News New Mexico

Couple Receives Loan Money, Defaults, Sues, and Gets Attention of NM Supreme Court

According to the Albuquerque Journal a Chimayó couple that collected $39,000 in cash out proceeds from a mortgage refinance and then soon defaulted, has managed through protracted litigation, to avoid foreclosure since 2007. Their seemingly simple case of a loan default has managed to reach the NM Supreme Court. In October 2011, the New Mexico Court of Appeals upheld the ruling of former state District Judge James Hall. Hall ruled in favor of the lender and against all of the borrower's counterclaims.
It seems that after the couple received and spent $39,000 in cash proceeds back in 2006, they defaulted and claimed that their lender, had taken advantage of their "limited education." According to the Journal story, court records show that the couple took out the loan in question to pay off another lender. The previous lender had also accepted the home as collateral. The couple apparently used the original mortgage funds to start a business. Reportedly the "cash out" money from the refinancing loan in question was used to pay off credit card and other debt, plus inject additional capital into their music and clothing store business in Española. Read full story here (subscription required): News New Mexico

For New Mexico, the possibilities are endless

Heath Haussamen

NMPolitics - We have so many problems in New Mexico, but we also have so much potential. Here’s to hoping that, during our 200th year of statehood, we look back at the time when New Mexico was near the bottom of every positive list as a thing of the past. I traveled much of New Mexico in the last two weeks to visit family, making the trek up to Bloomfield and Farmington before heading into Colorado. In the last two days, I’ve traveled all the way through New Mexico from Raton in the north to Las Cruces in the south.
The trip reminded me of our state’s diversity and beauty. On the day that we celebrate 100 years of statehood, I thought it was important to pause and reflect.
I spend a lot of time criticizing government in New Mexico. There’s lots to criticize; we remain near the bottom of most positive lists, not because we don’t have the ability to do better, but because we don’t choose to do better. Read full column here: News New Mexico

WildEarth Guardians At it Again

From abcnews.com -A federal judge has halted three tree-cutting projects in Arizona and New Mexico that environmentalists contend could harm the Mexican spotted owl. WildEarth Guardians sued the U.S. Forest Service in 2010, claiming the agency ignored its responsibility to track the owl's numbers in the two states. The judge's decision Thursday to grant a preliminary injunction means the projects cannot move forward until the Forest Service consults with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the impacts to the owls. More News New Mexico

Athletics Will Challenge New UNM President

Robert Frank

From foxsports.com -The waters Bob Frank will soon tread are far more treacherous than those he encountered as a University of New Mexico swimmer nearly 40 years ago. Frank is the first former Lobo to be named UNM president, and in the past couple of days his fellow Lobo letter winners have offered their congratulations. But when it comes to universities and the NCAA, condolences may be more appropriate. Frank arrives at his presidency at a time when college athletics has blown up. Conference alignments have shattered, and the chase for money is spinning out of control. More News New Mexico

Office Vacancy Rate Higher in Duke City in Q4

NM Business Journal - Albuquerque office reports an 18.7 percent office vacancy rate for the fourth quarter of 2011 and projects lethargic leasing activity in the new year in the metro region. The Q4 rate rose above the third quarter office vacancy rate of 18.3 percent. There was more than 67,000 square feet of negative absorption in the fourth quarter and for the year, it was more than 171,000 square feet. Office remains the most sluggish category in commercial real estate. The office vacancy rate grew by 54 basis points in 2011 and would have been worse had it not been for the lack of construction starts. There was just one building, REDW’s 47,000-square-foot headquarters, constructed by a private company in the Duke City in 2011 and it contained the vacancy rate. Read full story here: News New Mexico

APS Superintendent Gets Contract Extension at $250K

Winston Brooks

According to KOB TV - The Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education has approved a one-year contract extension for Superintendent Winston Brooks. Brooks was hired to lead the district in 2008 and his current contract will now continue through June 30, 2015.
APS Board members evaluated Brooks in December and approved the one-year contract extension at a special meeting Friday morning.
Brooks new contract does not include an increase in salary. According to his contract, raises for the APS superintendent are tied to teacher raises. There was no salary increase for APS teachers this year so Brooks will continue to earn an annual salary of $250,000 which is more than five times the average salary of a classroom teacher. Read full story here: News New Mexico

EPA Awarding “Environmental Justice” Grants To Modern Dancers and Earth Worshippers

From dailycaller.com -In 2011 the Environmental Protection Agency provided $1 million in grants to 46 different non-profit and tribal organizations to promote what it called “environmental justice.” The EPA’s grants have gone beyond organic gardening projects and tree plantings. One financial award went to the Cleveland Tenants Organization for fighting bed-bug infestations. Another paid the Florida-based Institute for Community Collaboration train teenagers to become environmentalists. More News New Mexico

Rep. Tim Lewis Refuses APS Salary During Session

Rio Rancho – New Mexico State Representative and Albuquerque Public School (APS) teacher, Tim Lewis, announced today that he will voluntarily refuse his APS salary while the New Mexico legislature is in session. APS teachers that serve in the legislature are allowed under APS policy to receive their salary for their time away from the classroom while in session in Santa Fe.

Tim Lewis

“Although current APS policy allows teachers who serve in the state legislature to receive paid leave during the session, moving forward I have decided not to take my salary from APS while I am serving as a citizen legislator so that I can freely serve and avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest,” said Lewis. “While I do not believe that it would be a conflict, I want to maintain the integrity that is expected and needed when it comes to serving as an elected official.”

Representative Lewis is a classroom teacher for APS and has taught at Cibola High School for the past six years. He was elected as a New Mexico State Representative from District 60 which encompasses a large portion of the City of Rio Rancho.

Lewis said that he has notified APS Superintendent Winston Brooks and explained his decision not to receive his salary during the session. Lewis also met with the APS Human Resources Department and has filed the proper paperwork for “unpaid leave” during the upcoming session. Representative Lewis is not a member of a teachers union and he is the only classroom teacher at Albuquerque Public Schools who serves in the New Mexico legislature. While away from his classroom at the legislature, Lewis is still responsible for each class and student including lesson plans, and continued communication with his administrators as well as parents of his students.

John Arthur Smith Not Ready to Cut Taxes....Yet

KOB TV - Governor Susana Martinez is calling for tax cuts in her blueprint for the state budget, but key Democrats in the legislature say not so fast. The leading Democratic skeptic right now is Sen. John Arthur Smith of Deming. He is the chairman of the powerful Legislative Finance Committee, which came out with its own budget plan Wednesday - a plan without tax cuts.

John Arthur Smith

The governor responded with her own plan Thursday, proposing $55 million in tax cuts, mainly for small businesses. Martinez armed herself with a report from the Council on State Taxation showing New Mexico with the heaviest business tax burden of all the states.

"We have to get competitive with the surrounding states," Martinez said. "Our gross receipts taxes make us uncompetitive. Pyramiding makes us uncompetitive. A business can go anywhere in the world. We have to make sure they're looking at New Mexico seriously."
Smith said Martinez needs to take a second look at the books.
"It's very popular to say I'm gonna reduce taxes," said Smith. "You'd better be real careful when you're looking at the state revenues and trying to operate government with the cash flows that are needed. You need to be real careful about what you do in that area." Read full story here: News New Mexico

Mayor Berry Raising the Bar at APD Academy

Richard Berry

KRQE — Mayor Richard J. Berry on Thursday announced big changes at the Albuquerque Police Department academy including a return to tougher standards for would-be officers.
Cadets coming in with the 108th class will have need to have at least 60 hours of college credit or three years of military service. In addition, the Mayor will do a nationwide search to find a citizen director for the police academy.
The education and military service requirements were instituted in 1994 but dropped five years later in an effort to fill the ranks of the police force. "We're bringing in people who've shown they have the ability and the inclination to move themselves forward but that also have the propensity to be life-long learners," Berry said and a news conference. "We think that one of the good consequences of that is that they will also bring that attitude into the department." Read full story here: News New Mexico

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