July 2010 - Southwest Properties, Inc.

Will Billy the Kid finally receive a Governor’s pardon?

New Meixco Governor Bill Richardson is unlikely to pardon the notorious and infamous outlaw, Bill the Kid.

Mr. Richardson, who still has five months left in office, is facing questions and criticisms about his interest in Billy the Kid.

“The governor has said since 2003 that he would consider a pardon,” Alarie Ray-Garcia, a spokesman for Richardson, said Wednesday. “He has had many conversations with different people, but right now we have nothing planned.”

Speculation of a pardon resurfaced this month after columns in the Los Angeles Times and The Albuquerque Journal said the governor was considering it.

Various historians say there is no need for Mr. Richardson to grant a pardon to the West’s most notorious outlaw.

“There is no point in restoring the civil rights of a dead man,” said historian Drew Gomber of Lincoln County. “It’s a publicity stunt by the governor.”

Check out the interview with frontier lawman Pat Garrett’s grandkids who say “no, no, no” http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/07/30/ap/strange/main6727765.shtml

Birder Alert: New Book Focuses On New Mexico Birds Of Prey

No book has ever before specifically focused on the birds of prey of New Mexico. Both Florence Bailey (1928) and J. Stokley Ligon (1961) published volumes on the birds of New Mexico, but their coverage of raptors was somewhat limited. In the ensuing years a great deal of new information has been collected on these mighty hunters’ distribution, ecology, and conservation, including in New Mexico. The book begins with a history of the word ‘raptor’. The order of Raptatores, or Raptores, was first used to classify birds of prey in the early nineteenth century, derived from the Latin word raptor, one who seizes by force. The text then includes the writings of thirty-seven contributing authors who relate their observations on these regal species. For example, Joe Truett recounts the following in the chapter on the Swainson’s Hawk: ‘From spring to fall each year at the Jornada Caves in the Jornada del Muerto, Swainson’s hawks assemble daily to catch bats. The bats exit the caves – actually lava tubes – near sundown. The hawks swoop in, snatch bats from the air, and eat them on the wing’. Originally from France, Jean-Luc Cartron, has lived and worked on several continents, finding his passion in the wide-open spaces of New Mexico. He became fascinated by the birds of prey, and has studied their ecology and conservation for nearly twenty years. Raptors of New Mexico will provide readers with a comprehensive treatment of all hawks, eagles, kites, vultures, falcons, and owls breeding or wintering in New Mexico, or simply migrating through the state. This landmark study is also beautifully illustrated with more than six hundred photographs, including the work of more than one hundred photographers, and and nearly fifty species distribution maps.

Looking for an unbiased review? Click here.

Albuquerque Hosts First-Ever Latin Dance Festival

Get your dancing shoes ready for the Albuquerque Latin Dance Festival – seven days filled with teaching and socials for Albuquerque’s dance community – from August 23-29, 2010. The theme for the festival is “Salsa: Past, Present and Future.”

The Dance Festival, produced by Guanábana Productions, will take place in various Albuquerque locations, including the National Hispanic Cultural Center, the One Up Elevated Lounge, the Hotel Albuquerque, Old Town Plaza, the Library Bar and Grill, the University of New Mexico Ballrooms, Double Time Dance Studio and Salsa Baby Studio.

The goal of the Latin Dance Festival is to promote community building/engagement, to social network, to provide education for the different types of dance, and to celebrate the culture of salsa music. Many of the events are family-oriented. There will be salsa dance lessons during the day and social events during the evening.

The festival is open to everyone regardless of age and previous dance experience. Dance instructors including Edie Williams, or “Edie the Salsa Freak,” and “El Unico Bachatero,” Carlos Cinta with Tate Blomquist will be teaching beginning through advanced level classes.

Guanábana Productions is a non-profit organization of volunteers serving to develop and celebrate New Mexico’s Latin dance culture by showcasing local dance studios, instructors, musicians, and dancers.

Tickets will be available at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, the Albuquerque Latin Dance Festival website (www.abqlatinfest.com) and Ticketmaster although advanced purchases are not necessary.

Hatch Chile Festival Heats Up Labor Day Weekend

As summer cools down, the Village of Hatch heats up with the annual two-day Hatch Chile Festival celebration of its world-famous crop, attracting more than 30,000 visitors from all over the United States.

Festival goers September 4-5, 2010 can sample famed chile recipes, watch the crowning of the chile festival queen, join in a chile ristra contest or just sit back and enjoy artisans, parades, food, carnivals, contests, music and much more.

Brought to you by the Hatch Valley Chamber of Commerce, the event takes place at the Hatch Municipal Airport, one mile east of town on State Road 26. Admission is $5 per car load.

Special activities Saturday begin with the chile festival parade at 10 a.m., and include the queen coronation, a horseshoe tournament, music by Simon Balkey and the Queen’s Auction.

Special activities Sunday include more music, including the Las Cruces High School Mariachis; more contests; and more fun.

Located off I-25 between Las Cruces and Truth or Consequences, the Village of Hatch serves seven unincorporated communities with a combined population of 5,000 people. With four banks, two grocery stores, a pharmacy, a few retail stores, and a smattering of restaurants, Hatch offers all the amenities of small-town life.

New Mexico Leads Rocky Mountain States In Green Energy Job Growth

Report Praises New Mexico’s Policies and Incentives for Attracting Jobs, Venture Capital, Public Investment, and Green Technology Patents.

Governor Bill Richardson announced today that a new report released by Headwaters Economics shows that New Mexico has emerged as a clean energy leader, increasing its percentage of green jobs faster than other Rocky Mountain States.

“New Mexico is proud to be a national leader in clean and renewable energy development,” said Governor Richardson. “These efforts reward New Mexicans by expanding and diversifying our energy resources, which is good for the environment, and help create green jobs during this challenging economic time.”

Some of the Richardson Administration’s clean energy accomplishments include:

The state’s first renewable energy portfolio standard, which requires utilities to produce 15 percent of their energy through renewable resources by 2015 and 20 percent by 2020.

The recreation of the Renewable Energy Transmission Authority, to plan and finance transmission lines to promote the development of renewable energy within New Mexico. It is one of only eight transmission authorities in the country.

And numerous renewable energy tax credits for wind, solar and biomass.

New Mexico’s combined strategy of targeted public policy and strong support for business has made it a regionally and nationally competitive center of clean technology innovation, especially solar power, which is capturing energy-related jobs and attracting investment.

“Thanks to Governor Richardson’s visionary leadership in championing New Mexico as the ‘Solar Valley of North America,’ we have had tremendous success in recruiting green energy companies, creating green energy jobs and addressing issues of energy independence,” stated Economic Development Department Cabinet Secretary Fred Mondragón. “We are honored that Headwaters has noted our accomplishments in these areas.”

“I’m pleased that the report recognizes New Mexico’s leadership and success in building a green energy economy,” said Jon Goldstein, Cabinet Secretary for New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department. “Because of the work we have already done and continue to do, the state stands to be among the first to be able to take advantage of and benefit from emerging green technologies and businesses.”

The Headwaters Economics Clean Energy report compares how New Mexico, Colorado, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming—five states with vast traditional and clean energy resources—are taking advantage of clean energy opportunities and concludes with five keys to success for the states to further benefit from the emerging green economy while measuring the likelihood that each state’s policies will promote future growth and investment.

“New Mexico’s success shows the importance of both policy and political leadership at all levels of government, from county commissioner to United States Senator,” said Julia Haggerty, Ph.D., the report’s author. “The state’s aggressive outreach program, backed by strong incentives—including property tax breaks, bonding, and worker training—has attracted new businesses and jobs to the state.”

The Headwaters Economic report found that the number of jobs overall in New Mexico increased 13 percent from 1995 to 2007, and the number of green jobs for the same time period had a 62 percent increase.

The Clean Energy report also measured private and public investment funding that, in New Mexico, totaled $239 million between 1999 and 2008, and the state ranked twelfth nationally from 2006 through 2008, the latest three years available.

Renewable energy production is one of the reasons stated in the report for rapid expansion.

New Mexico showed strength in wind, solar and geothermal potential. From 1990 to 2007, New Mexico’s renewable energy production grew by more than 200 percent, the highest rate of the five states.

The full study, digest, state fact sheets, and state-by-state comparisons can be found at www.headwaterseconomics.org/greeneconomy ^[1].

For more information about clean energy in New Mexico visit www.CleanEnergyNM.org ^[2].

To view the report section on New Mexico visit http://www.headwaterseconomics.org/greeneconomy/#newmexico ^[3].