Growth
Time to start planning for our future
We need a growing body of citizen experts to motivate and guide elected leaders in directions that serve the good of all, much like we had in the heyday of the environmental movement in the 1970s. A good example is something called the New Mexico Water Dialogue.
TODAY’S TOP STORIES: Increased taxes would (almost) pay for downtown arena
Downtown arena could raise $344 million in financing with an increase in the gross receipts tax, but the city would have to figure out another way to come up with the money for things like a proposed canopy over the railroad tracks and a parking garage.
TODAY’S TOP STORIES: Albuquerque faces significant deficit
It’s Veterans Day, and a good time to honor those who have given so much for the nation, but the economy remains the big news of the day. The city of Albuquerque is facing a substantial budget deficit that could affect public funding for the mayoral and city council campaigns next fall, The Albuquerque Journal [...]
John Nichols, unconventional socialist
Socialism has been bandied about as a scare word in the run-up to Election Day, but New Mexico author and naturalist John Nichols embraces idealistic, Declaration of Independence-style socialism as the answer to the climate crisis.
TODAY’S TOP STORIES: Private pipelines show increasing value of water
A Roswell businessman is proposing to build a private 145-mile water pipeline from Fort Sumner to Santa Fe, through which water can be leased from Fort Sumner. Ron Green says in the Santa Fe New Mexican article that as a market for delivering water has become feasible as the the value of water has risen. [...]
Fate of transit tax remains a mystery until Tuesday
Falling gasoline prices and the faltering U.S. economy could undermine voter support for a proposed tax hike funding mass transportation projects from Belen to Taos, including the Rail Runner Express commuter train, but tax opponents and advocates alike say they have no idea how the ballot measure in two newly formed regional transit districts will fare in Tuesday’s election.
Redefining morality
As Nov. 4 approaches, Ricardo Luna and Joseph Lange may well symbolize the ongoing change in a culture group largely responsible for President Bush’s victories in 2000 and 2004 — evangelicals. One is considering casting his ballot for Barack Obama. The other is voting for John McCain.
The loss of 1,000 friends
The nonprofit group 1000 Friends of New Mexico is shutting down its operations after more than a decade of working for “sustainable development and equitable growth,” finding itself a victim of hard financial times and the competing demands for its supporters’ dollars.
Gabriel Nims, who has been executive director of the group for two years, said [...]
The nexus of clean energy and green jobs
John McCain and Barack Obama agree that global warming is man-made, and both want to find a way to reverse its course. That urge dovetails nicely with fixing the economy, and long-term job losses. One solution to job loss that both point to is the creation of new jobs from a large investment in alternative and renewable energy production here at home.
Imagining Steve Pearce, Tom Udall as senators
Steve Pearce combines a laconic cowboy’s persona with a penchant for brash rhetoric to support his conservative outlook. Tom Udall has skillfully climbed the committee ladder in Congress to carry on his family’s conservationist legacy. Their backgrounds and their styles may just reveal something of how each man might operate in Congress’ more exclusive chamber — the U.S. Senate.