News New Mexico: 12/07/11

NM pension funds lost $2B during last quarter

From the Albuquerque Journal.com - SANTA FE (AP) — New Mexico’s pension funds for government workers and educators lost more than $2 billion in the past quarter because of a downturn in financial markets. A report by the Legislative Finance Committee said the value of assets in the Public Employees Retirement Association’s pension fund dropped $1.3 billion from July through September. It had a negative 10 percent investment return for the quarter. The PERA fund was valued at $10.8 billion at the end of September. The Educational Retirement Board’s pension fund lost $831,000 and had a market value of $8.7 billion at the end of the quarter. The educational pension had a negative investment return of almost 8 percent for the quarter. Requires subscription

Researchers near completion of 3-year study

From Rio Grande Digital.com - by Jay Rodman - Late October and mid-November might seem late to be planting salad greens in New Mexico, but a group of New Mexico State University faculty members, students and farm crew were not deterred by the calendar. For the third year in a row, they were starting rows of Trout’s Back lettuce and Bloomsdale spinach from seed in a dozen hoop houses, also known as passive-solar high tunnels. Six of the structures are located at NMSU’s Leyendecker Plant Science Research Center south of Las Cruces and the other six are at NMSU’s Sustainable Agriculture Science Center at Alcalde, north of Santa Fe. When the last of this crop is harvested in late winter or early spring, it will provide the final data in a three-year study of the viability of these low-budget greenhouses for New Mexico small producers who want to grow vegetables in the winter. This project, titled “Winter Production of Leafy Greens in the Southwestern U.S.A. Using High Tunnels,” actually involves 18 hoop houses – in addition to the ones at the two agricultural science centers, there is one at each of six cooperator sites in New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado. Read more

Old but not out; Octogenarian In Senate Preps for more

From New Mexico Politics with Joe Monahan - Mary Kay Papen turns 80 in March and John Pinto is now 86. Will both state senators seek re-election in 2012? Papen says she is a go for a fourth term. "My health is good." She declared.The Dona Ana County lawmaker is concerned about her vote not to eliminate driver's licenses for illegal immigrants. She's sending out a questionnaire asking what her constituents think. Republicans are sure to fire both barrels at her for that vote. Maybe even a Dem primary opponent surfaces. But the Papen name has a lot of goodwill. Her late husband Frank was a major political player. Papen has a reputation as a crusty, straight-shooter. And she's no wall flower, either. She sits on the powerful Senate Finance Committee as well as the Legislative Finance Committee. Republicans or a Dem challenger will have their hands full in trying to take out this soon to be octogenarian. Read more

Former host of popular PBS series still fixing up homes — including his own partial adobe

From the Santa Fe New Mexican.com - Home-renovation expert Steve Thomas, who gained fame as a TV host and is now promoting Habitat for Humanity's model for sustainable housing, says renovating his tiny, winter home on Santa Fe's east side is challenging. "For a guy who's cut his teeth in New England on wood-frame houses and timber-frame houses," he said, "wrapping my head around mud as a building material has been ..." Thomas' voice trailed off as if searching for the right word, then he added theatrically, "You can build with mud? Come on!" Soon after taking over as host of PBS' This Old House in 1989, Thomas came to Santa Fe to work on the renovation of a house with contractor John Wolf. Thomas said he and his wife and son, then 3, stayed in Santa Fe for a few weeks during the project and have returned at least once a year since. In 2007, the Boston-based Thomases bought a 1,000-square-foot "fixer-upper" — partly adobe, partly frame and partly Pen tile — off Gonzales Road. They rented it out for two years, and when the renter left they began to spend their winters there and their summers in a camp on an island in Maine. "Like most boomers who [have become] empty nesters, we want to downsize, so we're going from a 3,500-square-foot historic home in Boston to 1,000 [square feet] here," he said. Thomas said the Santa Fe house needs a lot of work, is currently gutted, and he's still considering how best to remodel it. Read more

Steve Pearce Hosts Facebook Town Halls

Congressman Steve Pearce

From allfacebook.com -New Mexico Congressman Steven Pearce, a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives, is using Facebook to make himself more accessible to his constituents who are halfway across the country. Employing new tactics to engage with voters back home, such as video town halls that are posted to his Facebook wall, the Congressman is able to interact in new and different ways. More News New Mexico

Mexico says Gadhafi son tried to sneak into country

From the El Paso Times - MARK STEVENSON,Associated Press - MEXICO CITY (AP) - Mexico said Wednesday that a son of the late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi and three relatives had plotted to sneak into Mexico under false names and move to a safe house at a posh Pacific coast resort. The elaborate plan to bring al-Saadi Gadhafi to Mexico allegedly involved two Mexicans, a Canadian and a Danish suspect, all of whom have been detained, Interior Secretary Alejandro Poire said. He did not reveal which relatives had planned to accompany Al-Saadi Gahdafi, who is known for his love of professional soccer and run-ins with police in Europe. The plot was uncovered by Mexican intelligence agents in early September as al-Saadi was fleeing Libya shortly after his father's ouster. He never made it to Mexico, but did reach the Western African country of Niger, where he has been living. The plotters allegedly jetted into Mexico, opened bank accounts and bought properties meant to be used as safe houses in several parts of the country, including one at a resort on Mexico's Pacific coast. Read more

Deming Local agencies shelter 350 stranded people

From the Deming Headlight - With local lodging packed to capacity, 350 travelers stranded by Monday's winter blitz found a temporary home at the Mimbres Valley Learning Center. The American Red Cross joined teamwork from most local government agencies, including Luna County, city of Deming and New Mexico State Police to respond to the sudden snowfall. The night-long affair began Monday evening shortly after Interstate 10 was closed and motorists were forced to exit into Deming. Those that were unable to find lodging at local hotels which quickly filled with other stranded motorists found their way to the MVLC, where the Red Cross greeted the travelers with warm cots and blankets, food, refreshments and shelter from the elements. "We're in Southern New Mexico, this shouldn't be happening," James Scoggan, of Houston, Tx., said of the weather. He and a friend were on a drive back home from visiting Arizona when the I-10 closure forced them to seek shelter in Deming. "We knew a front was going through, but we didn't know it would be this bad." That sense of surprise was common amongst those seeking shelter at the temporary Red Cross site. One man, who obviously did not see the weather coming, was seen running to and from his ride in shorts and a t-shirt. Others were found huddled in the learning center wrapped in blankets and trying to keep occupied. Some played card games, others snacked and most used the time to regain strength to hit the road again. Read more

Resident credits longevity to picking cotton, avoiding doctors

From the Clovis New Journal - Grace Helen Bowen (age 18 in picture on left) is nonchalant about turning 100 years old today. “Turning 100? I don’t feel anything one way or another. It’s just another birthday, just another day on the calendar. How do you feel about yours?” said Bowen with a sweet smile. Bowen’s health has been stable over the years. She has never had any major operations or surgeries. The only medical procedures that Bowen undergoes regularly are blood pressure tests. So what is Bowen’s secret to making it to 100? “What advice would I give anybody? I’ll tell them ‘you go do what you want to do and hope it works out,’” said Bowen in her usual humorous tone. Bowen said staying away from doctors helped her reach 100. She also credits picking cotton while growing up in Graford, Texas, a tiny town about 70 miles west of Fort Worth, for her longevity. Bowen said she picked cotton to earn money to buy her school clothes. Read more

Stealth fighter marks important anniversary

From the Alamogordo Daily News.com - By Arlan Ponder - To many people, Dec. 1 marked a realization that there were only 24 more shopping days to Christmas. But to people who are involved with stealth fighters, an event happened on this date that forever changed the world of aviation. It was the first flight of "Have Blue." Have Blue was the predecessor of the Air Force's famed F-117A Nighthawk -- the first "stealth fighter" in the Air Force's inventory. On Dec. 1, 1977, just after sunrise at Groom Lake, Nev., HB1001 made its maiden flight, and history, as Lockheed test pilot Bill Park took it through its flight. Ben Rich, the former head of Lockheed's Skunk Works that built many of the nation's most advanced aircraft said, "This flight will be every bit as important to the nation's future and the future of the Skunk Works as the first test flight of the U-2 spy plane." This came after the prototype was flown disassembled, via a C-5 Galaxy, from the Lockheed Plant in Burbank, Calif., to the classified Nevada base. The crew who made that historic flight in the middle of the night Nov. 16, 1977, never knew they had the first Experimental Survivable Testbed prototype in their cargo hold until years later after the F-117A came out of "the black." The Have Blue prototypes, or XST, were the first fixed-wing aircraft designed from an electrical engineering (rather than an aerodynamic) perspective and, while similar to the later F-117, were smaller with greater wing sweep and inward-canted vertical tails. Read more

Bill Gates discussing new nuclear reactor with China

From SF Gate.com - BEIJING, China (AP) -- Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates confirmed Wednesday he is in discussions with China to jointly develop a new and safer kind of nuclear reactor. "The idea is to be very low cost, very safe and generate very little waste," said the billionaire during a talk at China's Ministry of Science and Technology. Gates said he had largely funded a Washington state-based company, TerraPower, that is developing a Generation IV nuclear reactor that can run on depleted uranium. TerraPower says it has discussed its plans with India, Russia and other countries with nuclear energy programs. The general manager of state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation, Sun Qin, was quoted in Chinese media last week saying Gates was working with it to research and develop a reactor. "TerraPower is having very good discussions with CNNC and various people in the Chinese government," said Gates, cautioning the talks were at an early stage. Gates says perhaps as much as a billion dollars will be put into research and development over the next five years. TerraPower says its traveling wave reactor would run for decades on depleted uranium and produce significantly smaller amounts of nuclear waste than conventional reactors. "All these new designs are going to be incredibly safe," Gates told the audience. "They require no human action to remain safe at all times." Read more

Documents: ATF Used Fast and Furious to Make Case for Gun Regulations

From cbsnews.com -Documents obtained by CBS News show that the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) discussed using their covert operation "Fast and Furious" to argue for controversial new rules about gun sales. On July 14, 2010 after ATF headquarters in Washington D.C. received an update on Fast and Furious, ATF Field Ops Assistant Director Mark Chait emailed Bill Newell, ATF's Phoenix Special Agent in Charge of Fast and Furious: "Bill - can you see if these guns were all purchased from the same (licensed gun dealer) and at one time. We are looking at anecdotal cases to support a demand letter on long gun multiple sales. Thanks." More News New Mexico

Cockerell's Bumblebee Rediscovered in N.M

From csmonitor.com -An elusive bumblebee, which was last seen in 1956, was recently found living in the White Mountains of south-central New Mexico, scientists announced Monday. Known as "Cockerell's bumblebee," the bee was first described in 1913 using six specimens collected along the Rio Ruidoso, a river located in the Sierra Blanca and Sacramento Mountains, N.M. Over the years, one more sample was found in Ruidoso, and 16 specimens were collected near the town of Cloudcroft, N.M. More News New Mexico

Farmington Man Arrested for DWI for 12th Time

Farmington Daily Times — A 12-time convicted drunken driver on Tuesday attempted to take back his no-contest Alford plea to aggravated drunken driving after learning the judge was going to sentence him to the maximum. He said he would rather take his chances at trial. Anthony Chee, 38, was arrested Oct. 16 for drinking and driving after police witnessed him swerving and driving slowly on 18th Street in Farmington. His blood-alcohol content at the time registered a .21, almost three times the legal limit of .08, according to court records. Police also discovered that Chee was out on parole for a drunken driving conviction in 2010, and this arrest was his 12th drinking and driving offense. Read full story here: News New Mexico

Mountain Lion Making the Rounds in Alto

Ruidoso News - A partial deer carcass found under the deck of an Alto Lakes home has a neighborhood on edge. The kill belongs to a large cougar that has been seen a number of times in the area of High Mesa Drive and Lake Shore Drive within the past couple of months. "He just has lost all his fear of man," said resident Jamie Estes, who added he was unsure of the mountain lion's sex. "What I didn't know when I called the (New Mexico Game and Fish Department Ruidoso District officer), he told me he had had four or five complaints on this same cat. He feels like it's the same cat because the complaints are right there on our street. And this cat even stalked some golfers at Kokopelli for several hours one day." Read full story here: News New Mexico

Rim Drops BBX Phone Name

From wsj.com -A federal judge in New Mexico barred BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion Ltd. from using the name "BBX" for its new operating system, forcing RIM to rename it—at least temporarily—and deepening uncertainty around the planned launch sometime next year of RIM's next-generation smart phone. More News New Mexico

Census Shows Voter Registrations Changes

Capitol Report New Mexico - Since the 2008 election, registered Democrats in the state of New Mexico have lost 22,868 voters — a decline of 3.9 percent — while registered Republicans have lost 5,889, which represents a loss of 1.6 percent. Independents, meanwhile, have seen a slight uptick, gaining 1,485 registered voters in the last three years, which represents a 0.8 percent rise. The numbers figure to have a major impact in the 2012 elections as New Mexico is considered one of eight battleground states in the US as the presidential, congressional and statewide races will be hard-fought between Democrats and Republicans. Here are the numbers for all eight battleground states, as compiled by the centrist political organization: Read full story here: News New Mexico

Obama Nixes Golf Vacation in Hawaii

The Hill - President Obama is not vacationing in Hawaii with his wife and children while the extension of the payroll tax holiday remains in limbo, and has warned GOP congressional leaders to stay in town as well. Obama had planned to fly to Hawaii with his family on Dec. 17 and stay there through New Year’s. After getting ripped by GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney over his vacation plans, Obama told Senate Democratic leaders Wednesday that he will stay in town until Congress finishes work on the payroll tax holiday, unemployment benefits and other issues. Read full story here: News New Mexico

Radical Islamic Terrorism or Workplace Violence?

Nidal Malik Hasan

Fox News - Sen. Susan Collins on Wednesday blasted the Defense Department for classifying the Fort Hood massacre as workplace violence and suggested political correctness is being placed above the security of the nation's Armed Forces at home. During a joint session of the Senate and House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday, the Maine Republican referenced a letter from the Defense Department depicting the Fort Hood shootings as workplace violence. She criticized the Obama administration for failing to identify the threat as radical Islam. Read full story here: News New Mexico

Albuquerque Cited for Clean Water Act Violation by EPA

The Republic - Federal regulators have cited New Mexico's largest city twice this year with violating provisions of the Clean Water Act, and environmentalists are concerned failure to correct the problems could ultimately affect the Rio Grande. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in late October issued an administrative order against Albuquerque for alleged storm water permit violations. Read full story here: News New Mexico

Yawn......Another Illinois Governor Goes Off to Prison

Rod Blagojevich

Chicago Sun-Times - Disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich was sentenced Wednesday to 14 years in prison after he made a final plea for leniency, acknowledging his guilt and saying, “I am unbelievably sorry.” The sentence is the longest received by any Illinois governor and one of the longest for any politician in state history. “When it is the governor who goes bad, the fabric of Illinois is torn and disfigured and not easily or quickly repaired,” U.S. District Judge James Zagel said in announcing how long Blagojevich should spend in prison after being convicted of 18 corruption charges that included attempting to sell or trade an appointment to fill the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by the election of President Barack Obama. “You did that damage.”

Blagojevich, who was seated while Zagel read his sentence, slightly sunk his head after learning his prison term. Wife Patti put her hand up to her mouth, but did not cry, as she has done in previous hearings. Blagojevich walked up to her and said, “You OK? Stay strong.” After court was over, the two embraced in the courtroom and she buried her head in his chest. Read full story here: News New Mexico

NM Lottery Pass $500 Million in Fund Raising

The New Mexico Lottery announced on Tuesday that it has raised half a billion dollars for education since launching in 1996. Lottery profits came to $500.1 million with October revenues of $3.23 million. October revenues were transferred to the state treasurer on Nov. 30. “Every time players bought a lottery ticket, they made an investment in our children’s education,” said Tom Romero, New Mexico Lottery chief executive officer. “We are very grateful for the support of players, retailers, vendors and our state’s elected officials. This is their accomplishment."

Lottery profits have put college within the reach of so many more people as well as a future of greater opportunity for all of us who make our homes in New Mexico,” said Marcus Rael Jr., Esq., chair of the lottery’s board of directors. Of the $500.1 million, $66.5 million was used for school construction and repairs between 1996 and 2001. Approximately $433.6 million has been directed to college tuition through the Legislative Lottery Scholarship program.

UNM Law School Piling Up the Accolades

NM Business Weekly - The University of New Mexico School of Law has collected several national accolades in recent months. The latest recognition comes from the National Jurist law student magazine. The national publication named the school seventh-best best in value among the law schools in the U.S. The citation said the school offers an “affordable education, great job prospects and high bar passage rates.”
In addition, U.S. New and World Report magzine recently ranked the school the 10th most popular in the U.S., placing it in the same league as the Yale and Harvard. In a related ranking, U.S. News ranked the school’s clinical law program seventh-best in the country. Read full story here: News New Mexico

Packer Fans Gobble Up Worthless Stock

CBS Market Watch - COMMENTARY - The undefeated Green Bay Packers have scored another victory with their stock sale even though, as an investment, it's a lousy buy. Yesterday the team put up 250,000 shares for sale at $250 each and got 1,600 orders in the first 11 minutes. Pretty impressive considering it pays no dividends, the value doesn't increase and it has no resale value. So it's kind of like Greek treasury bonds. The reigning Super Bowl champion Packers made the stock offering - its first since 1997 - to raise funds for renovations at Lambeau Field, the team's home in Green Bay, Wis. The team is the U.S.'s only non-profit, community-owned major league sports team. Founded in 1919, the Packers went public in 1923 and this sale marks only the fifth stock sale in team history. The team makes no effort to hide the worthlessness of the stock. Here's the sales pitch from president and CEO Mark H. Murphy: Read full column here: News New Mexico

NMSU CE Dept: Old Tires Can Be Used in Paving

KRWG - A new study by the New Mexico State University (NMSU) Civil Engineering Department finds roadways paved with asphalt concrete containing crumb rubber (produced from recycled tires), perform as well as or better than roads paved with conventional paving materials. Those results could lead to a substantial win-win for the Land of Enchantment, by not only improving the state's roads, but also finding a viable beneficial use for the hundreds of thousands of scrap tires that are illegally dumped throughout the State. Read full story here: News New Mexico

NAACP Calls on UN to Intervene in U.S. Elections

From thegatewaypundit.com -The NAACP called on the UN to intervene in the United States ahead of the 2012 elections. The far left former rights group claims that new voting laws that require voters to present an ID are racist. More News New Mexico

Gov. Martinez Will Take Questions on NewsNM Today

Susana Martinez

Governor Susana Martinez will be our special guest this morning at 8:00am. The Governor will join Jim, Michael, and Rob Nikolewski for discussions on redistricting, Medicaid funding, education reform, job creation, and state energy policies. Please use the contact page to send in your questions for the Governor. We will try to ask as many questions from listeners as possible.

Terrell: Carl Trujillo Will Run Versus Lujan

Carl Trujillo

Roundhouse Roundup - According to Santa Fe New Mexican columnist and reporter Steve Terrell, Carl Trujillo, the candidate who lost narrowly to NM House Speaker Ben Lujan in the 2010 Democatic primary will be running again against the Speaker in 2012. Terrell says Trujillo's campaign manager Faith McKenna confirmed that Trujillo will make it official in January. Read full story here: News New Mexico

"Lazy Americans"

Courtesy of Conservativedailynews.com

FBI Opens New Forensics Lab at UNM

KOB - TV - The FBI in Albuquerque has opened a new crime lab at the University of New Mexico campus. FBI officials say the New Mexico Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory unveiled Tuesday will give law enforcement agencies in the state "highest quality digital forensics services" aimed at fighting terrorism and violent crimes. The lab will also help authorities with internet crimes, child pornography and intellectual property crimes. Read full story here: News New Mexico

High School Students Protest Wal-Mart

KOB TV - A new Walmart planned at Coors Boulevard and Montano Road NW is once again facing fierce opposition from a nearby school and residents. KOB Eyewitness News 4 spoke with the protesters and found out some of the teachers are using this demonstration as a lesson. Walmart's vision for the lot is a Supercenter providing hundreds of jobs and convenience to the West Siders. Their plans are grand and say their attention to the environment is sound. It's not sound enough for students at Bosque School. "One of the things we take really seriously at Bosque is being involved with the environment and going out into the field to do studies," said Bosque School student, Taylor Cramer. Cramer and her fellow Bosque schoolmates feel Tuesday's demonstration is more an act of protection than protest. Despite the bitter cold, their gloved hands carried signs calling for "no big box stores" near such a sensitive area. "The ecosystem of the Bosque flows right into this area if there were a Walmart there it would be destructive on that ecosystem that we actually study personally at Bosque School," said student Lauren Dennis. Read full story here: News New Mexico

Run on Greek Banks Underway

der Spiegel - Georgios Provopoulos, the governor of the central bank of Greece, is a man of statistics, and they speak a clear language. "In September and October, savings and time deposits fell by a further 13 to 14 billion euros. In the first 10 days of November the decline continued on a large scale," he recently told the economic affairs committee of the Greek parliament. With disarming honesty, the central banker explained to the lawmakers why the Greek economy isn't managing to recover from a recession that has gone on for three years now: "Our banking system lacks the scope to finance growth."

He means that the outflow of funds from Greek bank accounts has been accelerating rapidly. At the start of 2010, savings and time deposits held by private households in Greece totalled €237.7 billion -- by the end of 2011, they had fallen by €49 billion. Since then, the decline has been gaining momentum. Savings fell by a further €5.4 billion in September and by an estimated €8.5 billion in October -- the biggest monthly outflow of funds since the start of the debt crisis in late 2009. Read full story here: News New Mexico

News New Mexico

Total Pageviews

Archives

Michael Swickard's new novel about New Mexico