New Mexico Land for Sale - Southwest Properties, Inc. - David Wolfswinkel Broker, AZ, Hitching Post Land Company - David Wolfswinkel, Qualifying Broker. Lic#: 14470 - NM
The New Mexico Centennial Garden Program is an initiative of the New Mexico Centennial Foundation, working in partnership with state agencies and private partners. Thanks to the generosity of the Coca Cola Foundation, the NM Centennial Foundation is able to provide grants to support school and community garden projects in New Mexico in 2012. Grants will be available at levels of $2,500, $5,000 and $10,000.
To be eligible for a Centennial Garden grant, applicants must be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization or nonprofit K-12 school that is developing or currently maintaining a garden project that will help communities engage with fresh fruits and vegetables. Garden projects may be at any stage of development; planning, construction or operation. In selecting grant recipients, priority will be given to both limited-resource communities and to projects that demonstrate strong collaborations and community support. Relationships with food banks or other outlets to distribute food to New Mexicans in need are a plus.
Brrrr!!! New Mexico temps are down, but it never stays gray for long. Blue skies over pure white snow is the norm. Looks like there’s more snow on the way, so get ready to break out the snowshoes and the snowmobiles!
Here’s a look at a fresh fall at Swingle Canyon… (Photo courtesy of Kelly Gatlin / La Luz Photography)
Survey results show large majorities in favor of creating programs that would allow children to attend schools of their parents’ choice
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — New Mexico voters strongly support tax-credit scholarships for students to attend the school of their choice, including private schools, parochial schools, and public schools, according to a survey sponsored by the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice and conducted by Braun Research, Inc.
The American Federation for Children—the nation’s voice for school choice—praised the survey, in which registered voters were asked about a legislative proposal to allow individuals and corporations to receive tax credits for donating to scholarship funds for New Mexico students. The scholarship funds would then create scholarships for students who want to go to schools better suited to their needs.
Supporters of the tax-credit scholarship bills have advocated on behalf of special needs students and low income students, in the hope that the scholarships will help them find schools better suited to their individual challenges. Last year, over 120,000 students were enrolled in nine different scholarship tax credit programs nationwide.
“These programs help reduce the dropout rate by getting kids out of failing situations and into schools that can help them succeed and, ultimately, graduate in higher numbers,” said Malcom Glenn, the National Communications Director at the American Federation for Children. “The voters of New Mexico have made clear that they’re staunchly behind creating a scholarship tax credit program to give children the opportunities they deserve.”
In addition, special needs students could use the scholarships to attend schools that better suit their needs. A total of 77 percent of New Mexico voters support a tax-credit scholarship system for special needs students (48 percent strongly favorable, 29 percent somewhat favorable). One such program has existed in Arizona since 2009.
On the question of creating a scholarship fund using tax credits for low- and middle-income students, 62 percent of registered voters either strongly favor (23 percent) or somewhat favor (39 percent) a tax-credit scholarship program for New Mexico students.
Two scholarship tax credit bills were introduced in the Senate last session. Both the Equal Opportunity Scholarship Act and the Special Needs Student Scholarship Act failed to emerge from the Senate and House Education Committee. Similar bills will be presented in early 2012 at the start of the next session.
The poll, conducted September 12-18, 2011, surveyed 808 registered voters via telephone.
SANTA CLARA, Calif., PRNewswire — Aviat Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVNW), a leading expert in wireless transmission solutions, today announced that it helped WNM Communications (WNMC) provide its rural New Mexico customers with additional redundancy for lifeline services and further capacity for faster, more reliable Internet access and phone service. WNMC provides telecommunications services to more than 6,000 business and residential customers across 15,000 square miles in southwestern New Mexico.
Upgrading WNMC’s existing infrastructure and expanding the capacity of its backbone posed a number of challenges. First, the changes could not disrupt current customers’ services—even for a few hours. Second, WNMC’s extensive network of buried cable, fiber optic trunks and microwave crisscrossed thousands of square miles of very rugged and sparsely populated territory. Finally, WNMC was on a tight timeline, as it sought to complete the network upgrade before the company’s fiscal year-end.
“We needed more than just an equipment vendor,” said Steve George, Director of Operations, WNM Communications. “We needed a solutions provider that would sit down with us and co-develop the best network design. We also needed them to meet our traditional telecommunications requirements, as well as support our Ethernet migration plans, including expanding Internet access to new customers in remote areas, and enabling Voice over Internet (VoIP) capabilities. And, they had to deliver quickly and provide ongoing tech support. The Aviat Networks team met all of our requirements and more.”
To address all the complexities of the project, Aviat Networks proposed a phased approach to upgrading WNMC’s backbone network. The first phase included the installation of Aviat Networks’ Eclipse microwave platform with indoor IRU600 RF unit to expand the capacity of the backbone and support advanced Ethernet functionality. A key benefit of the IRU600 radio is that it supports WNMC’s legacy DS1/DS3 network as well as Ethernet on the same telecommunications link. That means WNMC can continue to leverage its existing network while transitioning to IP backhaul at a pace that makes sense.
In the second phase, Aviat Networks engineers conducted site surveys to ensure the network design was optimal. Next, spurs were extended and expanded off the network backbone to provide enhanced service to WNMC customers in underserved and remote areas. Accomplishing this required the installation of more than a dozen microwave hops, each of which provided mixed mode (TDM and Ethernet) capability. To ensure WNMC’s network experienced no disruptions, Aviat Networks engineers were onsite during each of the site cutovers.
The network was also designed to accommodate future growth. For instance, when additional Ethernet capacity is required, WNMC can allocate bandwidth directly from their operations offices using Aviat Networks’ ProVision™ remote provisioning software.
“Helping WNM Communications upgrade its broadband network was a true partnership,” said Travis Mitchell, Carrier Sales Manager, Aviat Networks. “We and WNMC thought out the upgrade complexities, resulting in the perfect solution for reliable lifeline services and enhanced capacity for faster and more reliable Internet access. With this upgrade, WNMC will be able to provide customers with the latest communications products and services for years to come.”
About Aviat Networks
Aviat Networks, Inc. is a leader in wireless transmission solutions. We apply innovation and IP networking expertise toward building a carrier class foundation for future mobile and fixed broadband networks. With more than 750,000 systems installed around the world, Aviat Networks has built a reputation as a leader in offering best-of-breed solutions including LTE-ready microwave backhaul and a complete portfolio of service and support options to public and private telecommunications operators worldwide. With a global reach and local presence in more than 46 countries, Aviat Networks works by the side of its customers allowing them to quickly and cost effectively seize new market and service opportunities. Aviat Networks, formerly Harris Stratex Networks Inc., is headquartered in Santa Clara, California and is listed on NASDAQ (AVNW). For more information, please visit www.aviatnetworks.com or join the dialogue at www.twitter.com/aviatnetworks.
About WNM Communications
WNM Communications (WNMC) is telecommunications company providing telephone service and high-speed Internet access to customers in rural southwestern New Mexico. Originally known as the Mogollon Mountain Telephone Company, WNMC has grown from less than 600 customers in 1974 to more than 6,000 businesses and residents, and its service area now covers more than 15,000 square miles. WNM Communications is headquartered in Silver City, NM. For more information, please visit: http://wnmc.com/
Our very own David Wolfswinkel bagged a nice rack on the Ponderosa ranch during the first muzzleloader season. Private land permits hunt on a 5 day pick starting October 1 through December 31, 2011, so there’s still time for you to get lucky this year! (Hey David, we’ll be headed on over for some elk burgers pretty soon…)
December will see a flurry of events in Capitan for the young and old as the Capitan Public Library winds up to deliver three weekends of festivities and shopping. The events kick off on Dec. 3 with the library’s bazaar, followed by the Not 2 Shabby shop’s trunk shows on the next two Saturdays, featuring an assortment of local artists and their works. The Cowboy Santa Parade also will see its 15th year of western winter wonders as horses and marchers parade from the west end of Capitan, down Smokey Bear Boulevard, to the library on Dec. 10. Read more…
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) – From Red River and Taos south to the mountains around Ruidoso, the state’s ski areas are enjoying a stellar start to what many thought would be a questionable season given the dry conditions that have plagued New Mexico for the past year.
Red River’s slopes were dusted Friday with snow as a steady stream of skiers waited their turn for the chairlift.
At Taos Ski Valley, skiers and snowboarders were celebrating the best opening in years this holiday weekend and had the rare option of taking in the backside of the mountain so early in the season. Read more…
Sipapu was the first New Mexico ski resort to open, followed by Ruidoso’s Ski Apache.
It’s an absolute go! Ski Apache will open Thanksgiving Day. The skiing and snowboarding will come despite La Niña weather forecasts for below-par winter snows.
“I think it’s been positive,” Justin Rowland, Ski Apache’s director of operations, said recenctly from one of the ski mountain’s snow courses. “We have reservations coming in for Thanksgiving. We’re going to have a lot of folks in town for Thanksgiving time. I think the town and ourselves are going to be pleasantly busy.”
Rowland dispelled rumors that Ski Apache would be open only on weekends or holidays.
“We’re going to be operational per normal. You’ll see us seven days a week, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.”
With just seven inches of snow from the heavens atop the mountain so far this season, snowmaking equipment has been going much of November.
“Man-made snow wise, we’re shaping up pretty good,” Rowland said Thursday. “We got some cold temperatures earlier in the month so we’re able to hammer out chairs three and five, our beginner area. And we’re working diligently right now on Deep Freeze, to have it open for Thanksgiving so we’ve got some expanded skiing for skiers.”
A lot of Deep Freeze’s course is covered, in many places with 18 to 24 inches of produced snow.
“You’re talking maybe a third of the mountain that will be open from the top of Capitan through Deep Freeze,” Rowland said. “Deep Freeze is a fairly popular run for the beginner and beginner/intermediate crowd so it should be a lot of fun.”
An array of new snowmaking equipment, installed in 2009, has greatly enhanced Ski Apache.
“The snowcats, when we have a fleet of those up here and once the snow’s in piles, the snowcats push it around, flatten it out and till it out so you can ski it.”
The additional equipment gives Ski Apache the ability to make snow along the popular run to the peak. It also can cover the entire lower half of the mountain for a total of about 250 acres.
“Once we get this beginner area and Capitan hashed out, we’ll start working our way to the top of the mountain,” Rowland said.
Snowmaking has taken place almost every night this month.
“We’ve had a couple of nights that have been too warm,” Rowland said. “And some really windy nights where it was cold but we chose not to make snow because that wind isn’t really going to help. It blows it all the way to Las Cruces.”
What would be “a lot fun,” Rowland said, would be some natural snow.
“We’re ready to go and get that ready. If you can get a nice foot to two feet of snow out there, we’ll get the groomers out there, get it knocked down, a base packed in so that when you’re skiing you’re not going all the way through that brand new snow to the ground. But it does take some preparation. I know that a lot of skiers and the snowboarders, after we get a snowstorm, sort of expect that some of this upper mountain terrain that wasn’t open is going to be open the next day. Depending on the snow, sometimes it is but sometimes it’s not. Sometimes it takes another day or two of prep for it to be safe for the skiers and snowboarders to traverse on.”
With any luck, Rowland said it will be chairs three, four and five for the opener.
“If you haven’t skied or snowboarded, try one or the other, now is the perfect time to come up. We’ll have these beginner areas open and you’ll have it to yourself and you can learn and get your foot in the door early in the season so you can have a strong foundation for the rest of the season.”
