News New Mexico: 04/05/11

7 Wounded In Roswell Shootout

From KOAT-TV.com - (Swickard) I may be guilty of an assumption but all seven refuse to talk to police but are willing to accept medical care that we taxpayers pick up. Problem? I think so. ROSWELL, N.M. -- Roswell police say seven people wounded in a shootout at a party also are suspects in the shooting. Police spokesman Officer Travis Holley says one group of people went to a Roswell home Sunday with force and were met with force. Holley says the shootout apparently began with a dispute about a boyfriend, a girlfriend and an ex-boyfriend. He says neither side is cooperating with the police investigation. Holley says four of the wounded were treated at hospitals in the southern New Mexico city and the other three were airlifted to regional hospitals. more

Martinez Signs Tax Relief in Santa Teresa

Susana Martinez

SANTA TERESA - Governor Susana Martinez visited Santa Teresa today to sign three key economic development bills into law, including a locomotive fuel tax exemption that will help to create approximately 3,000 jobs in New Mexico. Joined by Sen. Cynthia Nava (D-Las Cruces), Rep. Mary Helen Garcia (D-Las Cruces), Rep. Jane Powdrell-Culbert (R-Corrales), Economic Development Secretary-designate Jon Barela, and numerous other state and local officials, Governor Martinez signed Senate Bill 179 and House Bill 523, the Locomotive Fuel Tax Gross Receipts Deduction. She also signed House Bill 24, authorizing special permits for the operation of certain overweight commercial vehicles near the southern New Mexico border, and House Bill 322, granting additional powers to the Border Authority. The locomotive fuel tax exemption, sponsored by Sen. Nava and Rep. Powdrell-Culbert, will put New Mexico on par with neighboring states like Texas and will bring operational facilities currently housed in El Paso across the border to New Mexico.

It will allow for the groundbreaking of a new Union Pacific rail facility near Santa Teresa. Union Pacific estimates that the construction of the facility will create roughly 3,000 jobs over time, including 900 sustained jobs at its peak. In reference to SB 179 and HB 523, Governor Martinez said, “By eliminating New Mexico’s competitive disadvantage with neighboring states, we can create a better environment for economic growth. We must encourage businesses to invest here by implementing policies that make financial sense for job creators. This legislation is an important step toward putting our economy back on track and making New Mexico a friendlier place to do business. I’m grateful to Sen. Nava and Rep. Powdrell-Culbert for their bi-partisan leadership on this legislation and I look forward to welcoming the new jobs it will help to create.”

Keller Another CD-1 Possible?

Tim Keller

Capitol Report New Mexico - You can add State Sen. Tim Keller (D-Albuquerque) to the growing list of Democratic candidates seeking to take Martin Heinrich’s seat in the US House of Representatives. The two-term Senator who has quickly made a reputation at the Roundhouse as a Democrat with a sharp eye on fiscal issues told Capitol Report New Mexico Tuesday afternoon that he’s seriously considering throwing his hat into the ring now that Heinrich has decided to run for the US Senate seat that Jeff Bingaman is stepping down from at the end of 2012. Read full story here: News New Mexico

Shoot the Messenger

Thomas Sowell

Townhall - When someone gives you a check and the bank informs you that there are insufficient funds, who do you get mad at? In your own life, you get mad at the guy who gave you a check that bounced, not at the bank. But, in politics, you get mad at whoever tells you that there is no money. One of the secrets of the growth of the welfare state is that politicians get a lot of mileage out of making promises, without setting aside enough money to fulfill those promises. When Congress votes for all sorts of benefits, without voting for enough taxes to pay for them, they get the support of those who have been promised the benefits, without getting grief from the taxpayers. It's strictly win-win as far as the welfare-state politicians are concerned. But it is strictly lose-lose, big-time, for the country, as deficits skyrocket.

Anyone who says that we don't have the money to pay what was promised is accused of trying to destroy Social Security, Medicare or Obamacare-- or whatever other unfunded promises have been made. It is like blaming the bank for saying that the check bounced.
It is the same story at the state level as in Washington. The lavish pensions promised to members of public sector unions cannot continue to be paid because the money is just not there. But who are the unions mad at? Those who say that the money is not there. Read full column here: News New Mexico

What is Agenda 21?

Pulaski note: A public meeting regarding Agenda 21 will be held in Las Cruces on Thursday April 7th 6:30pm at the Mountain View Christian Church, 241 3 Crosses Ave. The Las Cruces City Council and Mayor were invited to attend. The current list of cities in NM that support Agenda 21 are Silver City, Taos, Las Cruces, Santa Fe, Cimarron, Los Alamos and Albuquerque. From roncamunez.com - Many readers have asked "What is "AGENDA 21" as they have read news articles and seen Mr. Jim Harbison a local community leader question the Las Cruces City Council regarding their paying dues to an organization which promotes the United Nations Sustainability Program called "AGENDA 21." Here is a statement by the watch group called "Wise Up Journal" that provides creditable resources to refute the "Green Agenda" and the falacies associated with issues like "Global Warming." Effective execution of Agenda 21 will require a profound reorientation of all human society, unlike anything the world has ever experienced a major shift in the priorities of both governments and individuals and an unprecedented redeployment of human and financial resources. This shift will demand that a concern for the environmental consequences of every human action be integrated into individual and collective decision-making at every level.” More News New Mexico

NM State Senator Griego Exploring Congressional Run

Eric Griego

From newmexicoindependent.com -State Sen. Eric Griego, D-Albuquerque, announced he’s forming an exploratory committee for the 1st Congressional District seat currently held by Martin Heinrich. Griego cited media reports that Heinrich will likely announce his intention to run for U.S. Senate tomorrow. Griego had previously said he would wait to announce his candidacy until Heinrich made a decision. “I am seriously considering entering the Congressional race, but need to discuss my final decision with my family, my employer, and of course my supporters,” Griego said in a statement sent to the media. “This is an important decision not just for me and my family, but for our whole community and it warrants serious soul searching and a sober review of what kind of Democrat we want fighting for us in Washington.” More News New Mexico

Wilderness Forum Today

From publicnewsservice.org -Public discussion Tuesday in Albuquerque is to cover a proposed update of the National Forest Management Act (NFMA). The governing rule for how a Forest Service ranger district manages its land has gathered some serious dust: it's been in place for well over a generation. The Obama Administration has proposed an update to the NFMA, and conservation groups say that's a good idea, but they don't think the proposal will go far enough to protect forest land over the next 30 years. Public comments can be made in writing at www.govcomments.com through May 16. The Forest Service says it will use the comments to develop and publish a final rule later this year. Planning Rule Public Forums are Tuesday, April 5 at 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., at the Marriott, 2101 Louisiana Boulevard NE, Albuquerque. More News New Mexico

NM Auto Insurance Costs More Than US Average

From New Mexico Business Weekly - Not such great news for New Mexico drivers: Car insurance rates in the state are above the national average, according to data from Insure.com. New Mexico’s average annual premium rate is $1,837, $276 more than the national average of $1,561. The premium's make New Mexico's rates the eighth-highest in the U.S. More News New Mexico

Ryan: American People Are Way Ahead of Us

Paul Ryan

Politico - Ahead of the release of his full proposal later Tuesday, House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan is touting his 2012 budget and an estimated $6.2 trillion in cuts over the next decade as a “path to prosperity” for a country he says is in danger of decline. With a government shutdown looming as a distinct possibility by the end of the week, Ryan’s sights are set on the longer term, warning in a Wall Street Journal op-ed published Monday night that fiscal catastrophe will result without real action. Ryan also released a three-minute video “visualization” of his proposal, with graphics illustrating the abstract proposals he’s talking about. “America is facing a defining moment,” he writes. “The threat posed by our monumental debt will damage our country in profound ways, unless we act.” Discretionary spending cuts, entitlement reform, tax reform and caps on spending are all part of the equation that Ryan is releasing on behalf of House Republicans.

Spending for domestic government agencies would be cut back to 2008 levels, Ryan writes, and frozen at that level for five years. Ryan does not propose sweeping defense cuts, but his proposal does include “accepting Defense Secretary Robert Gates’s plan to target inefficiencies at the Pentagon,” he writes. A Government Accountability Office audit found $70 billion in waste at the Pentagon in the last two years. Ryan’s budget also “forces” reforms to Social Security and Medicare. “The open-ended, blank-check nature of the Medicare subsidy threatens the solvency of this critical program and creates inexcusable levels of waste. This budget takes action where others have ducked,” he writes, proposing that beginning in 2022, beneficiaries will get the same kind of health care coverage that members of Congress receive. Read full sty here: News New Mexico

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