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.
Revenue estimates released this week project that New Mexico’s revenues will come in at around $5 billion for the current 2010 fiscal year, which is $422 million less than was anticipated when the budget was put together, according to a report by Barry Massey of the Associated Press.
The estimates were given to the Legislative Finance Committee at a meeting in Angel Fire this week.
In 2008, the state’s revenues were about $6 billion, so in two years the state has seen a $1 billion drop.
In fiscal year 2009, the state relied on federal stimulus dollars and trimmed agency budgets to plug a shortfall of about $309 million. The current budget was crafted with the decline in revenues in mind.
According to Massey, the decline is largely attributed to the national recession, rather than a decline in oil and gas revenues.
The governor is convening a special session in October to address the shortfall this year. Options for closing the gap include dipping into the states reserve fund, finding ways to raise revenue, rolling back unused capital outlay funds, or making more cuts.
