CrucesSunNews

CrucesSunNews

Find the Las Cruces Sun-News online at lcsun-news.com.

  1. The Reporter's Notebook Podcast, Ep. 67: Michael Patrick Kaczmarek

    05/08/2023

    The Reporter's Notebook Podcast, Ep. 67: Michael Patrick Kaczmarek

    This week, we’re joined by Las Cruces native Michael Patrick Kaczmarek, one of the producers of The Pope’s Exorcist, which was released April 14 in the U.S. and is in theaters now. To date, the film has grossed more than $60 million internationally. The film stars Academy Award-winner Russell Crowe. Inspired by the actual files of Father Gabriele Amorth, Chief Exorcist of the Vatican, The Pope’s Exorcist follows Amorth as he investigates a young boy’s terrifying possession and ends up uncovering a centuries-old conspiracy the Vatican has desperately tried to keep hidden. Known by some as the Dean of Exorcists, to others as the Vatican’s Exorcist, Father Amorth was to thousands of people a light in the darkness. A real man who conducted thousands of exorcisms for the Church, Father Amorth was a frontline crusader in the battle against evil who chronicled his exploits in two memoirs that go far beyond the spooky anecdotes to explore the threats to humanity from demons. Amorth was appointed chief exorcist of the Diocese of Rome in 1986 and remained there until 2016, when he died at age 91. In those three decades, Amorth claimed to have conducted over 60,000 exorcisms. Now, the exploits of Father Amorth come to the screen for the first time in The Pope’s Exorcist. Michael attended Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic School and Oñate High School, where he played football for four years and graduated in 1999. He went on to attend the University of New Mexico and Cal State, Los Angeles, where he earned a B.A. in Communications with an emphasis in Film, Radio and Television in 2003. We’ll talk to Michael about how he became involved in the project, how he got started, how he got to where he is and who helped him along the way. We’ll also talk about what may be next for the young producer.

    51 min
  2. The Reporter's Notebook Podcast, Ep. 66: Abrianna Morales & SAYSN

    05/02/2023

    The Reporter's Notebook Podcast, Ep. 66: Abrianna Morales & SAYSN

    This week’s podcast discusses sexual assault. If you or someone you know experiences sexual violence, you can find local support via La Piñon's 24-Hour Crisis Hotline at 575-526-3437 or go to www.lapinon.org. This week, we’re joined by Abrianna Morales. When she was 15, Abrianna was sexually assaulted by someone she knew and trusted. That experience — navigating the legal system, the feeling of isolation, and lack of resources and support — prompted her to create the Sexual Assault Youth Survivors’ Network, a community of survivors, supporters, and advocates “dedicated to building a world without sexual violence where justice is restorative and healing is possible.” As of early 2022, more than 300,000 people from around the world had visited the organization’s website. After high school, she went on to attend the University of New Mexico. She is currently a senior majoring in Psychology and Criminology with a minor in Math and will graduate in two weeks. In 2022, she was selected to be a Truman Scholar, one of 58 college students throughout the country who aspire to be leaders in public service. After graduation, she plans to take a gap year to work on developing the SAYSN and some collaborative projects with the National Organization for Victim Assistance, including a U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women grant to provide training and technical assistance to college campuses invested in preventing sexual assault, domestic violence, and stalking. Last week, during National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, Abrianna was featured in a video on the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs’ website. We’ll talk to Abrianna about SAYSN, her experience as an advocate, how COVID-19 impacted her life in surprising ways, her future plans and more.

    31 min
  3. The Reporter's Notebook Podcast, Ep. 65: Broad Canyon Ranch

    04/25/2023

    The Reporter's Notebook Podcast, Ep. 65: Broad Canyon Ranch

    On this week's episode, we’re joined by Patrick Nolan, executive director of Friends of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks. We’ll also be joined by Sen. Jeff Steinborn (D-Las Cruces), as well as Kyla Navarro, policy and community coordinator for Friends of the OMDP. The New Mexico Legislative Session recently wrapped up and Friends of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks celebrated the legislature’s decision to fund a feasibility study, which is a step towards establishing a new state park in Southern New Mexico. The Broad Canyon Ranch property was acquired by the New Mexico State Parks Division in 2008 to be a destination for outdoor education. It also holds potential as a foraging and nesting habitat for various avian species. Due to budget cuts during the previous administration, the property was never opened to the public. Friends of the OMDP hopes to establish Broad Canyon Ranch as a state park for the safe public access to Slot Canyon, north of Las Cruces, and the Rio Grande corridor. This destination has increased in popularity the past few years but sits on the edge of state-owned land and national monument land. Due to this reason, accessing this destination became contentious for trespassing concerns, treading on state land to access federal lands. With funding provided through the “Junior Bill,” Sen. Steinborn and Rep. Nathan Small (D-Las Cruces) were able to allocate money to fund the study. We’ll talk about the challenges this could help overcome, how it’s a necessary first step to create a state park, what the current situation looks like and how we got here, and what exactly the “Junior Bill” is.

    30 min

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

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Find the Las Cruces Sun-News online at lcsun-news.com.