A severe storm hit Albuquerque on Friday evening. How bad was it? Tens of thousands lost power, cars were stranded because of flooding and trees all around town were knocked down. Some houses were without power the entire weekend.
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The storm also filled up the Rio Grande.
A campaign complaint against Pete Dinelli alleges he took an illegal in kind contribution.
There are worries by health professionals over the effect on patients in the transition to new mental health providers. One of the affected providers, Southwest Counseling Center in Las Cruces, is handing over Medicaid-funded services to Arizona’s La Frontera Inc. this weekend.“Anybody who thinks this is going to be a smooth transition doesn’t know what they’re talking about,” said Roque Garcia, CEO of Southwest Counseling Center.
Meanwhile, the Attorney General said he will fast-track the investigation.
Benito Aragon sees the earmarks of ALEC in the shutdown.
Senator Lopez also released an extensive IPRA request she filed with the Human Services Department in regards to prior communication records involving the five Arizona behavioral companies who will collectively receive $17 million to provide replacement services during the ongoing investigation, as well as any records involving Public Consulting Group (PCG), the out of state auditor who claimed to find “credible allegations of fraud.”
The Housing and Urban Development Department will not freeze funding to New Mexico. However, Clifford said Thursday that HUD officials have since softened their stance, after he warned that the action could force state workers to be laid off. The funding in question is used to pay all or part of the salaries of 14 state government positions, according to the state Department of Finance and Administration.Clifford told the Journal he is optimistic the two sides can resolve the issues in the coming weeks without the funding freeze, which he said would effectively halt the federal grant programs his agency oversees.
A $1.2 billion project may be in jeopardy because it may not get the preferred route because of White Sands Missile Range. But Tom Wray, the SunZia project manager, said any alternate route is death for the power project at this stage.Another path for transmission lines and substations would necessitate another environmental impact study that would take years to complete. Wray said such a delay would kill the project for financial reasons.
Higher Education Secretary Jose Garcia is worried about New Mexico dropping in rankings. Speaking at Luna’s board meeting on Wednesday, Garcia said the statistic that bothers him the most and that keeps him up at night is that for the first time in the state’s history, the older generation — age 35 to 64 — is better educated than the younger generation. In fact, he said, New Mexico has the worst improvement rate in the nation from 1990 to 2010 in the percentage of individuals 25 and older who have a bachelor’s degree or better.Garcia said that over the last 20 years New Mexico has been going down in almost every category that measures how the state is doing in higher education. He said that as long as he is the state’s higher education secretary he will devote his time and energy toward reversing that trend.
The mental health provider TeamBuilders will shut down. Freedle said Thursday that a behavioral health firm called Turquoise Life and Wellness will take over Teambuilders’ Eastern New Mexico operations on Aug. 19. These operations include those in Curry, Roosevelt, De Baca and Quay counties.Turquoise is a subsidiary of Lifewell Behavioral Health, one of five Arizona providers that has been contracted to take over behavioral health services in place of the 15 providers implicated in the audit. Freedle said Teambuilders officials are working with Turquoise’s managers on the transition now.
Pat Davis, the chair of ABQ Crime Stoppers and executive director of ProgressNow New Mexico, was charged with a DWI this weekend.
Drought and Fire Digest:
No, the rain doesn't mean that the drought is over.
For farmers, the rain is great news but it brings other problems with it.
An interesting poll: The industries and institutions survey, for example, found that New Mexicans are most favorable toward small business (with 72 percent very favorable or favorable), followed by community colleges (71 percent), national labs (67 percent), farming and ranching (66 percent), state universities (63 percent), and local banks (61 percent).Statewide, 59 percent of respondents were favorable or very favorable toward churches or organized religion, compared to 54 percent in north-central New Mexico, which is defined as Santa Fe, Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, Taos, Colfax, Mora, San Miguel and Guadalupe counties.
State Rep. Candy Ezzell, R-Roswell, says the controversial horse slaughter plant is necessary. Ezzell, a rancher, said part of New Mexico's problem is that many owners abandon horses when feed gets too expensive or other domestic complications occur. Bad owners simply rid themselves of horses by leaving them on ranches, reservations or public lands, Ezzell said."Those people need to be strung up and whipped," she said.
U.S. Senator Tom Udall wants the Senate to act on nominations to the Federal Election Commission. "As you know, I am a strong supporter of reforming our campaign finance system. I believe one important step is to have a functioning FEC, where all six seats are filled with commissioners in terms that haven’t expired. Regrettably, that hasn’t been the case for quite a while," said Udall, a member of the Rules Committee.
A new VA clinic will be built in Santa Fe.
What is Intel's future in New Mexico? The Albuquerque Journal looks at how the state is hoping to keep it here.State Economic Development Secretary Jon Barela said state government expedited the process.
Rep. Steve Pearce does not agree with Rep. Steve King's controversial remarks on immigrants.
Former governor and current New Mexico State University president Garrey Carruthers spoke to the Clovis News Journal.
Q: That begs an extra question — if New Mexico State boasts about hiring a coach that has proven success while an administration is looking into ending football, does that mean New Mexico State is looking at ending football?
The Albuquerque Journal looks at the Jemez Electric Cooperative's troubles and how little help is coming from New Mexico's congressional delegation.Kenneth Borrego, the president of the co-op’s board of trustees, said in an interview that some of the tribes were demanding “terribly exorbitant” fees for rights of way to run power lines through their lands. Negotiations with most of them are at impasse.
A group that wants to keep the higher education tax at its current rate in Rio Rancho has four times as much money as an opposing group -- but hasn't spent any money yet.
More people walk to work than use public transportation to commute in Albuquerque.
The Rio Rancho Governing Body (think: city council) voted against the reappointment of a 13-year city utilities commissioner. Swisstack said Cleveland is a former engineer with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, and has worked on and managed projects throughout the country. Cleveland’s application was the only one Swisstack received for the position until after submitting the appointment, Swisstack said.Clayton, who represents District 6, said he had emailed the mayor a nomination for different candidate he preferred two weeks ago, and he believes councilors are closer to their districts and thus know the needs better.
Media News:
The general manager of the Silver City Sun-News and the Deming Headlight resigned as he took a job with the Santa Fe New Mexican. "It has been my great pleasure over the last several years to have been a part of our communities," he said. "Unfortunately, it is time to move on as I have a new opportunity up north in Santa Fe and will be closer to my family. The people here and in Deming have been very supportive of me as general manger of the Silver City Sun-News and the Deming Headlight."
Foreclosures were down in the Las Cruces area in May as compared to the same month in 2012.
Steve Terrell writes about how the vote on an NSA amendment scrambled voting trends in Congress.
Well here's an unusual take on climate change.Sheryl Crow, the singer, is also an activist. She has chosen to speak out about global warming but, given the chance, I would warn her that it is not going to be an easy battle because she is fighting places like Greenland, Minnesota and Eastern Montana who are in favor of global warming and they are not going to give up easily!
