I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
The renewable energy sector is feeling the credit crunch, including some Albuquerque-area companies. Declining demand is a factor, but the biggest problem is lack of credit, according to Monique Hanis, spokeswoman for the Solar Energy Industries Association in Washington, D.C., who was quoted in the New Mexico Business Weekly.
Two years ago there were 18 large investment banks nationwide; now there are only five.
“Mark Finocchario, president and CEO of Schott Solar Inc., said many developers are canceling or postponing energy projects because of funding problems,” the biz weekly reported.
“Companies normally can’t do large projects just with the cash on balance sheets because these things can cost hundreds of millions of dollars,” Finocchario said. “We’re starting to see companies cancel or push out projects. What’s frustrating is all the demand was on the table and moving forward until we hit this credit crunch.”
Be careful, says the State Department
The U.S. State Department has extended a travel alert regarding Mexico until Aug. 20 due to what resembles “small-unit combat” between drug cartels and Mexican authorities, reports the Las Cruces Sun-News. “Large firefights have taken place in many towns and cities across Mexico but most recently in northern Mexico, including Tijuana, Chihuahua City and Ciudad Juarez,” said the alert. “More recently,” it continued, “Juarez, Tijuana and Nogales have experienced public shootouts during daylight hours in shopping centers and other public areas, and future similar attacks are unpredictable.”
Another kind of war over at UNM
The fight between the University of New Mexico’s administration and faculty is called a “war” by the Albuquerque Journal. Faculty say the administration is squeezing academic programs dry— that they “are (cut) to the bone” and “no longer able to function at the appropriate level for a flagship university.” UNM’s president, David Schmidly, says the current deep recession means they need to all pull together, and has promised to reduce non-academic spending. Nonetheless, faculty will vote on a “non-confidence” measure at 3 p.m. this coming Wednesday at Popejoy Hall.
