Trever Cartoon roasts PNM
11.15.2021
Sometimes a few words in a cartoon are as effective (or more) than thousands of words. This Trever cartoon from the Sunday Albuquerque Journal really says what we’ve been writing about and discussing for months.
Sometimes a few words in a cartoon are as effective (or more) than thousands of words. This Trever cartoon from the Sunday Albuquerque Journal really says what we’ve been writing about and discussing for months.
Over the weekend Colorado Gov. Jared Polis made news (at least in New Mexico) when he said that he would NOT reimpose a statewide mask mandate citing New Mexico’s high COVID infection rate (despite its mandate) as a reason for not doing it.
What was lost in the coverage is the fact that Gov. Polis has ALSO made “monclonal antibody” treatment a top priority.
Antibody treatment early in the disease’s course can reduce the odds of hospitalization by about 70%, but vaccines lower the odds by about 90%. Still, if a person didn’t get vaccinated, antibody treatment is their best option, Polis said.
“We need every bed that we have in our hospitals,” he said during a news briefing.
What about monoclonal antibody treatment in New Mexico? We searched the Gov.’s website and found no statements about it in recent months. The Albuquerque Journal’s most recent article was from January of 2021. There IS information available from the Department of Health which includes information on infusion centers and who qualifies for the treatment.
Recently, global leaders gathered in Glasgow for the COP26 climate summit. It was here that nations, both large and small, made commitments to combat and slow the effects of climate change. It should concern us that many of the proposals and agreements target some of our most critically important industries, including oil and gas, putting jobs, affordable fuels and energy and our economy at risk.
The United States has tried this tactic and it consistently fails. Most recently, President Biden agreed to and implemented sweeping government regulations related to the environment without fully understanding the impacts upon communities in energy states like New Mexico.
Take, for example, the recent ban on oil and natural gas leasing on public lands and in offshore waters. Despite a groundswell of opposition from states who said the ban could cause significant community harm and economic loss, the Department of Interior pressed forward with its leasing moratorium, seemingly without even considering its consequences. 2021 will mark the first year in decades no onshore federal leasing auctions will have occurred across the US.
Federal lands currently compose nearly 35% of New Mexico’s total area, and a federal oil and gas leasing ban would immediately threaten the welfare and future of our state. We would lose critical jobs at a time when the economy is reeling, and our unemployment rate remains one of the highest in the nation. At the same time, ban would eliminate critical tax revenues that pay for schools, hospitals, roads and other infrastructure, keeping the government from dipping into the pockets of taxpayers.
Fortunately, this hasty decision was overturned in court after 12 states sued the Department of Interior. But it still represents a dangerous trend we see on both sides of the aisle—government representatives putting politics and big government over the best interests of our people—and it is unacceptable.
Moreover, sweeping government policies such as a leasing ban rarely work as intended. Instead, they hamstring businesses and stifle innovation, hurt our middle- and lower-income citizens and communities and always have unintended consequences. And it is important to keep this in mind as we consider ways to address climate change, especially for states like New Mexico.
It should be clear to U.S. officials that working together with energy companies, not actively against, will be the best path to a cleaner, more sustainable future. Already, energy companies are heavily investing in innovative solutions, like carbon capture and storage, to reduce emissions while protecting jobs and revenues and keeping energy costs low. We should continue encouraging this type of collaboration and innovation between government and private industry to effectively balance economic growth with climate goals.
Angelo Artuso is a pro-liberty attorney based in Albuquerque. He is currently representing a group of Los Alamos National Lab Employees In a Federal Lawsuit Over COVID-19 mandates at the Lab on the basis of religious discrimination.
Considering that New Mexico’s Gov. and Legislature seem to adopt whatever the latest leftist California is, it is always important to keep an eye on what happens on the “left coast.”
This article from Forbes gives me hope that New Mexico may not be crazy enough to follow through with the push to “unreliables” like wind and solar.
Apparently in California the idea is to just “deem” natural gas a “zero carbon” fuel and move on. As we noted a few months ago California recently built several new natural gas plants in an effort to shore up the reliability of their electrical grid.
While natural gas is certainly a low-carbon fuel, unlike nuclear it is NOT zero-carbon. But, perhaps this is a sign that when grid reliability and the “green” agenda butt up against each other even the most “progressive” politician will decide to keep the lights on.
On this week’s podcast, Paul and Wally discuss the spread of COVID19 in New Mexico and the high levels of infections occurring in New Mexico. They also discuss the differing media reaction to Florida and states in the Mountain West.
NM Film workers place blame for issues on set w/ out-of-state-leaders. There are also workplace issues with at least this movie. How does this square with New Mexico’s highly-subsidized film industry?
Biden’s vaccine mandate for businesses w/ 100 or more employees officially put forth and immediately gets placed on hold by 5th district judge. The Administration is still pushing businesses to comply.
Biden gets help from some House Republicans to pass a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. Paul and Wally discuss some details on the bill and the poor politics for the GOP.
Gavin Newsome has declared natural gas “zero carbon.”
In this supplemental interview Paul does a short interview with Zachary Taylor, director of the American Recyclable Plastic Bag Alliance, about the changes the Keller Administration has changed its plastic bag ban. and why they are economically and environmentally harmful.
Throughout the COVID 19 situation New Mexico’s economy has generally lagged behind the rest of the nation. A new report from Wallethub shines some light on the latest data which places New Mexico 48th in terms of its recovery since the start of COVID. Things are not improving much as we dropped to 49th week-to-week.
Here is the story from KRQE. Charts below are directly from Wallethub.
Nobody has fought New Mexico’s wasteful film subsidy program more vociferously and for longer than the Rio Grande Foundation. That said, we were shocked and horrified at the deadly shooting that recently took place on the set of a film outside of Santa Fe.
There are still a lot of details to uncover, but according to a recent Albuquerque Journal article which details some of the issues on-set, there were some serious well-known problems even before the shooting.
“From not getting paid on time – some waited nearly seven weeks for their paychecks – to the day-to-day schedules never finding a routine.” This is of course an industry that gets reimbursed for 25 to 35% of its expenses in New Mexico and yet they can’t pay their workers on time?
“The production refused to pay for hotels for crew members – most of whom drove from nearly an hour away from the set – after working long shifts.” Again, this sounds unsafe and is hard to square with the subsidies given.
“Two ‘Rust’ crew members laid the blame for some of the issues in the production on certain out-of-state leaders.”
Is an industry that fails to pay its workers basic benefits and brings in leadership from out of state (not just talent) really a sensible recipient of massive amounts of New Mexico tax dollars?
On this week’s interview, Paul talks to Farmington Mayor Nate Duckett. Duckett was first elected Mayor of the Four Corners’ largest City in 2018. Mayor Duckett and Paul discuss the economic challenges facing Farmington and how recent trends have led to a “hot” housing market locally AND an improved natural gas industry. They also discuss challenges faced due to the elimination of the region’s two coal-fired power plants. Duckett is a proponent of expanding outdoor recreation in his area of the State.
Imagine my non-surprise when I clicked on the latest national ranking of public school systems (this one from Forbes) and found that New Mexico ranked 51st. Read their comments below and you further grasp the scope of the problem.
So, while we are pleased that voters saw fit to rid Albuquerque Public Schools of three union-backed members (and a few other districts around the State rejected the unions), it is going to take A LOT more reform to move New Mexico schools in the right direction. Specifically, the Legislature in Santa Fe remains in thrall to the unions as does Gov. Lujan Grisham.
To really move New Mexico’s education system forward (along with the rest of the economy) it is going to take multiple electoral cycles like this one in which candidates beholden to the unions and their money are rejected in favor of reformers and choice advocates.
Normally Election Day is the last big political event on the calendar. The defeated lick their wounds and the victors prepare to take office at the start of the New Year. But 2021 is no ordinary year, it is a redistricting year.
That means that (likely) on December 6, the New Mexico Legislature will be meeting to discuss electoral boundaries for Congress, the Legislature, and others bodies. It’s a big job and it can get VERY heated, though with New Mexico Democrats controlling ALL aspects of the process it should be easier (if they don’t overreach by drawing some truly partisan districts).
BUT, we are hearing that some non-redistricting bills could be on the agenda including a bill that failed last session which would mandate “clean” fuels be added to your gasoline. As Rep. Larry Scott writes in this opinion piece, this WILL increase gas prices by at least 17.5 cents per gallon as a starting point.
We’ll be in Santa Fe to fight this and there couldn’t be a worse time for government to FURTHER boost the cost of living.
RGF both assisted in the drafting and signed this letter with regard to the National School Boards Association calling parents “domestic terrorists” for attending and being active at school board meetings. Check it out below by clicking on the image below.
46 lawmakers, school board members, and orgs raise concern over anti-parent rhetoric
While RGF is pleased by Albuquerque voters’ overwhelming rejection of the proposal to build a taxpayer-financed soccer stadium near downtown, we recognized all along that the Team was not going to give up their quest for a new stadium.
Channel 7 KOAT laid out some ideas including potential stadium locations on tribal lands. RGF expects that, given the massive surpluses available to the Legislature and Gov. Lujan Grisham, we could see significant state dollars used to fund a stadium even if Albuquerque voters have rejected the concept.
If you’d like to listen to Rio Grande Foundation president Paul Gessing discuss the 2021 election results (and numerous other issues later on), check out his recent interview with Jim Williams of KLYT 88.3FM on ABQ Connect. Paul is a regular guest on Jim’s show, but he has regular guests on a variety of local issues of interest.
In terms of local election results, it was obviously disappointing to see Mayor Keller who has done such a poor job managing public safety and the homelessness problem win so handily in Albuquerque. But, the taxpayer-financed United Stadium supported by Keller (and opposed by the Rio Grande Foundation) lost 2-1.
In terms of City Council, the West Side saw the ouster of two incumbents in favor of former Councilor Dan Lewis and newcomer Louis Sanchez.
Two other races are heading to a runoff with the requisite early voting and an “election day” of December 7. Those races include conservative leaning candidates Lori Robertson (District 7 in the mid-northeast heights) and Rene Grout (District 9 in the northeast/southeast heights).
APS school board also saw seats shift from union-backed candidates to more reform-minded candidates including Courtney Jackson, Crystal Tapia-Romero, and Danielle Gonzales .
Unfortunately the reform wave did not reach Las Cruces city council and the Foundation’s own Patrick Brenner lost in his bid for school board in Rio Rancho.
Nationally-speaking, Virginia’s governor’s race was won by Republican Glenn Youngkin in large part because of his pro-education reform, anti-CRT stances.
In New Jersey in what could have been an unprecedented upset, the Republican fell just-short.
Overall, it was a good night for conservatives and those that believe parents, not the unions and bureaucrats should control education.
The following map is from MultiState. It shows that New Mexico is one of JUST 5 states in the US with a universal indoor mask mandate (Louisiana has dropped their mask mandate):
As KOAT Channel 7 notes in this news story, despite its mask policy and even high vaccination rates, New Mexico is seeing an uptick in COVID 19 cases and hospitalizations.
Recently RGF raised the question of whether Gov. Lujan Grisham will mandate vaccines for attendees of Lobo/Aggie basketball games as she did for the New Mexico State Fair.
While we DO NOT support such a mandate and we oppose them on principle, it DOES strike us as HIGHLY dubious, especially when New Mexico’s COVID hospitalizations are considered.
As you can see below, New Mexico is seeing an increase in COVID cases and hospitalizations. Back on September 9, 2021, the first weekday of the New Mexico State Fair, New Mexico had 370 COVID hospitalizations. As of Nov. 1, 2021 (the latest date available as of this writing) New Mexico has 368 hospitalizations. In other words, the COVID situation is as bad now as it was when the Fair began.
The Lobos season starts on November 5. Will COVID cases suddenly drop in New Mexico or will MLG’s hypocrisy towards Fair attendees and participants be on full display? Of course, the Fair is held outside and in large barns. The Pit crowd is very tightly packed.
On the latest Tipping Point New Mexico interview Paul talks to Larry Behrens of Power the Future. Larry and Paul discuss current energy issues in New Mexico and nationally including the rising price of energy across all fuel sources, the unfolding crisis in Europe this winter, MLG’s “net zero” plans, and the problems facing New Mexico and its electrical grid this coming summer when San Juan Generating Station shuts down. Energy issues are always critical, but are truly “top of mind” these days. You don’t want to miss this conversation!
For starters, it is worth clarifying that utilities LIKE many green mandates because they get to ramp up electricity prices for all those “renewables: which means bigger profits for them and their companies.
That said, those energy companies STILL need to provide reliable electricity. So, when the head of Duke Energy, one of America’s largest utility’s says, “Net-Zero emissions can’t be achieved without nuclear power,” it is worth paying attention.
Gov. MLG wants the Democrat-controlled New Mexico Legislature to adopt legislation during the 2022 session to make New Mexico “net zero” CO2 emissions by 2050. Did she discuss nuclear energy? No, of course not. Instead, thanks to New Mexico’s Energy Transition Act, passed in 2019 at the behest of our Governor, PNM is in the process of abandoning nuclear and will get out of leases it currently has with the Palo Verde nuclear plant in Arizona in 2023 and 2024.
Duke Energy’s CEO further elaborated on the issue, saying, “I want to keep that nuclear fleet operating as long as I possibly can because I don’t have an alternative of a carbon-free resource that runs 95% of the time, which is what nuclear represents today.”
The Rio Grande Foundation has been active in encouraging written testimony from New Mexicans regarding the Public Education Department’s controversial new social studies curriculum (click for more information or to send your own comments). Whether these standards are embedded with “Critical Race Theory” or not is open to debate, but there is no question that numerous CRT “buzzwords” and concepts appear in the new guidelines.
Separately, but at the very same meeting, the PED was supposed to collect comments on a proposal that would make it MUCH more difficult for elected school board members to defend themselves against being replaced by the Secretary (often acting on behalf of their boss, the Gov.). The proposal, if adopted, will force board members to obtain and pay for legal representation themselves (click to comment on THAT proposal), thus making it nearly impossible for them to defend against State overreach.
We have JUST received word that PED has CANCELED the public meeting and will be holding the meeting on Zoom only. Clearly they want to be able to control the meeting which can be done much more easily online. Read the revised notice here including Zoom info:
NOTICE OF CHANGES TO RULE HEARING
The New Mexico Public Education Department (PED) gives notice of time and location changes to a public hearing scheduled Friday, November 12, 2021, published in Issue 18 of the New Mexico Register on September 28, 2021.
The PED gives notice that it will conduct a public hearing on Friday, November 12, 2021 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. (MDT) via Zoom for
Zoom Information.
Public Comment. Interested parties may provide comment at the public hearing or may submit written comments by mail to John Sena, Policy Division, New Mexico Public Education Department, 300 Don Gaspar Avenue, Room 121, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501, by electronic mail to rule.feedback@state.nm.us, or by fax to (505) 827-6520. Written comments must be received no later than 5 p.m. (MDT) on Friday, November 12, 2021. The PED encourages the early submission of written comments. The public comment period is from Tuesday, September 28, 2021 to Friday, November 12, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. (MDT).
The PED will review all feedback received during the public comment period and issue communication regarding a final decision at a later date.
Copies of the proposed rules may be accessed through the page titled, “Rule Notification,” on the PED’s website at http://webnew.ped.state.nm.us/bureaus/policy-innovation-measurement/rule-notification/, or may be obtained from John Sena at (505) 570-7816 during regular business hours.
Individuals with disabilities who require the above information in an alternative format or need any form of auxiliary aid to attend or participate in the public hearing are asked to contact John Sena at (505) 570-7816 as soon as possible before the date set for the public hearing. The PED requires at least 10 calendar days advance notice to provide any special accommodations requested.
The following appeared in the Santa Fe New Mexican on October 24, 2021.
Western Europe is facing an energy crisis this winter. Prices have skyrocketed. Natural gas is 400 percent higher than the start of 2021 while coal is up over 300 percent.
As if high prices weren’t enough of a problem, 40 percent of the natural gas that Europe uses comes from Vladamir Putin’s Russia, an unreliable supplier to say the least.
New Mexicans should take heed. Thankfully, despite the Biden Administration’s permitting ban on federal lands (since invalidated by a judge), New Mexico has steady supplies of oil and natural gas.
Those supplies help protect us from wild price swings and supply disruptions like those that could cause massive economic pain and human suffering in Europe this winter.
While we’ll be fine this winter, New Mexico’s largest utility is facing serious challenges finding enough electricity by next summer.
Due to the Energy Transition Act of 2019 which forms the cornerstone of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s “Green New Deal” agenda, the San Juan Generating Station is slated to be permanently shut down next June during the hottest part of next summer.
PNM executives have stated clearly that the hunt for “renewable” power to replace San Juan Generating Station is not going well. Even in the best of circumstances “renewables” like solar and wind are inconsistent and require backup like batteries, but the pandemic has hit supply chains hard and projects are being delayed.
Unless Gov. Lujan Grisham acts quickly to keep San Juan Generating Station open, the plant will be taken offline as scheduled this summer and blackouts and brownouts could be the result. If you don’t believe me, Tom Fallgren, PNM’s vice president of generation told the Public Regulation Commission recently, in discussing the possibility of brownouts and blackouts said, “Am I concerned? Yes. Do I lose sleep over it? Yes. Can we solve it? Yes.”
He further noted that PNM practices for scenarios, such as brownouts, have detailed procedures to handle them and prioritize power for places such as hospitals.
Finally, Fallgren noted, “We are looking at any and all options. … And we continue to beat the bushes, so to say, for other opportunities as well.” Are you feeling reassured? I’m not. Interestingly enough, PNM continues to reject new natural gas-powered resources in New Mexico as replacement supply.
Even if we escape serious power outages this summer, the issue is not going away. In fact, it will only get worse. In 2023 and 2024, PNM is abandoning its leases for power from Palo Verde (a nuclear power plant in Arizona), and by the end of 2024, PNM will no longer receive power from the Four Corners plant, yet another coal-fired plant here in New Mexico.
Ironically, as has been discussed in PRC hearings, the Navajo Tribe wants to take over Four Corners plant (saving jobs and tax revenues) while environmentalists are pushing hard to shut it down completely. Regardless of what happens next summer or over the next few years, these are policy-driven decisions made by Lujan Grisham and Democrats in the Legislature. They could have massive implications for New Mexico families.
Already, with the price of everything already going up, New Mexicans’ electric bills rose 5 percent just last year. Those rate hikes will continue to escalate for years into the future regardless of whether PNM or Avangrid is in charge. Wasn’t the Energy Transition Act supposed to hold the line on price increases?
New Mexicans and their elected officials must be aware of the very real problems facing them as June of 2022 approaches. It is not too late to prevent this crisis.
Paul Gessing is president of New Mexico’s Rio Grande Foundation, a tax-exempt organization dedicated to promoting prosperity and individual responsibility.
Sometimes it REALLY is as simple as Economics 101.
NM’s unemployment rate drops but remains 5th highest in the nation.
Top 11 lowest states have GOP Governors, bottom 8 have Democrats.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) admits it funded risky “gain of function” research at Wuhan lab. Biden Administration is using relief money to push schools to keep masks on in schools. 5,000 New Mexicans have now died.
Heinrich’s effort to ban natural gas appliances is based on faulty study. MLG announces legislation making NM “Net Zero” by 2050 at New Mexico Climate Conference at the Roundhouse. Meanwhile, China is mining and using record amounts of coal.
New Mexico’s Secretary of State endorses MLG.
PED Secretary Steinhaus needs to show us the data on several controversial moves.
As of October 18, 2021, the Spaceport has now been open for a decade.
Alec Baldwin involved in deadly shooting on movie set in New Mexico. This incident created international news. New Mexico’s film industry is heavily subsidized of course.
New Mexico’s unemployment rate in September remains elevated at 5th-highest in the nation. And, New Mexico continues to exceed all of its neighbors’ rates by a considerable margin.
According to an RGF analysis, each of the bottom 8 states (worst unemployment) has a Democrat governor. Each of the 11 lowest unemployment rate states has a Republican governor. Due to the outsized role of COVID policy in driving unemployment rates and the near total dominance of governors, this is the “current” context behind “red” and “blue” distinctions.
Even in “blue” Albuquerque, devoid as it is of energy production and associated workers, “climate change” lags far behind other important issues in terms of how concerned voters are about them.
As seen below and in today’s Albuquerque Journal, the crime rate more than DOUBLES climate change as an issue voters are ‘very concerned’ about. Homelessness and the low quality of schools in the City are also of far greater concern.
Ironically, of the issues polled only COVID lags climate change as an issue of extreme concern. While it appears that Mayor Keller is going to cruise to victory, it is interesting that Gov. Lujan Grisham has most actively engaged on COVID and climate change. Crime and especially the quality of public schools have not been her priorities. Seems like a roadmap for candidates.
