Ostrich farm blues
Presumably, no one has ever written such a ditty, but it's what Andrea Romero is singing. She's been the head of the Regional Coalition of LANL Communities and has come under scrutiny for her travel expenses, including high bar tabs and pricey meals. Now, an economic development grant to her ostrich farm, Tall Foods, from the company that runs the labs is getting a closer look. Romero, who is running for the state House of Representatives, says the attention is dirty politics.
Boom times
A new energy report says oil fields in the US, particularly in southeastern New Mexico, will meet 80 percent of the increase in global demand over the next five years. That means another oil boom in places like Carlsbad, Artesia and Hobbs, where companies packed up and left as recently as 2016 when oil prices tanked.
Stoked you’re here
The first female president in the history of the University of New Mexico starts her job this week. Regents selected Garnett Stokes from among five finalists. Most recently, she held a top job at the University of Missouri.
Not on our backs
The University of New Mexico's Student Fee Review Board has once again voiced concern over how much money from student fees is given to the athletic department. The board recommended a $500,000 cut to the beleaguered department, which has racked up a nearly $5 million deficit over the past years. A smaller cut was rejected last year by the Board of Regents.
UNM players drop lawsuit
Two former University of New Mexico football players have decided not to refile a lawsuit seeking damages after they and a third player were accused of rape. The case was never prosecuted, and the players say their reputations were damaged by the school's haphazard investigation. A judge dismissed all but one of their claims, and the players let the court know last week that they did not intend to refile a suit on that lone claim.
Sandia water case goes to court
A proposed resort development along Highway 14 in the East Mountains is set to go before a judge, who will decide if the developer's exploratory wells truly show there's enough water in the aquifer to support almost 4,000 homes. The Campbell Ranch community want to pull 114 million gallons of water per year ($) from the ground beneath the development. A community group is challenging the assertion.
Low flow
The National Water and Climate Center expects flows along the Rio Grande and its tributaries to approach or break record lows this spring and summer, as a meager snowpack in the high mountains is a small fraction of its normal levels. The center's prediction for the river is "dire" and the journal Nature says 90 percent of snow-measuring sites in the Western US are below their historic averages.
Dry week
It doesn't look like the snowpack will get much help this week, as an "extremely dry" air mass will park itself over the state until the latter half of the week. Highs in Santa Fe and much of the rest of the state will start out 15-20 degrees cooler than weekend temperatures before warming on Thursday and Friday.
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