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.
All five members of the New Mexico delegation voiced their support for naming the Department of Interior building after the late Stewart Udall. Not only did Udall serve as the Secretary of the Interior for eight years, but he is also the father of current New Mexico U.S. Senator Tom Udall, D-N.M.
Stewart Udall passed away in March. Udall served as a United States Representative from Arizona before being named the Secretary of the Interior under John F. Kennedy, but was living in Santa Fe at the end of his life.
In the U.S. House of Representatives, Rep. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., introduced the legislation, while Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., introduced companion legislation in the U.S. Senate.
“Stewart Udall was instrumental in the passage of virtually all of our nation’s landmark environmental laws,” Bingaman, the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said in a statement. “In the 161-year history of the Department of the Interior, there have been many exceptional individuals who have served as Secretary of the Interior. Stewart Udall certainly ranks among the best of them. In recognition of his lifetime of work pursuing the common good and protecting our nation’s public lands and waters, and in particular his achievements as Secretary of the Interior, I am proud to have introduced this legislation in the Senate.”
““His legacy includes the Wilderness Act, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the creation of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and the expansion of our National Park system,” Heinrich said in a statement. “Thanks to his work, those treasured public lands now belong to every American and will contribute to the spirit of our nation for generations to come.”
“Our nation is deeply indebted to him and today, on Earth Day, it is appropriate that we name this federal building the Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior Building,” Heinrich said.
The legislation is co-sponsored in the House by Reps. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M, Harry Teague, D-N.M., Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz., Rep. Harry Mitchell, D-Ariz., and Rep. Ed Pastor, D-Ariz. The Senate legislation is cosponsored by Sens. Mark Udall, D-Colo., John McCain, R-Ariz., and Harry Reid, D-Nev.
