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.
Since June, Martinez has attempted to tie Denish in the public’s mind to Richardson and his administration’s numerous scandals, from pay-to-play allegations, federal criminal inquiries and charges of cronyism. The question is, with two months to go before the November election, does another headline-grabbing scandal strengthen the Martinez campaign’s efforts?
With just over two months before the November election, Republican Susana Martinez leads Democrat Diane Denish by 6 percentage points in the race for governor, according to an Albuquerque Journal poll.
The poll results, released today, reveal the first comprehensive…
A previously unknown federal criminal investigation surrounding Gov. Bill Richardson‘s nomination as President Obama’s Commerce Secretary has ended with no criminal indictments, the Albuquerque Journal reports.
The inquiry in question, which reporter investigative reporter Mike Gallagher pieced together…
Gov. Bill Richardson left for Cuba on Sunday in a bid to strengthen potential trade and cultural partnerships between New Mexico and the island nation, his office announced in a news release.
The governor, expected back Friday, will market commodities…
Gov. Bill Richardson has slated more than $1 million in federal stimulus dollars to a land grant council and six acequia (community irrigation ditch) associations in Mora, Rio Arriba, Santa Fe and Taos counties.
The…
Health insurers contributed nearly $428,000 to New Mexico elected officials from 2004 to 2008, according to campaign finance data analyzed by The Independent. The data show the companies, an industry association and political action committees spread the campaign contributions around, giving to several state office holders and nearly every state lawmaker in the Legislature. The role of health insurers in policy-making decisions is coming under additional scrutiny at a time when a battle is brewing in time for the 2011 legislative session. Lawmakers and health insurers likely will face off over the question whether policy makers should re-write state laws to strengthen how New Mexico vets health insurers’ requests to raise premium rates.
Public school teachers, administrators and teacher’s aides will benefit from $2.5 million in federal stimulus funds meant to offset the costs of increased insurance premiums and to expand professional development opportunities, Gov. Bill Richardson announced Monday.
Roughly $2 million…
Nearly $1 million in federal stimulus dollars will go toward the purchase and delivery of “desperately needed emergency food” for New Mexicans, Gov. Bill Richardson announced today.
The New Mexico Association of Food Banks will use $775,000 of the $950,000 in federal dollars to purchase fresh produce and “other staples, such as beans, peanut butter and canned products,” according to a news release issued by Richardson’s office.
The remaining $175,000 will be spent on delivering the purchased food staples to six agency food banks around New Mexico that will then distribute the food to more than 650 charitable agencies in every New Mexico county, the release said. More …
The state will receive $104 million in extra Medicaid dollars thanks to federal legislation projected to clear Congress in the next few days, New Mexico state officials said Wednesday.
The funding contained in the $26 billion federal legislation for…
A prominent fundraiser for high-profile Democrats played a bigger role than previously thought in helping his company land a 2007 deal to manage New Mexico investments, the Albuquerque Journal reported today.
The revelation comes thanks to a court memo…
A spokeswoman for Gov. Bill Richardson has said he’s committed to avoiding layoffs as state government readies for more budget cutting, reports Kate Nash of the Santa Fe New Mexican.
New Mexico should use the creation of its own health insurance exchange to help drive reform and protect consumers, Gov. Richardson’s working group on health care reform recommended this week. State-based exchanges, part of federal healthcare reform, are intended to function as a clearinghouse for consumers looking to buy health insurance.
This weekend Democratic governors articulated serious concerns about the federal challenge to Arizona’s new immigration law during a meeting of the National Governors Association, the New York Times is reporting.
But Gov. Bill Richardson wasn’t among them, calling his fellow Democrats’…
Both candidates for governor say they want to stop the practice of giving drivers licenses to illegal immigrants, but neither appears to know how to handle, or wants to talk about, the potential consequences of such an action. Democrat Diane Denish and Republican Susana Martinez did not answer questions on how they would handle a potential rise in the state’s uninsured rate or the possible increase in motorists without licenses if the state stopped issuing licenses to illegal immigrants.
Both candidates for governor support what’s called a tax expenditure report, a tool supporters tout as a way to reveal the hidden costs of the hundreds of tax credits, exemptions and deductions the state has approved over the years. New Mexico is one of a handful of states nationally to not compile even a bare-bones compilation of tax expenditures.
Not too long ago 10 states issued drivers’ licenses to illegal immigrants. These days that number has dwindled to three — New Mexico, Utah and Washington state, reports Stateline.org.
The online news service tackles that issue of state’s issuing…
Hard-to-insure New Mexicans will now have access to a federal high-risk insurance pool that could cover 1,000 to 1,500 New Mexicans who’ve gone without coverage for six months and have been unable to buy insurance, often because of preexisting conditions.
The…
Early childhood programs hit hard by cuts taking effect Thursday will avoid that budget pain thanks to $1 million in federal stimulus money, Gov. Bill Richardson announced Wednesday.
The federal dollars will replace hundreds of thousands of state dollars New Mexico state lawmakers cut from funding that pays for infant home visits in 22 New Mexico counties and for child care of homeless children in Albuquerque and Las Cruces.
It’s crunch time for a handful of state cabinet secretaries and top aides charged by Gov. Bill Richardson with drafting a road map for how to implement federal health care reform in New Mexico. But even after all the work, the plan – viewed as a guide to help New Mexico get ready for the new federal health care law — will be short on specifics and tall on the hard slogging ahead.
“The most important dynamic is going to be, can the Republicans take advantage of having two Hispanics at the top of the ticket? That’s probably never happened anywhere in the country.”
So says Gov. Bill Richardson, discussing Republican candidates…
