Mayor Berry weighs in on green chile Super Bowl bet

Hatch Chile (click)
From KOB-TV.COM - By: Jeffery Gordon, KOB.com - Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry weighed in on the Super Bowl bet between the mayors of Denver and Seattle. One of the items at stake is Denver’s green chile.
     KOB Eyewitness News 4 caught up with Berry and asked him what he thinks of the bet. "If the Broncos lose, we'll send them some real green chile from New Mexico, some Hatch green chile and some red chile from Chimayo,” Berry said.
     Officials from Pueblo, Colorado say their area grows several types of chile that are somewhat similar to Hatch Valley Green Chile. Pueblo has an annual Chile and Frijoles Festival.
     The Denver Broncos took on the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII Sunday in New Jersey and got whipped so New Mexico will need to send some real green chile. More.
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Swickard: Parent-Teacher Conferences, Chinese Style

© 2014 Michael Swickard, Ph.D. A friend recently returned from a visit to her childhood home in Liaoyang, China. She has resided in America for many years and is an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher at an area elementary school. While home she captured on video some of her former city. Also, her nephew had a parent-teacher conference so she took a video at his school.
     The kids looked almost indistinguishable from kids in America. Some smiled, some were shy, some boisterous, they laughed and played outside the school. Walking into the elementary school the kids spoke to the camera when questions were posed. I was surprised they replied in Chinese to Chinese questions and in English to English questions. Most students in China have some conversational ability in English by third grade.
     The parent-teacher conference was crowded. I asked what percentage of Chinese parents attends parent-teacher conferences. She replied, “All of them.” 
     I pushed for the reasons for perfect attendance in China. “First there is strong parental concern about their children. Secondly, Chinese society informally demands parents participate. People not attending are seen as not caring about their children’s education. There is the perception in China that without parental involvement children will not do as well in school.” 
     The group activity was to review the major test given at the end of the semester. The teacher and the parents reviewed each question, not just the scores of the test. The teacher worked each math problem on the board while the parents took notes. This was so these parents could help their children with the material covered by the test. Read full column

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Driver's licenses an issue again for state legislature

From KOB-TV.com - By: Stuart Dyson, KOB Eyewitness News 4 - The New Mexico State Capitol is once again turning into a battlefield for the issue of driver's licenses for illegal immigrants.
     This is the fifth time Gov. Susana Martinez has demanded that state lawmakers dump the 2003 law that allows licenses for people here illegally, and for the fifth time it looks like the numbers in the legislature just don't add up to make that happen.
     About one hundred demonstrators rallied outside the Capitol on Wednesday, armed with 700 milk cartons, each one bearing the Zia symbol and a picture of an immigrant family that relies on somebody having a New Mexico license. The crowd heard from a Lea County dairy farm worker who said he couldn't work without his license. Ditto for another man who works in the oil fields near Hobbs. Protest organizer Marina Pina said the issue is a waste of time in the 30 day legislative session.
     Gov. Martinez fired the first shot in this fight on day one of the session in her State of the State Address. "It's time to act," Martinez proclaimed in her speech. "The legislature should do what the overwhelming majority of New Mexicans are demanding - repeal this dangerous law!"
     The governor may well have the votes to eke out yet another narrow win in the House of Representatives, but she surely does not in the state Senate. More
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Public Service Company takes another step to close units at San Juan Generating Station

From the Farmington Daily Times - The Public Service Company of New Mexico has taken another step to meet federal emissions rules at San Juan Power Generating Station and close two units at San Juan Generating Station.
     In December last year, PNM submitted a filing with the New Mexico Public Regulatory Commission to gain approval for processes that would enable the generating station to meet federal emission standards. The filing contains a proposal to close two units at the station by the end of 2017, to reroute power from Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station to serve PNM customers and to install emission reducing technology, all of which need PRC approval to happen.
     According to the executive summary of the filing, PNM is proposing to close units two and three to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency's Regional Haze Rule. "Approval of PNM's Application will also enable the company to move forward with plans to reduce its use of coal and significantly increase its use of cleaner fuels, including natural gas and solar," the filing stated.
     As a result, PNM is asking for 134 megawatts of power from a unit in Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station to be used to replace power lost as a result of the closures. PNM has partial ownership in one unit at the nuclear facility.
     PNM has future plans to build a 144 megawatt natural gas power facility to be used for peak usage, said PNM spokeswoman Valerie Smith, and also build a 40 megawatt solar facility. PNM will ask PRC to approve those plans in the future. More
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State lawmaker proposes judge financial statements be online

A state lawmaker is proposing that financial disclosure statements of New Mexico's judges be posted online. 
Democratic Sen. Jacob Candelaria of Albuquerque said his measure would increase governmental transparency. Judges and other government officials must file annual financial statements with the secretary of state disclosing sources of income and business interests.
 A spokesman for the secretary of state's office said the agency stopped online posting of all financial disclosures after some officials voiced security concerns because the forms listed residential addresses and personal identifying information. The disclosures can be obtained through a public records request. 
Candelaria's legislation calls for posting disclosures of judges on the secretary of state's web site and the state's online "sunshine portal."


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Texas proceeds with water lawsuit against NM

The U.S. Supreme Court says Texas can proceed with its lawsuit against New Mexico over management of the Rio Grande. 
New Mexico Attorney General Gary King says he's looking forward to telling New Mexico's side of the story. The court has given the state 60 days to file a motion to dismiss the case. 
Texas accuses New Mexico of allowing illegal diversions of surface and underground water of the Rio Grande near the state line. Texas officials say those diversions take away water from farmers and residents around El Paso, a drought-stricken area that gets about half of its drinking water and most of its irrigation water from the Rio Grande.
New Mexico is also struggling with drought and argues that Texas is getting what's required under a compact between the two states.


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Climate Change: A Serious Threat to Science

Commentary by Marita Noon - The current cold covering a large portion of the country has, once again, brought out the climate change alarmists with claims of “serious threat.”
     Due to his respected position, as climate scientist at the University of California, San Diego Institution of Oceanography, Richard C.J. Somerville’s recent “Cold comfort” column was published in newspapers throughout the country.
     In it, he grouses that the public doesn’t take the “consequences” of climate change seriously—pointing out that they are “here and now.” He cites: “only 54 percent of the public sees it as a global threat to their countries—and only 40 percent of Americans do.”
     Somerville suggests: “people either are scientifically illiterate or reject science when it conflicts with their core values or religious convictions.” He posits: “the medical profession and communication experts may have much to teach those climate scientists” because “Priming patients to appreciate the value of medical diagnostic tests has been shown to make them more likely to take these tests and then act on the results.”
     What Somerville misses in the analogy is that the data back up the medical case. For example, getting a mammogram catches breast cancer early and increases survival rates. The data have shown that medical science is correct.
     On the contrary, the data don’t support the claims made by climate scientists—but they just keep making them. Apparently they believe the “big lie” propaganda technique used so effectively by Adolf Hitler. In Somerville’s column, he offers several familiar, easily disproven statements:
•“Low-lying areas are threatened by sea-level rise” which will result in “millions of environmental refugees” and
•“major threats to agricultural productivity as rainfall patterns change and as heat waves, floods, droughts and other weather extremes worsen.”
     Because my expertise is in communications not climate, I reached out to someone who could help me: Robert Endlich—who does in fact have both the education and experience. Endlich, who served as a USAF weather officer for 21 years and holds a BS in geology and an MS in meteorology, offered me pages of data and documentation, which I’ve summarized for my readers. Read full column

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Martinez adds millions to budget to replace outdated textbooks

From KOB-TV.com - by : Chris Ramirez, KOB Eyewitness News 4 - There is a battle brewing over books. Governor Susana Martinez announced Saturday that she is adding $9 million to her budget so that school districts across New Mexico can replace outdated textbooks.
     But the legislature may have a different vision on how to spend that money. "We’re comparing what the governor has proposed and what the legislature has proposed and it is quite significantly different when it comes to textbooks because there is a lack of understanding of how important it is that we don't give kids books that are 3 decades old," Martinez said.
     The governor’s budget adds $9 million more compared to last year for replacing old text books across the state. The total budget line item in 2014 is $30 million for new textbooks.
     But Representative Mimi Stewart, who sits on The House Education Committee, says it is the governor who lacks understanding. "It’s a funny year for the governor to ask for an increase in instructional materials because the books that schools have to buy for next year are for career and technical classes and driver's ed," said Stewart.
     Stewart says the state rotates subjects every year and history and science are not even on the rotation for next year. Stewart welcomes more funding to public education, but wonders if they money may be suited best elsewhere for this year. More
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Swickard: The reason to vote for school bonds

© 2014 Michael Swickard, Ph.D. In 1975 I was working for the University of New Mexico. In front of the UNM library were 200 or so of the most coveted parking spaces on the entire UNM campus. In this parking lot people could park close to where they were going rather than miles away. 
     This parking lot was so attractive to some people that they came to work early just to get one of these fine parking spaces. It was quite a status symbol to go out to that center of the campus parking lot and nonchalantly get in your car. As you drove away you would wave to the less fortunate people who had to go quite a distance to get their car.
     As happens to all good things, one day the UNM leaders declared this wonderful parking lot would be closed forever. We were incredulous at the announcement. A friend complained, “The very idea of them using taxpayer money to turn our valuable parking spaces into, can you believe it, a duck pond. We have to do something.”
     The battle was not pretty. Signs on campus proclaimed, “We don’t need no stinking duck ponds, we need more parking lots.” Other signs said, “The taxpayers cannot afford to be building duck ponds.”
     The protests, including a rude song, President Bud Davis’s Duck Pond, luckily fell on deaf ears. The protests continued until the first day the water and the ducks and the sunshine made everyone feel great.
     Here is the point of my story: today the UNM Duck Pond and Commons Area is one of the defining campus symbols of UNM. Best I can tell, pretty much everyone cherishes the duck pond. In fact, if someone desires a beating all they have to do is go to UNM and propose turning the duck pond into 200 parking spaces. It might even be worse. They might be shot at sunrise on three consecutive mornings for just such a suggestion.
     The duck pond has attracted many new students to UNM. When they come for the campus visit it is one of the first places they go. So whatever the university spent on constructing the duck pond is more than covered by the money the additional students bring to UNM over the year. Therefore, it is good UNM officials had foresight and thick skins.
     The same syndrome applies at school bond election time. First, it is the mechanism to fund capital projects in school districts. We pass bonds for the future. Shortsighted people oppose bonds because that money does not provide personal benefit. read full column

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State officials to consider digital billboards

State officials may allow digital billboards along interstate highways and other federal routes in New Mexico. 
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that today the state Transportation Commission  is scheduled to consider rule changes that could legalize electronic billboards. 
States oversee off-site outdoor advertising along federal highways under agreements with federal agencies. Outdoor advertisers already use digital signs in some places in New Mexico, including within the city of Albuquerque. 
Critics say the signs are visual blight that damage the night sky. Outdoor advertising companies deny that their signs lighten dark skies.


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