News New Mexico: Culture

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NM Coyote Hunting Contest Stirs Critics

From necn.com -A contest that involved killing more than a dozen coyotes in Farmington is drawing ire from a state wildlife protection group for its "bloodthirstiness The Farmington chapter of Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife held a so-called coyote-calling contest last weekend, attracting 22 hunters who killed 16 coyotes in two days. It was the seventh year for the event. Hunters use specialized reeds to mimic the sounds of a dying animal, such as a rabbit, to attract the coyotes to kill them. The Farmington Daily-Times reports ( ) that such events aren't too common in New Mexico, but Sportsmen member Frances Espinoza said hunting predators is a fast-growing hobby across the country. Proponents of the practice say that coyotes damage deer herds and kill livestock and sometimes people's pets, while critics say it amounts to animal cruelty. "While these events aren't illegal, they are astonishingly egregious for their bloodthirstiness," said Phil Carter, wildlife campaign manager for Animal Protection of New Mexico. He said anyone who supports the "repulsive killings contests" is displaying a callous disregard for wildlife. More News New Mexico

Rebuilding NM Cow Herd in Drought Areas

From therepublic.com - Rebuilding the state's cow herd in areas hit hardest by drought will present both opportunities and challenges for ranchers, said a cattle specialist with New Mexico State University. It's estimated that more than 100,000 beef cows will have to be replaced to return New Mexico's herds to 2010 levels. Manny Encinias, who also serves as the director of operations for the New Mexico Beef Cattle Performance Association, said the industry has experienced a reduction in herd inventories of more than 20 percent since 2010. Although nearly 90 percent of the state remains in some stage of drought, Encinias said cattle producers are looking forward to rebuilding herds with higher quality genetics from regionally adapted registered cowherds. "The two largest challenges the cow-calf producers will face when restocking will be finding the females that are adapted to our arid production environment and then being able to afford these replacements," he said. More News New Mexico

N.M. Ad Calling For "Light Skin" Latinos

From foxnews.com -New Mexico's new tourism ad isn't even on the air yet, but it's already creating controversy for its casting choices. First, the Tourism Department touched some local nerves by hiring a Texas firm to produce its new branding campaign. That firm chose a California producer rather than someone in New Mexico's film industry to shoot the spot. And on Friday, traditional and social media was abuzz over the ad's "real people" casting notice, which called for Caucasian or "light-skinned" Hispanics to star in the spot. The Santa Fe New Mexican in an editorial Friday called the "light-skinned" requirement "wrong-headed." "Hearing that term brings to mind a vision of casting agents holding up paper bags next to people's faces to ensure they can pass," the Santa Fe New Mexican wrote. "We don't know, of course, who made it into the shoot and how New Mexico will be presented to the world once the campaign is unveiled. But really, light-skinned only? What were they thinking?" More News New Mexico

Navajo Sues Urban Outfitters Over Product Names

From foxnews.com -The Navajo Nation has sued Urban Outfitters Inc. months after the tribe sent a cease and desist letter to the clothing retailer demanding it pull the "Navajo" name from its products. The lawsuit filed late Tuesday in U.S. District Court in New Mexico alleges trademark violations and violations of the federal Indian Arts and Crafts Act, which makes it illegal to sell arts or crafts in a way to falsely suggest they're made by American Indians when they're not. The tribe has about 10 registered trademarks on the Navajo name that cover clothing, footwear, online retail sales, household products and textiles. Tribal justice officials said they're intent on protecting what they believe are among the tribe's most valuable assets. More News New Mexico

Trinidad Moruga Scorpion Wins Hottest Pepper Title

From usatoday.com - With a name like that, it's not surprising that months of research by the experts at New Mexico State University's Chile Pepper Institute have identified the variety as the new hottest pepper on the planet. The golf ball-sized pepper scored the highest among a handful of chile breeds reputed to be among the hottest in the world. Its mean heat topped more than 1.2 million units on the Scoville heat scale, while fruits from some individual plants reached 2 million heat units. More News New Mexico

Native American Jewelry Huge in Japan

From koat.com -Native American jewelry handcrafted in New Mexico is huge in Japan, and some local artists said most of their work is headed to the Land of the Rising Sun.Japan has the world's 10th largest population with more than 127 million people. The Japanese are rapidly becoming one of the largest consumers of Native American jewelry. More News New Mexico

N.M. Officials Eye Up Gay Marriage License

From koat.com -New Mexico officials say they are preparing for gay couples across the state who may try to obtain marriage licenses on Valentine's Day. Bernalillo County Clerk Maggie Toulouse Oliver says her office has been notified by advocates of gay marriage that demonstrations are planned for Valentine's Day wedding ceremonies. The office said officials are expecting that some gay couples will try to get marriage licenses to protest the state's law prohibiting gay marriage. Oliver says the office has been advised that New Mexico law prohibits county clerks from issuing such licenses. More News New Mexico

N.M. Ranchers Sue Forest Service Over Grazing Rights

From washingtonexaminer.com- A group of ranchers and one county said Monday that they are suing the U.S. Forest Service over its decision to limit grazing on historic land grant areas in northern New Mexico.The group of Hispanic ranchers and Rio Arriba County officials contend the agency is trying to push them from land that has been ranched by their families for centuries. They say at stake is a piece of Hispanic culture and the economic viability of several northern New Mexico communities that depend on access to surrounding lands for everything from grazing to fire wood. "Without the ability to access and utilize natural resources, our communities are drying up. We're not economically sustainable. We're losing our customs and our culture," said David Sanchez of the Northern New Mexico Stockman's Association. More News New Mexico

Off-Road Enthusiasts Concerned About NM Land Deal

From kvia.com -The New Mexico Off-Highway Vehicle Alliance has filed a protest with federal land managers over a proposed land trade with a northern New Mexico pueblo. The group says trading up to 3,200 acres of the El Palacio OHV Area to Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo would splice up an area that has been used for recreation for more than two decades. The plan was revealed in an environmental impact statement for resource management that was recently prepared by the Bureau of Land Management's Taos office. The alliance contends that the draft environmental impact statement addressed only an exchange of 600 acres. More News New Mexico

N.M. Worker Allegedly Fired For Speaking Spanish to Immigrants

From koat.com -Latino legal advocacy group has filed a lawsuit on behalf of a New Mexico woman who says she was fired after complaining of discrimination against Latino immigrants seeking driver's licenses. The Mexican American Legal Defense Fund announced the lawsuit Thursday in Albuquerque and said the woman, Laura Montano, was fired from the state's Department of Motor Vehicles when she raised objections to an effort to block illegal immigrants from obtaining driver's licenses. According to the lawsuit, Montano was told not to speak Spanish to foreign nationals who were told they had to provide new residency requirements to keep licenses.

Study: N.M. is "Barren" "Dull" and "Close to AZ"

From kob.com - harsh new study is forcing New Mexico to re-think its marketing plan. According to the New York Times, people often describe our state as "dull," "barren," and even just "close to Arizona." The state tourism department recently conducted focus groups in Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles to ask prospective travelers about their perceptions of New Mexico. They found people really knew nothing about the state. More News New Mexico

Dept. of Labor vs. American Farm Families

From americanthinker.com -Under new standards being advocated by the Labor Department, youths under the age of eighteen would be prohibited from working in hay lofts, giving shots, caring for baby animals, and being in the vicinity of animals whose behavior may be "unpredictable." For the estimated 1.3 million youths living or working on farms, this means no longer being able to perform routine chores if the farm is set up as a corporation or a business partnership. Today, the vast majority of family farms are legally structured in this manner. Citing agriculture's high fatality rate, uninformed liberal elites have taken it upon themselves to create an image of uneducated, backwards farmers who are too stupid to protect themselves and their children. In fact, the Labor Department believes that "[c]hildren employed in agriculture are some of the most vulnerable workers in America." Nothing could be farther from the truth. More News New Mexico.

Walter Reed Hospital Bans Visitors From Bringing Bibles

From thegatewaypundit.com -Walter Reed National Military Medical Center said they are rescinding a policy that prohibits family members of wounded military troops from bringing Bibles or any religious reading materials to their loved ones. The decision to rescind the ban on Bibles came exactly one day after a Republican lawmaker denounced the policy on the House floor and called on President Obama to publicly renounce the military policy. “No religious items (i.e. Bibles, reading material, and/or artifacts) are allowed to be given away or used during a visit,” the policy states. “That means you can’t bring in a Bible and read from it when you visit your son or your daughter, perhaps – or your wife or husband,” King said. “It means a priest that might be coming in to visit someone on their death bed couldn’t bring in the Eucharist, couldn’t offer Last Rites. This is the most outrageous affront.” More News New Mexico

Green Chile Lovers Fired up Over Genetic Modification

From huffingtonpost.com -Some are worried about the future of New Mexico's signature crop. Labor costs, relentless plant diseases and competition from cheap imports have combined to put the chile industry in a steep decline. Scientists at New Mexico State University are helping through a series of efforts aimed at unlocking the genetic mysteries of red and green chile, but that has some pepper purists fired up. The thought of genetically engineering chile has galvanized a group of seed conservationists and others who are sympathetic to the national protests targeting corporate greed and economic inequality. The group is concerned that if scientists develop a genetically engineered pepper to boost the industry, small growers could face patent lawsuits if their crops become cross-contaminated by the new seeds. They're also worried about a lack of labeling of genetically modified foods and the potential for New Mexico's traditional varieties to be forever altered. More News New Mexico

BLM Opposes Prayer Plaque at WWll Memorial

Pulaski note: Apparently being a land management expert also makes you an expert in depicting historical "messages" to the public. From thegatewaypundit.com -The Obama Administration announced its objection to including President Roosevelt’s prayer on the World War II Memorial in Washington DC. Roosevelt asked the nation to join him in prayer as U.S. and allied troops launched the invasion that led to the defeat of Nazi Germany. He asked God to give the allied troops courage and faith, saying, “With thy blessing we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy.” But Robert Abbey, the director of the Bureau of Land Management, said any plaque or inscription of the prayer would “dilute” the memorial’s central message and therefore “should not be altered.” “It is not a judgment as to the merit of this new commemoration, simply that altering the Memorial in this way, as proposed in HR 2070, will necessarily dilute this elegant memorial’s central message and its ability to clearly convey that message to move, educate, and inspire its many visitors,” Abbey said in written testimony. More News New Mexico

'The Lone Ranger' Back On

NewsNM: Swickard - some of this movie is said to be set to be shot in the Silver City New Mexico area - From the Hitlist Movie Blog - Johnny Depp's recently aborted "The Lone Ranger" will now look to follow the "Moneyball" path to success. According to Deadline, director Gore Verbinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer have apparently done enough tinkering to the script to lower the film's production budget from a staggering $250 million to a more manageable $215 million. And that was all Disney wanted in the first place. An official announcement from Disney—clarifying that, yes, the film is back on, and that it will (ostensibly) start shooting sometime in the new year—would thus seem imminent, if not inevitable. "The Social Network" hunk Armie Hammer is still on board as the title character. Depp is still attached to play Tonto. The only question remains, will the film still make it's planned December 21, 2012 release date? Only time will tell. More details as they become available...

Republicans Gathered in NM to "Lure" Latino Voters

Sen Norm Coleman

From mercurynews.com -A conservative Republican group brought its fight for Hispanic votes to New Mexico on Friday, opening a two-day conference in the presidential battleground state that is home to one of the parties rising Hispanic stars—Gov. Susana Martinez. Former Sen. Norm Coleman, chairman of the American Action Network, called Martinez the poster child for his effort to make the GOP more inclusive for the minority group that he says shares the party's basic values of strong family, strong education and jobs. "Hispanic Americans are centrist-right, they just don't always act that way in the voting booth," Coleman said. More than 400 people were registered for the conference that featured a speech by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and video remarks by Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. More News New Mexico

Public school coaches told not to participate in prayer

From WSMV-TV Nashville, TN - Reported by Josh DeVine - WESTMORELAND, TN (WSMV) - Some football coaches are in trouble for something they did with their players. During a student-originated, student-led prayer, four coaches bowed their heads. They didn't say a word. But the principal and the district found out. "We've been telling our principals to kind of be looking for those things, because that is kind of a shift in how things have been done," Sumner County Schools spokesperson Jeremy Johnson said. "It can in no way appear like it's endorsed by Sumner County Schools personnel."Channel 4 asked if bowing one's head qualified as endorsing. "It depends on what it looks like," he said. Each coach had to sign a letter stating he understood the district's revised policy. Staff can be there when students pray but can not appear to take part, even outside school hours. Read more

Weekly Newspaper Folds After 45 Years

From publicbroadcasting.net -After more than four decades, El Hispano News has published its last weekly issue. Owner Angel Collado says he started the paper with just $100 in 1966. He told Albuquerque TV station KOB that he couldn't afford to keep the Spanish newspaper running. Collado blames the recession and declining ad revenues. The paper was published out of Albuquerque. Collado is a World War II combat veteran who started up El Hispano because of a need for a Spanish newspaper in New Mexico. More News New Mexico

Pro Amnesty Dem Latinos Start "Tequila Party"

From nydailynews.com -The Tequila Party - yes, that's its name - is holding its kickoff event Saturday in Tucson. Loosely inspired by the rapidly deflating Tea Party, the Tequila Party was created to mobilize a record number of Latinos to go out and vote in the 2012 election. The independent, grass-roots group is the brainchild of Fernando Romero, a Democrat who is president of Hispanics in Politics, a nonpartisan Nevada group. The Tequila Party gets its impetus from the deep-seated Latino disillusionment with President Obama's performance on issues important to them. More News New Mexico

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