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IF BERNHARD REIMANN WINS HIS BID FOR THE CAPITAN MAYORS OFFICE MARCH SECOND, HE WILL BRING PLENTY OF LIFE EXPERIENCE, 87 YEARS WORTH. REIMANN WOULD TURN 88 TWO MONTHS INTO THE FOUR YEAR TERM IF HE WINS. AND THE RETIRED BIOLOGIST AND GERMAN IMMIGRANT SAYS VOTERS DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT WHETHER HE HAS THE ENERGY OR DRIVE TO HEAD THE LINCOLN COUNTY VILLAGE OF 1500 PEOPLE. THE OTHER CANDIDATES FOR MAYOR INCLUDE THE INCUMBENT SAMMY HAMMONS WHO IS SEEKING A SECOND TERM AND FORMER TRUSTEE GEORGE TIPPIN.  REIMANN SAYS, IF ELECTED, HE WILL TRY TO RUN VILLAGE GOVERNMENT MORE PROFESSIONALLY AND MAKE IT MORE ACCESSIBLE TO RESIDENTS.

A BILL THAT COULD HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE RACETRACK IN RUIDOSO DOWNS WAS INTRODUCED IN THE STATE HOUSE LAST WEEK (01-28).  THE BUSINESS RETENTION GROSS RECEIPTS TAX AND GAMING TAX BILL, WOULD ALLOW THE LINCOLN COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS TO AUTHORIZE A COUNTY WIDE ELECITON FOR THE PURPOSE OF RAISING THE COUNTY GROSS RECEIPTS TAX, TO BE DEDICATED TO THE RACE TRACK, IF IT IS APPROVED. THE VOTE MUST BE HELD WITHIN 75 DAYS OF THE SIGNING OF THE BILL.   IF COUNTY VOTERS DEFEAT THE PROPOSAL, THE ISSUE COULD NOT BE BROUGHT BACK BEFORE THE VOTERS FOR AT LEAST ONE YEAR FROM THE DATE OF THE ELECTION. 

OTERO COUNTY CUSTOMERS OF El Paso Electric SHOULD SEE THEIR ELECTRIC BILLS LOWERED ABOUT TWO PER CENT.   THE NEW MEXICO PUBLIC REGULATION COMMISSION RULED LAST WEEK EL PASO ELECTRIC CUSTOMERS IN DONA ANA AND OTERO COUNTIES will no longer have to pay the utility a franchise fee.  LAST WEEK, The commission also ordered El Paso Electric to refund its customers in New Mexico nearly $5.6 million during the next three years. The decision DOES not affect El Paso Electric customers in El Paso or the proposed rate increase that could come this summer. The company wants the El Paso City Council and the state to approve an increase averaging 9.6 percent on El Paso bills. 

WORK CONTINUES ON WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE TO TAKE AMERICA’S NEXT LEAP INTO SPACE EXPLORATION WITH THE LAUNCH AND TEST OF THE LAUNCH ABORT SYSTEM TO BE CONDUCTED THIS YEAR. NASA IS WORKING HARD TO DEVELOP A SHUTTLE REPLACEMENT. THE NEW ORION CREW EXPLORATION VEHICLE, BEING DEVELOPED UNDER NASA’S CONSTELLATION PROGRAM, WILL REPLACE THE SPACE CAPABLE LARGE GLIDER OF THE SPACE SHUTTLE WITH A COMPACT CAPSULE SYSTEM THAT HAS A SIMILAR APPEARANCE TO THE ONES USED IN THE APPOLO PROGRAM. CRITICAL TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEW SPACECRAFT WILL BE THE TESTING OF THE LAUNCH ABORT SYSTEM AT WHITE SANDS MISSLE RANGE PLANNED FOR LATER THIS YEAR. WSMR’S LARGE SIZE AND AIRSPACE MAKE IT THE ONLY LOCATION IN THE U.S. THAT A TEST OF THIS KIND CAN BE CONDUCTED.

THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR HAS ANNOUNCED $225 MILLION IN ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR THE SENIOR COMMUNITY SERVICE EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM IN FISCAL YEAR 2010. THIS FUNDING WAS PROVIDED IN THE CONSOLIDATED APPROPRIATIONS ACT OF 2010 TO ALLOW GRANTEES TO IMMEDIATELY ADDRESS UNMET NEEDS FOR EMPLOYMENT AND JOB TRAINING AMONG LOW INCOME, OLDER AMERICAN WORKERS. NEW MEXICO WILL RECEIVE  ABOUT $278,000.

SUCCESSFUL APPICANTS WERE CHOSEN BASED ON DEMONSTRATED NEED AMONG THE OLDER WORKER POPULATIONS THEY SERVE, THE CAPACITY TO IMMEDIATELY AND EFFECTIVELY EXPEND THE ADDITIONAL FUNDS AND PAST PERFORMANCE IN SERVING OLDER WORKERS.

AS LEGISLATORS LOOK FOR WAYS TO SOLVE THE STATE’S BUDGET WOES, CLOSING A TAX LOOPHOLE FOR CORPORATIONS THAT OPERATE IN NEW MEXICO IS ONE SUGGESTION THAT’S GAINING POPULARITY. A PROPOSED TAX REFORM CALLED “COMBINED REPORTING” WOULD END THE TAX SHELTERS THAT LARGE, MULTI-STATE CORPORATIONS USE TO AVOID PAYING STATE INCOME TAXES. THE COMPANIES ARGUE THAT IT COULD LEAD TO A LOSS OF NEW MEXICO JOBS, BUT A NEW REPORT EXAMINED 78 MULTI-STATE CORPORATIONS, AND FOUND THAT 71 OF THEM ALREADY COMPLY WITH  COMBINED REPORTING IN AT LEAST ONE OTHER STATE. BILLS TO IMPLEMENT COMBINED REPORTING HAVE BEEN INTRODUCED IN RECENT YEARS WITHOUT SUCCESS, AND THE IDEA HAS COME UP AGAIN THIS YEAR IN SENATE BILL 90. COMPANIES IN THE REPORT INCLUDE BOEING, INTEL, MOTOROLA, TARGET, WELLS FARGO, AMONG OTHERS.

THANKS TO STATE REPRESENTATIVE ZACH COOK OF RUIDOSO, NEW MEXICANS WILL NOW BE ABLE TO WATCH PROCEEDINGS IN THE STATE HOUSE OF REPRESENATIVES.  NEW HOUSE RULES, PROPOSED BY REPRESENATTIVE COOK AND Rep. Jeff Steinborn OF Las Cruces WERE ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY LAST FRIDAY.  THE NEW RULES require House committees to immediately begin broadcasting meetings as an audio stream on the Internet, and to have both audio and video broadcasting beginning next session.

Webcasts of committee meetings became a contentious issue last year when Rep. Janice Arnold Jones, R-Albuquerque, attempted to broadcast a meeting without prior approval of the chairman. A compromise at that time left the decision up to each committee’s chair. The new rule will require all meetings to be broadcast.