Albuquerque cuts ties with Orion Center aerospace company – By Associated Press
Albuquerque city officials are cutting ties and moving on from plans for what they had hoped would be a flagship addition to New Mexico's burgeoning aerospace industry.
The city announced Friday that the Washington, D.C.-based aerospace company behind the planned Orion Center never signed a lease agreement and has not followed through on its commitments. Officials said concerns had been raised about Group Orion and its parent company, TGI.
Plans at one point called for building a large campus on city land near the airport — a project that company officials had said could one day employ as many as 2,500 workers. Group Orion had plans to map and model the Earth's surface using a network of satellites.
Upon City Council approval of the land and lease agreement in April, the city asked TGI to sign the agreement and make an initial payment of $1 million, which did not happen.
"The proposal seemed a little 'too good to be true' but we wanted to at least give it a shot at no risk to the city," Mayor Tim Keller said in a statement. "After waiting eight months for them to seal the deal, it's time we move on."
Keller said the promise of developing an aviation center is still strong and that the city plans to look for other tenants.
TGI, the parent company of Group Orion, faces financial and legal trouble. In November, a federal court in New York appointed a receiver to take control of TGI's assets and operations.
The company did not immediately return a message seeking comment on Albuquerque's announcement.
The city said it did not offer TGI any economic incentives while exploring the lease.
Pandemic relief spending bill passes in New Mexico House – Cedar Attanasio, Associated Press / Report for America
The New Mexico House on Friday passed a bill for funneling federal pandemic relief funding to improve broadband internet improvement projects and the state's road infrastructure after a committee added more spending items to the bill.
An amendment put in the bill by the House Appropriations and Finance Committee calls for using $50 million to build a rural hospital. While a location for the hospital has not been determined, some legislators were leaning toward building it in Valencia County, south of Albuquerque.
Another amendment consolidated $123 million in internet funding to allow state officials flexibility in deciding which technology to improve broadband access in underserved areas, especially rural regions. New Mexico has considered methods ranging from traditional fiber optic cable to internet beamed to the ground by satellites and blimps.
Republican committee members complained that $25 million in existing internet projects have stalled because they have not been funded.
"They've been vetted. They've been approved, and they're sitting on a shelf lacking funding," said Rep. Randal Crowder of Clovis.
Broadband also was also discussed earlier Friday in the Senate, with one lawmaker announcing that state officials are considering buying a new form of satellite internet for rural students — most of whom have lacked internet access through the pandemic.
The state Public Education Department is working on a deal to connect rural students to the internet through StarLink, a SpaceX satellite network that will offer service to the public in New Mexico starting next year. Agency spokeswoman Judy Robinson said the cost would be $1.6 million for the first year of service and for the installation of receivers.
The legislation passed by the House also includes $142 million for roads and $2 million for a teacher training fund.
Boosting the training fund is aimed at pulling the state out of a growing teacher shortage that has swelled to about 1,000 unfilled vacancies. Supporters have said the bill could support as many as 1,500 educators and aspiring educators, mostly by subsidizing university tuition for college students who want to become teachers.
"Our teacher shortage is acute," Democratic Rep. Nathan Small of Las Cruces said, adding that he wanted aspiring teachers to know the Legislature is taking action.
New Mexico Senate endorses Democrats' redistricting map – By Morgan Lee And Cedar Attanasio, Associated Press
New Mexico's Legislature pushed forward Friday with Democratic-sponsored redistricting plans to draw new political boundaries for three congressional seats and the state House after the state Senate approved the plan.
The Senate voted 25-15 in support for the redistricting plan from Democratic state Sen. Joseph Cervantes that bolsters the Hispanic majority to 56% in New Mexico's southern 2nd District and divides a conservative, oil-producing region into multiple districts. The proposal now moves to the Democrat-led House for consideration.
Cervantes said his plan brings together rural and urban communities in all districts to better reflect the overall composition of the state.
"Let's reimagine a New Mexico where our districts include rural and urban areas," said Cervantes, whose plan would extend the southern 2nd congressional district to incorporate heavily Hispanic portions of western and southern Albuquerque.
The changes would provide Democrats with an advantage over Republicans in all three districts, to varying degrees.
Republicans were unified in their opposition. GOP state Sen. David Gallegos of Eunice said the proposed congressional map would dilute the influence of his constituents in southeastern New Mexico by pairing the heavily Democratic city of Santa Fe with the conservative oilfield community of Hobbs, which is hundreds of miles away.
"I just feel like we'll lose all representation," Gallegos said.
The state's southern 2nd District has been historically dominated by Republicans. Republican U.S. Rep. Yvette Herrell, a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump, won the district in 2020 by ousting a one-term Democrat.
Republicans need a net gain of just five seats in 2022 to take control of the U.S. House and effectively freeze President Joe Biden's agenda on everything from climate change to the economy.
Unaffiliated state Sen. Jacob Candelaria, who was a Democrat until this week, sided with Republicans.
He warned that urban Hispanics in Albuquerque stand to lose political influences over key political priorities, such as urban crime and traffic — even if they bolster the Hispanic majority in the 2nd District that extends to remote stretches of the U.S. border with Mexico.
The proposed congressional map from Democrats closely resembles a redistricting plan promoted by the progressive-leaning Center for Civil Policy group that promotes greater representation for disadvantaged communities.
The center and a coalition of advocacy groups have called for a stronger Latino majority in the state's southern district, arguing that the region's minority populations feel overlooked by politicians.
Two of the state's congressional seats have been held by Democrats for more than a decade. Democrats hold the upper hand in New Mexico's redistricting process because they control the governor's office and have broad majorities in the state House and Senate.
Also Friday, the state House voted 43 to 23 to approve new political boundaries for its members, amid an hourslong debate on a Democratic-sponsored bill. It now goes to the Senate for consideration.
The House redistricting plan from Rep. Damon Ely of Corrales would shore up Native American voting majorities in six districts across the heavily Indigenous northwestern region of the state.
Republican House members have said that the map, promoted in the name of robust minority representation, would gut the districts of two GOP legislators — a Latino and a Black woman.
Republican House minority leader James Townsend of Artesia urged the House to reconsider.
"She deserves the rights and consideration that you said was important to you," he said, referring to Rep. Jane Powdrell-Culbert of Corrales.
New Mexico school enrollment flat even though kids in class – By Cedar Attanasio, Associated Press / Report for America
New Mexico public schools have not recovered from the 4% drop in enrollment during the coronavirus pandemic despite the return to in-person schooling.
The state had already seen enrollment decline around 1% following years of fewer births and an aging population. The closure of school doors last year accelerated the decline, as many families opted to homeschool instead of attending virtual schools.
Public school enrollment from pre-K through high school stayed virtually flat this year at 318,608, marking a decrease of 13 students compared to last fall, according to data released by the education department.
In Albuquerque, kindergarten represented the largest drop in enrollment last year, but administrators hoped they'd be back, even at the risk of overflowing classrooms. But there was no rebound. In fact, enrollment is slightly down in all grade levels this year.
"In some cases they're staying home. Some may be in private schools. And some — we wonder if they've left the state," said Albuquerque Superintendent Scott Elder.
Because school funding is directly tied to enrollment, Albuquerque had a $35 million hole in the budget last year, filled with one-time federal funds.
Home school enrollment accounted for around half of the enrollment decline across the state last year, from around 8,800 to 15,400. This year homeschooling is slightly down, at 10,300.
Navajo president: Tribe can't afford a large COVID-19 surge – Associated Press
Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said Friday that the tribe's health care system already has been tested by the coronavirus pandemic and that the tribe cannot afford to have another large surge in new cases.
Tribal health officials reported an additional 61 confirmed infections Friday and one more death. The total number of deaths now stands at 1,558.
"We cannot let down our guard during this holiday season," Nez said. "We've seen how quickly variants can spread in our communities, especially during family gatherings."
He urged people to take precautions, such as wearing a mask in public, practicing social distancing, limiting travel and washing hands often.
The reservation covers 27,000 square miles (70,000 square kilometers) and extends into parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.