Error-filled payroll is $245,000 hit

Tom Clifford
Milan Simonich - State will invest in training to shore up department, avoid any more mistakes. One botched payroll will cost state government more than headaches. The Department of Finance and Administration will spend about $245,000 for employee training and to trace what wrong with the June 22 payroll that was filled with mistakes. Clear already is that human error caused about 7,900 employees to be shorted on their paychecks, state Controller Ricky Bejarano said Tuesday. Tom Clifford, secretary of finance, said the state had been running a payroll operation that was “pennywise and pound foolish,” meaning staffing and experience levels were not adequate for the demands of the job. When certain staff members made errors, nobody else caught them. “We have no bench is the best way to put it,” Bejarano said. The state’s payroll software is six years old, but machines played no part in the breakdowns. Every failing in this instance was human error, Bejarano said. The state will spend $200,000 for a contractor to be on site for six months to help shore up the payroll operation through training, Clifford said. He said he viewed that expense as an investment to improve efficiency and protect against any more mistakes. Read More News New Mexico

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Court will be asked to drop all charges against New Mexico gun dealer family

The ExaminerA hearing will be held Thursday at 9 a.m. at the U.S. District Court in Las Cruces, N.M., a spokesperson close to a family of arrested New Mexico gun dealers has informed Gun Rights Examiner. Rick Reese and wife Terri, along with sons Ryin and Remington, are facing accusations of knowingly selling firearms to cartel straw purchasers, money laundering and related charges. The ordeal of this family, including the denial of bail for almost a full year for the husband and sons, the seizure of their assets and property precluding a properly-funded defense, and the denial by the presiding judge of their ability to coordinate that defense with one attorney, have been the subject of numerous updates in this column as well as in the latest “Rights Watch” column for GUNS Magazine“There is a motion in front of Judge [Robert C.] Brack to dismiss the whole case for outrageous conduct by the United States of America,” an email sent to a close group of supporters related. “If at all possible please attend the hearings! Those of you who cannot be there, PLEASE remember the date and time in your prayers for us!! The next motion that day is to unseal the file so the general public will be aware of the case.” Read More News New Mexico

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Video: "You are so white, you are extremely white"

A YouTube video produced by "The Message," an online "media hub," depicts an actor playing Mitt Romney getting advice on what to say to the civil rights group. In their press release, the producers said the video, "Lacerates Romney and his advisors as they prepare for his speech to NAACP in Houston on Wednesday." You can watch the video here: News New Mexico
The man playing the Romney advisor tells the Romney character, "You are so white, you are extremely white, you make Wonder Bread look like pumpernickel," then he advises the Romney actor to "Go on out there and get all Mormon, Martin Luther King on them, you're going to be great."
According to a news release, The Message said it plans to use videos to "say things that Democrats are afraid to say, connect with young voters-many of whom are alienated by today's political climate, and give smart and insightful voices an opportunity to contribute to the debate." The Daily Kos said of the video: "Driving The Message are Razor & Tie co-founder Cliff Chenfeld, former Media Matters for America president Eric Burns, former AOL chief creative officer and co-founder of theknot.com Michael Wolfson, and former New York Times journalist Andrew Zipern. The Message’s unique mix of entertainment experience, political and messaging savvy, online creativity and distribution expertise, and a journalist’s eye makes it the platform Democrats and progressives need to lift their voices above the Republicans and have a cultural conversation that molds this election cycle and beyond."
This amazing piece of rank stereotyping which represents the views of several well known individuals within the progressive movement requires no explanation other than what is seen. It is as if they have never read anything written by Thomas Sowell, Walter Williams, Deroy Murdock, Herman Cain, Star Parker, Lurita Doan, LaShawn Barber, Larry Elder, Ken Blackwell, Allen West, Harry Jackson Jr., Charles Payne, J.C. Watts, or Michael Steele, too mention but a few.....let alone visit the Project 21 website.

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Most of Navajo Dam Gas Service Kept

View from above Navajo Dam
KOB - It looks like dozens of people and business owners in the Navajo Dam area are going to get to keep their gas service after all. “We got a letter on Friday saying that they're going to continue to service gas and we're just thrilled," said Timothy Maes. Maes’ grandfather owns Abe’s Motel and Fly Shop near Navajo Dam. Back in April they were one of 71 customers who learned their gas service was going to be shut off. New Mexico Gas said it was all part of a contract that had expired with a third-party gas company. "It basically would have ruined our whole operation. It would have put us out of business," said Maes.
But on Friday the gas company sent out letters saying it would extend gas lines to continue service for 62 businesses and residents. Read full story here: News New Mexico
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King Aide Used State E-Mail for Political Updates

Gary King
KOB - A spokesman for New Mexico Attorney General Gary King used state email accounts to send political updates about the prosecutor's 2010 re-election opponent.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that at least two emails released by King appear to mix politics and state business.
The emails from state and campaign accounts were released through an Inspection of Public Records Act request from the state Republican Party.
King, a Democrat, has said he's reviewing hundreds of other private emails that address public business to determine which are required for public release.
King, however, called the Republican requests a political ploy intended to distract from his investigation into allegations of political work being done on government time by members of Republican Gov. Susana Martinez's administration. Read full story here: News New Mexico
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New Study: “Right to Work” Law Could Spur New Mexico’s Economy, Create Thousands of New Jobs

Errors of EnchantmentAccording to a new Rio Grande Foundation report by adjunct scholar Eric Fruits, PhD, New Mexico would benefit greatly from passage of Right to Work legislation. The full study, “Right-to-Work and Economic Growth A Comprehensive Analysis of the Economic Benefits to New Mexico of Enacting a Right-to-Work Law” is available online. Such legislation would, prohibit agreements between labor unions and employers that make union membership, payment of union dues, or union fees a condition of employment, either before or after hiring. Right-to-work laws also prohibit “closed shop” agreements in which an employer agrees to hire union members only, and employees must remain members of the union at all times in order to remain employed. Looking backward, the analysis finds that if New Mexico had enacted right-to-work legislation in 1980 (such a law passed the legislature—but was vetoed by the governor—in 1979 and 1981):
  • New Mexico’s employment in 2011 would have been approximately 21 percent higher (169,400 more people working);
  • New Mexico’s 2011 personal income would have been 21 percent higher ($15.7 billion); wage and salary income also would have been 21 percent higher ($7.4 billion).
Looking forward, if New Mexico enacts right-to-work legislation effective 2013, the empirical results indicate that the state would see a permanent boost in employment and income growth.
  • By 2020, New Mexico would have 42,300 more people working as a right-to-work state, with more that 2,000 in increased manufacturing employment;
  • By 2020, the state’s personal income would be nearly $5 billion higher and wage and salary income would be $2.2 billion higher.
Read More News New Mexico

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Fire from the sky: International Space Station astronaut captures stunning image of New Mexico wildfires at night

Daily MailNo human being has a more commanding view of the world than the astronauts aboard the International Space Station, which is why it was only a matter of time before someone up there captured a truly amazing aerial view of the wildfires ravaging the U.S. Nasa has been releasing some daytime shots of the Colorado fires as seen from space, with long trails of smoke rising from clearly defined hotspots on the ground. But an image recently released from the ISS shows a completely new view from space - New Mexico fires captured at night. Read More News New Mexico


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Attempt to Tax the Rich in Maryland Backfires

CNBC - A new report says wealthy Maryland residents may be moving out due to recent tax hikes – a finding that is sure to escalate the battle over taxing the American rich.
The study, by the anti-tax group Change Maryland, says that a net 31,000 residents left the state between 2007 and 2010, the tenure of a "millionaire's tax" pushed through by Gov. Martin O'Malley. The tax, which expired in 2010, in imposed a rate of 6.25 percent on incomes of more than $1 million a year.
The Change Maryland study found that the tax cost Maryland $1.7 billion in lost tax revenues. A county-by-county analysis by Change Maryland also found that the state’s wealthiest counties also had some of the largest population outflows.
In total, Maryland has added 24 new taxes or fees in recent years, Change Maryland says. Florida, which has no income-tax, has been a large recipient of Maryland's exiled wealthy.
“Maryland has reached the point of diminishing returns. We're taxing people too much and people are voting with their feet," said Change Maryland Chairman Larry Hogan. “Until we change our focus from tax increases to increasing the tax base, more people are simply going to leave, leading to a downward spiral of raising revenues on fewer citizens." Read full story here: News New Mexico

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83% of Doctors Consider Quitting Over Obamacare, Shortages of Doctors Loom

Daily Caller - Eighty-three percent of American physicians have considered leaving their practices over President Barack Obama’s health care reform law, according to a survey released by the Doctor Patient Medical Association. The DPMA, a non-partisan association of doctors and patients, surveyed a random selection of 699 doctors nationwide. The survey found that the majority have thought about bailing out of their careers over the legislation, which was upheld last month by the Supreme Court.
Even if doctors do not quit their jobs over the ruling, America will face a shortage of at least 90,000 doctors by 2020. The new health care law increases demand for physicians by expanding insurance coverage. This change will exacerbate the current shortage as more Americans live past 65. Read full story here: News New Mexico
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