Posts by David Alire Garcia

Bad news in the Four Corners. We know know that Farmington now has the highest  joblessness rate of any city in the state — 7.8 percent unemployment for the month of June, according to a story in today’s Farmington Daily-Times. The  statewide joblessness rate currently hovers around 5 percent. New Mexico economists report that the [...]

At Spaceport America, a low-altitude rocket launched successfully, according to the Associated Press. Moog Industries is just one of several companies examining the viability of the emerging space tourism market. And while there were a few snags in the desired landing outcome, the success of the test model appears to be keeping hopes high.

In case you haven’t heard, July was the deadliest month on record in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juárez.

Columnist Joline Gutierrez Krueger handles the complicated topic of what it means to be transgender with aplomb on the front page of today’s Albuquerque Journal. What’s mostly a profile of Equality New Mexico leader Jordan Johnson, is also quite the exploration of gender, pronouns, personal struggle, and in an especially heartening detail, parental support. It’s [...]

The University of New Mexico campus will be tobacco-free starting August 1. School officials argue this is a move to make UNM a more healthy environment. Although there is yet to be a form of punishment for getting caught, it’s possible that harassment from others on campus will discourage people from lighting up, according to [...]

The Albuquerque Journal’s T.J. Wilham has an eye-opening story about the price New Mexicans are paying for talking (or texting) on their cell phones while driving.

The Associated Press reports today on a recent study that looked into pollution  in the Four Corners area. According to the study, a reduction in coal-fired power plants and oil and gas operations would — surprise, surprise —  lower ozone pollution levels.

If you’re looking for a provocative and political movie that will give you plenty of food for thought, Outrage is the flick for you. If you’re in Albuquerque, the Guild Cinema has a three-day showing beginning today.

Is it time for Arthur Alpert to apologize to the Albuquerque Journal?
Maybe. Maybe not.
It’s really just a rhetorical question, but as many NMI readers know, Alpert has been very critical of the coverage the state’s largest newspaper has been devoting to the wonky, weighty topic of health care reform.

Here’s a slightly irritating story: Albuquerque’s Georgia O’Keeffe Elementary School, opened in 1988, has come under written attack from the painter’s museum in Santa Fe for possible copyright infringement — even though the museum’s acquisition of the artist’s name came years later.

In the new edition of the Santa Fe Reporter that came out today, staff writer Dave Maass has an interesting story about local gang members on MySpace.
It appears that said gang members have little fear about publicizing assorted claims on the popular social networking site. Meanwhile, officials suggest weak gang laws may be helping provide a [...]

University of New Mexico Law Professor Laura Gomez had a provocative commentary published in this past weekend’s edition of USA Today. Her commentary ran with this headline: “Another proud affirmative action baby.”

In Sunday’s Albuquerque Journal, pollster Brian Sanderoff neatly summed up the yin-yang challenge facing Mayor Martin Chavez as he seeks an unprecedented third consecutive term as mayor, his fourth term overall. “As the years pass on incumbency, you make a lot of friends,” Sanderoff said, “and a lot of enemies.”

On the heels of nabbing a new executive director — the sitting state historian, Estevan Rael-Gálvez — the National Hispanic Cultural Center has also nabbed a $50,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Albuquerque Journal’s Dan Boyd has a provocative story in today’s newspaper about New Mexico’s drunk driving laws in light of yet another fatal head-on collision. While there have been numerous legislative efforts in recent years to toughen the state’s DWI laws, the latest tragedy will inevitably put those efforts under increased scrutiny.