Heinrich Secures Amendments In Defense Authorization Bill To Benefit Military Bases, National Labs In N.M.
NNSA Partners With Kazakhstan Research Institute To Remove All Of Its Highly Enriched Uranium
RPLA/LAFRW Host Constitution Day Dinner Sept. 30
Joseph Maestas Announces Bid For Santa Fe Mayor
Santa Fe City Councilor Joseph Maestas
POLITICAL News:
SANTA FE — Santa Fe City Councilor Joseph Maestas announced today that he met with the Santa Fe City Clerk to formally begin a campaign to seek the Office of Mayor in lieu of a bid for re-election of his City Council District 2 position.
Councilor Maestas released the following statement:
“I’ve devoted my entire adult life to public service as a Federal civil servant and municipal elected official. Since being elected as a District 2 city councilor, I have worked tirelessly to serve my constituents with commitment, honor, and humility Read More
CCA Welcomes Civil Rights Hero Dolores Huerta
Dolores Huerta, one of America’s most influential activists of the past 100 years be at the CCA Oct. 5 in Santa Fe. Courtesy/CCA
CCA News:
- CCA, IATSE, New Mexico History Museum, PBS and Somos Un Pueblo Unido team up to host legendary civil rights hero, Oct. 5
The legendary Dolores Huerta, one of America’s most influential activists of the past 100 years, visits Santa Fe to attend an event held in her honor Oct. 5, at the Center for Contemporary Arts.
After a visit to Capital High School, where she will address the student body, Huerta will be present at a free community feed at the CCA, with food provided Read More
Udall And Moran’s Bipartisan MGT Act Clears Senate In FY18 National Defense Authorization Act
Udall, Heinrich Urge U.S. Trade Rep. To Support New Mexico’s Pecan Farmers, Lower Export Tariffs
Balderas To Equifax: Disable Fee-Based Monitoring Services & Reimburse Fees For Security Freezes
Letter To The Editor: The Ordinance, Some Solutions
I have waited until having the opportunity to read all of Mr. Izraelevitz’s (Council Chair David Izraelevitz) partitioned letters to the editor. Also, he accepted an invitation to have coffee with me and discuss some of the issues I take with the current ordinance and its enforcement. Heather Ortega joined me and I do believe we covered a lot of the concerns we have both heard from the community.
I will now respond with my own letter to the editor and as I do not intend to partition my letter, I will try to be brief.
I am quite certain that most people, rich or poor, Read More
DOI Announces $62 Million Construction Contract On Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project
Udall, Heinrich Join Effort To Protect Consumers From Equifax’s Forced Arbitration Clauses
U.S. SENATE News:
- Senators Also Ask Equifax to Clarify if It Supports New Consumer Financial Protection Rule That Would Limit Forced Arbitration
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich joined a broad Democratic effort led by Sens. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) to push Equifax—the massive credit bureau that recently made public a data breach affecting 143 million Americans—to completely end its use of forced arbitration agreements, which limit the ability of consumers to pursue justice in a public court of law or challenge widespread Read More
Luján Statement Honoring Hispanic Heritage Month
From the Office of U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján:
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, today released a statement honoring Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs Sept.r 15 to Oct. 15:
“As we celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, I am proud to honor the history, culture and achievements of our Hispanic communities. In New Mexico, we know well the indelible mark that Hispanic communities have had on our culture. Our art, music, food, and traditions are all reflective of the long, proud history of more than 400 years of Hispanic influence Read More
Council Corner: Working Together To Enhance Our Community
In Part 1 of my editorial on code enforcement, I covered the “why” behind the program, and in Part 2, I addressed the “how” of the process that is involved. Today in Part 3, I would like to talk more philosophically about code enforcement and what the County and the community can do to assist with resources.
Let me address the “government-encroachment” argument first which I have heard a few times. I can understand that some, and probably most individuals feel an initial gut feeling of government overreach when an ordinance Read More
Alert: AG Warns Of Equifax Security Breach Scam
From the Attorney General’s Office:
ALBUQUERQUE – This morning, Attorney General Hector Balderas issued a Scam Alert warning New Mexicans to protect themselves against callers attempting to use the recent security breach at Equifax to perpetrate a new kind of scam.
The new scam involves callers pretending to represent Equifax and asking for personal and financial information over the phone. Equifax will not be calling anyone asking for their personal or financial information.
“Equifax is not going to call and ask for your information,” Balderas warns, noting that his office has Read More
Letter To The Editor: Nuisance Ordinance – It’s Even Worse Than It Sounds
I am indebted to David Izraelevitz (link) for explaining to citizens in excruciating detail how burdensome, unpleasant, aggressive and bureaucratic the enforcement of weeds over 18 inches has become in Los Alamos. For this enforcement we must create acronyms, have well defined timelines and threaten court action. It’s really difficult for me to think of something so anathema to good neighbors and neighborhoods and a clearer demonstration of poor governance.
That there are reports from citizens that the “best practices” described are not followed Read More
Lujan Grisham Secures $5 million In Additional Funding For High-Crime Cities
DOE Announces WIPP Contract Extension
The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad. Courtesy photo
WIPP News:
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce released the following statement after the Department of Energy (DOE) announced a three-year extension to the AECOM Management and Operations Contract for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad:
“WIPP is a major contributor to the Carlsbad economy and plays a critical role in our nation’s security. The site’s success does not come from the company who manages, but rather the community that supports it, and the dedicated employees Read More
Appropriations Bill Passes With Pearce Amendments
Letter To The Editor: More Utility Rate Increases
Remember that discussion a couple of months back about how sewer rates were being rubber-stamped each year for the past five years at 8 percent each year. The Department of Public Utilities wanted an 8 percent increase this year to show that they had revenues to get financing for the White Rock Water Treatment Facility (WRWTF or WWTF).
Remember that I was a strong advocate of tying the increases to the specific projects that they were using as rationale so that they could be removed when that obligation went away? Instead, the Council approved the increases to allow the DPU Read More
Council Corner: The ‘How’ Of Code Enforcement
- Part 2 of a 3-part series
- In Part 1 of my editorial on code enforcement, I covered the “why” behind the program. Today, I would like to address in some detail the “how” of code enforcement, a process which is managed within the Community Development Department (CDD) by two full-time Code Enforcement Officers. My hope is that by explaining a little more about the process, I can help clear up confusion and concern in our community.
Let’s begin with clarifying two terms that seem to be interchangeable when the public discusses this sensitive topic, but are very Read More