New Mexico Govenor Bill Richardson, who is running for president, has a kinda humorus ad for people in Iowa.
New Mexico Scorpions Still Loosing Money
An Albuquerque Tribune article discusses how the Scorpions didn’t make enough money during their first season in Rio Rancho to cover costs. They didn’t make enough money when they were in Albuquerque, either.
I can certainly see why they would thing the grass will be greener here in Rio Rancho, really what did they have to loose? I’m still concerned, how long will they continue to loose money? What if Rio Rancho’s growth doesn’t happen as fast as it needs to? Real fans are already driving to Rio Rancho to watch the games, what else will be done to attract new fans?
I’m still surprised to hear people complain about the drive to the Arena. Unser Road did suck, but it’s mostly better now. Any major city with major league sports have much worse traffic problems than Rio Rancho. I don’t think people know how good they have it.
1000 People To Be Laid Off At Intel Rio Rancho Plant
RIO RANCHO, N.M. (AP) — Intel Corp. said Tuesday that it expects to cut more than 1,000 jobs at its Rio Rancho plant as the company ends production of an older silicon wafer technology. Intel will stop making the 200-millimeter wafers at the plant by the end of August, and affected employees will be offered severance packages or can apply for other jobs within the company, spokesman Jami Grindatto said.
Anyone who works at the Intel Rio Rancho plant knew this was coming. I know a large number of people that have been waiting to for a chance to get out with a severance package. Still, this sucks. One fifth (20%) of the people that work at this plant will be gone wether they like it or not.
The AP article doesn’t mention when Intel expect to have everyone out but this KOB article say they start in August.
A article from the Albuquerque Tribune says:
Larry Waldman, a senior economist with the University of New Mexico’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research, projects the layoffs expected to come in August could cause the loss of another 1,000 jobs in places such as the retail and service sectors. “It’s not going to be just 1,000 jobs when you look at effects on other parts of the economy,” said Waldman, referring to retail and service jobs that might supplement Intel workers. While that may not be the rosiest picture, Waldman said the losses will have only a minor impact on the economies of both the state and Albuquerque metro
Update 5/7/07: From the Trib:
U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici has asked Labor Secretary Elaine Chao to assign staff from her agency’s Dallas office to coordinate job placement programs for the 1,000-plus workers expected to lose their jobs at Intel Corp.’s Rio Rancho plant.
New Mexcio Real Estate Roller Coaster Ride
The declines were greatest in the cities of Albuquerque and Rio Rancho. In the Duke City, 223 permits were issued in March compared with 524 in March 2006. For Rio Rancho, just 124 permits were obtained this March compared to 336 a year ago.
New home permits plunge by more than 50 percent – New Mexico Business Weekly.
Native New Yorker Coming To Rio Rancho
My favorite wing place from Arizona is coming to Rio Rancho (and Albuquerque).
A Gilbert-based restaurant chain is expanding outside Arizona. This year, Native New Yorker expects to start opening restaurants in New Mexico. Four eateries in Albuquerque and one in Rio Rancho are planned, said Mario Altiery, president of Upside Group, a franchise consulting firm working with the company.
“The Native” as we refer to it, was my favorite wing place. If only In-N-Out Burger would follow.
New Mexico Might Declare Pluto a Planet
What the hell? New Mexico Might Declare Pluto a Planet (Via Slashdot.)
“Wired and others are reporting that for New Mexico, the fight for Pluto is not over. Seven months after the International Astronomical Union downgraded the distant heavenly body to a ‘dwarf planet,’ a state representative in New Mexico aims to give the snubbed world back some of its respect. State lawmakers will vote Tuesday on a bill that proposes that ‘as Pluto passes overhead through New Mexico’s excellent night skies, it be declared a planet.’ The lawmaker who introduced the measure represents the county in which Clyde Tombaugh, Pluto’s discoverer, was born. For many of us old timers, and those who had the honor of meeting Clyde, this just causes a belly laugh and is pure fun. Not to mention a bit of poking a stick in the eye.”
Talking Urinal Cakes Stolen
I would have never imagined creating this sentence. Turtle Mountain Brewery company has had it’s anti-drunk driving talking urinal cakes stolen. If you do a search for “talking Urinal Cakes” you will learn how the Rio Rancho based Turtle Mountain is the first to get them in New Mexico.
I saw the report on channel 4, I will update with a link once they decide to put it up.
Update 2/20/07 10:22PM] Here’s a AP article.
At the Turtle Mountain, the urinal cakes have proved so intriguing that three have been swiped already. “I’m mystified why someone would stick their hand into one of our urinals,” Ortiz said. “But I’m sure we’ll see them on eBay. Hopefully, the seller will advertise it as, `Stolen from Turtle Mountain.'”
AOL Closes New Mexico Offices
This shouldn’t have really been a surprise after AOL said they are going to a free service model.
AOL announced Wednesday it will lay off 1,300 employees by closing call centers in New Mexico and Arizona as part of a previously announced restructuring plan. AOL, the Time Warner Inc. online unit formerly known as America Online, also plans to sell its call center in Ogden, Utah. The cuts include 900 layoffs at the Albuquerque call center and 400 jobs at the center in Tucson, Ariz., AOL spokesman Nicholas Graham said. The Arizona and New Mexico call centers each have operated for 10 years.
Master Bedroom And Bathroom Remodel Progress
I know what I said, that the sprinkler system is going to be my priority. Give me a break thought, the back yard is sitll pretty muddy and now full of weeds. I’m now sure that the sprinkler project will have to wait till next year.
It’s on to indoor projects, the first of which is the master bedroom and bathroom. I had a demolition party scheduled for the end of August, where I invited some of my friends over to demolish the house. Surprisingly, most of them didn’t show up. Enough did to get most of the work done.
For the bedroom the goal was to take the closet from the neighboring bedroom to create a bigger overall closet. This was accomplished.For the bathroom the goal was to remove the framed in shower. Both of these were accomplished. After the demo was completed, with drywall and crap all over the place, is when I questioned what I have done. After two trips to the dump and probably 6 hours of clean up I’m not sure I did make the right decision.
The framed in shower was not usable. It had been leaking pretty badly for quite a while. The lower framing was rotted, the water had leaked into the bedroom and there was even plant roots growing about a foot up the interiors of the wall. One doesn’t expect mold in a dry state such as New Mexico, but there was plenty of mold in the walls.
The next step is to plan for the rebuild. Since it’s a small room, 7 foot by 8 foot, I’d like to put in a corner whirlpool tub with a shower. I think I can get a 54 inch by 54 inch corner tub to fit. I also plan to put in a electric radiant floor heating. The plan here shown is from Warmly Yours.
Can anyone loan me a few thousand dollars?
Spaceport America
Goodbye Southwest Regional Spaceport. Hello Spaceport America. New Mexico officials planned to unveil the new name Monday for a proposed $225 million space hub where British billionaire Sir Richard Branson hopes to send paying tourists on suborbital flights. The previous name was a mouthful to pronounce and didn’t reflect the cutting-edge vision of the project, said New Mexico Economic Development Secretary Rick Homans.
I’m not sure I like the new name. Having a space port is cool no matter what the name.
Doesn't Fit In 