UNM

The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team is having what is arguably its best year ever, and today is the final day of the regular season for the Lobos, when they play Texas Christian University at The Pit. And 1st Congressional District Representative, and Lobos fan, Martin Heinrich honored the 25-3 Lobos basketball team [...]

Former Governor Gary Johnson will be speaking at UNM this week according to Santa Fe New Mexican reporter Steve Terrell. Terrell, writing on his blog, notes it will be at an event put on by Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP).

UNM students gathered in the Student Union Building on the Columbus Day federal holiday with a clear request for their school’s administration – honor the Indigenous people and cultures of New Mexico by changing the 2nd Monday in October to “Indigenous Day” on UNM’s campus.
Since 1934 the U.S. has officially recognized Columbus Day, though not without [...]

The president of the board of regents at the University of New Mexico will step aside, Gov. Bill Richardson announced in a press release Thursday.
Richardson is hoping that the current board president, Jamie Koch, will be replaced by former speaker of the New Mexico House of Representatives, Raymond Sanchez.
The move takes place after a no-confidence [...]

Albuquerque Public Schools so-called  in-service days may be getting the ax, reports KOB TV. In an attempt to maximize time students spend in the classroom, lawmakers may be cutting in-service days set aside for professional development. Educators worry that this is a move toward quantity over quality, but meanwhile, Gov. Bill Richardson supports the bill.
And [...]

CDR, the firm at the heart of New Mexico’s GRIPgate pay-to-play scandal, is also at the center of a nationwide investigation into whether the firm, along with banks, overcharged local governments for its services.

A bill that would abolish the death penalty in New Mexico now faces its toughest hurdle: getting through the Senate Judiciary Committee. Previously, similar bills have died in this committee. Steve Terrell of the Santa Fe New Mexican has more here.
In other news from around the state, the Waste Isolation Pilot Program, known as WIPP, [...]

Border violence on the rise — in Albuquerque? Apparently so. KRQE reports that men allegedly affiliated with a Mexican drug cartel followed hired drug-runners Danny Baca and Joseph Laycock into Albuquerque after the two men fled with the cartel’s drugs.

Top brass at the University of New Mexico seem to be bowing a little to the pressure from faculty as well as lawmakers to reign in administrative spending.
President David J. Schmidly announced Monday a series of actions to move resources into teaching and research and away from nonacademic administration. UNM will cut nonacademic administrative spending [...]

The Daily Lobo reports today on how GRIPgate might affect the University of New Mexico, including an interview with Timothy Lowrey, a UNM Faculty Senate member.
Lowrey said it’s unfavorable for UNM to be associated with a federal investigation, regardless of its subject or outcome.
“It may turn out that there are no indictments coming from this, [...]

Hungry for more political discourse?
Lonna Rae Atkeson, a University of New Mexico professor and Regents’ Lecturer who studies the political process, will answer questions about the election and efforts to improve future elections when she delivers a talk Monday during the monthly luncheon meeting of Albuquerque Press Women, which is open to the public.

With the 2008 election cycle entering its last week, today’s headlines reflect a bit of a slowdown in political activity. On a long-distance phone call, Sen. Hillary Clinton tells The Gallup Independent that Democrat Barack Obama would better serve the Navajo Nation, while The Las Cruces Sun-News finds Doña Ana County preparing for long lines [...]

The University of New Mexico announced yesterday that Brian Schmidly, son of University of New Mexico President David Schmidly, will not accept a job offer to promote energy conservation at the university. The $94,000 annual salary raised eyebrows among faculty and staff when the hire was announced last week, during the university’s fall break.

Brian Schmidly, son of University of New Mexico President David Schmidly, has backed out of a $94,000 job offer to be “associate director of sustainability” –a position created by his dad last June with the goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on campus. Early voting began across the state this weekend, with thousands turning out. [...]

What with the election hubbub, one might have overlooked a couple of disturbing developments this week related to two of the state’s newspapers.
The Santa Fe New Mexican on Tuesday offered voluntary buyouts to some employees in an effort to further reduce the size of its work force.