News New Mexico

Torrance Co. works to limit media in government meetings

Torrance County Building

From KOB-TV.com - Torrance County leaders are grappling with how much access the media and the people with cameras have to public government meetings. A few people with cameras have shown up to County Commission meetings and later broadcast the meetings on YouTube.com. Some of the commissioners took issue with that and drafted policy that limits media access. “We were getting interrupted and different things and there was editing being done on the YouTube and we wanted to get a true and accurate recording of what was going on," said Commissioner Lonnie Freyburger. The proposed policy: · Requires 24 hour written notice for any filming in meetings · Allows cameras to only be pointed to commissioners · Requires all media and cameras be in a designated area An earlier draft of the policy actually prohibited all visual media from entering the chamber. The County planned on installing a web camera and all media would have to take the images off of public website. Advocates for open government oppose the policy proposals. "To put them in a pen in the back of a room or put citizens in a pen in the back of the room is not an acceptable use of your power," said Ched MacQuigg who spoke out at a commission meeting on Wednesday. Read more

New Educational Evaluation System on the Way

SANTA FE – Today, Governor Susana Martinez directed the Public Education Department to move forward with the formulation and implementation of a new teacher and principal evaluation system in New Mexico. The new evaluation system will ensure that student learning and academic growth are key factors in how teachers and principals are evaluated.
“It’s incredibly important that we’re able to identify those teachers and principals who are contributing most to the academic success of their students, so that we can reward them for the impact they are having on our kids. And it’s equally important for us to be able to provide support and professional development to those teachers who are struggling,” said Governor Martinez. “If we believe that our students go to school in order to learn, then a good evaluation system should incorporate student achievement in its analysis of our teachers and principals. And if we believe that some of our best teachers are those who take students from two grades behind to one grade ahead, then we must honor and recognize student growth as part of the process. None of this is happening now, and that’s why this education reform is so necessary.”

As part of granting New Mexico a waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind Act, the U.S. Department of Education required the state to develop the framework for a new evaluation system before the start of the 2012-2013 school year.
Maintaining the waiver is critical because it allows New Mexico to use an A-F grading system to give parents and community leaders a more accurate and helpful picture of whether schools are achieving or lagging, allowing for the targeting of interventions in schools that are struggling the most. As a result of the waiver, the often confusing constraints of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) measurements no longer apply in New Mexico. Under the old system, nearly 87% of New Mexico schools were simply labeled as failing – with little to no indication of growth or progress among schools, or the ability to point to where the highest level of intervention was needed.

“As one of only 11 states to receive this waiver, New Mexico is finally a leader in education reform,” continued Governor Martinez. “And the implementation of a true teacher-principal evaluation system is a bipartisan effort that has received wide support not only in New Mexico, but also from the Obama Administration, which has signaled that this is one of the most important education reforms we can enact for our children.”
Currently, New Mexico teachers are evaluated under a system that simply labels them as either ‘meets competency’ or ‘does not meet competency,’ and does little to account for student growth and achievement in the classroom. Recent studies reveal over 90% of the state’s teachers are deemed to be meeting competency while New Mexico’s student achievement continues to lag near the bottom of national rankings. In September 2011, President Obama’s Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, described New Mexico’s evaluation system as “broken.”
“Recognizing teachers and principals based on how well students learn is the right thing to do for New Mexico,” said PED Secretary-designate Hanna Skandera. “Today in our state, our teachers are judged on a pass-fail system that doesn’t focus on students. We know student achievement is important and we need to reward those who excel at it.”

During the past legislative session, a bill to establish a new teacher and principal evaluation system (HB 249) garnered wide bipartisan support, passing the House of Representatives by a vote of 57-9, with representatives from labor and business organizations in favor of it. The state’s new evaluation system will incorporate many of the measures that were a part of this legislative proposal, and will build upon the work of the Governor’s Effective Teacher Task Force, which was comprised of a wide group of stakeholders with over 100 years of teaching experience and held over 10 public meetings during a three-month period in 2011.

Why is Apple Getting Cored in Washington?

From forbes.com -What should be the price of the paperless word, now that books are going digital in one of the most important transformations in history? Only the Justice Department knows, it would seem. The Antitrust Division has filed an antitrust suit against Apple and several publishers (Simon & Schuster, NewsCorp’s HarperCollins, Hachette, Pearson, PLC’s Penguin Group (USA) and Macmillan).
The complaint seems to be that collusion and smoke-filled rooms paved the way to a deal by which Apple gets a 30 percent cut of the publishers’ eBooks sold for Apple devices, while other vendors are forbidden from selling below a pre-specified price. More here

George Zimmerman to be Charged in Martin Shooting

From washingtonpost.com - Florida special prosecutor Angela Corey plans to announce as early as Wednesday afternoon that she is charging neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in the shooting of Trayvon Martin, according to a law enforcement official close to the investigation. It was not immediately clear what charge Zimmerman will face. Corey told reporters Tuesday night that she would hold a news conference about the case within 72 hours. A news release from her office said the event will be held in Sanford or Jacksonville, Fla. More here

Alb. Board to Vote on Employee Pay While Serving in Roundhouse

Sheryl Williams Stapleton

From capitolreportnewmexico.com -The question of public school employees who serve in the state legislature receiving paid leave is back — and this time, the state’s largest school district is considering ending the practice. In Wednesday’s edition of the Albuquerque Journal, education reporter Hailey Heinz writes that a majority of the school board of Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) have scheduled a vote for May 1 and that a majority of the board “made clear” they want to change the district’s policy: Board member Martin Esquivel said the public wants APS to change its practice. “I just want to make it clear that I am not in favor of compensating for political leave with APS money,” Esquivel said. “I think people have spoken pretty loud and clear about this, and they are aghast at the idea that we pay people to serve in the Legislature. Currently three APS employees serve in the Roundhouse and are eligible to take paid leave when they go to Santa Fe during legislative sessions, committee meeting hearings between sessions and attend to other legislative duties. They also receive $153 per diem for each day they work at the Roundhouse. The three are: Rep. Sheryl Williams Stapleton (D-Albuquerque) who is an APS administrator, Sen. Bernadette Sanchez (D-Albuquerque) who is an APS counselor and Rep. Tim Lewis (R-Rio Rancho) who is a teacher. More here

Indy 500 Winner Pleads Guilty for DWI in NM

Al Unser Jr.

From foxnews.com - Retired American race car driver and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser Jr. has pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated and racing on a New Mexico freeway. Unser entered his plea Wednesday in Albuquerque Metro Court, a day before he was set to go to trial for aggravated DWI, drag racing and reckless driving. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail but a judge deferred jail time in favor of 364 days of supervised probation. Unser was arrested in September after he was accused of racing another car in his Suburban and driving over 100 miles per hour near Albuquerque. He was charged with reckless driving and aggravated driving while intoxicated. His attorney, Sam Bregman, says Unser completed 30 days of inpatient treatment for alcohol abuse.

3 NM Companies Win Spaceport Contracts

From elpasotimes.com -The New Mexico Spaceport Authority has awarded contracts to three New Mexico companies. Spaceport America, the first purpose-built commercial spaceport in the world, is situated on 18,000 acres adjacent to the U.S. Army's White Sands Missile Range about an hour's drive north of Las Cruces. Fiore Industries of Albuquerque was selected as the information technology services contractor. The contract has an estimated value of $310,000 over two years. White Sands Research and Developers of Las Cruces was awarded a $698,000 space operations services contract over the next two years. Parametrix of Albuquerque received a one year $192,000 contract for analysis work and to help prepare an environmental assessment for the spaceport's southern road, which is County Road 39 from the Interstate 25 Upham exit. Spaceport America officials said more than 1,000 jobs for New Mexicans have been generated to date.

NM Cattle Association Pulls Out of Wolf Program

From wildlifenews.com -Withdrawal of a cattle association from a wolf restoration program hardly a sign of failure- If we look at the history of land use in the Western United States, we find many different political interests. Some are ideological, some economic, some are both. Historically the various statewide cattle associations and stockgrower associations have been the leaders of the conservative, or better termed “reactionary,” land use interests. In particular they have always opposed restoration of carnivorous animals such as lynx, cougar, wolves. More often than not they have opposed restoration of ungulates prized for their beauty and by big game hunters. The fact that cattle associations have often been cooperators in wolf restoration programs run by state governments is a testiment to their political clout, not their desire to make the program work. More here

Courtesy of Conservative Daily News

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