News New Mexico

NMSU Interim President tours Carlsbad campus

Dr. Manuel Pacheco

It's good to come home.

Manuel Pacheco, recently appointed as interim president of New Mexico State University, returned to the place his career started Monday morning as the NMSU Board of Regents held a special meeting at the university's Carlsbad campus.

"I started my teaching career here in Carlsbad in 1962, and I have a special remembrance of that set of experiences," he said.

Pacheco was appointed to his new position last week, but initial plans would have called for his appointment to be made during Monday's meeting at the Carlsbad campus. Ben Woods, NMSU senior vice president for external relations and chief of staff, said he was glad the appointment didn't happen as originally planned.

"He thinks a lot of the community," Woods said of Pacheco. "He was able to speak effectively about NMSU and Carlsbad."

The Board of Regents was in town Monday as part of a rotating meeting schedule. Each year the university board holds at least one meeting at one of its off-site campuses.

NMSU Carlsbad President John Gratton said he appreciated the extra attention. Gratton showed regents that the Carlsbad campus is on the right track as he bragged about the community college's 18.1 percent enrollment increase this fall.

"We've seen great things happen here," Gratton said. "That took the efforts of lots of people."

NM Board of Finance tables new UNM hospital proposal

The New Mexico Board of Finance voted to table the approval of UNM’s proposed new, $146 million hospital after several hours of deliberation at the Roundhouse on Tuesday.

A majority of members said they felt they still did not have enough information to make a decision. They also say potential approval should be delayed until after the Nov. 6 presidential election.

Members are concerned that the need for new beds could change if the Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as Obamacare, is repealed, which Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has vowed to do if he wins.

UNM Health Sciences Center Chancellor Paul Roth said the need for those extra beds will not change regardless of whether or not the ACA stands.

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Federal court may consider straight ticket lawsuit
Republican officials in ABQ say no to minimum wage hike
Report shows Alamogordo Public Safety Department in trouble

John Kerry to hold fundraiser for Martin Heinrich in Santa Fe

John Kerry

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry is to appear at a fundraiser in Santa Fe next week for New Mexico Democratic Senate candidate Martin Heinrich.

Heinrich's campaign says Kerry is the featured guest at an Oct. 24 fundraiser at a restaurant near the state Capitol.

Kerry is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Kerry was the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee and lost to then President George W. Bush, who carried New Mexico by less than 1 percentage point.

A poll conducted for the Albuquerque Journal last week showed Heinrich leading Republican Heather Wilson in the Senate race.

Report: Trouble at Alamogordo Department of Public Safety

A city-commissioned study says the Alamogordo Department of Public Safety is plagued by infighting and factionalism and the leadership inspires little confidence among subordinates.

The 112-page report also cites a strained relationship between ADPS and the Otero County Sheriff's Department.

It says those problems are longstanding and preceded the tenures of current Sheriff Benny House and recently retired ADPS director Kelly O. Wallis.

The study by the law-enforcement consulting firm Berkshire Advisors was obtained the Alamogordo Daily News. The newspaper says the Alamogordo City Commissioners received the report last month, but kept it secret until Monday.

It was released after the Daily News submitted several requests to view the report, which cost the city almost $50,000.

ABQ republicans against minimum wage hike

Two Albuquerque Republican city councilors are urging voters to vote against a proposed minimum wage hike on the November ballot.

Trudy Jones and Dan Lewis both say the city can't afford the $1 million dollars plus that would have to be paid out for temporary and seasonal workers, if the bump to $8.50 an hour passes.

Proponents of the wage hike, which was put on the ballot after more than 25,000 signature were collected, say that the opposition is just using "scare tactics."

Organizers of the petition, like Mary Lee Ortega with Ole, have long said more money paid out to more minimum wage workers will encourage more spending, thus giving metro area businesses a boost.

Federal court may consider straight ticket voting lawsuit

Dianna Duran

A lawsuit over straight party ticket voting is on hold in the New Mexico Supreme Court while a federal court considers the legal dispute.

The state's highest court on Tuesday postponed proceedings in a case brought by Democrats to restore the option of straight ticket voting. The court order came a day after Republican Secretary of State Dianna Duran asked the U.S. District Court to handle the case.

She contends it will violate the Constitution's equal protection guarantee if ballots are redesigned after some New Mexicans already have voted.

Government-funded battery maker files for bankruptcy

From NBCNEWS.com - By Deepa Seetharaman and Ayesha Rascoe , Reuters - A123 Systems, which had received a $249 million grant from the U.S. government, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, giving Republicans fresh ammunition to attack the Obama administration's subsidies for green energy.
The filing came after the lithium-ion battery maker's $465 million rescue deal with Chinese auto parts supplier Wanxiang Group collapsed, hobbled by "unanticipated and significant challenges," A123 said on its website.
A123 has agreed to sell its automotive operations, including two factories in Michigan, for $125 million to Johnson Controls Inc, a leading battery supplier and another recipient of federal green subsidies.
The U.S. Department of Energy allotted about $90 billion for various clean-energy programs through the administration's stimulus package. Of that, at least $813 million went to energy companies that eventually filed for bankruptcy, including A123, Solyndra, Beacon, Abound Solar and EnerDel.
The Solyndra failure has been regularly cited in stump speeches leading up the Nov. 6 presidential election, including those of Romney, who argues that the government should not be in the business of picking corporate winners and losers. Read more