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.
A disgraced former judge and State Police sergeant will be Rio Arriba County‘s next Sheriff.
Tommy Rodella defeated six rivals for the nomination, winning with 26 percent of the Democratic primary vote, the Rio Grande SUN reported…
A steady activity of film and TV shoots is raising New Mexico’s profile in Hollywood as several films or TV series shot here racked up Oscar and Emmy awards. But the bigger profile is also raising the amount of money New Mexico pays out to film and TV productions through a controversial tax credit program. Critics say it’s a program we can’t afford, but supporters say the program has brought hundreds of millions of dollars in spending and created thousands of high-paying jobs.
Four months after Gov. Bill Richardson seemingly set in motion a change in the state’s four-year $1 billion behavioral health contract New Mexico appears to be leaning toward making no change. Providers and others across the state have told state officials in a series of recent public hearings that a transition would create havoc for them and the clients they serve.
After months in the hot seat, including being the focus of two federal probes, the State Investment Council decided Tuesday to go after tens of millions of taxpayer dollars lost to potential fraud. A request for proposals (RFP) will be sent out next month with the goal of hiring a firm by mid-September to lead the agency’s effort to recover lost taxpayer money, State Investment Officer Steven Moise said Tuesday.
Gov. Bill Richardson announced Friday that the New Mexico Film Museum will suspend operations effective June 30 as a budget saving measure. The move will save about $177,000 per year, the governor’s office said, mostly through savings on…
How do next-door neighbors that share a history — both were ceded by Mexico to the U.S. in the 19th century — arrive at vastly different conclusions on the same issue? The Independent posed that question to several university professors and got some interesting answers.
Gov. Bill Richardson has identified at least 1,071 vacant, state government positions for elimination, his office announced Friday.
Richardson’s action doesn’t save the state any money because the positions are vacant, but it does shrink state government. That’s because Richardson’s action…
Corrections Corporation of America, a Tennessee-based for-profit company that operates a women’s prison in Grants, wants to fulfill its obligation for vocational programming with a cosmetology program. But a former cabinet corrections secretary in charge of prison reform and re-entry says there aren’t enough jobs for hair stylists out there and the company should focus on education or training for a high-growth industry.
A state judge has tossed one of two lawsuits filed by whistleblower Frank Foy, the Journal reports today, saying the suit targeted actions that occurred prior to the enactment of a 2007 state law that the suit relies on…
Hundreds are expected to attend a march Saturday in Santa Fe to protest Arizona’s new immigration law, an immigrants’ rights group said Wednesday.
The Arizona statute, signed into law last week, would empower police in Arizona to stop people…
Rick Homans is returning to the New Mexico Spaceport Authority as its chairman, Gov. Bill Richardson just announced.
“We are reaching a critical point in our efforts to recruit new jobs to New Mexico, and I will be working closely
…
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) issued a report today naming what it considers the nation’s “most incompetent and unethical governors.”
And Gov. Bill Richardson‘s name is on it thanks to recent scandals and federal investigations…
Rio Rancho city officials were buoyed Wednesday by the news that a startup green energy company could bring 1,500 new jobs by 2014. Meanwhile, 45 miles to the south, the city of Belen was feeling the disappointment of unfulfilled promise after hearing that a company that had proposed an $800 million solar plant isn’t coming after all. Belen’s loss was a grim reminder to New Mexicans that a healthy dose of skepticism is warranted until a proposed high-profile, economic development project is actually employing people.
New Mexico’s financially strapped school districts could have received $15 million in “additional bonus money” if Gov. Bill Richardson hadn’t vetoed a measure that would have directed federal stimulus funds to education. But the governor’s office says legislators overstepped their bounds and only governors–not legislatures–can appropriate federal money. Meanwhile, schools are strapped for cash.
Sure, control of New Mexico’s governorship is at stake in this year’s general election. But perhaps more important here and across the nation is that whichever party — Democrats or Republicans — wins control of the Legislature in most states…
Gov. Bill Richardson may have vetoed language requiring the elimination of 1,900 vacant positions across state government, but one prominent lawmaker says he won’t stop trying to reduce the size of state government.
“I’m still going to pursue it,”…
Using his line-item veto authority, Gov. Bill Richardson last week canceled a legislative demand that his administration trim 1,900 vacant positions from state government. Now lawmakers want to know why. “It was a good-faith effort on our part to show that we were trying to downsize government at every level,” said Rep. Luciano “Lucky” Varela, D-Santa Fe, who sounded piqued Monday by the governor’s action.
Two outgoing members of the State Investment Council want New Mexico to perform a cost-benefit analysis of a no-interest loan program for the film industry. New Mexico has given no-interest loans totaling $273 million to 26 projects since 2003, according to the SIC. And it pays a consultant $350,000 a year to work part-time vetting the loan applications.
It’s not a scientific poll, but as of this afternoon, 74 percent of respondents in a New Mexico Business Weekly “Business Pulse” survey say “no” to the question “Should patrons be allowed to carry guns into bars?”. Last month,…
The longstanding battle over who owns the state’s more than 1,900 voting tabulators – the counties or the state – appears settled, and none too soon with this year’s elections fast approaching. A bill Gov. Bill Richardson signed into law…
