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.
New Mexico was among the states with the highest grades on the 2009 National Environmental Scorecard from the League of Conservation Voters. Four of the five members of the delegation received 100 percent scores; Teague was the lone holdout, with an 86 percent score from LCV.
The Senate scores were the result of 11 votes examined by the LCV while the House scores came from 14 votes that were held in 2009.
“Much of the success of the first session of the 111th Congress, including passage of comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation in the House of Representatives, is due to the results of the 2008 election,” the LCV said in a press release announcing the scorecard. “Aside from electing a strong environmental champion in President Barack Obama, pro-environment majorities in both chambers of Congress were strengthened.”
One House vote, on the American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) Act, was counted as double “because of the historic nature” of the legislation according to the LCV scorecard. Reps. Martin Heinrich, Ben Ray Lujan and Harry Teague voted for this legislation. All three are Democrats.
Also included was the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) — better known as the stimulus package. All of the members of the New Mexico delegation in both chambers voted for ARRA in February 2009.
A bill that was scored in both the House and Senate with particular New Mexico relevance was the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009. The bill included New Mexico provisions, including the Sabinoso Wilderness Act, which was originally written by then-Representative Tom Udall. Udall is now a Senator.
Earlier this year, LCV gave President Barack Obama a B+ in its LCV Presidential Report Card.
