New Mexico

Feds allege ‘pirate’ station hiding at Spaceport America

5 Comments / New Mexico, News / By

The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau alleges that pirate frequencies are operating out of FAA-licensed Spaceport America in Sierra County near Truth or Consequences. 

“An Agent from the Denver Office confirmed that unauthorized radio signals were transmitted on frequencies 95.3 MHzx and 96.3 MHz from the Spaceport America property located between Las Cruces and Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, between June 21 and June 25, 2022 during the Spaceport America Cup 2022 event,” the FCC wrote on May 24, 2023.

Land Rover MENA via Wikimedia Commons.

“Enabled with new powers by Congress under the industry-friendly PIRATE Act, the FCC has recently been dispatching a sheaf of enforcement letters like this, targeting a station catering to New York City Ecuadorians and another pirate radio station allegedly transmitting from a church,” reported 5mag.net. 

Federal Communications Commission via Wikimedia Commons.

“The letter — typically the first notice of an open investigation and warning prior to enforcement — states that continued broadcasting from the site may result in a fine in excess of $2 million.” 

RadioInk.com adds, “FCC agents have determined that exceptions for low-powered devices do not apply in this case, potentially constituting a violation of the Communications Act of 1934.” 

The Spaceport opened in 2011 and is owned and operated by the New Mexico State Land Office, but it does not have an FCC license to broadcast on either alleged frequency.

NM region gets almost half of its annual rainfall in 12 hours from supercell storm

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With recent “supercell” storms in the extreme eastern corner of New Mexico, primarily in Curry and Quay counties, the region has received almost half of its annual rainfall average in just 12 hours. 

“On the thunderstorm spectrum, supercells are the least common type of thunderstorm, but they have a high propensity to produce severe weather, including damaging winds, very large hail, and sometimes weak to violent tornadoes,” the National Weather Service noted. Tornado activity was spotted near Grady, New Mexico. 

Meteorologist Corbin Voges of Storm Search 7 wrote Friday, “MAJOR RAIN for parts of Quay and northern Curry county last night. Some areas have received nearly 8″ of rain over the last 12 hours. That is almost half of this region’s annual rainfall average!” 

“Strong to severe storms developed just before dark Thursday, May 25th 2023 in eastern New Mexico before training over the same locations through the entire night. These storms produced up to baseball size hail and blanketed areas in white with up to 2″ of hail accumulation on the ground in Lesbia, New Mexico in Quay county,” reported ABC 7 News. 

“This is a major event for this geographical region. To put this into perspective, Tucumcari, New Mexico receives an average of 17 inches of rain per year. This has caused widespread flash flooding in the canyons, streams, creeks and low-lying areas. Tucumcari escaped the heaviest rainfall but still encountered significant flooding in town.”

Some views of the remarkable recent storms have been shared via social media:

Storm chasers capture videos of tornado hitting ground near Grady, New Mexico

ABQ Public Schools spends insane amount per pupil as enrollment drops

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According to figures compiled by the Rio Grande Foundation (RGF), Albuquerque Public Schools is spending an insane amount of taxpayer dollars per student while enrollment in the school declines.

“Albuquerque Public Schools, the State’s largest district unveiled its FY 2024 budget (next school year) and it’s a doozy. As noted on the APS website, total district spending for the upcoming fiscal year will be $2.16 billion,” wrote the group.

RGF noted, “According to the just-passed budget (which we obtained) the District’s enrollment will have dropped (again) to 68,902. So, dividing the $2.16 billion budget by 68,902 students gets you a mind-blowing spending number of $31,349 PER STUDENT!”

“That’s an increase of almost 69% since 2020 PER STUDENT. Will APS or any of New Mexico’s other school districts be able to move the needle on student outcomes or is the State just pouring good money after bad?” 

On average, education systems nationwide spend $15,120 per pupil in K-12 public education annually, according to figures from the Education Data Initiative. That means APS delves out more money than double the national average per student.

Despite the high spending, the school district has only a three percent higher graduation rate than the state at 80 percent versus the state average of 77 percent. 

“Public Schools in Albuquerque Public Schools School District have an average math proficiency score of 52% (versus the New Mexico public school average of 25%), and reading proficiency score of 75% (versus the 58% statewide average),” according to Public School Review. 

In latest power grab, MLG sidesteps Legislature, unilaterally forms new office

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On Thursday, Democrat New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham sidestepped the state Legislature to unilaterally create an “Office of Special Education” within her New Mexico Public Education Department.

“The governor — who sidestepped the legislative process in creating the agency through an executive order — joined educators, families and top state education officials at Lowell Elementary School in Albuquerque to announce the effort, framing it as an opportunity to create streamlined services that stretch from birth through college,” reported the Santa Fe New Mexican.

A bill to do just this died in the 2023 Legislative Session amid concerns over local control of such programs in the state. The bill never got a vote in the state House of Representatives.

“I’m not waiting one more minute to get the services and the supports and the education that every student in New Mexico needs,” the governor said, echoing previous remarks she made when she forced through a special session to legalize recreational marijuana in 2021.

At the time, she screamed during a virtual meeting with a group of supporters, “We’re gonna have a special session in a week or so, and we’re gonna get cannabis because I am not gonna wait another year. We’re gonna win it, and it’s gonna have the social justice aspects that we know have to be in a package!”

“This is an elevation of special education,” Lujan Grisham said of her new executive order-sanctioned office, despite New Mexico children being woefully underserved by the failing governmental departments already in place to supposedly protect them, such as the PED and the Children, Youth, and Families Department (CYFD). 

Now, the state will have a new bureaucratic office to likely mismanage disability issues in schools. Currently, the state ranks last out of every other state in the nation in education. 

It is currently unclear what portion of the PED budget would be allocated to the office since the Department did not get funding in the 2023 Legislative Session for the then-nonexistent office. The latest move by the governor not only usurps the Legislature’s powers to create the office but also its appropriation power.

Eco-left rages after U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rules against Biden’s EPA

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The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s rule that regulates waterways in a unanimous 9-0 decision.

The Court’s decision on Sackett v. EPA narrows Waters of the United States (WOTUS), instructing the government to define a waterway as a “continuous surface connection” to major water bodies.

The New Mexico-based eco-left group bemoaned the decision on Twitter, writing, “Everyone should be troubled by this Supreme Court ruling on #SackettvEPA. The #SCOTUS decision puts polluters over people, resulting in extreme consequences for the @EPA’s ability to protect our nation’s waters.” 

Another leftist group in the state, Amigos Bravos, wrote, “The Supreme Court just issued a ruling that severely weakens the Clean Water Act in Sackett v. EPA, putting New Mexico’s communities, public health, and local ecosystems at risk – especially those most vulnerable to pollution and intensifying climate disasters.”

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer angrily wrote in a statement, “This MAGA Supreme Court is continuing to erode our country’s environmental laws,” adding, “Make no mistake – this ruling will mean more polluted water, and more destruction of wetlands.” 

Apparently, Schumer is unaware that every SCOTUS judge voted for the decision — including the three leftist justices Sonya Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson. 

Joe Biden’s White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also blasted the decision, saying Thursday, “It will jeopardize the sources of clean drinking water for farmers, businesses, and millions of Americans.”

UPDATE: Democrat New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham bemoaned the decision in a statement via Twitter:

Did you know? New Mexico is the nation’s oldest wine-producing region

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Thursday (May 25, 2023) is National Wine Day, and wine enthusiasts in New Mexico will be pleased to learn of the Land of Enchantment’s rich viticulture history. The state is the oldest wine-producing region in the United States.

After previous ventures to grow wine in the 1500s and 1600s in places such as Florida and Virginia proved unfruitful, Spanish settlers in New Mexico discovered that the American southwest was an ideal place to grow wine grapes.

According to Casa Rodeña Winery in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, “The first wine making in New Mexico stemmed from the need for sacramental wine in New Spain. As the Spanish Crown edict prohibited wine making here, the requisite transport of wine from Spain brought it across the ocean from Cadiz, via Verazcruz, then overland to Mexico City and finally along the Jornada del Muerte to Santa Fe.”

“Franciscan monks smuggled Monica grape vines into New Spain and searched up and down the Rio Grande River Valley for a place that would replicate the terroir (climate, altitude, soil, mineral content) and climate of central Spain. They decided on the unique terroir of the middle Rio Grande River Valley as the ideal locale to establish the first vineyards at a small mission called Senecu, south of present day Socorro. Frey Marcos de Zuñiga is considered to be among the first, if not THE first, to instigate this crime, which in 1633 resulted in the first wine produced in what is now New Mexico.”

San Miguel Mission, Socorro, Socorro County, NM. Library of Congress via Wikimedia Commons.

“After that, wine culture in New Mexico exploded, and churches all over the region began planting and cultivating their own vineyards. By 1633, New Mexican viticulture had completely taken hold,” wrote the New Mexico Department of Tourism.

“In 1868, Jesuit priests settled in New Mexico, bringing their Italian winemaking techniques to the state, and even founding their own winery. Of course, with Spanish and Italian techniques combined, the product was bound to be popular. In the next decade, wine production increased nearly tenfold, and by 1880, New Mexico has more than two times the grapevine acreage of New York. This little state in the south was ranked fifth in the nation for wine.” 

According to estimates from the World Population Review, New Mexico produces 749,818 gallons of wine annually. 

La Viña Winery in Anthony is the state’s oldest winery, established in 1977. Mission grapes are still produced in New Mexico, with wineries such as Rio Grande Winery in Mesilla producing its “Mission” vino. 

Rio Grande Winery vineyard. Photo by John Block.

The United States is the fourth-largest wine-producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France. California, Washington, and Oregon make up 90 percent of all U.S. production. California alone makes up 84 percent of that. 

Storm chasers capture videos of tornado hitting ground near Grady, New Mexico

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On Wednesday, the National Weather Service warned about a tornado storm near Grady, New Mexico, in Curry County. The storm also affected Roosevelt and Quay counties. 

Multiple reports say that the wind was at 90 miles per hour, which is destructive to structures, along with the hail. The shelter-in-place alerts went into effect until at least 8:15 p.m.

See some of the views of the storm caught by storm chasers, with the twister hitting ground shortly after 7:00 p.m. in Grady:

Tornadoes are rare in New Mexico, making this one, which is significant, something for residents to respond to with caution.

Aerial footage shows border wall materials wasting away near NM’s border

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New footage shot by war correspondents Michael Yon and Chuck Holton shows tons of materials meant for the construction of the United States’ southern border wall with Mexico wasting away in New Mexico.

President Donald Trump worked to fulfill his campaign promise of building the wall during his term in office, getting hundreds of miles built to protect the country’s wide-open border. 

Unfortunately, when Joe Biden came to power in 2021, he nixed the finishing of the border barrier, thus leaving the materials to rot while leaving massive gaping holes in the wall — emboldening illegal immigration.

Yon wrote, “Unused Border Wall in New Mexico last week,” noting, “Millions of dollars of border wall sitting unused as America is invaded by millions, and we pour buckets of billions into Ukraine.”

New Mexico currently has over 53 miles of border that are not protected whatsoever with any wall built by pre-Trump administrations or under the 45th president’s administration. There have been scourges of illegal border crossings, especially near Antelope Wells, Santa Teresa, and El Paso ports of entry.

 According to recent figures, about six million illegal immigrants have been smuggled by cartel members or came by themselves illegally on their journey into the United States. With the recent expiration of the pandemic-era Title 42, it has emboldened illegal border crossers.

Congresswoman Yvette Herrell reveals the truth about the border wall construction

Democrat NM judge to resign amid DWI charges

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Santa Fe Magistrate Judge Dev Atma Khalsa will resign amid an ethics probe that would have had him forcibly thrown off the bench.

The investigation came after Khalsa was stopped for a DWI in February off of I-25 when he crashed his car.

The arresting officer could smell alcohol on Khalsa’s breath and noticed slurred speech from the disgraced soon-to-be former judge.

Mugshot of Judge Khalsa.

The crash happened on I-25 at the Saint Francis Drive exit in Santa Fe.

According to KOB 4, “If he is convicted, he faces 90 days in jail, a $999 fine, and one year of probation.” 

“Officers arrested Khalsa and charged him with reckless driving and driving without a license. After the crash, the state Supreme Court initially suspended him with pay, then without pay last month.” The judge’s license expired two days before the arrest.

Khalsa’s brief stint on the bench, being elected only in November, included a handful of DWI cases, some revolving around revoked licenses. 

The Democrat previously won a crowded three-way primary and faced no GOP opponent in the general election. 

Once the New Mexico Supreme Court accepts the resignation agreement between the judge and the New Mexico Judicial Standards Commission, then his successor can be appointed to the bench by Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

New Mexico beats all other states in Whopper sales

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While New Mexicans love their green chile cheeseburgers, they also apparently love Burger King’s signature sandwich.

“New Mexico ordered more Whopper sandwiches than any other state in 2022,” announced the fast food restaurant in its “Flame-Grilled ‘State’ of Mind” report. The Land of Enchantment has been labeled “The Champ.” 

The report also disclosed what states like on the BK menu, with states like North Carolina ordering the most Double Whopper sandwiches last year and Montana buying the most Triple Whopper sandwiches in 2022.

The news comes right before National Hamburger Day is held on May 28. 

Prudence Earl via Unsplash.

Arizona bought the most Whoppers before 10:30 am, being dubbed “The Early Bird,” while Kansas “loves that late-night grub, ordering the most Whopper sandwiches after 8 p.m,” earning the state the title of “The Late Night Adventurer.” 

Alaska “orders a side of Chicken Fries with their Whopper sandwiches more than any other state,” and Texas “spices it up by adding more BBQ sauce and jalapeños to their Whopper sandwiches than anyone else,” earning the title of “The Sweetest & Spiciest.”

“For all those seeking the perfect combination to go with their Whopper sandwich, watch out – New Mexico (Whopper, U.S.A.) knows where it’s at when it comes to fries, but Hawaii (more than any other state) orders their Whopper sandwiches with onion rings,” writes Business Wire.

See the company’s full Whopper map here. 

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