Nation

Valles Caldera Trust Awarded $545,000 For Solar Powered Shuttle System

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VCT News:

JEMEZ SPRINGS—Valles Caldera Trust has been awarded a $545,000 federal grant that will allow visitors to tour the Valles Caldera National Preserve in the quiet comfort of a solar powered all-electric shuttle bus.

The grant is one of 29 awarded nationally by the Paul S. Sarbanes Transit in the Parks Program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Authority.

The grant will fund the purchase of an all-electric 26-passenger ADA-compliant shuttle bus to replace two gasoline-powered 12-passenger vans currently in use.

Construction of a solar photovoltaic Read More

AAUW Screens Film on Rape in the Military

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AAUW News:

See “The Invisible War,” a groundbreaking investigation into what Newsweek has called “the most underreported crime in America”: the epidemic of rape in the U.S. military at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 21.  

The film will be shown in the Jeannette Wallace Hall (Bldg. 5) at UNM-LA by the Los Alamos branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW.)

The screening is a fundraiser for AAUW’s Legal Advocacy Fund (LAF.) Admission is $10 adults and $5 students. All proceeds will be donated to LAF.

AAUW is committed to improving the way the military deals with Read More

Senators Challenge Postal Plan to End Saturday Delivery

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U.S. SENATE News:
  • Unauthorized proposal would hurt rural communities, cost jobs
 
WASHINGTON – Twenty-four senators, led by Tom Udall of New Mexico, are challenging the postmaster general’s authority to discontinue Saturday mail delivery later this year without congressional approval.
 
In a letter to Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe, the senators acknowledge the financial challenges the Postal Service is facing and urge him to work with Congress to address these problems through bipartisan reform, such as the Senate legislation passed last year.
 
They also point
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Senators Launch Effort to Employ Youth for Restoring Public Lands

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Courtesy photo
U.S. SENATE News:
 
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich Friday reintroduced legislation to expand job training and educational opportunities for youth, while helping repair and restore the country’s public lands.
 
The Public Lands Service Corps Act of 2013 improves on the existing Public Lands Corps by expanding the scope of projects to reflect new challenges. It would also add incentives to attract new participants, including Native Americans and veterans, that suffer from disproportionately high rates of unemployment.
 
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CryoSat-2 Mission Reveals Major Arctic Sea-Ice Loss

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Sea ice scape photo by Dr. Katherine Giles, a research fellow at the Centre for Polar Observation and Modeling at University College London (UCL) and a member of the scientific team studying sea-ice loss. Courtesy/AGU

AGU News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Arctic sea ice volume has declined by 36 percent in the autumn and 9 percent in the winter between 2003 and 2012, an international team of scientists has discovered. 

Researchers used new data from the European Space Agency’s CryoSat-2 satellite spanning 2010 to 2012, and data from NASA’s Read More

Udall Hosts NM’s MVD Express at Senate Meeting on Job Creation

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Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M. meets with Janice Lucero, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of MVD Express. Courtesy photo

U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – New Mexico small business leader Janice Lucero of Albuquerque was the guest of U.S. Sen. Tom Udall at a Capitol Hill discussion on best practices creating jobs and strengthening America’s economy.

Lucero is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of MVD Express, a public-private partnership with the State of New Mexico that provides high-quality, efficient motor vehicle services throughout 11 locations in the state.

Representatives Read More

Senators Reintroduce Measure to Make Valles Caldera a National Park

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U.S. SENATE News:
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich reintroduced legislation today to transfer the management of the Valles Caldera National Preserve to the National Park Service (NPS.).
 
Udall and retired Sen. Jeff Bingaman first introduced this legislation in 2010 in light of inconsistent funding, the need for infrastructure improvements and concerns that the Preserve would not achieve financial self-sustainability by 2015, as directed by the Valles Caldera Preservation Act of 2000.
 
“Millions of years in the making, the Valles
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Udall Meets With Secretary of Defense Nominee

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U.S. Sen. Tom Udall meets with Defense Secretary nominee Chuck Hagel Feb. 11. Courtesy/Udall’s Office

U.S. SENATE News:

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., Monday issued the following statement after a meeting with Secretary of Defense nominee, Sen. Chuck Hagel:
 
“My meeting today with Senator Chuck Hagel was very useful. We had the opportunity to touch on a variety of issues facing our country and how New Mexico contributes to the strength of our national security.
 
“Senator Hagel conveyed that if confirmed, he will be committed to keeping safe, reliable
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NM Senators Seek U.S. Attorney Applicants

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U.S. SENATE News:
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich are accepting applications for the position of United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico.
 
President Obama nominated current U.S. Attorney Kenneth Gonzales to a federal court judgeship Jan. 4, 2013.
 
Upon Gonzales’ confirmation by the Senate, the position of U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico will become vacant.
 
In accordance with their constitutional responsibility to provide advice and consent with respect to federal appointments, Udall and Heinrich will
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Bandelier is Your Backyard!

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The overall winner in the 2012 GBBC photo contest features this Cedar Waxwing. Photo by Ben Thomas, Georgia

BANDELIER News:

Come visit Bandelier for the 16 annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), Feb. 15-18.

After 15 years of success in North America, GBBC is now global. In 2013, anyone, from anywhere on earth, can participate by visiting www.ebird.com or www.birdcount.org and reporting the kinds and numbers of birds they see during the annual count.

During the 2012 count, participants reported 17.4 million bird observations on 104,000 checklists. In northern states, Snowy Owls thrilled Read More