Fire Funding Furthered
In this week’s Chile Street:
U.S. Senate approves billions for victims of destructive northern New Mexico wildfires
Oil and gas companies spend big on PR, lobbying
Arsonist lights 16 blazes across Santa Fe in one day
Democrats say a Republican mailer is racist
The 50th Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta begins this weekend
And much more!
Good morning! Today is Friday, Sept. 30. Here’s a look at the past week in New Mexico news.
Fire Funding Furthered
The U.S. Senate passed a bill Thursday that will keep the federal government operational until mid-December, and included in the bill is $2.5 billion to help victims of the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire, Phil Scherer of the Las Vegas Optic reported.
The bill now moves to the House of Representatives for a vote, which is expected to take place Friday.
The legislation, authored by Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez in the House and Sen. Ben Ray Luján in the Senate, twice passed the House this summer, but died in the Senate from a lack of support from Republican senators.
Luján told Scherer that once the legislation passes the House, wildfire relief assistance will run alongside FEMA assistance, and the program will assist people in finding every possible funding opportunity.
Read Scherer’s story here (no paywall): lasvegasoptic.com/news/community/senate-passes-2-5-billion-for-wildfire-victims-bill-moves-to-house-for-approval/article_b7d10a64-4038-11ed-9482-439039807eea.html
Petroleum PR
Oil and gas companies have dramatically stepped up their outreach and public relations spending at some of New Mexico’s best-known, best-loved events, raising the positive public profile of the petroleum industry, Jerry Redfern reported for Capital & Main.
This outreach comes as the industry also picked up an additional public relations bump from news that oil and gas revenues will add an additional $2.5 billion to next year’s state government budget.
Early in the year, ExxonMobil became the main sponsor of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, and became a corporate backer of New Mexico United.
In the spring, Chevron became the top sponsor of the New Mexico State Fair, and this summer, Chevron, Oxy, and ConocoPhillips donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to relief funds in the aftermath of the Calf Canyon-Hermits Peak wildfire.
Companies in the industry are also able to hire and fund full-time lobbyists who essentially end up competing with the state’s part-time, unpaid Legislature. And when the state’s legislators return to the Round House in January, they will have to contend with an industry that’s spent the previous 11 months burnishing its image in ways that public servants simply can’t.
Read Redfern story here (no paywall): capitalandmain.com/a-petroleum-pr-blitz-in-new-mexico
Other Top Stories
Police say arsonist ignited 16 blazes across Santa Fe in one day — Police in Santa Fe continue to investigate several fires ignited Saturday across the city on Sept. 24 — at least 16 blazes of varying magnitudes. Police believe they were all started by the same arsonist, Nathan Lederman of the Santa Fe New Mexican reported.
Read Lederman's story here (paywall): santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/police-say-arsonist-ignited-16-blazes-across-santa-fe-on-saturday/article_36bd103e-3e7c-11ed-879f-5728f859c0f5.html
Man who killed beloved Las Vegas man convicted of murder — A jury deliberated for about two hours Wednesday before finding 43-year-old Seig Isaac Chavez guilty of brutally murdering 71-year-old William “Skip” Smith Jr. in the summer of 2019, Ryan Lowery reported for the Las Vegas Optic.
Smith was a well-known fixture in Las Vegas who spent his days walking throughout the town.
Read Lowery's story here (no paywall): lasvegasoptic.com/news/crime/chavez-found-guilty-of-murdering-man-known-as-skip/article_134847d4-3f91-11ed-b255-0b0c535c53a9.html
Teamsters deliver sharp rebuke to Ronchetti's UPS warehouse visit — A Teamsters union that represents UPS drivers delivered a sharp rebuke to Mark Ronchetti on Tuesday after the Republican gubernatorial candidate promoted a visit to a UPS warehouse in Rio Rancho, Daniel Chacón of the Santa Fe New Mexican reported.
Following the visit, Ronchetti took to Twitter to thank UPS for opening its warehouse doors to send off their drivers before their shifts. Tuesday afternoon, Teamsters Local 492 took to Facebook to decry the visit, writing it was "management" who invited Ronchetti to speak to a room of union members.
Read Chacón's story here (paywall): santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/teamsters-deliver-sharp-rebuke-to-ronchettis-ups-warehouse-visit/article_5f61bef0-3ead-11ed-8c6b-a7a59c295ec4.html
State Democrats say Republican mailer is racist — State Democrats claim a mailer sent by state Republicans is racist. The Republican party says those claims are ridiculous, Tamara Lopez of KOB-TV reported.
Democrats said state Republicans darkened the hands on a stock image, warning the public about sex offenders in New Mexico. Republican state Rep. Rod Montoya described the hands as shadowy and gray, and called the claims of racism outrageous.
Watch or read Lopez's story here (no paywall): kob.com/new-mexico/new-mexicans-raise-questions-over-campaign-mailer/
Judge sides with newspaper in records dispute with Rio Rancho — A state district judge has ruled against the city of Rio Rancho and in favor of the Santa Fe New Mexican and the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government in a legal dispute over public records, saying reasons the city gave for withholding records pertaining to the December shooting death of a Santa Fe police officer's child were invalid, Phaedra Haywood of the Santa Fe New Mexican reported.
Read Haywood's story here (paywall): santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/judge-sides-with-newspaper-in-records-dispute-with-rio-rancho/article_4f8e70d8-3aa0-11ed-8c27-937fb10b5e0a.html
Anonymous Generosity
An anonymous donor gifted 40 guitars for students at Moriarty and Edgewood middle schools to use during guitar classes. The gift of instruments in pristine condition marks a notable upgrade from the previous guitars students played while wearing long-sleeve shirts to avoid splinters, Natalie Wadas with KRQE reported.
“We’ll look presentable. And not like we just grabbed a guitar from the dump,” eighth grade guitarist Kimber Dickerson told Wadas.
This type of donation is particularly appreciated since school districts often struggle to find funding for music and art programs.
The 40 guitars will be split equally between Edgewood Middle School and Moriarty Middle School.
Read Wadas' story here (no paywall): krqe.com/news/new-mexico/moriarty-edgewood-school-district-gets-anonymous-gift-of-40-new-guitars/
Fifty Fiestas
The 50th Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta begins this weekend! Things kick off Friday with ABQ Aloft at area elementary schools, and the Fiesta gets underway with mass ascensions scheduled for the morning on Saturday, Oct. 1 and Sunday, Oct. 2, and balloon glows scheduled both evenings.
More launches and competitions run every morning and most evenings through Sunday Oct. 9.
For a full schedule, check out the official site: balloonfiesta.com/Event-Schedule
That’s it for now. Have a great weekend!
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Who’s responsible for Chile Street? The culprit is Ryan Lowery, a New Mexico journalist living in Albuquerque.
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