Labor

The battle over immigration produces a new American voter

The impact of the immigration debate in this country, with a shift toward stronger enforcement of immigration laws, the construction of a border fence, and mass raids and deportations of immigrants over the past couple of years, can be seen in the stories of immigrants such as Pajarito Mesa’s Salvador Montes, who became a citizen and will vote for the first time this year.

All that glitters isn’t gold for some states’ film industry incentives

An article in The New York Times this week undoubtedly caught the eye of New Mexico officials who’ve been touting the success of the state’s active film industry.

EPA mapping pairs contaminated land with renewable energy

Need a little escapism from the intense political season, not to mention the economic situation scaring us all half to death?
If you’re like me, you can zone out on the EPA’s fascinating interactive mapping project in Google Earth that was produced to encourage the development of renewable energy projects on contaminated lands in the U.S.

John McCain’s car troubles

First Republican presidential candidate John McCain couldn’t say how many homes he and his beer heiress wife own. Now the Democratic National Committee is making a big fuss over a report that the McCains own 13 cars. OK, they’re rich. They’ve got eight homes and 13 cars. Big whoop.
 
But today CNN reports that although Cindy McCain drives [...]

Lilly Ledbetter stands up for fair pay

For all the talk about shattering glass ceilings, Lilly Ledbetter’s straightforward personal story of pay discrimination was likely a shock to the young women inspired by all the success stories evident on Tuesday, the so-called Women’s Equality Day segment of the Democratic National Convention.
The straight-talking self-described grandmother from Alabama described how the nation’s highest court [...]

Mayor Chavez: Flip-flopper on binding arbitration?

Andrew Padilla, president of public employees union AFSCME Council 18, calls Mayor Martin Chavez’s threat to veto a bill passed last week by the Albuquerque City Council a “punch in the gut to labor.”
That’s because of what the mayor said last fall during his short-lived Senate race.
According to Padilla, Chavez came to the AFSCME union [...]

ABQ City Council passes labor ordinance

The majority of the Albuquerque City Council said it was the only fair thing to do when they passed an ordinance tonight to allow binding arbitration to break an impasse during labor/city contract negotiations. The arbitration provision could be triggered by either side if mediation fails to break an impasse, and would apply only to [...]

Housing relief in sight?

ALBUQUERQUE — Although New Mexican homeowners have remained relatively insulated from the U.S. housing bust, experts say we are not immune from national housing and economic woes.

The recently passed Housing and Economic Recovery Act could bring benefits for first-time home buyers and those looking to refinance as well as the opportunity to transfer adjustable [...]

A hopeful prognosis on health care reform

Surgical otolaryngology resident John Ingle remembers the patient well - she was alone, she was desperately ill, and she didn’t have health insurance. Somehow, she had made it from her home in Las Vegas, N.M. to the emergency room of the University of Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, the only one that would accept indigent patients [...]

How is New Mexico’s `Educonomy?’

<img class="left" src="/files/nmindependent/hows-new-mexico/train.bmp" width="152" height="263" alt="" title="" />Lt. Gov. Diane Denish sees New Mexico’s future depends on its "educonomy." That’s where education meets economic development, and it’s where the state has often fallen short of expectations, she said during a recent meeting with business and community leaders, educators and many youth from around the state.
"I’m [...]