The top trending things people are stealing

From KOB-TV.com - By: Chris Ramirez, KOB Eyewitness News 4  - NBC News found some bizarre items that police are seeing as trending hot items to steal.

9. Truck tailgates. Many people have reported the tailgate to their truck stolen only to find it being sold on Craigslist.

8. Cloth napkins. Some restaurant owners report their patrons steal their cloth napkins. One restaurant chain owner reported that he replaces thousands of cloth napkins across his locations each year.

7. Maple Syrup. As the cost of 100 percent pure maple syrup rises, more people are stealing the pricey product. In New Mexico 12 ounces of maple syrup will cost about $9.

6. Paving Stones. Anyone who has bought paving stones for a driveway or patio knows the pricey cost of bricks. Some neighborhoods in England have reported a mass theft of pavers leaving many in a neighborhood without a driveway.
5. Hay. Droughts have forced the cost of hay to skyrocket. Because of an increased number of hay thefts, farmers and ranchers have begun securing their piles of hay in barns of secure areas.
4. Gold teeth. As unusual as it sounds, police across the country have reported instances where funeral home workers have extracted teeth out of corpses and tried selling the gold at pawn shops or gold buyers.
3. Human hair. A beauty supply store in Chicago lost $230 worth of hair extensions. Police believe thieves resell the hair to other salons or on the street.
2. Chicken wings. With the rising cost of poultry in the U.S, grocery stores report a rise in shoplifting of chicken, particularly chicken wings.
1. Tide detergent. Police call it “liquid gold.” The high price of laundry detergent has many shoplifting the product then reselling it on the black market. Read more

The top trending things people are stealing

State Senator Lee Cotter Op-Ed

Commentary by State Senator Lee Cotter, District 36 - Not a Prediction, a Guarantee: State Loses Greatly if SB 547 Ruins New Mexico’s Oil and Gas Industry

     This will do it. SB 547 will ruin New Mexico’s oil and gas industry. It is more than a prediction, it is a guarantee. SB 547 prohibits the oil and gas industry from being able to produce the tax revenue our state so heavily depends on. The industry provides upwards of 30% of the revenue our state relies on to fund schools, roads, public safety and healthcare.

     SB 547 prohibits hydraulic fracturing in horizontally drilled wells. Currently, a vast majority of the oil and gas comes from hydraulic fracturing. If this technology is banned in horizontal wells by SB 547, the bill kills the economic future of New Mexico. SB 547 will eliminate nearly all of the drilling in New Mexico and any future drilling. New production will not take place. Companies with high paying jobs will close down, companies with even higher paying won’t consider relocating here. There will be reduced future production to tax to pay for schools, roads, public safety and healthcare.

     The bill, sponsored by Senator William Soules of Las Cruces, is being presented by a Senator with little knowledge of the oil patch areas of New Mexico. I appeal to those New Mexicans who understand that New Mexico cannot afford to lose these revenues. Our state has barely begun a recovery from the recent hard times and we cannot afford to lose any revenues now or in the future. Consider the number of private industry high-paying and middle income jobs that will be lost if this industry is shut down. That takes personal income tax right out of the state's coffers as well.

     This bill is on the calendar for Senate Conservation. If it passes, kiss goodbye the 30,000 high paying jobs directly attributed to oil and gas activity in the state. Kiss goodbye funding for schools, roads, public safety and healthcare in the state. Kiss goodbye our economic future.
Senator Lee S. Cotter - Room 416C State Capitol Building

State Senator Lee Cotter Op-Ed

State spends $100k on Governor's mansion kitchen

Governor's Mansion

The state spent more than $100,000 last summer to renovate the public kitchen at the governor’s mansion in Santa Fe, according to officials and purchase orders. 

While the upgrades included new countertops, floors and appliances, the project also included a $2,700 built-in, state-of-the-art coffeemaker the governor’s office later decided will be paid for with private donations rather than with taxpayer funds. 

The governor’s residence was built in the 1950s and features a public wing and private wing. Republican Gov. Susana Martinez and her husband live in the smaller, cozier private wing that has its own kitchen, living room and bedrooms.

 The public side of the mansion plays host to state dinners honoring visiting leaders and dignitaries, as well as private events put on by non-profit organizations.

 Caterers mainly use the kitchen. 

State spends $100k on Governor's mansion kitchen

Lawmakers approve 17 year old voters

Some 17-year-old New Mexicans could vote in primary elections under a proposal approved by the House. 

The measure will allow 17-year-olds to vote in a primary election — or a political party's caucus or other contest for selecting a presidential nominee — if they will be 18 by the time of the November general election. 

Democratic Rep. Jeff Steinborn of Las Cruces said 19 other states have similar provisions. The state's June primary election decides party nominees for elective offices. 

The bill passed the House on a 44-24 vote on Monday, and goes to the Senate.

Lawmakers approve 17 year old voters

House approves more funding for horse drug testing

New Mexico lawmakers have approved a proposal to finance more testing of race horses to detect illegal drug use. 

The House unanimously approved a measure on Monday to pay for stricter testing with revenue from a tax on pari-mutuel wagering at horse racing tracks.

The proposal, which goes to the Senate, will provide about $700,000 a year for testing by the State Racing Commission. The measure will tap revenue that's helped finance improvements at the state fairgrounds, which is the site of a race track. 

The fairgrounds money ends in 2014 under current law and the legislation shifts it to drug testing in 2015. The push for more testing came after a New York Times story described New Mexico as having the nation's worst horse safety record.

House approves more funding for horse drug testing

Wall Street Walks on the White House

Commentary by Marita Noon - The nomination of Jack Lew for Treasury Secretary has uncovered a lot of dirt about the man, but it also has a lot of dust swirling, regarding the incestuous relationship between the Obama administration and Wall Street that the White House would probably prefer to have kept buried. The story surely tarnishes the President’s image as “a man of the people, standing up to Wall Street.” In Lew we find much of what President Obama publicly derides—but, as Forbes reports, is “prepared to accept from his closest associates.”
In 2009, Obama said it was the “height of irresponsibility” and “shameful” for “executives at major financial firms who turned to the American people, hat in hand, when they were in trouble, even as they paid themselves their customary lavish bonuses.” And added: “For top executives to award themselves these kinds of compensation packages in the midst of this economic crisis isn’t just bad taste—it’s bad strategy—and I will not tolerate it as President.” Yet, Lew, during a short stint at Citi received an “obscene” bonus of $950,000—after we, the taxpayers, bailed out Citi to the tune of $476.2 billion. In 2012, the Obama campaign vilified Mitt Romney for investments in Cayman accounts. Yet, Lew was invested in a Citigroup venture capital fund registered in the Cayman Islands.
In his second term, Obama has pledged to make climate change a priority. Since 2007, Citi has been committed to “climate change activities.” In fact, they brag about being “a leader in alternative energy transactions across sectors, geographies and products.” In its 2011 Global Citizenship Report, Citi crows about having the “largest market share” of US Department of Energy financings for alternative energy.
If you’ve followed the work Lakatos and I have done exposing Obama’s green-energy crony-corruption scandal, you know Citi’s claims mean that they are making big bucks from the green energy sector of the 2009 stimulus-spending spree. Lakatos has found that that 58 percent of Citi’s “clients,” listed in the documents from the “Renewable Energy Seminar” Michael Eckhart held in March 2012, have received government subsidies, the majority from the 2009 Stimulus bill, totaling approximately $16 billion of taxpayer money—and there could well be more.
This may be the one time I agree with Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders who, said the following when Obama nominated Lew: “I remain extremely concerned that virtually all of his key economic advisers have come from Wall Street. In my view, we need a Treasury Secretary who is prepared to stand up to corporate America and their powerful lobbyists and fight for policies that protect the working families in our country. I do not believe Mr. Lew is that person.” Obviously Obama will “tolerate” Wall Street walking all over the White House. Read full column

Wall Street Walks on the White House

Newsbreak New Mexico 8 a.m. Webcast 2/25/13

Newsbreak New Mexico 8 a.m. Newscast with Vanessa Dabovich

Listen here:
 

Concern over internet service to rural areas
Teenage parent leave bill clears House 
ABQ malt shop manager threatens over min. wage

Newsbreak New Mexico 8 a.m. Webcast 2/25/13

Man turns violent during police sweep

From KRQE-TV.com - by Celina Westervelt - ALBUQUERQUE - After getting multiple complaints about transients harassing people near the historic Frontier Restaurant, police decided to do a sweep in the area but that sweep did not go quite as planned. Police say 32-year-old Darrell Tsosie was hanging out in front of the Frontier late Friday evening when mangers complained he was bugging customers.  They found him highly intoxicated and bleeding on the sidewalk.
     Police say Tsosie gave them a fake name when they questioned him. When they learned of his right name, they found he had warrant for his arrest.  The officer cuffed him but when Tsosie got inside the police car the officer says he started kicking and spitting all over the back seat. That's when the officer tried to cuff his feet, but the officer said Tsosie started kicking him in the stomach and legs. The officer says next Tsosie spit blood on his face getting it in his eyes nose and mouth.
     Eventually another officer stepped in and get Tsosie to calm down. Tsosie appeared before a judge Sunday. He is charged with battery on a police officer and is still in jail Sunday night. Read more

Man turns violent during police sweep

Making sure the least productive get no jobs

© 2013 Michael Swickard, Ph.D. The legislative mandate is government should get between the buyer and seller and tell both how the seller should be compensated. More so, they tell the buyer that the needs of the seller are paramount even if the transaction is not equally beneficial for the buyer.

     The government has no place in a financial transaction where the knowledge of the trade is equal. In today’s market the trade is for goods called “productivity” and “compensation.” The trade is someone’s productivity for someone’s money. It is a simple trade since both participants get to decide if they want to trade. Both can go forward with the transaction or both can decide not to trade.
     But the government says the problem with the free exercise of trade is that the person with productivity has no leverage. Not so, people with money understand the only way they get more money is by trading money for productivity which fuels commercial enterprises. Productivity is the lifeblood of enterprise. Employers are only as good as their workers.
     The sticking point is when people have no productivity. What are they trading? Further, it is nonsense to think any worker is the same as any other worker. This is a “One size fits all” notion from government. If the people in the government were to be in business they would find out quickly that each potential worker has differing levels of productivity to sell to the employer for money.
     But the government dictates to the buyers of productivity that all workers have the same baseline of productivity whether they actually have any productivity. We employers are told that a fresh-face novice in business with no productive skills must be compensated for productive skills they do not have. Our only other option is to not hire that person. Most of us do not hired people who do not have any productive skills.
     Why would I trade money with someone who does not have something to trade? Worse, I am forced into charity work with the lifeblood of my business, my workforce. As those who know me can attest, I am quite charitable, but I cannot afford to be with my workforce. My workforce is all that is between me and being out of business. The government stops me from making a fair trade for the actual productivity of potential employees. Read more

Making sure the least productive get no jobs

NM House approves increasing TV tax incentives

New Mexico lawmakers have approved a proposal to increase tax incentives for television shows filmed in the state. 

Supporters said Wednesday the measure could help draw more TV series to New Mexico. T

he award-winning series "Breaking Bad" is set in Albuquerque and filming a fifth and final season. 

New Mexico offers a 25 percent tax refund for certain film and TV production expenses. Legislation approved unanimously by the House increases the incentive to 30 percent for a TV show producing at least six episodes in New Mexico. A $50 million annual limit remains on the tax subsidies provided for all film and TV projects, but the bill allows unused subsidies below the cap to be carried over to the next year.

The measure heads to the Senate for consideration.

NM House approves increasing TV tax incentives