New Mexico Independent: Stories by Trip Jennings

Food stamps near historic high

Trip Jennings — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 23:39:10 GMT

Thousands could qualify for food stamps but they don't know it because they think they earn too much money, the state says. While nearly 95,000 New Mexico families receive food stamps, the state Human Service Department estimates that another 90,000 probably could qualify.

Early retirees - Get ready to pay a lot more for health care

Trip Jennings — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 13:00:00 GMT

More than 9,000 public-sector retirees and their spouses will have to dig deeper into their pockets come July 1 to pay for health care. That's because New Mexico is attempting to get a handle on an issue that is confronting many governments across the country -- the gap between how much it owes in retiree health care costs and how much it can afford.

Retiree health care big in special session, guv says

Trip Jennings — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 22:38:31 GMT

The state's underfunded health care system for public-sector retirees will play a big role in any special legislative session he calls this summer, Gov. Bill Richardson said Wednesday. The New Mexico Retiree Health Care Authority is underfunded and could go insolvent in a few years without drastic changes, a new report says.

Messy election?

Trip Jennings — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 23:40:07 GMT

Will New Mexico throw off its reputation for error-prone, close elections that leave voters waiting to find out the results? State elections officials say they're ready for the June 3 primary. But there are a few obstacles they must overcome to run a smooth election.

Where's Bill?

Trip Jennings — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 15:05:08 GMT

Where's Bill, as in Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico. No sooner did the guv return from a trip to Venezuela on Sunday than he was off to the Pacific Northwest to stump for Washington state's Democratic governor on Monday.

Voter photo ID? Some say 'Hope so.'

Trip Jennings — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 21:32:07 GMT

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled this week that Indiana could require voters to present photo ID. The ruling won't affect New Mexico's law regarding voters this year. But some supporters of such a law say the ruling strengthens their position come the 2009 legislative session.

Wilson v. Pearce: The gloves are off

Trip Jennings, John Arnold — Mon, 05 May 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce are battling to represent the GOP in November. To get there, Pearce is appealing to political convictions of those who typically turn out for GOP primaries, while Wilson is hoping to leverage their competitive instincts. And that leaves many GOP voters searching their souls. In the words of one prominent Republican, the question they are asking is "Am I actually going to vote for the candidate of choice or am I going to vote for the candidate that I think can win in November?"

Trouble in Santa Fe

Trip Jennings — Mon, 05 May 2008 20:10:55 GMT

Lt. Gov. Diane Denish acknowledges that she is perhaps slightly annoyed that no one in the guv's office notified her that Gov. Bill Richardson was out of state Saturday. While her pique is worth noting, it's not an isolated incident. Denish has been acting like more of her own person for months.

God or evolution? That's serious

Trip Jennings — Tue, 06 May 2008 14:44:48 GMT

God or evolution? A local pastor steps into the debate by helping to produce Ben Stein's anti-Darwinism film "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed."

Bush in NM?

Trip Jennings — Tue, 06 May 2008 15:27:23 GMT

Is President Bush coming to NM? It appears so, and he's likely to raise money for GOP-handpicked 1st Congressional District candidate Darren White, currently the Bernalillo County Sheriff.

Worn out roads

Trip Jennings — Thu, 08 May 2008 13:00:00 GMT

Do roads near your house look in need of some care? If they do, it may be because the state doesn't have enough money to take care of them.

The beginning of the end?

Trip Jennings — Thu, 08 May 2008 22:01:38 GMT

Is this the beginning of the end of the Democratic presidential nominating contest? Read some of today's stories. You be the judge.

It won't be cheap

Trip Jennings — Fri, 09 May 2008 12:00:00 GMT

New Mexico would need more than $800 million over five years to expand health insurance to a large portion of the state's uninsured population, lawmakers learned this week. The figure isn't a budget request, but a projection. But it gives state lawmakers a better sense of how much Gov. Bill Richardson's plan to expand health coverage would cost.

Poverty on guv's agenda

Trip Jennings — Fri, 09 May 2008 22:57:01 GMT

Gov. Bill Richardson announced Friday that he is forming a poverty task force.

"While our state’s economy is expanding, figures show the income gap is widening,” Governor Bill Richardson said in a press release. “We can not allow our neighbors to fall behind. We must be bold in our solutions to help struggling families make ends meet.”

The task force, which will submit its recommendations in September, will develop specific recommendations for legislative and regulatory initiatives to reduce poverty and income inequality in New Mexico.

Richardson wants the task force to research a range of issues, including strategic initiatives to address hunger, housing and child care needs, adequate compensation and a fair minimum wage, easing access to higher education and assisting former prisoners in finding employment.

Spaceport -- the world is watching

Trip Jennings — Mon, 12 May 2008 18:29:50 GMT

It seems a lot of people are paying attention to New Mexico and its plan to shoot rockets into suborbital space with people inside.

The Washington Post ran this story on Saturday on The Land of Enchantment's aggressive schedule for getting a proposed spaceport up and running by 2010.

The Post story mentions the boost that NM's spaceport got a couple of weeks ago as Sierra County voters approved by a 2-1 margin a tax that will help finance the idea.

But the article, as NM media have pointed out regularly, also reminds readers of the many hurdles that remain -- including environmental approvals and certifying the space-worthiness of Virgin Galactic's radical White Knight Two and SpaceShipTwo. It also mentions that the Land of Enchantment isn't alone in envisioning a day when passengers can climb aboard a spaceship and fly into space -- or to another continent in a fraction of the time it takes now.