Eclipse Aerospace begins production in ABQ

From KRQE-TV.com - ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Eclipse Aerospace is back in production and is once again making jets in Albuquerque.  It is great news for employees and for potential new hires.  It has been a long road back for the Albuquerque aviation company since it went into bankruptcy nearly four years ago. Now the new owners hope this is the final step in eclipse coming all the way back. “We’re ecstatic about getting eclipse back in production,” CEO Mason Holland said.  Eclipse Aerospace has hit another big goal in its climb from bankruptcy.  The company is producing its first jet since February of 2009.  That is when the company laid off all of its employees after declaring bankruptcy in august of 2008.  Eclipse was purchased by a group run by CEO Mason Holland.  The eclipse 550 jet back went back into production Friday. Read more
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Candidates complain about guv-supporting PAC

New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez
From NMPolitics.net - by Heath Haussamen - Several legislative candidates have filed complaints against a Super PAC that is supportive of Gov. Susana Martinez’s agenda and has sent out mailers and aired radio ads in recent days attacking them or supporting their Democratic primary opponents. The complaints from self-identified progressives Eleanor Chavez, David Coss, Larry Martinez and Jack Sullivan allege that Reform New Mexico Now violated state campaign disclosure law by not registering with the state within 10 days of receiving financial contributions and not filing a campaign finance report on May 14. The complaints were sent Sunday to the secretary of state and attorney general. The PAC responded by saying its initial finance report – filed earlier this week – erroneously reported that it received contributions in late April. It filed an amended report that states the contributions came on May 21 and 24. “Reform New Mexico Now is in complete compliance with the law and, unlike other groups involved in these elections, we disclose all of our contributions and expenditures,” the group’s spokesman, Dominic Aragon, wrote in an e-mail. Read more
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A lesson to the young bloods

At a pick-up game in Bloomfield, NJ a video crew was pretending to shoot a documentary on a basketball player named "Kevin." When his Uncle Drew came into the game, some magical things happened. Kyrie Irving (NBA Rookie of the Year),gets made up an old man and then heads out to the playground and jumps into the pickup game
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NM Guard Medical Evacuation Heroes

KOAT - Months after military medics from New Mexico made the brave decision to pull a live explosive out of a young Marine, the guardsmen shared their story. A crew of New Mexico National Guardsmen, well-practiced in medevacking wounded troops off the battlefield in Afghanistan, made a decision that few can fathom.
"Each of us on the aircraft had to agree to take the patient on," Spc. Mark Edens said. Their patient, Lance Cpl. Winder Perez, had a foot-long rocket-propelled grenade embedded in his left side. It could have exploded at any time. "There was quite a bit of alarm among the crew at the time, as you can imagine," Capt. Kevin Doo said. Perez needed to be flown to the nearest medical unit, which was around 65 miles away. "If the RPG exploded, you know Spc. Edens and Sgt. Hardesty are working on the patient directly over him, shrapnel alone would have been devastating. And about 18 inches behind where the patient is lying is over 300 gallons of jet aviation fuel and it would have been catastrophic," Doo said. Read full story here: News New Mexico
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AIG Chief Sees Retirement Age at 70-80

Bloomberg - American International Group Inc. (AIG) Chief Executive Officer Robert Benmosche said Europe’s debt crisis shows governments worldwide must accept that people will have to work more years as life expectancies increase.

“Retirement ages will have to move to 70, 80 years old,” Benmosche, who turned 68 last week, said during a weekend interview at his seaside villa in Dubrovnik, Croatia. “That would make pensions, medical services more affordable. They will keep people working longer and will take that burden off of the youth.”
The crisis, now in its third year, threatens to destroy Europe’s 17-nation currency union as Greece contemplates exiting the euro and Spain sees its bond yields rise and banking industry falter. German Chancellor Angela Merkel hardened her opposition to joint debt sharing in the euro region as U.S. President Barack Obama singled out Europe’s leaders for not doing enough to arrest the crisis. Read full story here: News New Mexico
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Californians Smell Railrunner Skunk

Newsmax - A majority of voters no longer support building a $68 billion high-speed passenger rail system connecting California’s population centers, a new poll shows, even as Governor Jerry Brown is pushing the project forward. While 53 percent of voters approved a bond issue for the project in 2008, a USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll published in yesterday’s edition of the newspaper, found that 59 percent would oppose it if given another chance to vote.
Jerry Brown
Brown, a 74-year-old Democrat, allocated some of the $9.95 billion of bonds for the system in his budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1, even though a deficit in the spending plan has ballooned to $15.7 billion. He wants voters to increase sales and income taxes or slash 3 weeks off the school year while still spending money on the rail line.
“California voters have clearly reconsidered their support for high-speed rail,” said Dan Schnur, director of the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Poll and director of the Unruh Institute of Politics at University of Southern California. “They want the chance to vote again -— and they want to vote no. The growing budget deficit is making Californians hesitant about spending so much money on a project like this one when they’re seeing cuts to public education and law enforcement.” Read full story here: News New Mexico
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LCPS: Artificial Turf for Field of Dreams?

The Las Cruces Public School Board is considering an investment in an artificial surface at the Field of Dreams. Many years ago in the city of the Crosses the Field of Dreams Task Force secured the initial funding for the current stadium. At that time one of the new problems presented to the school district in Las Cruces came with the opening of Onate High School. Adding Onate to the mix meant the city had four football teams playing games at Aggie Memorial Stadium. It was an unworkable situation for many logistical reasons.
With the opening of Centennial High School LCPS is presented with a similar problem, but with a much easier solution. An investment in artificial turf at the Field of Dreams is an excellent solution to the problem.
In recent years there have been tremendous advances in artificial turf technology. The surfaces are much better and last much longer.
With LCPS facing rising costs for water, grass supplies, equipment, maintenance labor, plus the inevitable wear and tear that comes with four teams playing on one grass field, the debate on the board over this question should not last long. Delaying an investment in an artificial surface at the Field of Dreams will become a waste of LCPS resources.

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Javier Gonzales Continues to be Evasive

New Mexico Watchdog - In Part 1 of the Watchdog investigation into the development of the Santa Fe Studios the Watchdog promised to look into current Democratic Party Chairperson, Javier Gonzales, and his role in making the nearly $25 million dollar film and media production facility south of Santa Fe a reality.
On the Democratic Party website, under Mr. Gonzales’s bio, it states, “currently, he is leading the effort to bring a state-of-the-art film studio to Santa Fe.”
NOTE TO THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY WEBSITE WEBMASTER:
Javier Gonzales
Time to update Mr. Gonzales’ resume. In an article appearing in the The New Mexican on September 28th, 2011, the reporter points out that Mr. Gonzales was previously a consultant for the Hool Brothers, “but that Mr. Gonzales said recently that he is no longer involved with the project.”
So which is it Mr. Gonzales, Are you in or are you out? Do you have anything to gain personally if the Santa Fe Studios should become a financial success?
In financial documents the Watchdog obtained from the EDD (Economic Development Department) and the County of Santa Fe weeks ago, there are no mentions of Mr. Gonzales either on signed papers or in the numerous emails the Watchdog reviewed in the correspondence between the State, the County, and the Hool Brothers. Read full story here: News New Mexico
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Whitewater-Baldy Fire 17% Contained

KRWG - The more than 1,200 firefighters who are battling the nation's largest wildfire in rugged mountains and canyons of southwestern New Mexico are racing to build lines to corral the massive blaze. The fire had charred more than 354 square miles, and crews were bracing for more dry and windy conditions. Fire information officer Lee Bentley says the focus is on the western edge of the Whitewater-Baldy fire. The fire is expected to start backing down the mountains east of the community of Glenwood, and officials say residents should expect to see more smoke and flames as firefighters continue their backburn operations.
The fire is about 17 percent contained. read full story here: News New Mexico
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NM Voters: Just in Time for the Post-Game Show

Jim Spence
Seldom is there is a bill proposal that is pro-labor, pro-business, pro-growth, and pro-state government. Throw in virtually cost-free, ready for passage by our state legislature, and sure to secure the immediate signing by the governor. Somehow it is the bill that never even gets introduced. And unfortunately, this situation of utter neglect has persisted in New Mexico year after year and decade after decade. What bill is this?
Let’s start at the beginning. During each presidential election cycle those states holding the earliest primaries are incredible beneficiaries of huge infusions of out-of-state dollars as campaign entourages and armies of media people descend on those areas. This year some of the GOP candidates actually visited EVERY SINGLE COUNTY in Iowa before their caucuses. While citizens in states like Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Florida continue to garner more than their fair share of attention from presidential candidates, New Mexicans get a virtual zero percent share of both the candidates and media’s attention during the primary season.
What does our state do instead? Soon New Mexicans will cast their votes in the presidential primary. And they will do so AFTER the race for the GOP presidential nomination is already OVER.
Um…..why are we New Mexicans continuing to leave ourselves in the ridiculous position of voting AFTER a huge national race is already over? It is because so far, nobody, not a single person in a position to introduce a bill in New Mexico to put a stop to this asinine situation, has ever done so. It is simply an amazing case of political neglect by both Democrats and Republicans that poses several unanswered questions:
When will New Mexico elected officials finally take action and provide a cost-free end to this state’s national political irrelevancy during the presidential primary process?
When will New Mexico farmers going to have presidential candidates promising to address their terrible water situation instead of being completely ignored while these same candidates promise Iowa farmers they will keep billions in senseless ethanol subsidies heading their way?
Los Alamos National Lab
When are the New Mexicans working at various federal military and civilian installations in this state going to see their missions recognized as critical to national security during elections seasons, instead of becoming easier and easier targets for non-prioritized budget cuts in the out years?
When will New Mexican elected officials see a no-brainer opportunity for what it is and secure the risk free increase in influence and the flow of significant resources into the state that comes with switching New Mexico to a state with one of the earliest primaries?
As of the end of May 2012, nobody knows when those we send to Santa Fe are going to get off their collective back sides and put an end to this easily fixable situation. In the meantime two final questions go unanswered. Does it bother you that nobody cares how the votes go in the NM presidential primary? Why do you settle for this nonsense?

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