Heinrich: Strengthen Worker Overtime Protections
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich
U.S. SENATE News:
“Too many Americans are working longer and harder without anything to show for their efforts in their paychecks.” —U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich
WASHINGTON, D.C.— U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., joined a group of 26 senators in supporting updating overtime rules to ensure more middle-class workers are paid fairly for overtime hours.
In a letter to President Obama, the senators urged the administration to increase the income threshold to $56,680 per year to strengthen overtime protections for millions more middle-class workers.
MIFA: The Red That Colored The World
Sewing box and cover with cochineal dyed wool yarn. Courtesy/IFAF 
MIFA News:
- Red, with its brilliant hue and broad cultural history, has inspired artists’ imaginations and seduced viewers for millennia
SANTA FE—The exhibition, The Red That Colored the World, opening at the Museum of International Folk Art, combines new research and original scholarship to explore the history and widespread use in art of cochineal, an insect-based dye source for the color red whose origins and use date to the pre-Columbian Americas.
The Red That Colored the World opens May 17 and runs through Sept. Read More
State Police Launch Checkpoints And Saturation Patrols
Courtesy/NMSP
STATE News:
SANTA FE — New Mexico State Police (NMSP) will conduct Sobriety Checkpoints, Saturation Patrols and Registration, Insurance and Drivers’ License Checkpoints in all New Mexico counties during the month of February.
These efforts continue to show a significant reduction in alcohol related fatalities, NMSP said. This is attributed to the continued media attention and intensive advertising.
These checkpoints are helping to change society’s attitude about drinking and driving. People are choosing to not drink and drive. This is the biggest step in keeping impaired Read More
SFNF: Prescribed Burns Planned Cuba Ranger District
SFNF News:
SANTA FE – Fire managers on the Santa Fe National Forest plan to continue the La Jara prescribed pile burns on the Cuba Ranger District if conditions, including fuel moisture levels, air quality and weather forecasts, are favorable.
The La Jara prescribed pile burn, a total of 275 acres northeast of the community of La Jara, may continue through March 30. Small blocks may be treated each day to decrease the daily smoke volume.
Prescribed fires are one of the most effective tools available to resource managers for restoring fire-dependent ecosystems. These fires mimic natural fires Read More
Udall Joins Defense Appropriations Subcommittee
U.S. Sen. Tom Udall
U.S. SENATE News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Tom Udall has announced that he will join the Defense Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
The subcommittee holds jurisdiction over the U.S. Department of Defense and Intelligence Community, and is responsible for producing one of 12 annual appropriations bills to fund the federal government’s programs and responsibilities.
Udall will continue to serve on other subcommittees that allocate key funding for programs important to New Mexico:
- the Subcommittee on Agriculture;
- Rural Development;
White House: 15 Solar Market Pathways Projects
WHITE HOUSE News:
- Empowering Communities To Deploy Solar
WASHINGTON D.C.— The White House has announced 15 Solar Market Pathways projects to pursue various approaches to developing actionable solar deployment plans and strategies to promote deployment at residential, community, and commercial scales—from expanding shared or community solar programs and local financing mechanisms to integrating solar energy generation into communities’ emergency response plans.
Aimed at cutting the non-hardware “soft costs” of solar – such as permitting, financing, and connecting to Read More
DOE Announces Technology To Market Funding
DOE News:
Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative aims to boost American competitiveness
WASHINGTON, D.C.— The $45 million Technology to Market funding opportunity is part of the Department’s Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative, aimed at boosting American competitiveness and supporting a strong domestic, clean energy manufacturing sector.
This funding opportunity combines three historically separate SunShot Initiative funding programs—Incubator, Solar Manufacturing Technology, and Scaling Up Nascent PV at Home— into one that will support projects Read More
DOE Announces New Partners In Energy Efficiency
Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz
DOE News:
- New partners commit to improving efficiency by 20 percent over 10 years
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Building on President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, the Energy Department announced that more than 20 new partners have committed to improving energy efficiency across their respective building portfolios by 20 percent over the next 10 years.
These new partners, including the six multifamily partners announced by the White House, bring with them fresh perspective and leadership in newly represented sectors, spanning more than 70 million square feet of fast-food,
Right To Work Passes B&E With Bi-Partisan Support
Rep. Dennis Roch
STATE News:
- Legislation Will Now Move To Judiciary Committee
SANTA FE — Right-to-work legislation, which would give New Mexico’s workers the right to choose whether they join a union or financially contribute to one, has passed the House Committee on Business and Employment. It will now move to the Judiciary Committee. The bill moved with a bi-partisan 8-5 vote.
“By moving this bipartisan legislation forward, we are one step closer to giving New Mexico’s workers the right to choose whether they join a union or financially contribute to one,” Read More
IRS Promotes Earned Income Tax Credit
IRS Commissioner John Koskinen
IRS News:
PHOENIX – The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is partnering with community-based organizations across the country to promote Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Awareness Day, an effort to alert millions of low and moderate-income workers who may be missing out on a significant tax credit that can be as much as $6,000.
Millions of workers who earned $52,427 or less last year may qualify for EITC for the first time in 2015, making awareness of the credit critical. About a third of the people eligible for EITC fluctuate each year based on changes to their Read More
