BernCo set to issue bonds for new film studio - By Rodd Cayton, City Desk ABQ
A proposed film studio complex could be a boon for the Albuquerque area, Bernalillo County commissioners said at their meeting Tuesday.
But they also said they want to make sure the project is done right, and that the developers address the concerns of neighbors at the proposed West Mesa site.
Commissioners voted to approve a preliminary resolution that could pave the way for the county to issue $186 million in industrial revenue bonds for the construction project, on behalf of Mesa Film Studios LLC.
Industrial revenue bonds provide tax exemptions for the purchase of land, buildings and equipment. Bondholders are repaid by the revenue the project generates. The government entity takes on no debt, and does not make a loan or lend its credit to the company.
County staff says the studio project would create 48 new full-time jobs over seven years, with an average annual salary of more than $54,000. The complex would include six sound stages, office space, a post-production studio and other features.
The City of Albuquerque and the State of New Mexico have committed a total of $7 million in economic development money to the project and the city plans to lease the land to Mesa Film Studios.
The company is working with the city to secure the necessary zoning changes to move forward. The proposed location is north of Double Eagle II Airport. County commissioners would give final approval of the bonds after the project has gone through the city’s process.
Harry Relkin, representing Mesa Film Studios, said the company sought to make the project collaborative, with the private sector and all three governmental entities invested.
Commissioner Walt Benson said the bonds present an opportunity for the county to ensure the best development.
“This gives us a seat at the table,” Benson said. “If we’re trying to make sure this is done right, this is how we can do it … I’m excited and I look forward to hearing the solutions that you provide for our constituents, our residents and our regional community members as well.”
Trash hike approved by Bernalillo County commissioners - Rodd Cayton, City Desk ABQ
The cost of taking out the trash is going up for residents of unincorporated areas of Bernalillo County.
County commissioners on Tuesday voted to approve a 6.5% increase in residential solid waste user fees.
Basic trash service — which includes one trash receptacle and one cart for recyclables — is going from $18.72 a month to $19.94.
Antonio Jaramillo, the county’s director of operations and maintenance, said the contract with Waste Management of New Mexico allows the rate to be raised each year to match growth in the consumer price index. He said the increases are usually every other year, although this time around the rate is going up in consecutive years.
Commissioners also approved a related motion to increase the solid waste services budget by $420,000, matching the revenues the rate increase is expected to produce.
The county has about 25,000 solid waste customers.
Share of foreign-born in the U.S. at highest rate in more than a century, says survey - By Mike Schneider and Gisela Salomon, Associated Press
The percent of U.S. residents who were foreign-born last year grew to its highest level in more than a century, according to figures released Thursday from the most comprehensive survey of American life.
The share of people born outside the United States increased in 2023 to 14.3% from 13.9% in 2022, according to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau's annual American Community Survey, which tracks commuting times, internet access, family life, income, education levels, disabilities, military service, and employment, among other topics.
International migrants have become a primary driver of population growth this decade, increasing their share of the overall population as fewer children are being born in the U.S. compared to years past. The rate of the foreign-born population in the United States hasn't been this high since 1910 when it was 14.7%, driven by waves of people emigrating in search of a better life around the end of the 19th century and the start of the 20th century.
"We knew that here you can have savings, live well. Here you can have normal services such as water and electricity," said Luciana Bracho, who moved legally to Miami from Venezuela as part of a humanitarian parole program with her boyfriend, parents and brother in April 2023. "I like Miami and the opportunities that I have had."
In 2023, international migrants accounted for more than two-thirds of the population growth in the United States, and so far this decade they have made up almost three-quarters of U.S. growth.
The growth of people born outside the U.S. appears to have been driven by people coming from Latin America, whose share of the foreign-born population increased year-over-year to 51.2% from 50.3%, according to the estimates. Latin America was the only world region of origin to experience an increase among those U.S. residents born in another country, as the share of foreign-born residents from Europe and Asia dropped slightly.
Nicole Díaz, a Venezuelan opposition activist, left after receiving threats to her life and lived in Peru and Ecuador before moving to the Miami area legally in February 2023 with her husband and 9-year-old daughter. Díaz described herself as "100 percent happy" living in South Florida, where they pay $2,300 a month for a two-bedroom apartment.
"After being in different countries, working here is relaxed, despite the language," Díaz said. "But housing is very expensive, and we have been evaluating moving to another state because here all the salary goes for the rent."
Among the states with the largest year-over-year bumps in the foreign-born population was Delaware, going to 11.2% from 9.9%; Georgia, to 11.6% from 10.7%; and New Mexico, to 10.2% from 9.3% The share of the foreign-born population dropped slightly in the District of Columbia, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and Oregon.
The Census Bureau figures don't distinguish whether people are in the United States legally or illegally. Illegal immigration has become a contentious topic in the 2024 presidential race, even as illegal border crossings from Mexico plunged this summer after reaching a record last December.
The rate of U.S. residents who identify as Hispanic, no matter what race, jumped last year to 19.4% from 19.1% in the previous year, according to the survey. At the same time, those who identify as non-Hispanic white alone dropped from 57.7% to 57.1%. The share of U.S. residents who identify as Black alone dropped slightly, from 12.2% to 12.1%, and it increased slightly for those who identify as Asian alone from 5.9% to 6%.
Residents in the United States continued to get older, as the median age increased from 39 in 2022 to 39.2 in 2023. The nation's aging is taking place as a majority of baby boomers have become senior citizens and Millennials are entering middle age. While the share of children under age 18 remained steady at 21.7% year-over-year, the share of senior citizens age 65 and over increased to 17.7% from 17.3%.
Meanwhile, a post-pandemic bump in working from home continued its slide back to pre-COVID-19 times, as the share of employees working from home dropped last year to 13.8% from 15.2% in the previous year.
In 2021, the first full year after the pandemic's start, almost 18% of employees were working from home, up from 5.7% in 2019. But return-to-office mandates in the past two years have reversed that trend and caused commute times to bump up slightly last year, growing on average to 26.8 minutes from 26.4 minutes.