Albuquerque unsure how much property it owns

From KRQE-TV.com - by Kim Holland - ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - The city of Albuquerque was overly aggressive in spending tens of millions of dollars during the last decade to buy troubled and neglected properties throughout the city. "We're really in a situation now is we couldn't sell them for what we paid for them," said Rob Perry, the city’s chief operating officer.
Today, the city owns more than 2,200 properties across the city, though officials couldn’t be more exact because they aren’t sure themselves exactly how many properties the city bought. Not all of the properties were acquired in the last decade, however. Some came in land swaps, while others were donated, "Many were acquired historically 20, 50, 75 years ago and the records just aren't there,” Perry said.
Most of the properties bought in the last decade, however, were purchased with the idea to clean up crime-ridden, sometimes abandoned and trashed lots. Officials planned to resell some of the properties it bought and redevelop others as community centers or low income housing. But the economy tanked and most plans were put on hold. Now the city, which is sitting on $600,000 in mortgages, admits it may have gone overboard. Read more
Share/Bookmark

Victoria's Secret facing firestorm from Native Americans

From KOB-TV.com - By: Jill Galus, KOB Eyewitness News  - Victoria's Secret is at the forefront of criticism from Native Americans across the country, as well as in New Mexico. This comes after one of the company's lingerie models wore what looked like a traditional headdress for the taping of next month's televised fashion show.A photograph released after last week's taping of the event has some Native Americans outraged.
"Why are you appropriating our history, our culture and using it for commercial means?" Navajo Tazbah McCullah said. Depicting a lingerie model in a floor-length headdress, adorned with traditional turquoise jewelry, and suede fringe over leopard panties and a bra is pure ignorance, McCullah said.
Historically, headdresses symbolize honor and respect, and depending on the tribe, are worn in ceremonial dances by men. "I wouldn't want my granddaughters thinking that that's okay to do this, to use anybody's culture to make a buck," McCullah said. Read more
Share/Bookmark

SF Postal Service considers closing downtown office

From the Santa Fe New Mexican - by Chris Quintana - The financially strapped U.S. Postal Service is considering ending at least some services at the downtown post office, 120 Federal Place, as part of cost-cutting measures. Public details on possible changes at the downtown site are sparse and conflicted, but Peter Hass, a Postal Service spokesman based in Arizona, said Tuesday that representatives for the agency intend to discuss their plans during a Nov. 28 meeting of the Santa Fe City Council.
Hass said a closing of the downtown post office could include removal of post office boxes where some residents collect their mail. “It’s not a final decision,” Hass said. “It’s just something we’re considering.”
The downtown location also is home to a distribution center through which local mail flows to and from a processing center in Albuquerque. It’s unclear what officials have in mind for that operation, or whether the drive-by drop boxes near the post office would be affected by any move. The Associated Press reported in August that the Postal Service suffered a $5.2 billion loss from April to June of 2012, and that it defaulted on payments to the U.S. Treasury and future retiree health benefits.
The Postal Service, which has seen a decrease in mail volume and has instituted a series of increases in postage rates, also has tried to close low-revenue offices in rural areas as a cost-cutting measure. Public opposition halted that plan. Instead, some sites now have shorter hours of operations. Read more
Share/Bookmark

American Airlines employee suddenly on No Fly list

From NBCMiami - Luis Montano may be one of the most unlikely people to end up on the government’s no fly list that’s designed to stop terrorists. After all, he works for one of the country’s biggest airlines. But Team 6 Investigators found that he wasn’t just prevented from traveling by air, he was told by his employer to go home. He couldn’t work and the bills started piling up.
“Two months without work because of being on the no fly list,” Montano said. “I basically have been doing a lot of research concerning the TSA’s no fly list. I have been trying to basically reach out for help.” After 13 years working for an American Airlines as a gate agent, also in cargo operations, and at its South Florida headquarters, the U.S. citizen discovered he had been labeled a potential terrorist, a danger to the flying public.
“In shock. Just like, I couldn’t understand how you can just be put on a list and for no reason, haven’t been contacted by the government,” he said. In August, Montano says his boss told him he was placed on the TSA’s no fly list and sent him home.
NBC 6 contacted the airlines and American said it must follow the TSA’s rules, and that it was waiting to see if there was any change in their employee’s status. For six weeks, without success, Montano was on the computer trying to get the government to reverse his status when American cut his pay.
Was it a case of mistaken identity? Maybe. But Montano says it’s hard to fight the inclusion because the Department of Homeland Security provides little information, even though it says less than one percent of those who complain have an actual connection to a terrorist.
He spent weeks struggling to pay his bills and was told by American he could lose his job for good. Five days after NBC 6 contacted the government, Homeland Security sent a letter saying he's no longer a potential terrorist. They gave no answers in their letter. They just said they could neither confirm nor deny any information about him. Montano said he was still waiting to be cleared by the airlines' security department to return to work. Read more
Share/Bookmark

Commentary by Thomas Sowell: Nice Losers

From Townhall.com - by Dr. Thomas Sowell - Mitt Romney now joins the long list of the kinds of presidential candidates favored by the Republican establishment-- nice, moderate losers, people with no coherently articulated vision, despite how many ad hoc talking points they may have. Any number of conservative commentators, both in the print media and on talk radio, examined and exposed the fraudulence of Obama's "tax cuts for the rich" argument. But did you ever hear Mitt Romney bother to explain the specifics which exposed the flaws in Obama's argument?
When you look at this as a horse race, there is no question that the Republicans deserved to lose. But the stakes for this great nation, at this crucial juncture in its history and in the history of the world, are far too momentous to look at this election as just a contest between two candidates or two political parties. Quite aside from the immediate effects of particular policies, Barack Obama has repeatedly circumvented the laws, including the Constitution of the United States, in ways and on a scale that pushes this nation in the direction of arbitrary one-man rule.
Now that Obama will be in a position to appoint Supreme Court justices who can rubber stamp his evasions of the law and usurpations of power, this country may be unrecognizable in a few years as the America that once led the world in freedom, as well as in many other things. Barack Obama's boast, on the eve of the election of 2008-- "We are five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America"-- can now be carried out, without fear of ever having to face the voters again.
This "transforming" project extends far beyond fundamental internal institutions, or even the polarization and corruption of the people themselves, with goodies handed out in exchange for their surrendering their birthright of freedom. Have you noticed how many of our enemies in other countries have been rooting for Obama? You or your children may yet have reason to recall that as a bitter memory of a warning sign ignored on election day in 2012. Read full column


Share/Bookmark

Newsbreak New Mexico 5pm Webcast 11/13/12

Newsbreak New Mexico 5pm Newscast with Vanessa Dabovich

                                     Listen here: 


Santa Fe sets new recycling goals
Las Cruces officials relocating popular landmark
Santa Teresa evacuation cause still a mystery
ABQ council not likely to overturn min. wage vote





                                          Visit spenceassetmanagement.com 

Share/Bookmark

ABQ council not likely to overturn minimum wage vote


Attempts to undo the minimum wage increase approved by Albuquerque voters last week appear to be dead on arrival. 
City voters approved the increase in overwhelming numbers last week and while the City Council does have the power to overturn the vote, but it doesn’t seem likely. Sixty-six percent of city voters approved a raise in the minimum wage from $7.50 an hour to $8.50. 
The Council has the power to repeal or change it. But, rejecting the voters is like swallowing political poison and most councilors seem to know that. 
Another probable roadblock: the Mayor of Albuquerque would have to sign off on it, and Richard Berry, appearing on Sunday morning's "Eye on New Mexico" program, did not sound ready to do that. 
What may stop the pay raise from going into effect in 2013 is faulty language in the ballot proposition. Election watchers say It could turn out to be fertile territory for a legal challenge.


Share/Bookmark

Santa Fe sets new recycling goals


Santa Fe didn't meet its goal of doubling its recycling tonnage over the past year, but the amount of recyclable materials delivered to a regional processing facility is rising. 
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that city leaders have been focused on getting more businesses to recycle and to distribute more recycling bins to residential customers. Since July, the city has signed up 24 businesses for recycling collection and has a goal of adding a new account every week. 
The policy on plastic bins used for residential recycling has changed. Rather than requiring a people to go to a department office with a utility bill to pick up a pair of 18-gallon containers for recycling, workers have been distributing them at community events to anyone who shows up.


Share/Bookmark

Share/Bookmark

Newsbreak New Mexico 12pm Webcast 11/13/12

Newsbreak New Mexico 12pm Newscast with Vanessa Dabovich

                                     Listen here:


Santa Teresa evacuation cause still a mystery
Las Vegas woman mails pot to inmate
California company installing solar panels on military homes
AG's office investigating Rio Rancho voting problems






                                         Visit spenceassetmanagement.com
Share/Bookmark

Spaceport America facing setbacks in one area and progress in another


Audio story here:


The Spaceport America project has entered the final phase of construction in the desert of Southern New Mexico.


$1.13 million dollars in new contracts were approved last week to complete the last construction phase.

Spaceport Director Christine Anderson says phase one was most of the buildings and operation center as well as the ten thousand foot runway. The next phase includes visitor experience.  

Anderson-“We really built a whole small city out there. It is a pretty remote location and you want that for a spaceport, but to do that you have to run power and water and it’s taken quite a bit of engineering to get that done. We are about to kick off phase two and that is visitor experience, so when folks come out to the spaceport and they aren’t as lucky to get a ride on a spacecraft they’ll still be able to enjoy space. There is lots of things to do for kids and families.”  

At a recent symposium and expo Spaceport officials said they are anxiously awaiting the day when suborbital flights will begin, but as of yet there is no set date.

This is due to the fact that construction is not yet complete and they don’t want engineers to rush the work and some attribute the delay to anxiety of New Mexico law.

The New Mexico Legislature has enacted law that provides informed consent to operators, such as Virgin Galactic. However, similar legislation that would have also applied to suppliers of commercial spaceflight companies never got out of legislative committees.

New Mexico Lt. Governor John Sanchez says there must be continued effort to change the law for the success of the space industry in the state.

Sanchez- “The informed consent law is a common sense piece of legislation that will allow the spaceport to flourish. It’s being blocked by the Democrats in the NM state legislature. IT would allow the spaceport to compete and what’s happening is we are losing out already to other states that have an informed consent law on the books and the spaceport is in risk.”

Sanchez says the spaceport needs to be fully maximized to provide high paying jobs and make a significant impact on the state’s economy. Sanchez says it is worth $209 million dollars of New Mexico tax dollars.

The legislature meets for a sixty day session in January and Senator Mary Kay Papen says the bill is already prepared and will again be considered.

For Newsbreak New Mexico, I’m Vanessa Dabovich. 

Share/Bookmark

Las Cruces officials relocating popular landmark

City officials in Las Cruces are considering where to relocate the city's giant statue of a roadrunner. 

The 20-foot-tall, 40-foot-long statue is currently in the backyard of its creator, artist Olin Calk. The statue was completed in 1993 as part of a recycling education program and was stationed that year at what was then the Las Cruces Foothills Landfill as a way to encourage creative recycling projects.
 It moved in 2001 to a rest area just west of Las Cruces off I-10 where it became a familiar landmark to thousands of travelers. 
The city has paid $26,000 to remove and reconstruct the statue.

Share/Bookmark

Newsbreak New Mexico 8am Webcast 11/13/12

Newsbreak New Mexico 8am Newscast with Vanessa Dabovich

                                     Listen here:


State faces Real ID Act deadline
Oldest Bataan Death March survivor dies
AG's office investigating Rio Rancho voting problems







                                          Visit spenceassetmanagement.com 
Share/Bookmark

Las Vegas woman arrested for mailing pot to inmate


New Mexico woman is facing charges after authorities say she tried to mail marijuana taped to a picture of a transformer to an inmate. 
33-year-old Melissa Martinez was recently arrested and faces a number of charges, including conspiracy to bring contraband into a jail. 
According to court documents, the Las Vegas resident was linked to the marijuana-laced letter mailed to San Miguel County Detention Center inmate Apolinario Arturo Gonzales through recorded jail conversations.


Share/Bookmark

AG's office investigating Rio Rancho voting problems

Gary King
Attorney General Gary King's office is investigating why Rio Rancho voters had to wait in line for hours to cast ballots after polls closed in last week's election. 
King said in a statement Monday he was concerned about possible voter suppression. There have been reports some people in line may not have voted after learning the outcome of the presidential race.
Sandoval County operated five voting locations for Rio Rancho, a community of 87,000. County officials say they sought more voting equipment for polling sites but the secretary of state's office says it didn't receive such a request.



Share/Bookmark

State's oldest Bataan Death March survivor dies

Virgil Wallace
A New Mexico man who was the state's oldest survivor of World War II's infamous Bataan Death March has died at the age of 99.  

The New Mexico Department of Veterans' Services says Virgil Wallace was buried with full military honors Monday afternoon in Tatum. The department says Wallace died last week in Idalou, TexasHe was born in West Texas and raised in southeastern New Mexico
He was among the 1,800 members of the 200th and 515th Coast Guard Artillery Units who were ordered to surrender to Japanese forces on April 9, 1942.


Share/Bookmark

State faces Real ID Act deadline

State leaders say the federal government plans to move forward with the Real ID Act in January.

 That means people won't be able to use a driver's license as an ID at airports across the country. Officials say that is because New Mexico issues licenses to illegal immigrants. 
According to state officials, if the act goes into effect, residents will have to use a passport or military ID at airports and federal facilities. 
Sen. Tom Udall says many states, including New Mexico, will not be in full compliance with the REAL ID act by the Jan. 15 deadline.  He says we faced a similar situation in 2011 and the deadline was extended. He expects DHS to make similar accommodations again.


Share/Bookmark