Top Stories of 2020 Part 1 & New Mexico’s Military Legacy | 12.25.20

New Mexico in Focus (A Production of NMPBS)

This week on New Mexico in Focus… The Line opinion panelists begin our annual countdown of the top stories of the year. 2020 was dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts in New Mexico, but there are many specific issues our special panel of working journalists is ready to examine. This week, they take on stories 10-6, including the rise of Zoom and remote working, and the impacts of COVID-19 on our schools and entire education system. They wrap up the list on next week’s show with the top 5 stories of 2020.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also sparked renewed interest in all kinds of content, from streaming media, to books and even video games. That includes the classic works of Shakespeare. Correspondent Gwyneth Doland talks to UNM English Professor Marissa Greenberg about how artists and creators are breathing new life into the bard’s stories and characters. They also explore why his writings are still so vibrant all these centuries later.

Correspondent Laura Paskus continues her coverage of the groundwater contamination at a handful of New Mexico military installations, resulting from the past use of aqueous firefighting foams which contained dangerous PFAS chemicals. Her work is part of our ongoing investigation “Groundwater War.” Paskus explains why New Mexico’s complicated military legacy makes it harder to get the military to take action, including mapping the full extent of the contamination and the challenges of cleaning up the PFAS chemicals.

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