NMSU raises tuition, housing, parking costs

Las Cruces Sun News - A number of New Mexico State University students expressed dismay over across-the-board tuition and fee increases approved Thursday by the university's governing body. Tuition will increase for in-state and non-residents; undergraduates and graduates; and students at NMSU's four branch colleges, including Doña Ana Community College. Officials also approved fee increases for parking passes and campus housing. The Board of Regents approved a 3.7 percent hike —about $107 per semester —for resident, undergraduates taking a full-time course load on the main campus, according to campus officials. So, next fall's bill will total $3,020. The five regents, including Student Regent Christopher Dulany, approved the increases, after little discussion and no debate amongst themselves. Business student Wade Baize, 21, a junior, said he doesn't receive the state's lottery scholarship, and grants and scholarships seem to be harder to find in the tough economy —reasons a tuition increase is hard to stomach. "No one likes it," he said. "I don't like it. It means we've got to pay more for school." Baize said his parents help out with his school costs, but he also has a job. And he doesn't have much choice but to find a way to pay for the impending increase. Read More News New Mexico

NMSU raises tuition, housing, parking costs

Heather Wilson Has GOP Confident in New Mexico

Heather Wilson

Roll Call - There’s no coffer-draining primary, no sign of a Democratic wave and no more straight-ticket voting. But most of all it’s likely nominee Heather Wilson that has national Republicans confident in the tossup New Mexico Senatorial race. The former Congresswoman was handed a rare opportunity for a political do-over in a state that could prove crucial to the GOP’s chances of winning the Senate majority. The race could go either way, and that’s notable given what happened in the last presidential cycle. Wilson, who represented the Albuquerque-based 1st district for five full terms, has all but sewn up the GOP nomination for the seat of retiring Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D). She will likely face Rep. Martin Heinrich (D), who succeeded Wilson in the House and is favored to win his primary with state Auditor Hector Balderas. New Mexico insiders from both parties describe Wilson, an Air Force Academy graduate, as a tough and disciplined campaigner, a strong fundraiser and someone whose broad support, including among Hispanics, is in the mold of former Sen. Pete Domenici (R). There’s also no better wingman in the state than Gov. Susana Martinez, a likely surrogate whom Wilson has known for about 20 years. Read More News New Mexico

Heather Wilson Has GOP Confident in New Mexico

Las Cruces among nation’s fastest-growing metros

New Mexico Business Weekly - Las Cruces was the 30th fastest-growing metropolitan area in the U.S. between 2010 and 2011, the U.S. Census Bureau said Thursday. The area’s population grew by 2.1 percent, or 4,364 people, between April 2010 and July 2011. In 2011, the area had a population of 213,598. Las Cruces was the only New Mexico metro area that made the Census Bureau’s list of the 50 fastest-growing metro areas. New Mexico’s population grew by 6,733 during the period, for a 0.3 percent growth rate. Bernalillo County’s population grew by 1,861, or 0.3 percent. Texas had 10 metro areas on the list of the 50 fastest-growing areas, Colorado had four, Utah two and Arizona one. The fastest-growing metro area in the U.S. was Kennewick-Pasco-Richland in Washington state. Its population increased by 10,793, or 4.3 percent. Nearly all of the 50 fastest-growing areas were in the South or West, the Census Bureau said. Read More News New Mexico 

Las Cruces among nation’s fastest-growing metros

State Supreme Court to weigh in on ballot issue

New Mexico Supreme Court

Santa Fe New Mexican - New Mexico's top court is wading into the controversy over what information is required for a candidate to qualify for the June primary election ballot. The New Mexico Supreme Court on Wednesday scheduled oral arguments for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday after consolidating 10 lawsuits involving various political contests around the state, including a challenge against least one leader in the state Legislature. In those lawsuits candidates seek to disqualify their primary-election opponents on the grounds that they failed to note the district or district number on nominating petitions submitted last month to the New Mexico Secretary of State's office. Justice Charles Daniels, who signed the order, said in a brief telephone interview with The New Mexican that the state's top court had scheduled the hearing after receiving a request from Secretary of State Dianna Duran for the court to settle the issue. Duran's petition, filed Tuesday, asks the court to "consolidate and ultimately determine the merits of several petition signature challenges asserting that a candidate failed to sufficiently identify the district in which he or she is running" in violation of state law. The Secretary of State's office qualified each of those candidates to be on the ballot for the June 5 primary election. Read More News New Mexico

State Supreme Court to weigh in on ballot issue

JetBlue CEO sees Albuquerque as 'good market' for expansion

Jet Blue CEO Dave Barger

New Mexico Business Weekly - Albuquerqueans love their airport, but one complaint I hear a lot is the lack of direct flights, at least for points East. There has been talk for several years of luring JetBlue Airways to the Albuquerque International Sunport, with direct flights to New York, and JetBlue CEO Dave Barger says that’s a possibility. Barger was in town recently and met with Mayor Richard J. Berry. Ann Rhoades, president of People Ink in Albuquerque and a founding executive of JetBlue who serves on the company’s board, set up the meeting, Barger said. “We had a good meeting,” he said. “The mayor will be in New York within the next 30 days, and he’ll stop by our new offices here.” Barger said he thinks it’s quite likely JetBlue could expand service to the Sunport, although he cautioned that the company struggles with longer-haul routes because of the cost of oil, and Albuquerque is a tad farther from New York than, say, Florida. “I think a lot of people are unaware of New Mexico,” Barger said. Read More News New Mexico 

JetBlue CEO sees Albuquerque as 'good market' for expansion

Las Cruces Gross Receipts Revenue Is Sagging

The Las Cruces City Council

The Las Cruces City Council has embraced an anti-business and anti-growth mindset for several years. Its policies are now clearly taking a toll on the economy of New Mexico’s second largest city. The effects of imposing one new regulation and fee after another are now showing up in the Gross Receipts Tax (GRT) revenues flowing into city coffers. Before long the council will be forced by its own policies to either lay off workers or raise taxes. For the month of March 2012 receipts fell by 1.6% versus March of 2011. March receipts represent January’s economic activity. Despite a recovery in both the national and state economies, Las Cruces is now clearly lagging most areas. The year-to-date growth rate for the fiscal year of 2012 gross receipts tax revenue now stands at a negative 0.4%.

The news is even worse for some sectors. Other cities in New Mexico (Albuquerque) have reversed the imposition of new impact fees on the construction industry. Not in Las Cruces. There the City Council has gone full speed ahead with this job killing approach. As a result, gross receipts for the month of January from the construction industry were off by a whopping 12.9%. In fact, the construction sector gross receipt tax revenue alone is now off by over $1 million dollars for the nine months of FY12, versus the same period last year. January retail trade sales also suffered its second consecutive month of decline, losing 3.5% as compared with March 2011. While councilors obsess with frivilous ideas like imposing mandatory recycling, passing dust ordinances in the desert, and spending tens of millions on bike paths, joblessness has remained stubbornly high in the Las Cruces metro area. Living standards in the city are falling.

Las Cruces Gross Receipts Revenue Is Sagging

Game Commission to hear proposed hunting changes

Santa Fe New Mexican - The New Mexico Game Commission will consider changes to bear and cougar hunting rules at a public meeting in Gallup on Thursday. Rick Winslow, the Game and Fish Department's large-carnivore biologist, will make a case for allowing yearlong cougar hunting and increasing the annual cougar bag limit to two per hunter. He'll also ask the commission to count only bears and cougars killed by hunters toward the harvest limit, and not animals killed by vehicles or those shot by game wardens. Phil Carter, spokesman for Animal Protection of New Mexico, said the department can't prove bear and cougar population estimates and believes the counts are too high. Three years ago, the animal-rights group fought the department over plans to greatly increase cougar hunting. "Game and Fish has taken anything but a conservative approach to cougar and bear hunting," he said. Gary Webb, an outfitter and guide in southwestern New Mexico for the last 30 years, said he thinks the amendments are good, although he and another outfitters see little need to increase the cougar bag limit to two per hunter. They said most of the hunters they guide would only be interested in one cougar a year. Winslow said he knows some people who think the department should take a hands-off approach to managing bears and cougars. "Letting nature take its course means no management," Winslow said. "You're going to end up with disease. You're going to end up with animals pushed out of habitat. You're going to end up with more human interactions with bears and cougars, and more dead animals."  Read More News New Mexico

Game Commission to hear proposed hunting changes

New Mexico grabs the snow in unique Western ski season

Standard-Examiner - Western ski resorts are wrapping up one of the most unusual and unpredictable snow seasons in recent memory. New Mexico, traditionally warmer and with less reliable snowfall than its northern neighbors, this weekend celebrates the end of an unexpectedly good season that that withstood consistent forecasts of drought. "It was the kind of season no one saw coming," said Dave Dekema, director of marketing for Angel Fire resort. "The predictions from the preseason to the end were completely wrong." Meanwhile, some resorts in the traditionally snow-rich states of Utah and Colorado will close earlier after a warm season with lackluster snow. And California and Nevada are hoping to erase double-digit declines in skier visits with a bounty of snow that didn't begin falling until almost March. Colorado resorts reported skier visits were down more than 7 percent. And California was reporting double digit declines in lift ticket sales before the late February reprieve. Even so, the news was not all bad. Read More News New Mexico

New Mexico grabs the snow in unique Western ski season

Menzies a Candidate for CSU Job

Marvin Menzies

Las Cruces Sun News - LAS CRUCES - New Mexico State Aggie men's basketball coach Marvin Menzies is a candidate to fill the coaching vacancy at Colorado State, according to multiple sources. Menzies did not immediately return a phone call from the Sun-News on Wednesday evening. Menzies' candidacy was also reported by KRQE-TV in Albuquerque. There has been no confirmation Menzies will in fact interview for the job. Menzies just completed his fifth year at NMSU, taking the Aggies to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years. He has compiled a 102-68 record at the school. Last year the Aggies went 26-10, 10-4 in Western Athletic Conference play, and won the WAC Tournament to qualify for an NCAA berth. They eventually fell to Indiana in the opening round of the tournament. Read full story here: News New Mexico

Menzies a Candidate for CSU Job

Courtesy of Conservative Daily News

     

janice2012.us