Today's intelligence: The end of free COVID vaccines, tests and treatments for New Mexicans is near.
I've been accused of lying by a hospital governing board member--that the point of forming a hospital district is not to bring in more tax revenue for Sierra Vista Hospital. Then Sen. John Arthur Smith and Hospital Association advisors to the two hospital boards lied too.
Today's intelligence: If livestock's trampling of public land is undesirable, why do grazing fees for "authorized" (as opposed to feral) cattle remain so low?
Today's intelligence: the latest promised timeline for Virgin Galatic commercial spaceflights at Spaceport America; and pros and cons of the U.S. Forest Service's recently concluded shoot down of feral cows in the Gila
Do not be duped by local government officials into signing the hospital-district petition. It will form a new taxing authority that can levy up to 4.25 mills and issue general obligation bonds that would also increase property taxes--taxes in addition to the taxes already being collected.
Today's intelligence: And the winner of the New Mexico Senate's floor vote on naming an official state aroma is . . . .
Commissioners heard an audit presentation then signed contracts to start projects on the Arrey baseball field, county fairgrounds, and Monticello Bridge of Grace. They also put in requests for road funding and selected a board to purge voter rolls. A decision for transferring a liquor license in Winston was delayed.
A roundup of stories of significance to Sierra County published by state and national news sources over the last 10 days
Utility fees hit the poorest hardest and T or C residents are among the poorest in the nation and the state. For generations the city has wrongly used utility fees to make up for budget shortfalls, and its only getting worse as neglected utilities fall apart.
Today's intelligence: According to a special report by Searchlight New Mexico, Truth or Consequences's last best hope to avoid a water infrastructure meltdown is an infusion of cash drawn from the pools of discretionary monies that the governor and state legislators can use to fund high-priority projects.
Today's intelligence: Though a court decision on a deal that could end the fight over Rio Grande water distribution between New Mexico and Texas is months away, state officials recognize the need to spend millions to cut groundwater pumping below Elephant Butte. Plus: Proposed changes to the nomination and qualifications of state Game Commissioners move ahead at the Roundhouse.
I return to the idea of entropy, this time as a measure of the increasing randomness in the universe, and I relate this increase to our gradual loss of social cohesion under the influence of individualism, to the breakdown of language in our culture, and to our carelessness about Covid.
