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 Albuquerque Journal Poll continues today and shows Democrat Martin Heinrich with a narrow lead over Republican Darren White in the race for the 1st Congressional District, but with 16 percent of voters still undecided. In northern New Mexico, the Secretary of State’s Office has formally asked a candidate for the Public Regulation Commission why he lied about a campaign expenditure, which The Santa Fe New Mexican reports is a felony that could end up costing Jerome Block Jr. his right to vote.
In Farmington, the City Council is considering a long-term strategy that it says will reduce energy costs, by issuing $500 million in bonds to prepay a natural gas contract, The Farmington Daily Times reports. And last, the Las Cruces Sun-News has a nice package on the U.S.-Mexico border fence. Federal contractors are working on the first 3 miles of a fence that eventually will divide New Mexico and Mexico.
Heinrich has narrow lead in CD1
Democrats running for president and the U.S. Senate polled well ahead of their Republican rivals in Albuquerque Journal polls published Sunday and Monday. Today’s poll finds the trend continuing, though just barely, in the 1st Congressional District, where Martin Heinrich leads Darren White 43 percent to 41 percent and a margin of error of almost 5 points.
One surprising number is that 16 percent are still undecided. Pollster Brian Sanderoff said Heinrich is having difficulty attracting the Hispanic vote, while independents are not flocking to White in the same numbers they did for Republican candidates in the past.
The coattail effect could be big this year, Sanderoff said. “Darren White’s fortunes will probably rise and fall with John McCain’s.”
Secretary of State to Block: Come clean
Jerome Block Jr., a Democrat running for the Public Regulation Commission, has been asked by the Secretary of State’s Office to explain why he lied about his use of public campaign funds, specifically a $2,500 expenditure for a band to perform at a rally but that never played.
The Santa Fe New Mexican story also says Block is told in the letter released Monday that his case could be forwarded to the Attorney General’s Office for enforcement. If prosecuted and convicted of violating the state Voter Action Act — a felony — Block could not only lose his voting privileges but also the right to run for office again.
Block is required to respond to Secretary of State Mary Herrera’s office no later than Friday afternoon.
The New Mexican reported earlier that Block had said he spent $2,500 in public funds for a band to play at a rally in May. He admitted later that the band never played.
Block won the six-way Democratic primary in March with 23 percent of the vote. He faces Green Party candidate Rick Lass but no Republican on Nov. 4.
Farmington eyes long-term gas contract
If the City Council approves, Farmington could issue more than $500 million in bonds for the city-owned electric utility to buy a 30-year supply of natural gas, The Farmington Daily Times writes today.
Also in on the deal, according to the paper, would be Los Alamos and Las Cruces. They would band together to sell bonds through the Royal Bank of Canada to buy natural gas in bulk.
If it all works as planned, the contract could cut Farmington utility bills by 15 percent a month, Utility Director Maude Grantham-Richards said. The catch is to buy at the right time, when the price is low for both natural gas and for bonds, she said.
The City Council and Mayor Bill Standley sound interested but cautious, given the recent upheavals in the financial markets. The city and BP currently have a long-term agreement for natural gas that expires in 2020, and city officials fear gas prices could triple at that time. The council has until Oct. 31 to authorize the deal and give the green light to market analysts to set up the contracts.
“It all depends on what happens with the markets, but we want to be ready when the day comes and all the stars are aligned in the sky,” Grantham-Richards said.
Border fence builds barrier with Mexico
The controversial, 15- to 18-foot-high border fence between the United States and Mexico is going up west of Sunland Park, the Las Cruces Sun-News reports today, with about 3.3 miles completed.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security says another 3.5 miles of fencing in Doña Ana County will be finished by January. In all, the agency is erecting the steel fence along 110 miles in the U.S. Border Patrol’s El Paso Sector, which includes all of New Mexico and two counties in west Texas.
Eventually the project will erect 670 miles of fencing from California to Texas.
In addition to the pedestrian fence, the government plans to build nearly 21 miles of vehicle barriers in Doña Ana County at a cost to federal taxpayers of $21.3 million. Farther west in New Mexico, about 37 miles of vehicle barriers are either under construction or planned in Luna and Hidalgo counties at a cost of $46.8 million.
The story includes links on the border fence project and the local effort.
