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.
Marc Lacey of the New York Times reports today on the debate over driver’s licenses for foreign nationals in New Mexico. Much of the story covers the debate that is familiar to most New Mexicans. One piece of news in the debate is that a group of immigrants will file suit today over the verification program.
The centrist advocacy group No Labels released a report Tuesday saying that only 175 House members are holding town halls this August. In New Mexico, Reps. Steve Pearce and Ben Ray Luján are, while Rep. Martin Heinrich, who is running for U.S. Senate, is not.
On Oct. 14, Wells Fargo, which holds the second largest number of bank deposits in the U.S., will begin testing a $3 monthly fee for debit cards in New Mexico and four other states. The fee applies to all cardholders and will be triggered if you use the debit card for online or in-person purchases.
The Food Research and Action Center released a report (pdf) Thursday on rates of food hardship over the year 2010, finding that 28.3 percent of New Mexico families with children had trouble getting food on the table in the past year.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement sent out letters to 39 governors Friday, terminating all existing Memoranda of Agreement between states and ICE for the Secure Communities program, which shares fingerprints collected by state and local law enforcement to deport criminals.
The National Rifle Association filed a lawsuit Wednesday in D.C. Federal Court seeking an injunction against a new rule requiring gun dealers in Arizona, New Mexico, California and Texas to inform the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) if a person buys more than one semiautomatic rifle that accepts a detachable magazine and uses ammunition greater than .22 caliber within five days.
The U.S. Senate approved Tuesday the debt deal, the Budget Control Act of 2011, by a vote of 74-26, with 45 Democrats and 28 Republicans voting yes, including New Mexico Democratic Sens. Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall.
New Mexico’s congressional delegation split on the debt ceiling deal that passed the House by a 269-161 vote Monday, with most Republicans and half of Democrats voting for the bill.
Insurance companies paid out $55 million in claims from the natural gas outage of last winter, reports Trip Jennings of The Santa Fe New Mexican. About $45 million went to homeowners, while more than $10 million went to commercial properties and $200,000 for automobile claims.
New Mexico will be able to pay its bills for about 22 days if the federal government fully or partially halts payments to the state, according to Finance and Administration Secretary Rick May.
New Mexico lost 30,600 non-farm jobs from June 2006 to June 2011, placing it 22nd out of 50 states and the District of Columbia in job numbers, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, there was overall job growth in three of the past five years. New Mexico had 804,700 jobs as of June 2011, losing 3.66 percent of jobs in the past five years.
The New Mexico Public Education Department released its 2011 Adequate Yearly Progress rankings for 831 public schools Friday, and the results were not good: 87 percent of schools were not making adequate progress under the No Child Left Behind Act.
New Mexico’s oil and gas utilities have filed petitions with the state’s Environmental Impact Board, seeking to overturn rules establishing a cap-and-trade program for greenhouse gas emissions in the state.
New Mexico District Court Judge Albert “Pat” Murdoch allegedly raping a prostitute, which police obtained the evidence of through the purchase of a video of the encounter. Murdoch was charged “for criminal penetration and one count of intimidation of a witness that resulted from an ongoing prostitution investigation,” according to authorities.
Moody’s Investors Service placed New Mexico and four other states with AAA credit ratings “under review” for downgrade Tuesday because of their sensitivity to a possible downgrade of U.S. creditworthiness if the $14.3 trillion debt limit is not raised.
Lt. Gov John Sanchez trailed former Rep. Heather Wilson last quarter in fundraising, despite loaning himself $200,000. Sanchez raised $312,000 — including the loan — and has $247,000 cash on hand.
Here’s a bright spot in the otherwise grim fiscal picture most states, including New Mexico, have found themselves in — the state will have more than $360 million in new revenues for the upcoming fiscal year, according to a report released yesterday to the Legislative Finance Committee.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry blasted out a statement opposing the new reporting rules for multiple semiautomatic gun purchases in states bordering Mexico. “Singling out border states and targeting legal gun sales and sellers will have little or no impact on the Mexican cartels transporting drugs, guns and cash to and from major cities throughout the U.S.,” he said.
Former mayor of the border town of Columbus, Eddie Espinoza, 51, pled guilty Tuesday to charges that he helped smuggle guns to Mexico to drug gangs. He faces 65 years in prison. He pled guilty on one count of conspiracy, three counts of making false statements in the acquisition of firearms and three counts of smuggling firearms from the United States.
The border town of Columbus has eliminated its police department, citing fiscal problems. However, former Police Chief Angelo Vega, mayor Eddie Espinoza, trustee Blas Gutierrez and 10 others were charged were charged with gun-running into Mexico in an 84-count indictment last March. The three-person police force for Columbus, population 1,765, will be replaced by the Luna County Sheriff’s office.
