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.
Weeks before the New Mexico state Legislature is expected to take up the issue of domestic partnership, the New York state Senate voted down a same-sex marriage bill Wednesday, shocking proponents who had predicted its passage, the New York Times reports.Meanwhile, in warm, sunny Florida, the news isn’t as shiny as the weather. Falling property values in the Sunshine State mean a small pot of money to pay for K-12 education, reports the Miami Herald.
The Herald’s story puts the dilemma facing state lawmakers in perspective:
The plummeting property values pose problems for lawmakers, taxpayers and the school system: If the Legislature keeps the schools tax rate the same during the spring lawmaking session, schools could lose tens of millions of dollars statewide. But if lawmakers raise the tax rate, they fear a backlash in an election year.
Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski bowed to mounting criticism Wednesday and said he’s ready to pare the state’s tax subsidies for green energy projects — especially wind power — after vetoing a similar plan earlier this year, according to the Portland Oregonian.
And bad news continues for the newspaper world: The Washington Times plans to cut its staff by as much as 40 percent over the next 60 days by some estimates, Politico reports.
And in the department of good news, the Pulitzer Committee has opened up the requirements for winning an award in journalism to make online reporters eligible for the prestigious honor, according to FishbowlNY.
Finally, so you think you know how America got its name. Sure, you know who America was named after — Amerigo Vespucci. But who gave America its name? The Smithsonian Magazine investigates that question in this really interesting story.
