E-mail your news and comments. (newsguy@yahoo.com)
Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here.
Thursday, July 03, 2025Something To Brag About; ABQ Sunport Ranked Among The Best In USA, Plus: Sandia Layoffs; They Happened Before, And: Happy Fourth, New Mexico.jpg) Now as the peak vacation travel season gets going, we're glad to see that view shared by the Washington Post as they rank the ABQ International Sunport the nation's seventh best on their top fifty list. An excerpt: Few airports embody their location more than the Sunport, a study in the Southwestern aesthetic. The adobe-style terminal feels like it belongs in a local pueblo rather than the gateway to New Mexico. Take a moment in the Great Hall after check-in to soak in the vibe on one of the airport’s wood-and-leather chairs or benches. It’s “totally New Mexico,” as one reader put it.  Fliers love ♥ Murals in the Great Hall from Native American artist Pop Chalee that depict buffalo and horses. Close to the city, it’s 5 miles from Albuquerque’s city hall. Congrats to all the Sunport staff, especially the maintenance division whose work is consistently outstanding. We could not ask for a better gateway to the Land of Enchantment and now the nation knows. BOTTOM LINES & HAPPY FOURTH About those layoffs at Sandia National Labs that we reported of this week and where we said that they appeared to be the first in "living memory," we get this from reader Michael Emerson: Joe, see page 11 of this report this on Sandia's history: . . .From 1970 to 1974, national budgets for research and development declined by nearly a third.” Federally funded nondefense research and development had undergone a 22 percent reduction from 1966 to 1975 due to the costs of the Vietnam War. This reduced funding resulted in three personnel layoffs at Sandia in 1970, 1971, and 1973.
 As a result of the 1970s layoffs, Sandia has avoided the practice and the use of the term “layoffs." Great stuff, Michael. In this case "living memory" is for those under the age of 60. . . In a first draft Wednesday we stated that Dem land commission candidate Juan Sanchez did not mention Sen. Martin Heinrich, who has endorsed his candidacy, on his website. That was an oversight. The senator is mentioned on Sanchez's bio page as well as the endorsement section. That's it for now. Happy Fourth, New Mexico. Frank, fly us out of here. . .from the Sunport. This is the Home of New Mexico Politics.Wednesday, July 02, 2025Dem Land Commissioner Race Draws Three Notable Candidates; Two Up And Coming Thirtysomethings And A Veteran Lawmaker
Six term Santa Fe county state Rep. Matthew McQueen, 56, is giving up the HD 50 seat he has held since 2015 to make the run. He is a House committee chairman, an attorney and equipped with a resume longer than the train on Lauren Sanchez's wedding gown. Tucumcari area rancher Jonas Moya, 34, served as executive director of the New Mexico Cattle Growers' Association, is a former Biden-appointed state director for the Farm Service Agency and has an air of confidence about him. Juan Sanchez, 32, has deep family roots in Socorro and Valencia counties and experience as natural resource specialist and ranger for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. However, he is best known in political circles as a former top political aide to US Sen. Heinrich who has already endorsed him. If elected, any one of this trio is set to be an aggressive administrator of the State Land Office which oversees some 9 million acres of state trust land benefiting the public schools, universities and hospitals. RACE OUTLOOK McQueen came into the race this week with good timing, becoming the solo Anglo candidate against the two Hispanic hopefuls. His background is rock solid with progressives. That record includes the break he made with MLG over hydrogen development, a bane to the enviros. Sanchez's endorsement by Heinrich is a mixed blessing. It should help with fundraising but Heinrich's flirtation with a possible run for the Dem Guv nomination against Deb Haaland stings with some progressives. Also hovering is Heinrich's unsuccessful endorsement of a Dem primary candidate for land commissioner in 2018. Sanchez is also making note of his service as vice-chairman of the NM Dem party when Haaland was chair. Moya would seem to come at the office with a slightly more moderate approach than his rivals, given his background as a rancher and former head of the cattle group. If McQueen and Sanchez start splitting votes up maybe he could pass them by. He is not a lightweight.McQueen is the only one of the three with a political base and it's in important Santa Fe. He also has stature among state and national environmental groups for being the real deal and that aforementioned independent streak. He could be positioned to win the pre-primary convention. Stephanie Garcia Richard has completed two terms as land commissioner and is now running for the Dem nomination for lieutenant governor. Skeptics questioned her credentials for the land office job but she proved capable over her eight year run. As for the Republicans, none has announced a run yet. With three notable entrants the Dems don't appear likely to loose their grip on the office. This is the Home of New Mexico Politics. E-mail your news and comments. (newsguy@yahoo.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here. Tuesday, July 01, 2025Mayor '25: White Wounded; Uballez Pounces; Former Sheriff Called Out For Claiming Florida Residency That Won Him A Tax Break; Impact On Race Weighed
Former Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White brushes aside taking advantage of the Florida Homestead Property Tax Exemption to get a $50,000 tax exemption on his Port St. Joe house since 2022, asserting that "voters care more about crime in Albuquerque than property tax technicalities in Florida," But do they? After decades in public service White had already accumulated more than his fair share of political baggage. That includes his forced resignation as ABQ's Public Safety Director under GOP Mayor Berry after intervening in the police investigation of a serious auto accident involving his then wife. (Our comprehensive coverage of that 2011 drama is here.) There are many other examples of White's public troubles but the addition of the tax scheme of claiming he was a resident of Florida is fresh meat foe his opponents. Besides damaging his integrity, the incident could slow White's fund-raising as potential donors hesitate over his candidacy. White and other candidates tried and failed to qualify for public financing and are now trying to resuscitate their campaigns by going private. City finance reports come out July 14. Mayor Tim Keller is the only contender to quality for the $756,000 in public money. Several political consultants we interviewed believe that it will take at least $500,000 for a Keller foe to have a fighting chance, barring any major mistakes by the incumbent. Conventional wisdom has had White a favorite to finish second behind Keller and perhaps get in a run-off with Keller. If no candidate wins 50 percent of the vote at the Nov. 4 election a month later a run-off election would be held between the top two vote-getters. It's no longer clear that White would be the natural to come in second behind the Dem mayor. UBALLEZ POUNCES
While our neighbors are struggling to afford rent or keep up with property tax, Darren White was avoiding paying his fair share on his beachfront home in Florida. Especially right now, we need a mayor with a track record of serving the public good, not dodging their responsibility to contribute to it. Among a long list of disqualifications, this raises the question of whether this is the quality of leadership we deserve. The Journal reported the disclosure of White's now ill-fated tax exemption came first from "an outside source affiliated with a Republican political consulting firm." We broke the news here last month that well-known national GOP consulting firm Axiom has been signed by Daniel Chavez, the parking lot businessman, who is running as an independent and put up $100,000 of personal funds to ensure he collected enough petition signatures to qualify for the ballot. It is not known whether Rockville, MD based Axiom was the behind the scenes player busting White. Those that could benefit from it in addition to Chavez are conservative Democrats Louie Sanchez, Mayling Armijo and retired firefighter Eddie Varela, the only other Republican besides White in the race. That's music to the ears of Uballez, the other progressive in the race in addition to Keller and who needs all the breaks he can get. A former Sheriff claiming residency in another state that he doesn't have while condemning Keller for being a failure on crime is just that kind of break. THE BOTTOM LINES Houses in Port St. Joe, located on Florida's westside with a population of 4,200, sell for around $500,000, according to Zillow. The $50,000 tax exemption White claimed would save him around $1,000 a year, according to the state. White now rents out the house. White received a medical cannabis license during the administration of GOP Gov. Susana Martinez. He served as co-owner and CEO of PūrLife from 2015 until the company was sold in September 2021. The company gave $11,000 to Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham's 2018 campaign. As Governor she successfully pursued legalization of marijuana that was approved by the legislature in 2021. This is the Home of New Mexico Politics. E-mail your news and comments. (newsguy@yahoo.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here. Monday, June 30, 2025Sandia's Shocker: Layoffs Announced At ABQ Federal Nuclear Lab As Renewable Energy Research Targeted; Up to 500 Job Losses; DC Delegation So far Silent; Optimists Say Cuts Are "One And Done" But Caution In The Air They probably need an anthropologist to tell them what it means, because in Sandia's nearly 80 year history even old timers can't recall the nuclear weapons research and development institution using that dreary noun. But there it is, against all odds and splashed across the headlines for all to guffaw at. (A reader now informs there were layoffs in the early 70's and we'll follow up on that.) Like so many other norms under Trump, this one died a public death with the Labs announcing that 1 to 3 percent of its workforce--as many as 510 well-paid employees--would be let go due to a "restructuring" at the place where nuclear weapons are born and raised. Say what? doesn't come close to describing the surprise this has been greeted with. Most everyone missed or didn't take to heart the recent congressional testimony of Sec. of Energy Chris Wright where he detailed a sharper definition for the mission of the nation's 17 national laboratories and forthcoming budget cuts. Sen. Martin Heinrich, the senior Democrat on the Senate Energy Committee where Wright made his case, did see it coming, saying Wright's new paradigm would mean slashing $2.75 billion and 7,700 jobs. Months ago the New Mexican raised a red flag over funding for Los Alamos Laboratories but it turns out that the budget for that nuclear weapons outpost will actually grow under Wright's plans--not so Sandia. Los Alamos is so busy they have placed employees in Santa Fe because of a lack of space as they focus on nuclear weapons modernization. Sandia's mission is broader and more vulnerable. ABQ'S SPINAL CORD Heinrich and the rest of the state's DC delegation, always ready to boast of how they "protect the labs," had not a word to say as Sandia dropped their bombshell (thankfully not a live one). Perhaps being made speechless by the seemingly unprecedented news is their excuse. Sandia, the spinal cord of the ABQ metro economy, has a workforce of nearly 17,000 with 13,000 of them in ABQ and the remainder in California. The annual budget is around $3.5 billion. That is major moolah in a state of a bit more than 2 million souls and not much of a private business climate. When the Alligators were done choking on their tortillas, they posed the all-important question: Is this a one and done deal or are we in for something more disturbing? DOWNSIZING CAUSE The downsizing appears to be driven not only over cost concerns but the administration's antipathy toward renewable energy research. We see where $49 million is being stripped from the Lab's budget for research for the Holy Trinity of the environmental left-- solar, wind and geothermal--seen on the right as a triple waste of time. And that line item to have Sandia look into methane mitigation? Forget it. It's gone and to the applause of the oil boys. The hit on renewables comes with the support of the now notorious Project 2025 whose manifesto reshaping the federal government was circulating even before Musk and the DOGE cutters came along. A PEAK IS REACHED  Looking at the 2020 numbers, total jobs skyrocketed to 14,000 with 1,100 new positions amid the start of the updating of the nation's nuclear arsenal.That compares with the aforementioned 17,000 employees today, so even if the full 3 percent layoff target is implemented, Sandia's recent rapid growth is hardly negated. A former aide to Senator Jeff Bingaman, who chaired Senate Energy as did Senator Pete Domenici and who were were known for safeguarding the lab budgets for decades, was cautious about the future, telling us: E-mail your news and comments. (newsguy@yahoo.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here. |
Links
Archives
|
