KSFR: Rail Runner to run Friday, after all (2009-11-25)

-- Nov. 25, 2 p.m. -- New Mexico's Rail Runner commuter train will be running Friday, after all. That reverses the earlier decision not to offer service on Black Friday. There will be two trains southbound and two northbound. The southbound trains leave Santa Fe at 11:25 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.

New Mexico's unemployment numbers are out. They're up from last year but still better than the national rate. The number of jobless rose to nearly 8 percent, almost double that of last year. The national rate is 10.2 percent. Here in Santa Fe, the unemployment rate has reached 6.9 percent, a 60 percent increase.

Two former top executives of Santa Fe-based Thornburg Mortgage are facing a lawsuit by the trustee in charge of the company while it goes through bankruptcy. The charge reported by the Reuters news agency alleges that former CEO Larry Goldstone and former Chief Financial Officer Clarence Simmons improperly took boxes of files and computers from the company offices. The trustee says the lawsuit is designed to get the items returned. Goldstone and Simmons resigned suddenly after the bankruptcy court learned they were trying to set up a new business using the assets of the bankrupt company to do it. Thornburg Mortgage is the ninth largest bankruptcy in U.S. history.

-- 7 a.m. -- New Mexicans planning to travel by air after December 31st had better have their passports ready. That's what will be needed to get on domestic flights if Congress doesn't take action before then. The REAL ID drivers license act goes into effect on that date and with it the requirement that air travelers have either a passport of a federally-approved drivers license. New Mexico's tax secretary Rick Homans tells KSFR that New Mexico is not prepared nor are more than two dozen other states with the kind of drivers license that will be needed. Homans says the federal requirements have been too tough for most states to meet. They also would prohibit undocumented immigrants from getting a drivers license in the state. Homans says it's like a game of 'chicken' to see who'll blink first -- the dozens of states or the federal government. More on this At Noon today from KSFR News.

The effects of the long recession are taking their toll on the huge Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino. Pojaque Pueblo Gov.George Rivera tells the New Mexican he probably won't be able to make an upcoming payment to bond holders. He says even with increased gambling revenues and a higher rate of room bookings, the resort is still recovering from the shortfall it faced last year when the recession really took hold. Buffalo Thunder was financed with $245 million in bonds held by private investors. Coming up is a required payment of $11 million that Rivera says may have to be delayed. The sprawling Buffalo Thunder complex opened a little over a year and a half ago.

New Mexico's state auditor says he hopes to get tough with state and local agencies that don't follow state law. Hector Balderas says he's working with legislative leaders to create new laws that will lead to punishment for agencies that either don't account for the taxpayer money they've spent or who try to obstruct audits by state officials. Balderas says there are more than 60 governmental agencies that have not submitted timely audits. He says they've spent taxpayer money without being accountable for it. *** Balderas says one of the measures he wants lawmakers to pass is a bill that would suspend appropriations for government agencies that have outstanding audits.

A new report just out from the New Mexico Department of Health highlights the human and economic toll of alcohol abuse in our state. Among its findings is that almost 1,000 deaths in our state annually are directly attributable to alcohol. Based on statistics from 2006, the associated costs of abuse are pegged at $2.5 billion. The health department says that besides the obvious role of alcohol in traffic fatalities, it contributes to fires, falls, drug overdose, and drowning and is implicated in acts of violence such as child abuse, homicide, suicide and personal assault. The report also looked at alcohol use by minors, finding that 38% of New Mexico's 9th graders and 49 % of 12th graders reported consuming alcoholic beverages on at least one occasion in the past 30 days.

Part of that $6.5 Million dollar grant from the Department of Energy to New Mexico announced yesterday is going to PNM. The utility will get $1.8 million to create an innovative battery and photovoltaic system intended to make solar power a more economical and useful energy source. It's part of the nation's attempt to develop and deploy smart grid technologies that will augment electrical supplies. PNM's research and development project will be set up in Albuquerque's Mesa del Sol complex. Concurrently, the University of New Mexico will be developing an advanced power-distribution system model. The efforts are said to be positioning New Mexico as a key player in smart grid technologies.

The city is reporting this hour that a water main break is affecting Santa Fe residents living in the area of Canyon Road. Crews from the City Water Division are working to isolate and repair the break. They say service is expected to be fixed by 5pm this evening.

As we prepare to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow, a reminder that no public transportation will be in operation in Santa Fe. Buses will resume service Friday at 8AM. The Rail Runner commuter train is out of service until Saturday.

Weather for Santa Fe...sunny skies should dominate the extended holiday weekend with daytime highs in the 50s. A slight chance for snowshowers arrives Saturday night along with colder temperatures. Sunday's highs will only be in the 30s.