las Cruces, repeat offenders are responsible for innumerable crimes after being deemed “incompetent” to stand trial and then being released back onto the streets. For instance, from a public records request, one of the top repeat offenders in Las Cruces has over 120 charges for aggravated assault, dealing meth, battery, trespassing, shoplifting and more.

Another top repeat offender has been charged 95-plus times with offenses including criminal trespass, possession of illegal drugs, assault, property damage, indecent exposure, shoplifting, battery on a peace officer, and unlawful carrying of a deadly weapon.

These are a couple examples, but there are dozens more. Twenty-eight of the top 40 repeat offenders in Las Cruces are homeless, given that Mesilla Valley Community of Hope is listed as their place of residence.

Businesses and homes are vandalized, windows are broken, property is taken, and vehicles are stolen. Homeless people are camping out at businesses and homes, approaching people asking for money, scaring children, threatening people, and leaving trash and feces all around.

Drugged-out people are wandering the streets, harassing people, and leaving dangerous needles lying around where children can find them.

My two teens have often ridden the city bus to downtown Las Cruces. On the bus and in downtown, they’ve witnessed men behaving erratically, drug dealing in broad daylight, and two vagrants outside their classroom window smoking crack or meth in the middle of the afternoon in full view of children down to 9 years old. Like many mothers, I’m concerned for my children’s safety, especially in downtown Las Cruces, parking lots and parks.

People are being harmed while trying to live peacefully and responsibly, such as Rosa Ortega, who was brutally attacked by a homeless person in broad daylight while walking to the grocery store. Another example is a yoga teacher in downtown Las Cruces who was attacked with rocks thrown at her car and threatened with being raped and killed. Less than a year ago, Las Cruces Police Department officer Jonah Hernandez was killed while responding to a trespassing call, leaving behind his wife and two young children.

Mugshots of top repeat offenders show that catch-and-release is not helping them, either. Over time, they look increasingly haggard, beaten down and out of their minds. It’s not compassionate to allow these people to continue destroying their own lives and health with drugs. And it’s the duty of government to ensure that these people are not allowed to continue destroying our community.

The New Mexico Legislature must enact laws to allow “incompetent” offenders to be directed into treatment, for the good of all. The current Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) model isn’t enough. AOT is voluntary and, while it can work well for some offenders, it’s clearly not working for the top repeat offenders, many of whom are violent and unstable.

Much as we’d like to wish it wasn’t necessary, there must be a mechanism for involuntary commitment and treatment of those who are deemed incompetent.

The legislative session is a prime opportunity for change. Both Democratic and Republican legislators need to stop politicizing the issues and find common ground so that our communities and our state can survive.

Safety across our state should be a top priority for our legislators, but it remains to be seen whether they will actually take any meaningful action.

SARAH SMITH

Las Cruces