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• In an update on Wednesday, the state said it is still meeting its gating criteria, but also reported 154 new cases of COVID-19 and three additional deaths. Read more here.
• In that same webinar, the state’s Human Services Department Secretary encouraged New Mexicans to get their flu shot and said that doing so would stop the state from being overwhelmed when the COVID vaccine comes out—which could happen as soon as November, per guidance from the federal government. Read more here.
  • The state is also bracing for a behavioral health crisis because of the COVID-19 response, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
• Two male inmates at the Grant County Detention Center tested positive for COVID-19, the Silver City Daily Press reported.
• The Navajo Nation’s partial weekend lockdowns will continue, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
• Albuquerque food inspectors are dinging restaurants and grocery stores for not being in compliance with the state public health order, in addition to their usual inspections, KRQE-TV reported. They haven’t levied fines, but have threatened to suspend between five and ten food permits; the City of Albuquerque enforces its own food rules, while the state enforces rules in the rest of the state.
• Legislators want to see if the governor is open to looking at amending the governor’s powers in emergency situations, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported.
• A district court judge restored the food service permits of restaurants that had theirs revoked for refusing to follow the state’s public health order, on the condition that they follow current and future public health orders, the Farmington Daily Times reported. 
• A Santa Fe O’Reilly Auto Parts was fined $79,000 for ignoring the mask requirements of the public health order, KRQE-TV reported.
• The University of New Mexico’s COVID-19 transparency website is online, KRQE-TV reported.
• The Silver Schools Board of Education voted to move to a hybrid model, which includes in-person and online nearling, starting Sept. 21, the Silver City Daily Press reported.
• A South Valley charter school is looking to begin in-person learning, KOB-TV reported.
• The Las Cruces Sun-News wrote about how vendors who rely on live events, like those that happen during normal Labor Day weekends, are coping with the pandemic.
• Albuquerque Public Schools will allow some non-contact fall sports, which include golf, cross country and volleyball, KRQE-TV reported. Soccer and football, both contact sports, have been delayed until at least the spring semester.
• The Santa Fe New Mexican wrote about the New Mexico museums that are reopening to visitors.
  • The International UFO Museum and Research Center reopened its exhibits, the Roswell Daily Record reported.
• A New Mexico United employee, but not a player or on-field coach or trainer, tested positive for COVID-19, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
• Albuquerque’s only two second-run movie theaters have closed permanently during the pandemic, and there are many other movie theaters in danger, the Daily Lobo reported.
• The Deming Headlight wrote about the struggles of restaurants in the area.
• Long-time Rio Rancho restaurant O’Hare’s Grille & Pub is hoping the return of limited indoor dining will help them stay open, the Rio Rancho Observer reported.
• The Family Market in Farmington opened six months ago and has survived through the pandemic, the Farmington Daily Times reported.
• Friends Coffee and Sandwich Shop in downtown Albuquerque, which caters to those who work downtown, reopened this week, KOB-TV reported.
• The city has frozen many positions as it faces budget cuts because of reduced tax revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic, KOAT-TV reported.
• Students in Grant County donated COVID Care Packs that they gave to first responders, who will pass them along to those in need, the Silver City Sun-News reported.