Pungent Business Shouldn't Be In Neighborhood, Official Says

From KOAT-TV.com - ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- A pungent biofuels business that’s stinking up an Albuquerque neighborhood shouldn’t be operating there, according to the Bernalillo County zoning director. Last week, an employee told Target 7 they recycle vegetable oil at the business, but neighbors said the stench is unbearable. “It’s awful. It’s like being next to a dump,” neighbor Sue Sheets said. “(It’s) smelling like rancid grease.” Target 7 has learned that CoreBiofuels should not be operating near the corner of Edith and Montano. “They’re in violation of the zoning ordinance. They don’t have approval to be there at this time,” Bernalillo County Zoning Director Sandy Fish said. Fish said the business has to either stop work or apply for a proper zoning license. At this point, neither has happened. An employee with CoreBiofuels said he was not aware of any violations. Fish said the county would have to take the company to court in order to get them to stop business operations. “We don’t have the authority to shut them down. Only a judge can do that,” Fish said. Fish said the business would only be shut down if there’s a serious health risk to residents. Read more:
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Commissioners might be investigated for receiving free concert tickets

From KOB-TV.com - Bernalillo county Sheriff Dan Houston may soon launch an investigation into county commissioners getting free concert tickets at the Hard Rock Pavilion. The Sheriff's spokesperson confirmed Sheriff Houston has met with the district attorney to talk about the free tickets on Tuesday. For years the county received a dozen free concert tickets for events at what is now known as the Hard Rock Pavilion. The Commissioners said that more than a year ago there was an unwritten handshake deal for 20 more tickets and premier seating in a high priced box. Commissioner Wayne Johnson was not in office when the free tickets were given out, but believed the sheriff's office should investigate because there are a lot of unanswered questions about the tickets. "Who's getting them and why were they getting them? Was there a quid pro quo? Was there some sort of deal cut here?" asked Commissioner Johnson. "An investigation or any attempt to get the right information out to people so they can make up their minds is crucial to the proper functioning of county government." The land at the Pavilion belongs to the state and the county owns the amphitheater but it's subleased to live nation for concerts. Commissioner Maggie Stebbins put an end to free tickets in March. Read more
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Editorial: Rally 'round Rail Runner


From the Santa Fe New Mexican.com - Prospects for the popular (but not yet popular enough) weekend trains between Santa Fe and Albuquerque are dim: The transit-district board in charge of the Rail Runner has voted, by a 6-5 majority, to eliminate Saturday and Sunday service on the Santa Fe-Albuquerque-Belén system. Then-Gov. Bill Richardson railroaded the train line through the New Mexico Legislature, and it has made a good start toward achieving its main purpose: commuter travel, especially for the many workers in Santa Fe's state offices who live in Albuquerque and Río Rancho. Weekday passenger boardings average 4,500 — taking darn near that many cars off I-25, a leading reason for creating the line. But the Rail Runner costs more than $20 million a year to operate — and for the fiscal year starting in July, the Rio Metro Regional Transit District faced a $1.2 million shortfall. That happens to be the amount of a federal traffic-reducing grant, which is about to expire. By cutting the weekend runs, says the board's majority, they could wind up with a $200,000 surplus. The Rail Runner has great value as a commuter line between growing communities of the Río Grande Corridor, while the more trains it runs, the more momentum its popularity gains. To have real effect on automobile traffic, there must be frequent and dependable service. And it's traffic-diminution that's most important; rather than demanding anything like a profit from the Rail Runner, it should be subsidized by fuel taxes on the cars and trucks rolling along subsidized highways and freeways. Gov. Susana Martínez says she's willing to take fresh looks at Rail Runner subsidies. Santa Fe and Albuquerque leaders should hold her to it. Read more

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Second Rio Grande gunfire exchange reported

NewsNM - Swickard - Say, where was the Mexican police? If US citizens were shooting at Mexican police you can bet your last peso US law enforcement would be on the way.

From My San Antonio - By Lynn Brezosky - BROWNSVILLE — Gunmen from across the Rio Grande fired at U.S. law enforcement, instigating the second cross-border gunfire exchange this month. No injuries were reported from the brief gun battle, which broke out Sunday morning after police chased a truck loaded with marijuana. The smugglers threw bundles of drugs at them, then drove into the Rio Grande and splashed back to Mexico. Police fired back in response to shots from the other side. The incident followed a June 9 gun battle across the river in Hidalgo Countyin which U.S. officers fired some 300 rounds. Read more:

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Heinrich:Cut Corporate Taxes By More Than Half

Martin Heinrich
Pulaski note: Martin Heinrich is a well known progressive and this statement goes against everything a progressive stands for.  This may be a sign of how the political tides are changing for next election.  From capitolreportnewmexico.com -Rep. Martin Heinrich (D-New Mexico) spoke to the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce yesterday (June 20) and said he’d like to see the federal corporate tax rate reduced from the current 35 percent to something in the “mid-teens.”  In addition, Heinrich said he’s in favor of a “corporate flat tax rate.”  More News New Mexico
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Patrick Michaels to Appear on NewsNM

Dr. Patrick Michaels
Patrick J. Michaels is a Distinguished Senior Fellow in the School of Public Policy at George Mason University will appear as a guest on News New Mexico Wednesday morning at 7:30am. Michaels is a past president of the American Association of State Climatologists and was program chair for the Committee on Applied Climatology of the American Meteorological Society. Michaels was also a research professor of Environmental Sciences at University of Virginia for thirty years. Michaels is a contributing author and reviewer of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. His writing has been published in the major scientific journals, including Climate Research, Climatic Change, Geophysical Research Letters, Journal of Climate, Nature, and Science, as well as in popular serials such as the Washington Post, Washington Times, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Houston Chronicle, and Journal of Commerce. He was an author of the climate "paper of the year" awarded by the Association of American Geographers in 2004. He has appeared on most of the worldwide major media. Michaels holds A.B. and S.M. degrees in biological sciences and plant ecology from the University of Chicago, and he received a Ph.D. in ecological climatology from the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 1979.
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China Wants To Construct A 50 Square Mile Self-Sustaining City South Of Boise, Idaho

NewsNM - Swickard. Could this possibly be truth? We will look into it... hey why not have them come to New Mexico. We have lots of land in lots near Deming... five acre Rancheros lots... cheap... it is a thought.


From End of the American Dream.com - Thanks to the trillions of dollars that the Chinese have made flooding our shores with cheap products, China is now in a position of tremendous economic power. So what is China going to do with all of that money? One thing that they have decided to do is to buy up pieces of the United States and set up "special economic zones" inside our country from which they can continue to extend their economic domination. One of these "special economic zones" would be just south of Boise, Idaho and the Idaho government is eager to give it to them. China National Machinery Industry Corporation (Sinomach for short) plans to construct a "technology zone" south of Boise Airport which would ultimately be up to 50 square miles in size. The Chinese Communist Party is the majority owner of Sinomach, so the 10,000 to 30,000 acre "self-sustaining city" that is being planned would essentially belong to the Chinese government. The planned "self-sustaining city" in Idaho would include manufacturing facilities, warehouses, retail centers and large numbers of homes for Chinese workers. Basically it would be a slice of communist China dropped right into the middle of the United States. According to the Idaho Statesman, the idea would be to build a self-contained city with all services included. It would be modeled after the "special economic zones" that currently exist in China. Perhaps the most famous of these "special economic zones" is Shenzhen. Back in the 1970s, Shenzhen was just a very small fishing village. Today it is a sprawling metropolis of over 14 million people. If the Chinese have their way, we will soon be seeing these "special economic zones" pop up all over the United States. Read more

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Professor Arrested For Running Prostitution Website

David Flory
From businessinsider.com -David Flory, a physics professor at Farleigh Dickinson, was arrested Sunday in New Mexico and accused of running a prostitution website with 200 women, and more than 1,200 "johns," according to the Boston Herald. Flory, who holds a master's degree from Columbia and a doctorate from Yeshiva, has a vacation home in Santa Fe, and ran the website, called Southwest Companion mostly from his home in New York. More News New Mexico
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Denish: C.D. # 1 "Still on the Table"

Diane Denish
NMPolitics - Former Lt. Gov. Diane Denish says she’s still considering running for the 1st Congressional District seat being vacated by Martin Heinrich. “It’s still on the table,” Denish told NMPolitics.net today. Several sources had told NMPolitics.net that Denish, a Democrat, decided against running, but they’re apparently wrong. NMPolitics.net was the first to report in April that Denish and former Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez were considering running for the congressional seat. The two heavy-hitters would dramatically change the race. Read full story here: News New Mexico
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Redistricting: Lawyers Will SUE and Taxpayers Will PAY

Capitol Report New Mexico - Taxpayers in New Mexico paid nearly $5.3 million for the total costs of the special session in 2001 that tackled redistricting — and $3.5 of that amount went strictly to settle legal challenges after the legislature and then-Gov. Gary Johnson could not reach an agreement on how to draw up state and congressional boundaries. As they are mandated to do every 10 years, lawmakers are about to tackle redistricting again. And if they can’t reach agreement among themselves and Gov. Susana Martinez, the costs from potential legal challenges could be much higher than $3.5 million. Members of the Redistricting Committee held their first meeting of the summer at the Roundhouse Monday (June 20) and while hearing a recap of the last redistricting battle, lawmakers were told it cost taxpayers $1.8 million to handle all the expenses that came with running committees and operating the special session in 2001. Read full story here: News New Mexico
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Gender Bias Claimants Vow to Fight On

Bloomberg - The women who sought to sue Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) for gender bias on behalf of 1.5 million co-workers said they will press their fight against the nation’s largest private employer in smaller lawsuits in lower courts and claims with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday said the women failed to prove the world’s largest retailer had a nationwide policy that led to gender discrimination. The court deprived them of the leverage a nationwide suit brings, both in pooled legal resources and a potential multibillion-dollar verdict, forcing them to pursue claims on their own. Read full story here: News New Mexico
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Winter Advisory Day Before Summer

Bloomberg - The calendar says summer starts tomorrow in the Northern Hemisphere. The snow falling in the mountains of Colorado tells a different story. A storm that has prompted a tornado watch across Nebraska and Kansas today also left 2 to 4 inches of snow in the Rocky Mountains, said Joe Ramey, a weather service meteorologist in Grand Junction, Colorado. “It is unusual,” Ramey said. “Here it is the last day of spring.” A winter storm advisory has been posted in the mountains of Colorado above 10,000 feet until 6 p.m. local time, and at least one tornado was reported in Kansas, according to the weather service. Read full story here: News New Mexico
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So That's What Happens to Them

Statesman - A beaming girl's picture is encased in the snow globe, which is about the size of a grapefruit and rests atop an expensive-looking wooden base proclaiming, "Congratulations, graduate!" Alas, the graduate never received this gift. It rests amid a sea of San Antonio snow globes — and a few globes from Denver, Chicago and Disney World — on the shelves of the Texas State Surplus Store at 6506 Bolm Road, off U.S. 183. Because it's filled with liquid, you can't carry a snow globe onto an airplane. But some travelers haven't gotten the message, or maybe it slips their minds during their harried packing for summer vacation. Thus, rows and rows of snow globes sit at the surplus store, which gets its inventory not only from state surplus but also from items that were left behind or confiscated — "We say willfully surrendered," said cashier Roberta Siller — at airport security checkpoints in Austin, San Antonio, Dallas-Fort Worth, Waco, El Paso and other small airports. In the five years this store has been open, its plane-related inventory has soared because of heightened security, according to director James Barrington. The airport stuff takes up most of one small room at the store. In 2010, the state's general fund was enriched $300,000 by the storefront's sales. Read full story here: News New Mexico
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Greeks Find Out About "The Trouble with Socialism"

CNBC - The new Greek government faces a vote of confidence on Tuesday night, with the outcome critical to the survival of the government, and to the disbursal of loans from the 'Troika' of the European Union (EU), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Central Bank (ECB). Persistent protests in Athens' Syntagma Square show that the Greek people feel increasingly disenfranchised with their political system and analysts told CNBC that the growing separation between the government and the population over austerity could prove "explosive." Read full story here: News New Mexico
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