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 state is holding hearings today on green building codes that Susana Martinez’s administration has put in the crosshairs. The hearings are the start of a process to roll back the regulations that were passed under the Bill Richardson administration.
Martinez’s administration announced its intention to roll back the codes last month after a recommendation by her Small Business Friendly Task Force. Critics have said the small business task force is stacked with lobbyists for large corporations instead of small business owners.
The provisions will go into effect by July 1. The hearings were held Thursday in Farmington, Las Cruces, Roswell and Albuquerque from 9:00 am to noon.
Martinez says that the codes are too expensive for builders and wants the codes to go back to federal standards. Supporters of the codes say the codes will be paid for by using less energy. The Richardson administration touted the codes as the most energy efficient in the nation, the AP reports.
Martinez previously attempted to roll back the codes by executive order but was rebuffed by the State Supreme Court after a lawsuit by The Sierra Club. Martinez had used an executive order to halt the publication of all pending regulations for 90 days but the state Supreme Court ruled that this overextended the governor’s authority and ordered her to publish the regulations.
