Monday, April 06, 2020Coronavirus Cases Climb But New Mexico Is Stingy With Data, Plus: Unemployed Jam State Lines; What To Do? And: GOP Congress Race Jolted By Heavy TV Hit On Herrell For example, we don't know the ages or gender of those who tested positive or how many of those currently "hospitalized" (45) are in intensive care. Isn't that critical information when all the talk is about the number of ventilators needed for the critically ill and whether each state is properly equipped? And what of the ethnicity of those stricken in majority-minority New Mexico? It is not reported. And what about the hometowns, with privacy exceptions for very low population locales? The Navajo Nation has been reporting on coronavirus cases that occur among its NM members. Diving deep into the missing data could help the public and policy makers better understand the extent of the virus and it can show where there may be holes in our public health system. And bountiful information in a time of emergency keeps the public less prone to be victimized by disinformation. When this pandemic finally relents it's going to be debated ad nauseam. All information will become public, but right now the state appears to be playing nanny state and doesn't trust the public with information it is entitled to. Arizona and California, to name just two, have more robust reporting, with both including age and gender and California also listing that important number of ICU patients. The state says it has a maximum capacity of 344 ICU beds--589 if they stretch it. But officials predict 2,175 will be needed when the virus peaks. Many of the ICU beds are already occupied by noncoronavirus patients. In mid-March the state reported 54 vacant ICU beds.
Plans are being made to use the old Lovelace hospital and the downtown ABQ convention center as coronavirus hospitals.
JOBLESS DELUGE There's another area where the Governor may want to reassess what's being done and that's with the masses of unemployed New Mexicans trying to file applications for unemployment as a result of her stay at home order.
It's a pretty much impossible task for many of the freshly jobless amid a deluge of hits that stall out the Workforce Solutions Department website and jams its call center with new customers.
Secretary Bill McCamley has tried to provide order by asking that the tens of thousands of newly unemployed use the last digits of their Social Security numbers to determine what day of the week to call. But it isn't enough. He needs more staff and says he is hiring them. The phone lines are now open at the department at 8 a.m. but close early at 4:30. p.m. And there are no Saturday hours. Weekday hours could be extended into the early evening as states like New York have done and where the jobless can also file their applications over the phone all day Saturday. It matters because the vast majority of those losing their jobs are low-income workers from the services sector, restaurant and hotel staffs among them. Waiting for weeks to file for their jobless benefits represents a hardship for many who live paycheck to paycheck. The $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill passed by Congress provides much largess to the states to help with their unemployed. MLG and her team have done a bang-up job in testing for coronavirus, clearly communicating and coming early with a shut down order that could very well be saving lives. That's the highest fruit to pick off the tree, but they can also grab some of the lower lying stuff and make their grades even better--and the state better for it. GOING NEGATIVE A scathing attack ad against southern congressional candidate Yvette Herrell broke what proved to be a temporary taboo on negative campaigning for the June primary that settled over the state in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.
The harsh hit piece, financed by an oil money backed super PAC called Citizens For A United NM, was jarring, coming as it did amid news of increased infections and deaths here.
The ad, featuring numerous unflattering photos of Herrell and shot in stark in black and white, aims to contradict her professed loyalty to President Trump by citing her past actions. The hit piece is not formally associated with the campaign of Herrell's chief rival, Claire Chase, a member of a prominent wealthy SE oil family, but that didn't stop Herrell from calling her out: The decision by Claire Chase’s Super PAC to run a false attack ad filled with lies against me is disgusting. Claire should be ashamed, especially at a time when President Trump and New Mexicans have called for unity while we focus on the massive health and economic crisis. These false attacks from Claire's desperate Super PAC should be immediately pulled from the airwaves. The PAC'S decision to try to undermine Herrell's support of Trump is not unexpected. It's that very issue that has undermined Chase's campaign whose attacks on Trump on her Facebook page before he became president have proved to be a drag on her candidacy. At the March GOP preprimary convention Chase was crushed in a landslide, losing to Herrell by 66 to 33 percent. The high intensity PAC ad in the middle of a somber national emergency revealed just how much ground the Chase supporters believe she must make up and their willingness to gamble to do it. How that goes down with the Republican faithful remains to be seen but for New Mexicans not involved in the race the ad was jolting. Said one Dem consultant: Given its timing, that ad comes across like someone screaming obscenities at a funeral service. One place the ad was getting rave reviews was at the headquarters of Dem US Rep. Xochitl Torres Small as they hoped the internal GOP skirmish will play into their hands as a similar stand-off did two years ago.
Our media insiders report the buy for the ad is $46,000 for one week on ABQ broadcast stations.
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