Block Faces "Symbolic" No-Confidence Vote

Jerome Block Jr.

KOB TV - Embattled Public Regulation Commissioner Jerome Block Jr. may now be facing a no-confidence vote from his fellow commissioners at a meeting on Tuesday. Late Monday afternoon, PRC Chairman Patrick Lyons told KOB Eyewitness News 4 that he planned to take up a vote of no confidence during a meeting scheduled for Tuesday and expected it to pass. Lyons said if it does pass the PRC will officially ask Jerome Block Jr. to resign. The request is largely symbolic and under the state law the commission has no authority to remove an elected member from the PRC. Governor Susana Martinez and the Democratic Party have also called on Block to resign from his $90,000 a year position but so far there has been no indication that Block intends to step down. Under the New Mexico Constitution, the only way Block could be forcibly removed from office without being convicted of a felony would be for lawmakers to impeach him. Read full story here: News New Mexico

Block Faces "Symbolic" No-Confidence Vote

NM Environmental Dept. Continues to be Re-shaped

Susana Martinez

Santa Fe New Mexican - Another administrative shake-up has occurred at the New Mexico Environment Department, which has seen turmoil since Gov. Susana Martinez took office this year. Raj Solomon has stepped down as deputy secretary and was replaced temporarily by Butch Tongate, head of the Environmental Protection Division. Solomon already had left the office Monday morning and was unavailable for comment, according to Environment Department staff. "Raj Solomon is no longer with the department," said spokesman Jim Winchester, who declined to discuss the details of Solomon's departure. Solomon's leaving Monday morning coincided with the return of Jim Davis as director of the department's Resource Protection Division. Davis had resigned from the position July 19, a day after a bureau overseeing hazardous-waste sites, such as those at Los Alamos National Laboratory, was moved to a different division. The decision to move the division, which some people familiar with the situation believed was a factor prompting Davis' resignation, was made by department Secretary F. David Martin and Solomon. Effective Monday, the Hazardous Waste Bureau was moved back to Davis' division. Winchester wouldn't say if any of these changes were related. The Resource Protection Division also includes bureaus overseeing groundwater quality, surface-water quality and petroleum storage tanks. "We're just thrilled [Davis] is back in that position," Winchester said, declining to discuss details. "It was a process, but we're happy to have him back." Read full story here: News New Mexico

NM Environmental Dept. Continues to be Re-shaped

NM Oil and Gas Proposes Fracturing Disclosure Rule

 

Santa Fe, New Mexico, August 8, 2011 - The New Mexico Oil and Gas Association today filed a proposed rule with the New Mexico Oil Conservation Division that would require disclosure of the composition of hydraulic fracturing fluids for new and recompleted oil and gas wells. “Because some companies have historically sought to protect the composition of their hydraulic fracturing fluids as a trade secret, wild speculations bordering on conspiracy theories have emerged,” said Steve Henke, President of New Mexico Oil & Gas Association. “By proactively calling for disclosure in New Mexico, the industry is expressing its confidence in the proven safety record of the process and embracing transparency.”

Hydraulic Fracturing Explained: After a well is drilled, a mixture of pressurized freshwater, sand, and a specifically formulated fracturing compound is pumped thousands of feet down to create tiny, millimeter-thick fissures in targeted sections of rock. These tiny fractures free the trapped oil and natural gas. The process of hydraulic fracturing occurs at great depths – generally a mile or more underground, thousands of feet below freshwater supplies. Hydraulic fracturing, also know as "frac'ing” is a proven technology that has been used for more than 60 years to safely enhance the production of natural gas and oil from more than one million wells in the United States. In New Mexico, the majority of the 52,000 oil and gas wells currently in production have undergone fracturing. NMOGA Chairman Jason Sandel said, “NMOGA is proposing a common sense and scientifically-based approach to regulating our industry. We want to assure New Mexicans our industry operates safely and in an environmentally responsible manner. While extremists often vilify our industry, oil and gas development is good for New Mexico and the state’s communities and citizens.” A hearing on the proposed rule is expected to begin later this year. A copy of the proposed rule is available here: News New Mexico

NM Oil and Gas Proposes Fracturing Disclosure Rule

Flash Mobs in Philly Draw Rebuke and Curfews

Philadelphia Mayor - Michael Nutter

Washington Times - PHILADELPHIA — Mayor Michael A. Nutter, telling marauding black youths “you have damaged your own race,” imposed a tougher curfew Monday in response to the latest “flash mob” - spontaneous groups of teens who attack people at random on the streets of the city’s tourist and fashionable shopping districts. “Take those God-darn hoodies down, especially in the summer,” Mr. Nutter, the city’s second black mayor, said in an angry lecture aimed at black teens. “Pull your pants up and buy a belt ‘cause no one wants to see your underwear or the crack of your butt.” “If you walk into somebody’s office with your hair uncombed and a pick in the back, and your shoes untied, and your pants half down, tattoos up and down your arms and on your neck, and you wonder why somebody won’t hire you? They don’t hire you ‘cause you look like you’re crazy,” the mayor said. “You have damaged your own race.” Mr. Nutter announced that he was beefing up police patrols in certain neighborhoods, enlisting volunteers to monitor the streets and moving up the weekend curfew for minors to 9 p.m. Parents will face increased fines for each time their child is caught violating the curfew. Read full story here: News New Mexico

Flash Mobs in Philly Draw Rebuke and Curfews

Dow plunges more than 634 points after downgrade

From KOB-TV.com - (AP) NEW YORK - Fear has taken over on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 634.76 points Monday, the first trading day since Standard & Poor’s downgraded American debt. It was the sixth-worst point decline for the Dow in the last 112 years and the worst drop since December 2008. Every stock in the S&P 500 index declined. But the S&P downgrade wasn’t the only catalyst Monday. Investors worried about the slowing U.S. economy, escalating debt problems threatening Europe and the prospect that fear in the markets would reinforce itself, as it did during the financial crisis in the fall of 2008. Read more

Dow plunges more than 634 points after downgrade

Just in time for the bear market

NewsNM - Swickard: who says newsmen do not have a sense of humor. Here is Rob's post on Capitol Report New Mexico.

From Capitol Report New Mexico.com - This has nothing to do with politics but it does have something to do with New Mexico. I came across this photo on Facebook from Cloudcroft, NM and just loved it. Feel free to write your own caption. Read more

Just in time for the bear market

PRC commissioner, Block Jr., suspect in stolen car case

From the Santa Fe New Mexican.com - Public Regulation Commissioner Jerome Block Jr., already accused of misusing campaign money and under investigation for questionable charges on his state-issued gas card, is now a suspect in a stolen vehicle case, according to Santa Fe police.Police told KOB-TV Monday that Block is accused of test driving a used Honda from Capitol City Auto and never returning it. Police say the car was missing for three weeks before it was found undamaged last week on the Plaza in downtown Santa Fe.Block did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment. Read more

PRC commissioner, Block Jr., suspect in stolen car case

Reid on Debt Downgrade: OK Now Let's Raise Taxes

Harry Reid

The Hill - Standard & Poor's decision to downgrade the nation's credit rating reinforces Democrats' call for increasing tax revenue, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Friday. In a statement, Reid said:
"The action by S&P reaffirms the need for a balanced approach to deficit reduction that combines spending cuts with revenue-raising measures like closing taxpayer-funded giveaways to billionaires, oil companies and corporate jet owners. This makes the work of the joint committee all the more important, and shows why leaders should appoint members who will approach the committee’s work with an open mind - instead of hardliners who have already ruled out the balanced approach that the markets and rating agencies like S&P are demanding. The credit rating firm said the recent plan to raise the debt limit while reducing the debt "falls short" of its expectations, but S&P also offered broader condemnations of America's political process. Read full story here: News New Mexico

Reid on Debt Downgrade: OK Now Let's Raise Taxes

Pearce Comments on Debt Downgrade

Pearce (right) at Pearce Sponsored Job Fair

Las Cruces, NM (August 6, 2011) Today, Congressman Steve Pearce issued the following statement on Standard & Poor’s lowering of the nation’s long-term credit rating from AAA to AA+. “Americans understand the downgrade is serious and are concerned of the impact this will have on their lives,” said Pearce. “The consequences are clear. As the federal government is spending $3.5 trillion for every 2.2 trillion taken in and printing money to cover this out-of-control spending, inflation is driven higher, jobs are placed in danger, and the economy is weakened. This approach is placing us on a dangerous course.”

“With unemployment above 8 percent for the 30th straight month, the Administration's attempts to stimulate the economy by spending money we don't have are clearly not working, as further evidenced by the downgrade,” Pearce continued. “Americans have said they want a new approach; last week, they wanted us not to make a deal but find a solution. It is time to listen to the people and get to work on the real, common sense solutions, providing the accountability they deserve. Once Washington provides a plan that will work, reestablishing the credit rating of the country will require hard work on the part of the American people, but I am confident that each one of us will do our part to restore economic security to our nation and to our families.”

Pearce Comments on Debt Downgrade

Murder of Larry Link Remains Unsolved

Larry Link

Capitol Report New Mexico - It’s been two months since a southwestern New Mexico man was shot and killed on his property near the Arizona border but his family still has no idea who did it or why. “Everybody in town loved my father,” Pamela Link, the daughter of Larry Link said by telephone Wednesday (Aug. 3). “We just don’t know what happened.” Back on June 7, Larry Link was found shot to death on the property he owned and shared with his wife, his son and his daughter and her family. He had been shot twice. State Police and the Border Patrol have been investigating the shooting but have not released much more than they did the day the 68-year-old was found near his pickup truck. A spokesman for the Department of Public Safety told Capitol Report New Mexico investigators may have some lab results gathered from the crime scene to release in the coming days but “unfortunately, no” there is nothing else to report. “We don’t know anymore than the day he passed,” Pamela Link said. Read full story here: News New Mexico

Murder of Larry Link Remains Unsolved