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.
The New Mexico House passed a bill Tuesday afternoon that would change the retirement fund for state workers who have been working for five years or less. The bill, which failed to pass the House this weekend, was brought back to life by Rep. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque.
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.
“It’s the worst session I’ve ever experienced and this is my 16th one,” Rep. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque said at The Independent’s panel discussion on Wednesday night. “It’s much more partisan. You know Keith [Gardner, House minority whip] and I usually…
Join the staff of The Independent for drinks, snacks and stimulating conversation Wednesday, Jan. 20, from 5 to 8 at Rio Chama Steakhouse. From 5-6 p.m. we’ll mix and mingle. At 6 p.m. we’ll be joined by House Minority…
Rep. Al Park, D-Albuquerque, stood up this afternoon to bring back a revenue-enhancing bill that narrowly failed on Friday, 34-33. The motion by Republicans to table Park’s motion failed 26-40 and the bill was put back on the president’s table.…
Approximately 100 people turned up at the New Mexico state capital Monday to support domestic partnership bill (SB 183) expected to be heard in the Senate this week.
Reforming a state law that allows landowners to kill wild game that cause property damage will be a priority issue for environmental groups at the state Legislature this year.
LAS CRUCES — Lawmakers who are crafting legislation that would create an independent state ethics commission decided Wednesday evening to propose that such a body have 11 members with subpoena power. Other key questions—the most significant being what degree of disciplinary authority such a commission would have—remain unresolved.
In the wake of a horrific murder in Santa Fe, one Republican state lawmaker says he’ll ask Gov. Bill Richardson to add a controversial proposal — the Unborn Victims of Violence Act — to the agenda for the next legislative session.
Veteran state lawmaker Rep. Mimi Stewart told Clearly New Mexico that the full extent of the campaign by Westland Development to pass the SunCal tax-increment development district, or TIDD, may never be known. Westland reported spending more than…
Not only is New Mexico’s unemployment fund one of the most solvent in the nation, its economy is getting a boost from unemployment payments.
For every $1 in unemployment benefits paid, the local economy benefits by $1.73, according…
If I didn’t know better, I’d be tempted to think the Legislature’s evolving omnibus bill was an attempt to kill ethics reform once again. Oh, wait — this is Santa Fe. Of course that’s what the omnibus bill is about.
State Rep. Jeff Steinborn became on Friday the latest lawmaker to introduce a bill that would cap campaign contributions in New Mexico.
With a new crop of fresh faces coming to the Roundhouse, 2009 may be the year that New Mexico finally recognizes domestic partnerships. According to Whitney Potter of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, “This legislation would provide basic protections — it’s fundamentally about equality and fairness under the law.”
According to the local progressive blog Democracy for New Mexico, state Rep. Mimi Stewart, an Albuquerque Democrat, will introduce the national popular vote bill in this year’s 60-day session.
The bill “would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who…
Once again the nature of New Mexico’s unpaid, volunteer legislature is threatening to limit the kind of people who are able to serve. Case in point: Karen Giannini, the upset Democratic winner of a House seat in Albuquerque’s Northeast Heights.
Some state lawmakers want to add a cent to the state’s gross receipts tax to beef up public school funding statewide. The tax increase, which was proposed Wednesday during a legislative hearing at the state Capitol, would generate $500 million a year.
Could Barack Obama have Election Day coattails long enough to reach down into the New Mexico Legislature? That’s certainly the hope of state Democrats — and the fear of at least a few Republicans. Thanks to clever redistricting, most seats in the 112-member body have remained remarkably stable for years. But at least a few are drawing intense interest, and money, in this election cycle.
