BlogNetNews.com » New Mexico

Errors of Enchantment: Thank you John Arthur Smith!

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:22:34 -0500

Apparently, this is "praise Democrat week" here at the Rio Grande Foundation (that or hell has frozen over according to Steve Terrell). Maybe it's just that Holiday spirit. Who knows? Anyway, I was very pleased to read in the Albuquerque Journal this morning, this story in which Sen. Smith, chairman [...]

Democracy for New Mexico: Coalition Representing Over One Million New Mexicans Opposes Reimposition of the Food Tax

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 13:38:52 -0500

Hey Governor Richardson and NM Legislators, are you getting the message yet? Don't even think about trying to get blood from a stone -- i.e., trying to wring more tax dollars out of hands of those who can least afford it. Our wealthiest citizens did just fine before their taxes' [...]

NM-leftnright: Anti-health reform legislation not just in US Congress - Now reportedly coming to New Mexico

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 13:28:06 -0500

Under the guise of "choice" in health care, conservatives are launching a state-based campaign to derail health reform. With support from the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), conservative legislators in at least 24 states are introducing a bill that says no one shall be required to purchase health care [...]

Errors of Enchantment: Jobs??? We don’t need no steenking jobs…

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 12:22:32 -0500

So says the Doña Ana County Commission. A Texas-based company undoubtedly received a rude awakening despite the challenging economy when they attempted to open a meat processing plant that would have created 55 jobs near Berino and Anthony. And we wonder why New Mexico's economic situation -- not very good [...]

Democracy for New Mexico: Have We Been Had on Health Care Reform?

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 12:04:37 -0500

It's irritating to read about the latest wrangling over health care (insurance) reform in the U.S. Senate. Clearly, the process is being controlled by A) the health care industry, B) the pharmaceutical industry C) compromised whack jobs like Joe Lieberman and Ben Nelson and, even worse' [...]

New Mexico Independent: Gov’s budget balancing task force discusses tax increases on energy industries

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:36:54 -0500

Number of comments: 1

The Farmington Daily-Times reported on the latest meeting of the Budget Balancing Task Force put together by Bill Richardson. The meeting, the first to be webcast by the task force, was held in Farmington yesterday afternoon.

According to the Daily-Times, the task force discussed, “Increased taxes on [...]

Only in New Mexico: Must Reads

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:06:00 -0500

Other than going to the dentist today after breaking a tooth with my dental floss, the only other thing of worth I am doing is reading some great research from the Pew Foundation. Every politico, blogger and newspaper publisher and editor should read these.
P.S. I thought flossing was [...]

New Mexico Independent: Trip’s morning reading

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 10:15:46 -0500

Number of comments: 1

A credit rating agency downgraded the creditworthiness of the country’s largest pension fund yesterday, according to the Los Angeles Times. It’s the latest bad news for the California Public Employees’ Retirement System fund (CalPERS), which has been beset by scandal this year with allegations similar to those buffeting [...]

SFReeper.com » News: From Washington, With Love

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 09:23:53 -0500

Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-New Mexico

You’d think he’d be kinda busy with that whole health care thing, but US Sen. Jeff Bingaman has apparently found time to reform the mining industry, too. To be fair, Bingaman introduced the bill in April, but it [...]

Mario Burgos: Tax Increases Only Inevitable in Governor's Mind

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 09:15:00 -0500

Governor Bill Richardson is all about raising taxes in the upcoming 2010 legislative session. In his mind, a tax increase is inevitable. But, thankfully sounder minds may prevail:

Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, the Finance Committee chairman, said many lawmakers from rural parts of the state — both [...]

Democracy for New Mexico: Recovery Act Funds Go to NM Tribal Communities for Energy Efficiency, Transportation

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 09:10:22 -0500

Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall announced yesterday that several New Mexico tribal communities will receive funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to improve energy efficiency and public transportation.

“New Mexico communities are putting their share of recovery funds to very good use, and in the process they’re creating [...]

New Mexico Independent: Hearing Lays Out Immigration Battle Ahead

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 08:14:13 -0500

Reps. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) and Mark Souder (R-Ind.) (house.gov)

A House Homeland Security Committee hearing Thursday morning highlighted the sharp divide in Congress over illegal immigration and what should be done about it, presaging the difficult fight [...]

Diogenes'six: APS' continuing disregard for the law.

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 07:49:00 -0500

I have filed a request for public records with the APS, under the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act.

The request was filed at 8:51 on Wednesday December 2, 2009. The receipt of the request was acknowledged at 9:33 that morning.

According to the law, "A custodian" [...]

Diogenes'six: "A Change in Attitude ..."

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 07:20:00 -0500

Jim Scarantino reports an encouraging sign an apparent
turnaround in the handling of public records requests under
our new mayor, link.

The truth is an essential element of reform; it is in fact, fundamental.

Hear, hear. wikilink [...]

What's The Word with Peter St. Cyr: NM considers new conditions for medical marijuana

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 06:45:00 -0500

A medical advisory board will hold a public hearing Friday in Santa Fe to consider petitions for adding new health conditions to the New Mexico Department of Health's medical marijuana program.

The board will review five petitions and make recommendations to the department secretary, who will then make [...]

What's The Word with Peter St. Cyr: American Indian Vets reach settlement with Tax and Rev

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 06:41:00 -0500

American Indian veterans should begin receiving long-overdue reimbursements of tax dollars unlawfully withheld from their military paychecks.

An estimated 9,000 American Indian veterans live in New Mexico, and those who can prove state income tax was unjustly withheld from their military paychecks can collect a piece of a settlement [...]

The Westerner: NY Court Halts Columbia University's Eminent Domain Abuse

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 06:10:00 -0500

New York’s Supreme Court Appellate Division (First Department) handed down a massive victory for property rights yesterday in the case of Kaur v. New York State Urban Development Corporation. At issue was the state’s highly controversial use of eminent domain on behalf of Columbia University, which wants free rein [...]

The Westerner: Pinon ban

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 06:09:00 -0500

THE BAN on Army expenditures for expansion of the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site appears safely ensconced in the 2010 omnibus federal budget bill that Senate and House negotiators have agreed upon. The ban originally was sponsored by Reps. John Salazar and Marilyn Musgrave two years ago. Since then, Rep. Musgrave’s [...]

The Westerner: Scientists: Killing 1 Owl May Save Another

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 06:07:00 -0500

Scientists want to determine if killing the aggressive barred owl that has invaded old growth forests of the Northwest would help the protected spotted owl. Federal biologists are doing a formal study to decide whether to do the experiment, and laying out the terms if they go ahead. The study [...]

The Westerner: Company: Cobalt mining in Idaho to start in 2011

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 06:05:00 -0500

Mining for cobalt — an element used in hybrid car batteries and jet engines — could get under way in the central Idaho mountains in 2011, after a Canadian company said it won initial federal approval for the plan. Formation Metals Inc. said Wednesday that winning the U.S. Forest Service's' [...]

The Westerner: History proves ranchers, BLM have nurtured the Breaks

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 06:03:00 -0500

With that in mind, there has to be a reason that an area as large as this is still intact. The reason is that ranchers and the BLM have taken care of the land and used this area in a responsible manner, sustaining it for future generations. As far as [...]

The Westerner: Forest Service signs "confusing", nude bathers cited, "soak-in" planned

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 06:02:00 -0500

A confusing sign is coming down after a group of people were cited for skinny dipping at a hot springs in Utah County. The Deseret News reports Utah County sheriff's deputies cited eight adults for lewdness at Diamond Fork Springs in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest on an October evening just [...]

The Westerner: Trio sentenced to 36 years in federal prison

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 06:01:00 -0500

A trio of McCreary County men will serve a combined 36 years in federal prison for conspiring to produce methamphetamine. The charges stem from an investigation by the Kentucky State Police and McCreary County Sheriff’s Department which led to the trio’s arrests on August 12, 2008. Assisting in the investigation [...]

The Westerner: Cattle mutilations in Colorado - a Rocky Mountain mystery + video

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 06:01:00 -0500

The bodies are horribly mutilated as if with surgical precision - eyes removed, innards gone, the skin grotesquely peeled away. The predator, or predators, have left no footprints to reveal their identities and no blood stains on the earth to speak to the slaughter. Their gory souvenirs vanish with them. [...]

The Westerner: Giant iceberg heading for Australia

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 06:00:00 -0500

A giant iceberg double the size of Sydney Harbour is on a slow but steady collision course with Australia, scientists have said. The mammoth chunk of ice, which measures 12 miles long and five miles wide, was spotted floating surprisingly close to the mainland by scientists at the Australian Antarctic [...]

The Westerner: Cattle producing Argentina could face beef imports

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 05:59:00 -0500

Argentina, a nation that prides itself on having more cattle than people, may soon be forced to import beef to keep its meat-loving citizens happy at the dinner table. Intense government efforts to keep meat affordable through taxes, export restrictions and price controls have enabled Argentines to eat record amounts [...]

The Westerner: Bolivia seizes big ranch from president's opponent

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 05:58:00 -0500

The government has seized a 12,500-hectare (48-square-mile) ranch in Bolivia's eastern lowlands from a soybean magnate who is among the chief political rivals of just re-elected President Evo Morales. The confiscation announced Thursday was the first by Morales' government as it seeks to wrest fallow farmland from big landholders and' [...]

The Westerner: Raw deal? Woman charged over steak attack

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 05:57:00 -0500

A Florida woman has been arrested after allegedly hitting her boyfriend in the head with a raw steak. According to a Marion County Sheriff's Office report, the man told deputies Elsie Egan repeatedly hit him with the uncooked meat and slapped his face after he refused a piece of sliced [...]

The Westerner: Song Of The Day #198

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 05:56:00 -0500

Johnny & Jack offer us some sage advice with their 1951 recording Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide.

[...]

New Mexico Politics with Joe Monahan: Friday Clippings From My Newsroom Floor: A Little History, The Sante Fe Scene, And Manny's "Castle"

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:19:00 -0500

Here's a pic we came across of the five current members of the Bernalillo County Commission. They are the latest in a very, very long line of leaders.

Bernalillo County was established in 1852 as one of the nine original counties created by [...]

The Westerner: Bob Jones

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 23:37:00 -0500

Bob Jones
December 10, 2009

My friend and mentor Bob Jones died today. This hit hard for me. I regret now that I never told Bob directly but I said it more than once to Bobby; along with my dad, Forrest Delk and my high school ag teacher, [...]

Democracy for New Mexico: Martin Chavez to Participate in Climate Change Panel in Copenhagen

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 19:02:41 -0500

Former Albuquerque Mayor Martin J. Chavez will participate in a panel on climate change as part of the larger United Nations climate change summit. Specifically, Chavez's panel will discuss "Leadership and Innovation by US Cities and Local Governments" as it relates to the reduction [...]

New Mexico Independent: Udall, Bingaman and Luján say NM travelers won’t have a problem after December 31

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:48:32 -0500

Number of comments: 1

Echoing a blog post from yesterday, Senators Tom Udall, Jeff Bingaman and Rep. Ben Ray Luján, all Democrats, issued a statement today saying that the Department of Homeland Security, DHS, has contingency plans in place in case Congress does not pass the PASS ID legislation. These include extending the [...]

Democracy for New Mexico: Rep. Ben Ray Luján Highlights Energy Efficiency Grants in NM-03

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:25:30 -0500

Today, Rep. Ben Ray Luján highlighted several Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants (EECBG) made to communities in New Mexico’s Third Congressional District that will help improve energy efficiency and create clean energy jobs. The awards were made by the Department of Energy through the [...]

Errors of Enchantment: Uranium Mining and New Mexico

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 17:19:53 -0500

Opening yesterday's Albuquerque Journal, I was heartened to see this opinion piece from New Mexico State Senator David Ulibarri. In his article, Ulibarri cites the possibility that "if uranium mining resumes in New Mexico, we would be looking at the creation of about 20,000 jobs with a projected economic impact" [...]

The Westerner: Largest Environmental Bankruptcy in U.S. History Will Result in Payment of $1.79 Billion

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:48:00 -0500

As a result of the largest environmental bankruptcy in U.S. history, $1.79 billion has been paid to fund environmental cleanup and restoration under a bankruptcy reorganization of American Smelting and Refining Company LLC (ASARCO), the Justice Department, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of the Interior and Department of Agriculture announced today. [...]

New Mexico Independent: Former ABQ Mayor Chavez to participate in Copenhagan climate change panel

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:48:42 -0500

Former Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez is headed to Copenhagan to participate in a climate change panel at the United Nations Climate Change Conference. Chavez will participate in a panel called “Leadership and Innovation by US Cities and Local Governments.”

Yesterday, Chavez promised to keep people up to date [...]

Inside the Capitol: 12-14 Next Bidget Fix To Hit All

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:28:00 -0500

By JAY MILLER
Syndicated Columnist
SANTA FE -- Everyone will be affected by the next round of state budget balancing.
Thus far, lawmakers have been able to fill budgetary voids by sweeping money out of the cubby holes of state government and cutting back on agency spending.
But next time the [...]