Santa Fe Schools Near Bottom
Governor Urges Evacuation Compliance
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| Susana Matinez |
SANTA FE – With mandatory evacuations ordered for the city of Los Alamos, Governor Susana Martinez is urging residents in the communities surrounding the Las Conchas fire to heed the orders of emergency management officials in order to protect and save lives. The evacuation will occur in three phases in 30-minute intervals. Group 1 will include Western, Quemazon, and Ponderosa; Group 2 will include North Community, Barranca Mesa, and North Mesa; Group 3 will include areas east of Diamond and the remainder of the town site. While White Rock is not being evacuated at this time, residents in Los Alamos should not go to White Rock to stay in case it is later evacuated. A shelter has been established at the Santa Claran Event Center at 464 North Riverside Drive in Espanola for evacuating residents. “Local, State, and Federal personnel and assets are in place to coordinate the suppression of the fire and to protect lives, property, and critical infrastructure,” said Governor Martinez. “My administration continues to work closely with emergency management officials to facilitate the evacuation and ensure the safety of Los Alamos residents.”
Sunday evening, Governor Martinez directed the National Guard to assist in the event of evacuations. Ninety-nine National Guardsmen along with the New Mexico State Police are in place in Los Alamos to assist in the evacuations. Cochiti Mesa, Las Conchas, Bandelier National Monument, and campgrounds near the fire were evacuated yesterday. A shelter is available for these evacuees at La Cueva Fire Station. Emergency and fire crews are monitoring the evolution of the fire and its threat to the Los Alamos National Laboratory. All hazardous and dangerous materials remain secure. Due to winds and the large amounts of smoke resulting from the Las Conchas Fire, an air quality alert is in place. Poor air quality conditions associated with smoke are especially dangerous for people with underlying health conditions such as asthma, emphysema, and cardiovascular disease. 
We all share responsibility for reducing fire risk
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| Heath Haussamen |
Job Creation? How About LIFO to FIFO?
It has been 789 days since the last time the United States government passed a budget. During that time Democrats in Congress have called for another round of increased income taxes and Republicans have called for a round of government spending cuts. President Obama has had rounds in mind too. He has pointed an accusing finger at the "rich" while finding the time to play seventy-five rounds of golf. Over the weekend there were reports that the president and his team, which saw the budget proposal they sent to Capitol Hill defeated 97-0, come up with a new idea. The White House wants to grab $72 billion in new taxes from American businesses by forcing them to change their accounting methods from LIFO to FIFO.
LIFO is an accounting method that best reflects costs of inventory during times of inflation. Apparently amidst all of the handwringing over all the "cash" sitting on the sidelines, it would seem that prospective employers greatest fears about being under-reserved were realized. With the latest White House proposal, the effect of a change from LIFO to FIFO will allow the federal government to confiscate a significant portion of payroll maker's cash reserves.
Sadly, nowhere in the latest budget discussions was any sign that any entitlement reforms would be on the table. Also there is no change in energy policies that see Americans exporting its wealth each month while it imports oil. Nowhere was any indication that either party was going to call on the 51% of American households that contribute nothing in federal income taxes, to get involved in the process of funding all the invaluable things government does. And so it is. Nothing has changed.![]()
America will continue to refuse to help itself on energy. The top 25% of all income tax filers in the nation will continue to pay more than 87% of all the taxes. The bottom half of all income tax filers who actually pay income tax, will continue to provide just 13% of total income tax revenues. And the president will continue to sharpen his short game on the golf course while the First Lady wraps up a week on an African safari.
Governor Orders National Guard to Los Alamos
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| Los Alamos |
The Las Conchas fire started on private land at approximately 1 PM on Sunday, June 26 near the Jemez Ranger District in the Santa Fe National Forest and has burned over 3,500 acres with 0% containment Sunday evening. For more information on how to protect yourself from smoke visit: http://www.nmfireinfo.com/.
Many Fires in NM including the entire Los Alamos county
From KOB-TV.com - Los Alamos police have reported the entire Los Alamos County is now under a voluntary evacuation order because of the Las Conchas wildfire, which is now burning at 1,000 acres in the Jemez Mountains. The fire broke out about 1 p.m. Sunday, about 12 miles southwest of Los Alamos near state highway 4. Firefighters have closed portions of the road.Spot fires have been seen a half-mile ahead of the main fire. The voluntary evacuations include the cities of Los Alamos and White Rock. Mandatory evacuations have already been ordered for Las Conchas, Cochiti Mesa and the Bandelier and Valles Caldera forest areas. Read more
"It's something I couldn't imagine happening on American soil."
The Week in Review
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| Gary King |
Surrounded by reporters on Friday, King repeated much of the same language he has used in tepid press releases to explain why things go so slowly in his office. In an era where elected officials and appointees in the scandal-plagued Richardson administration still consistently grab most of the media spotlight, it is saying plenty that New Mexico’s A.G. has managed to garner so much of the negative attention.
Here I have to fervently disagree. Many conversations have been had with Democrats on this topic. To a person, they have acknowledged that is ok to require identification to cash a check, rent a DVD, use a credit card, or even make a change on a cell phone account. And each has also claimed it would somehow DISENFRANCHISE a person if they were required to produce an I.D. when they vote. And each and every Democrat asserted the veracity of these seemingly irreconcilable contradictions, with a perfectly straight face.
On Tuesday former Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish was quoted by NMPolitics.net as saying she had not taken the idea of making a run for Congressional District #1 “off the table.” Later in the week Denish, who lives in Albuquerque, offered an op-ed piece that was critical of Governor Martinez, including some veiled zingers on jobs.
On Tuesday former Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish was quoted by NMPolitics.net as saying she had not taken the idea of making a run for Congressional District #1 “off the table.” Later in the week Denish, who lives in Albuquerque, offered an op-ed piece that was critical of Governor Martinez, including some veiled zingers on jobs.
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| Diane Denish |
And still later in the week, the news came of a substantial drop in NM unemployment rate. Bucking a national trend of a rising joblessness rate, the unemployment rate in New Mexico dropped to 6.9% last month. Does Susana Martinez own the falling unemployment rate in her state? You can take it to the bank that she would be forced to own a rising unemployment rate.![]()
Martin Heinrich continues to offer at least one contradiction each week. This week he provided two. First, while speaking to the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, Heinrich suggested he favored lowering corporate tax rates to level the competitive landscape and spur job creation. Unfortunately, this claim by the ambitious Congressman contradicts virtually every vote he has ever cast. Second, Heinrich voted in support of President Obama’s Libyan military incursion later on in the week. He did so after publicizing the writing of a letter he sent to the president back in April urging him to “bring the troops home.” It would seem that Heinrich is truly tormented by all the position choices in front of him.
We posted a national story from the Rasmussen organization on how poorly President Obama is polling. Low and behold the White House announced at mid-week that it was tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to drive down oil prices. Of course there was no change in Obama’s supply restricting domestic energy policies, just a drawing down of our emergency reserves. This approach pretty much mirrors the White House stand on anything resembling a “reserve” in the U.S. The president is tapping our nation's reserves rather than building and enhancing them.
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| Tim Geithner |
In a decision that was widely expected (and predicted on News New Mexico) the NM Supreme Court struck down the legality of a so-called “veto” by Governor Martinez. Martinez had attempted to change the funding on a bill from $150,000 to $50,000 by removing a digit. The court said it is a no-no to attempt to remove or change numbers in a bill.
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| Chris Garcia |
Iowa Poll: Romney, Bachmann Tied, Cain 3rd His Strength Attributed to Tea Party Support
Des Moines Register - Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann sit atop the standings in the year’s first Des Moines Register Iowa Poll on the Republican presidential field. Romney, the national front-runner and a familiar face in Iowa after his 2008 presidential run, attracts support from 23 percent of likely Republican caucus-goers.
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| Michelle Bachmann |
Bachmann, who will officially kick off her campaign in Iowa on Monday, nearly matches him, with 22 percent. “She’s up there as a real competitor and a real contender,” said Republican pollster Randy Gutermuth, who is unaffiliated with any of the presidential candidates. “This would indicate that she’s going to be a real player in Iowa.” Former Godfather’s CEO Herman Cain, who has never held public office but has found a following among tea party supporters, comes in third, with 10 percent. Read full story here: News New Mexico
U.S. Soccer Team Booed.....in L.A.
On a street outside the Rose Bowl before the Gold Cup final, Sanchez was hanging out near a motor home that was hosting 17 folks — 15 of whom were Mexico fans. Inside, that ratio held, there seemingly being about 80,000 Mexico fans among the announced crowd of 93,420. This was Staples Center filled with Boston Celtics fans. This was Chavez Ravine filled with Giants jerseys. This was as weird as it was wild and, for a U.S. team that lost, 4-2, it had to be wearisome. "Obviously … the support that Mexico has on the night like tonight makes it a home game for them," said U.S. Coach Bob Bradley, choosing his words carefully. "It's part of something we have to deal with on the night." It wasn't just something. It was everything. I've never heard more consistent loud cheering for one team here, from the air horns to the "Ole" chants with each Mexico pass, all set to the soundtrack of a low throbbing roar that began in the parking lot about six hours before the game and continued long into the night. Read full story here: News New Mexico
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