CALL TO ACTION: EDUCATION IN LAS CRUCES
Image from KRWG Alma d’Arte High School (a charter school in Las Cruces) is facing significant challenges. This charter school …
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CALL TO ACTION: City Proposal to ALLOW CANNABIS IN NEIGHBORHOODS and Remove Single Family Zoning
Dear Las Crucens, The City is updating their Zoning code and this could potentially impact ALL people living and working …
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CCIA Las Cruces Prayer Guide 2024
This Prayer Guide is brought to you by the Las Cruces-based Coalition of Conservatives in Action (CCIA) in hopes that …
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CALL TO ACTION: Parents Severely Outnumbered on Book Review Committee
Dear Las Crucens, We need your help! Las Cruces Public Schools has re-worked the book review regulations and there are …
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Next CCIA Meeting: 25 April 2024, 6 PM
Action Committee Updates
Kitchen Kraft (980 N Telshor Blvd)
Action Committee Updates
Kitchen Kraft (980 N Telshor Blvd)
Latest News
Greg Reese on SubstackApril 19, 2024Knowledge Boxhttps://substack.com/redirect/2/eyJlIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9ncmVncmVlc2Uuc3Vic3RhY2suY29tL3Avc21hbGwtdXMtYnVzaW5lc3Nlcy10by1iZS1mb3JjZWQ_dXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPWVtYWlsLWhhbGYtcG9zdCZyPTFybnA5aSZ0b2tlbj1leUoxYzJWeVgybGtJam94TURZNU1qRTJNemdzSW5CdmMzUmZhV1FpT2pFME16WXpNREE1TlN3aWFXRjBJam94TnpFek1qWTFPREl6TENKbGVIQWlPakUzTVRVNE5UYzRNak1zSW1semN5STZJbkIxWWkwM01EWTNOemtpTENKemRXSWlPaUp3YjNOMExYSmxZV04wYVc5dUluMC5VUVI0eXpRaHgwQjJmMVhtWm1WOUJCd290Y3lWWmFMLW1OZE9tYjl2YkhnIiwicCI6MTQzNjMwMDk1LCJzIjo3MDY3NzksImYiOnRydWUsInUiOjEwNjkyMTYzOCwiaWF0IjoxNzEzMjY1ODIzLCJleHAiOjE3MTU4NTc4MjMsImlzcyI6InB1Yi0wIiwic3ViIjoibGluay1yZWRpcmVjdCJ9.GWoXr5u6OJ-DG0iCYyOWt-35qxy158s8tUwCi7tsCXQ?&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email#play [...]
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Tina Griego(an article submitted by Dan ParrottApril 14, 2024Knowledge BoxWhat if 20 million Illegal Aliens Vacated America?
I, Tina Griego, journalist for the Denver Rocky Mountain News has written a column titled, “Mexican Visitors’ Lament.”
I interviewed Mexican journalist Evangelina Hernandez while visiting Denver last week. Hernandez said, “Illegal aliens pay rent, buy groceries, buy clothes. What happens to your country’s economy if 20 million people go away?”
Hmmm, I thought, what would happen?
So, I did my due diligence, buried my nose as a reporter into the FACTS I found below. It’s a good question…it deserves an honest answer.
Over 80% of Americans demand secured borders. What would happen if all 20 million or more vacated America? This may surprise you!
In California, if 3.5 million illegal aliens moved back to Mexico, it would leave an extra $10.2 billion to spend on overloaded school systems, bankrupt hospitals and overrun prisons. It would leave highways cleaner, safer and less congested. Everyone could understand one another as English became the dominant language again.
It means 12,000 gang members would vanish out of Denver alone. Colorado would save more than $20 million in prison costs, and the terror that those 7,300 alien criminals set upon local citizens. Denver Officer Don Young and hundreds of Colorado victims would not have suffered death, accidents, rapes and other crimes by illegals.
Denver Public Schools would not suffer a 67% dropout/flunk rate because of thousands of illegal alien students speaking 41 different languages. Denver’s 4% unemployment rate would vanish as our working poor would gain jobs at a living wage.
In Chicago, Illinois, 2.1 million illegals would free up hospitals, schools, prisons and highways for a safer, cleaner and more crime-free experience.
If 20 million illegal aliens returned ‘home,’ the U.S. economy would return to the Rule of Law. Employers would hire legal American citizens at a living wage.
Everyone would pay their fair share of taxes because they wouldn’t be working off the books. That would result in an additional $401 billion in IRS income taxes collected annually, and an equal amount for local, state and city coffers.
No more confusion in American schools that now must contend with over 100 languages that degrade the educational system for American kids.
Our overcrowded schools would lose more than two million illegal alien kids at a cost of billions in ESL and free breakfasts and lunches.
We would lose 500,000 illegal criminal alien inmates at a cost of more than $1.6 billion annually. That includes 15,000 MS-13 gang members who distribute $130 billion in drugs annually and would vacate our country.
In cities like L.A., 20,000 members of the ’18th Street Gang’ would vanish from our nation. No more Mexican forgery gangs for ID theft from Americans! No more foreign rapists and child molesters!
America’s economy is drained. Taxpayers are harmed. Employers get rich. Over $80 billion annually wouldn’t return to the aliens’ home countries by cash transfers. Illegal migrants earned half that money untaxed, which further drains America’s economy which currently suffers a $30 trillion debt.
More than $30 TRILLION !!
At least 400,000 anchor babies would not be born in our country, costing us $109 billion per year per cycle. At least 86 hospitals in California, Georgia and Florida would still be operating instead of being bankrupt out of existence because illegals pay nothing via the EMTOLA Act.
Americans wouldn’t suffer thousands of TB and hepatitis cases rampant in our country – brought in by illegals unscreened at our borders. Our cities would see 20 million fewer people driving, polluting and grid locking our cities’ greenhouse gasses.
Over one million of Mexico’s poorest citizens now live inside and along our border from Brownsville, Texas, to San Diego, California, in what the New York Times called, ‘colonias’ or new neighborhoods. Trouble is, those living areas resemble Bombay and Calcutta where grinding poverty, filth, diseases, drugs, crimes, no sanitation and worse run rampant. They live without sewage, clean water, streets, roads, electricity, or any kind of sanitation.
The New York Times reported them to be America’s new ‘Third World’ inside our own country. Within 20 years, at their current growth rate, they expect 20 million residents of those colonias. (I’ve seen them personally in Texas and Arizona; it’s sickening beyond anything you can imagine.)
We already invite a million people into our country legally/annually, more than all other countries combined – with growing anarchy at our borders.
It’s time to stand up for our country, our culture, our civilization and our way of life. Interesting statistics below.
Here are 12 reasons illegal aliens should vacate America, and I hope they are forwarded over and over again until they are read so many times that the reader gets sick of reading them:
1. $14 billion to $22 billion dollars are spent each year on welfare to illegal aliens (that’s Billion with a ‘B’).
2. $7.5 billion dollars are spent each year on Medicaid for illegal aliens.
3. $12 billion dollars are spent each year on primary and secondary school education for children here illegally and they still cannot speak a word of English. $27 billion dollars are spent each year for education for the American-born children of illegal aliens, known as anchor babies.
4. $3 Million Dollars ‘PER DAY’ is spent to incarcerate illegal aliens. That’s $1.2 Billion a year.
5. 28% percent of all federal prison inmates are illegal aliens.
6. $190 billion dollars are spent each year on illegal aliens for welfare & social services by the American taxpayers.
7. $200 billion dollars per year in suppressed American wages are caused by the illegal aliens.
8. The illegal aliens in the United States have a crime rate that’s two and a half times that of white non-illegal aliens. In particular, their children are going to make a huge additional crime problem in the US.
9. During the year 2005, there were 8 to 10 MILLION illegal aliens that crossed our southern border with as many as 19,500 illegal aliens from other terrorist countries. Over 10,000 of those were middle-eastern terrorists. Millions of pounds of drugs, fentanyl, cocaine, meth, heroin, crack, guns, and marijuana crossed into the U.S. from the southern border.
10. The National Policy Institute, estimates that the total cost of mass deportation would be between $206 and $230 billion, or an average cost of between $41 and $46 billion annually over a five year period.
11. In 2006, illegal aliens sent home $65 BILLION in remittances back to their countries of origin, to their families and friends.
12. The dark side of illegal immigration: Nearly one million sex crimes are committed by illegal immigrants in the United States!
Total cost – a whopping $538.3 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR !
And we don’t need a wall? [...]
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sarahApril 14, 2024Action AlertImage from KRWG
Alma d’Arte High School (a charter school in Las Cruces) is facing significant challenges. This charter school has its own school board and does not fall under the purview of Las Cruces Public Schools.
The school board has been making significant changes and is aiming to turn the school around, yet they are facing opposition from students and parents. The school is at risk of losing its state grants and being shut down.
As a community advocacy organization, we are looking for CCIA members to attend the 4/15 school board meeting.
This will demonstrate that the community cares about what happens at this school and allow us to determine if CCIA should involve itself in this issue.
There may be media present at the meeting due to recent increased scrutiny. Juan and Joan plan to attend as well.
WHAT: Alma d’Arte School Board MeetingWHEN: Monday April 15 at 6pmWHERE: 402 West Court Avenue, Las Cruces 88005
You can download the agenda for the meeting here: https://www.almadarte.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/April-Agenda-2024-Final.pdf
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CCIAApril 13, 2024Knowledge Box / Uncategorizedhttps://www.zerohedge.com/medical/landmark-study-reveals-transgender-kids-actually-have-other-mental-health-diagnoses [...]
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Ronnie SisnerosApril 11, 2024Sound-Off / UncategorizedDisqualification update:
I have been disqualified from running as the Republican Candidate for New Mexico State Representative district 37 race. I did not anticipate a fair resolution of the case here in Las Cruces. As I pondered this situation, I am reminded of the story of the man who felt forced to get a resume for a job from an angry, prejudiced, and unfair man, he knew what the result would be, as I knew what the result would be.How many times have all of us as Republicans witnessed acts that disenfranchised, and suppressed our rights with equal and fair representation here in Las Cruces, New Mexico? “Rules for thee but not for Me”This has gone on for much too long, discouraging the community, discouraging the electorate.With all this said, there is good news!! The attorney for the State Republican Party reported to me today that he will be filing this case to the New Mexico Supreme Court on Monday, we are not out of this fight at all. This is what we have needed!! A state, and national light shined upon the injustices being done by elected officials ie; county clerks, school boards, superintendents with a total disregard for the populace as a whole. Who can honestly say that conservative Republicans, and Independents are treated fairly here in Dona Ana County? The disparity and unequal treatment is disgusting and unjust. The moment a municipal official, school board member finds out you are a Republican wanting information, or service we are served with unwarranted aggression, and hostility that all citizens are entitled to according to the law.
lastly, stay in the fight because I will, my motivation has not changed I am fighting for my grandchildren, your children, and your grandchildrenplease donate to my campaign, any amount would be helpful
sincerely, Ronnie M. Sisneros
Republican Candidate for New Mexico State Representative District 37
Las Cruces, NM “City of the Crosses”
575-636-3684
[email protected] [...]
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sarahApril 9, 2024Sound-OffDear Mayor Enriquez, City Councilors, and Chief StoryAs a follow-up to my comment today, here is a list of some crime Bills that you may want to consider advocating for in advance of the next legislative session.
SJR11 – Requirements for Denial of Bail, CASB16 – Criminal Competency DeterminationHB44 – Pretrial Detention PresumptionHB69 – Crime of Organized Residential TheftHB46 – Felon in Possession of a FirearmHB47 – Unlawful Firearms While TraffickingHB 155 – Three Strikes LawHB 60 – Enhanced Sentencing for Fentanyl (2023)HB 57 – Tort Immunity for Shoplifter Apprehension (2023)HB 155 – Aggravated Battery on a Peace Officer Penalty (2023)HB 58 – Additional Violent Felonies (2023)
I understand that there is a lobbyist for City Council, but am hopeful that perhaps more can be done to advocate for Bills earlier in the Interim Committee meetings to build up more momentum in advance of the 2025 session.
Hopefully Chief Story can weigh in on these and determine which ones look the most promising in order to increase the effectiveness of LCPD’s efforts. Once you identify Bills for the next session that you think will help our crime/mental health/substance abuse issues, please let me know. I’m a co-leader for a non-partisan statewide grassroots coalition of thousands of people (NM Freedoms Alliance) through which we can mount large public support for favorable Bills through emails/calls/committee hearing testimony.
I look forward to watching the April 22 work session to learn more about what you are planning for Municipal Court.
I hope this is helpful.
Sincerely,Sarah— [...]
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Greg Reese - SubstackApril 9, 2024Knowledge Boxhttps://substack.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.dlCsPtofKczTyqBXlzTJnckJbbUIY7Xqe02K5Xbt44g#play [...]
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Rob WoodApril 4, 2024Sound-OffI sent this off to the Mayor,CompetencyDealing with the competency issue is complex because of the multi dimensional aspects of what we call mental competence. Many on our streets are a result of no institutions that can house them which is a direct result of the closing of such institutions in the 1980s. Fear of reopening them comes out of the remembrance of the film “One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest” and nurse Ratched. Of course there is the compounding of their incapacity either due to addition of drug use or opposite, permanent psychosis caused by drug use which just “drying” them out does not solve. 28 day programs have terrible track records. For some, as this judge found, options of this door versus another does offer help to those that have the wherewithal to accept help. Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous offer free community based programs with stellar results for those that make the choice to get better even if the consequences are temporarily negative like serving some jail time or making restitution. Sometimes they need a nudge from the courts to push them in that direction which it appears they have stopped doing. That needs to be looked at.I have offered an argument in the past for petitioning the State to authorize the building of a state run institution properly staffed in Southern NM that can house both involuntarily or voluntarily cases pending adjudication instead of the revolving door we have that continually puts the arrestee and the public at risk. Providence Road Island and Miami/Dade are working on such facilities and with reasonable human rights reflecting inpatient safety and the outside publics safety put at the forefront these are paths forward that are having positive results. Our County Triage Center is not the answer as it was never staffed accordingly and did not have any bed space to allow for involuntary stays.Rob Wood575-635-0803 [...]
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Steve McKee article in The Federal News WireApril 3, 2024Knowledge BoxJuan and Former Candidates,It’s All About MarketingGreat information from this New Mexico author. If we could get candidates, their advisors and teach their supporters to understand it we would win.After spending 3 election cycles knocking on thousands of doors for qualified candidates that lost I reflected back on why? As this author points out, it is all about how one markets themselves or in the case of the doorbeller, their product. There is great advice here:“A wise politician would recognize you have to have a short term, mid-term and long term plan to win and woo people to positions, not by tearing down the other guys.”
Rob Wood
https://thefederalnewswire.com/stories/657515423-author-steve-mckee-discusses-the-intersection-of-ideas-and-commerce [...]
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sarahMarch 29, 2024Action AlertDear Las Crucens,
The City is updating their Zoning code and this could potentially impact ALL people living and working in Las Cruces. The City is accepting comments on the draft of the new code until April 5th.
Will you please submit a written comment about the new code?
See below for more information and potential talking points.
SIDE NOTE: We have an opportunity to run radio ads to encourage more people to sign the referendum petitions against the 6 bad laws (including those that allow children to access abortion or transgender healthcare without parental consent or notification). These radio ads can reach a huge number of people across southern New Mexico and really help the petition efforts. Sarah is collecting funds for the radio ads and would greatly appreciate any donations here: https://secure.piryx.com/donate/0e7QztgV/BTNM-PAC/
Updated Zoning Code
This 9-minute video explains the changes in the new proposed Zoning code:
IMPORTANT UPDATES:
The City has confirmed that the new proposed code will REMOVE the 300-foot buffer requirement between cannabis dispensaries and homes.There is currently no mention in the code of what areas will allow livestock. They have completely removed the zoning that previously allowed for livestock in certain areas.
Please submit comments by April 5 here: https://freese.mysocialpinpoint.com/realize-las-cruces-comment-wall/ideas#/
Scroll down if you need more info or potential talking points. Please be respectful in your communications for the maximum positive impact.
Make sure to Click on the box that says “3 Zoning Regulations” and then you will be able to make your comment.
NOTE: The comment form only allows short comments. Feel free to LEAVE MULTIPLE COMMENTS in order to make your voice heard.
More Info About the Zoning Changes
Download proposed Zoning Code
Download proposed Zoning Map
The proposed new Zoning code for Las Cruces includes some significant changes.
There will no longer be single-family residential zoning in Las Cruces.In general, existing residential areas will be re-zoned to Neighborhood Districts (NH1, NH2, or NH3), which will all allow for a mixture of single family homes, duplexes, apartments, and mobile homes. See the map below that shows the proposed zoning for each area of Las Cruces.
All neighborhood districts (NH1, NH2, and NH3) will allow some types of businesses to be present as well as schools, city facilities, museums, andprofessional offices (allowed in NH2 and NH3, special-use-permit required for NH1)medical clinics (NH2 and NH3)hotels (NH2 and NH3)banks (NH2 and NH3)grocery/retail stores/restaurants (allowed in NH2 and NH3, special-use-permit required for NH1).
Gas pumps are allowed in neighborhood district NH3. Special-use-permit required for gas pumps in NH2 and NH3.Liquor stores are allowed in neighborhood district NH3.Bars are allowed in neighborhood districts NH2 and NH3. Special-use-permit required for NH1.
Cannabis dispensaries are allowed in ALL neighborhood districts (NH1, NH2, and NH3). Cannabis indoor agriculture is allowed in NH3, but special use permits would be required for NH1 and NH2.The new code will REMOVE the 300-foot buffer requirement between cannabis businesses and homes.
There will now be a cap on how large parking lots can be at businesses. (Existing businesses would be grandfathered in.)The required minimum number of parking places has been reduced for many types of businesses.Where the minimum allowed parking spaces is 20 or less, no more than 50% over the minimum of parking spaces will be allowed.Where the minimum allowed parking spaces is over 20, no more than 10% over the minimum of parking spaces is allowed (unless there is a parking demand study and approval up to 50% additional parking by the Community Development Director).If you want to see what minimum parking is allowed for different types of businesses in more detail, download the draft code above and look at pages 194-202.There is currently no mention in the code of what areas will allow livestock. They have completely removed the zoning that previously allowed for livestock in certain areas.
Potential Talking Points
Here are some potential talking points about the new Zoning code. Please do NOT copy-paste these verbatim. Your communications will be most effective if you add in your own words as well. Please be respectful to make the most positive impact.
The new code removes single family residential zoning altogether. This is wrong. There are many people and families who want to live in neighborhoods with only homes (with no businesses, apartments, etc).
There need to be some areas of town that maintain the ability to have homes only, without businesses, apartments, etc.
Cannabis needs to have at least the same restrictions as liquor. Please make the cannabis dispensary zoning restrictions consistent with those for liquor by not allowing dispensaries in Zone NH1.
The new Code allows bars in neighborhood zones NH2 and NH3, as well as NH1 with a special use permit. Families need to have the option to live in neighborhoods without bars.
Please do not add in a parking lot size cap. Businesses need to have the flexibility to determine their own parking needs.
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Jody Kincaid- From the Sierra CO CitizenMarch 28, 2024Knowledge BoxPolitical considerations, 3.25.24 [...]
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CCIAMarch 25, 2024Bulletin Board / Knowledge Boxhttps://www.aol.com/news/state-supported-las-cruces-abortion-033300773.html [...]
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Jody Kincaid DVM NDMarch 21, 2024Sound-OffMr Mayor,
I have heard you are still intending to move the public input at city council meetings to the end of the agenda. That is a bad move – the legitimacy of any government that presupposes to represent the people depends upon public participation in the process. Making it more difficult for the public to participate and share their opinions is contrary to common sense. The city council has declared their support of progressive political theories. This ideology is based on the presumption that the citizens of the city,nation,etc., under examination are incapable of self rule. Our council has shown no evidence that they believe otherwise. You must keep the public comment where it is presently on the agenda so citizens can schedule their visits to council meetings, make their comments and go back to work rather than leave work (or home) for the entire afternoon waiting for public input to commence. The public trusted you enough to elect you rather than Gandara, the openly progressive candidate. Don’t betray that trust.
Sincerely, Jody Kincaid DVM ND [...]
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BethMarch 17, 2024Sound-OffMayor Enriquez,
I am one of many who surely have written you voicing concern over the proposal of changing the Council’s agenda and where the public comment will fall.
Mayor, you campaigned claiming you would listen to the concerns and needs of the citizens of Las Cruces. If you change the Council agenda to place public comments at the end of the meeting it will literally hobble the ability for many, if not most citizens ability to attend. That silences a great many voices.
Instead of placing the public comments at the end of the meeting with Council comments following – why not keep public comment where it is, then Council can respond immediately? It surely will not slow the regular council agenda any more than it already does. When there are citizens who have public comment on agenda items, the Council already responds directly after at that time. Persons who are needing to present agenda items, and are city officials, can easily stream the Council meeting live and then move to the Chamber when necessary. City officials jobs are not hampered by this approach – they aren’t ‘docked or shorted’ because of needing to attend the council meeting. Where as private citizens may and are.
Exactly who does the Council want to be most sensitive to? It certainly seems, with what has transpired in the last 5 weeks, the Council needs to be sensitive and respectful of the citizens who placed them in those seats. Alternative methods will be sought when citizens do not believe their elected officials are sympathetic to hearing the issues that affect them every day. They are the ones who deal with the fear, harassment, financial burdens and repercussions from a social system that has gone awry – to no fault of their own.
Please either leave the format alone or structure Council remarks to public comments earlier instead of later.
Thank you for your time,
Beth Bousquet
5th District, Las Cruces [...]
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CCIAMarch 16, 2024Knowledge BoxFYI,Notice that the objectives of the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance includes the “restoration” of wild lands. See: https://www.nmwild.org/That is… NMWild == New Mexico Wilderness Alliance.Notice that there is another group https://www.wildlandsnetwork.org/where-we-work
that supports Wilderness Corridors. Here is Wildlands Network’s idea of where we need to “rewild” North America…
Note: This corridor includes ALL of New Mexico.Is it impossible to imagine that this is a major part of Pres. Biden’s insane plan to declare 30% of America as Wilderness in 2030 (the 30×30 plan).Nor is this a new idea… Here is their map from 2018…
Not surprisingly all of these REWILDING efforts are interconnected…
See:https://rewilding.org/rewilding-resources/ [...]
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CCIAMarch 15, 2024Sound-OffUltra Health CEO Duke Rodriguez questions NM’s cannabis claims
March 15, 2024 at 1:44 pm MDT
When I saw Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s March 5 press release proclaiming “Cannabis in New Mexico officially a billion-dollar industry” and referring to the “thriving business community” of cannabis licensees, I immediately thought of the movie A Few Good Men. Specifically, I thought of the classic exchange between Tom Cruise’s Navy JAG lawyer and Jack Nicholson’s Marine colonel: “I want the truth!” “You can’t handle the truth!”
I thought of that scene because the governor’s press release fails to tell the truth about the state’s cannabis market. I want New Mexicans to learn the truth about their cannabis industry, and although that truth may be hard to handle, we all must face it sooner or later.
The truth is that New Mexico’s regulated cannabis market is not thriving, but barely surviving. The truth is that New Mexico’s cannabis sales are likely headed for decline and contraction, rather than growth.
Now, it is certainly true the cannabis market has grown since April 2022 in certain places. Smaller towns along the Texas border did see large sales increases over the past two years. However, the central metro areas experienced a much different reality. In April 2022, Albuquerque did $14.9 million in combined medical and recreational cannabis sales, Las Cruces did $3.7 million, and Santa Fe did $3.5 million. Sadly, nearly two years later for the most recent month of February 2024: Albuquerque is flat at $15 million, Las Cruces is down to $3.2 million, and Santa Fe is down to $2.9 million. Those numbers come from the Cannabis Control Division’s own Cannabis Reporting Online Portal.
This means that over the past two years, the cannabis market in New Mexico’s three largest and most stable population centers has not grown. It has stayed flat and even shrunk by a million dollars. At the same time, the number of retail locations has exploded. The proverbial pie has not gotten bigger, but the slices for each business have gotten a lot smaller.
Every cannabis enterprise must face this truth to responsibly evaluate the trajectory of its business. After two flat years in most places, additional growth is, frankly, not likely. A continued decline in overall cannabis revenue is the more likely scenario. If cannabis licensees do not face this truth—if they cannot handle it—then they will be in for a very rude awakening in 2024, 2025, and beyond. Likewise, municipalities that build cannabis taxes into their budgets need to plan for flat or even declining cannabis tax contributions.
If cannabis licensees want to reverse these trends and start growing the pie again, they will need to analyze why overall revenue has stagnated everywhere that is not within fifteen miles of Texas. Inflation in the rest of the economy may mean cannabis consumers spend less on weed. Cheap fentanyl may pull the most desperate into its terrible vortex. Cannabis licensees operating in the red may sell under the table and out the back door. The cannabis trend may simply have peaked. Whatever the reasons, cannabis licensees cannot create solutions to these challenges until they acknowledge the problem.
I wish I could look at the world through the same rosy glasses that the Cannabis Control Division wears. But I am like the character in A Few Good Men: I want the truth, and I think that all New Mexicans are entitled to it.
On second thought, maybe I am more like Colonel Jessup: I think that a lot of people don’t want the truth because deep down in places they don’t talk about at parties, they fear what might happen to New Mexico’s cannabis industry.
Duke Rodriguez is the president and CEO of Ultra HealthCannabis [...]
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CCIAMarch 14, 2024Action Alert / GeneralThis Prayer Guide is brought to you by the Las Cruces-based Coalition of Conservatives in Action (CCIA) in hopes that you will follow the command of our Lord to pray for our leaders.
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sarahMarch 11, 2024Action AlertDear Las Crucens,
We need your help! Las Cruces Public Schools has re-worked the book review regulations and there are some serious issues with the new versions.
Will you please email the School Board and/or attend the school board meeting on March 19 to make a public comment? See below for more information and potential talking points.
THE SITUATION
As a result of our efforts, the LCPS Administration was directed by the School Board to revise the book review regulations (KEC (library resources) and KEF (curriculum).There are many improvements in the updated versions, including increased transparency, random selection of parents on the committee, clear definitions for why books can and cannot be removed from schools, the allowance for discussion/deliberation by the book review committee before the vote is cast, and the fact that the votes are no longer going to be cast anonymously.Per the new regulations, the book review committees will be: — KEC: 3 parents, 2 teachers (appointed by NEA), 1 councilor/social worker, 1 school principal, 1 mental health administrator, 1 admin from the Teaching and Learning Division, and 2 students from Student Advisory Council (only for high school level) — KEF: 3 parents, 4 teachers (appointed by NEA), 1 principal, 1 administrator from Teacher and Learning DivisionThere are several areas in which we have significant concerns with the new regulations.— Parents are severely outnumbered on the book review committees. Parents will only be 3 out of 9 members on the committees (or 3 out of 11 for Regulation KEC at the high school level). This is even more important considering that the teachers on the committee will be appointed by the NEA (per the bargaining unit agreement).— Regulation KEC calls for two students to be on the book review committee at the high school level. This could potentially result in students being exposed to age-inappropriate content.— On Regulation KEC, if the book review committee decides to retain the book with full access, that decision is final and cannot be appealed. At any point, if there is a decision to retain the book, that decision is final with no appeal. This is unbalanced and there should be a full appeal process for both KEC and KEF in order for this process to have integrity.For more info, you can download both of the new regulations here:
Download Regulation KEC (library books)
Download Regulation KEF (curriculum)
TWO WAYS TO TAKE ACTIONPotential talking points are at the end of this post. Make sure to send individual emails instead of one group email if you want a response. Please be respectful in your communications for the maximum positive impact.PLEASE EMAIL SCHOOL BOARD AND LCPS ADMINS— District 4 Board President Teresa Tenorio: [email protected] — District 2 Board Vice President Pamela Cort: [email protected] — District 1 Board Member Patrick Nolan – [email protected] — District 3 Board Member Robert Wofford – [email protected] — District 5 Board Member Ed Frank – [email protected] — Chief of Staff Shirley O’Brien: [email protected] — Superintendent Ignacio Ruiz – [email protected] All email addresses: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] THE SCHOOL BOARD MEETING TO MAKE A PUBLIC COMMENT There will be a School Board meeting on Tuesday March 19 at 6pm. We need as many people as possible to attend and give comments on this issue. WHAT: LCPS Board Meeting WHEN: Tuesday March 19 at 6pm WHERE: LCPS Administration Building, 505 S Main St, Las Cruces 88001
POTENTIAL TALKING POINTSHere are some potential talking points about this issue. Please do NOT copy-paste these verbatim. Your communications will be most effective if you add in your own words as well. Please be respectful to make the most positive impact. —Regulations KEC and KEF need to be revised again. Please require these to be revised to make sure that parents have fair representation on the book review committees. —Parents are severely outnumbered in the book committees in your new Regulations KEC and KEF. —Parents should comprise at least half of the book review committees so their voices will have at least as much consideration as LCPS. —Parents are at least as qualified as educators in knowing what is age-appropriate for children. Parents should comprise at least half of the book review committees.— Your new regulation KEC could result in underage students being exposed to age-inappropriate content. Please remove the students from the book review committee. —In Regulation KEC, if the book review committee decides to retain the book with full access, that decision is final and cannot be appealed. At any point, if there is a decision to retain the book, that decision is final with no appeal. This is unfair and seems intended to shield the Superintendent and school board from ever having to vote on keeping a book. There should be full appeal processes for both regulations KEC and KEF. —All parents in the school district should have the opportunity to opt-in to be part of the pool of parents from which committee members are chosen. Currently, your new regulations do not have any safeguards to ensure that all parents have a chance to participate in this.
Thank you for taking action on this!Sarah Smith and Juan Garcia
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Julia Ruiz CCIA C&PP leadMarch 9, 2024Sound-OffMayor Enriquez and Council :As I listened to Council Comments, it was disturbing to hear council member’s unhappiness with the legitimate grievances presented on February 20th by small business owners. Instead of empathy and genuinely listening to the local business owners, there is swift retaliation towards citizens by attempting to suppress public input.As you know, many citizens work and use their lunch hour to come and talk to you because this is the only time they may have for you to hear and listen to their comments, good and/or bad. Public comment time could provide you with information that you may otherwise not have if moved to a different time slot. Unfortunately, the community’s participation will likely decrease and their message will no longer be heard if public comment is moved towards the end of the meeting. It is not a secret some on the council are not fans of public input. However, if your attempt is to silence Las Crucens, this decision speaks volumes of the lack of importance you have of your constituents. I ask that you be open and listen to the many voices (your constituents) of your local businesses and residents and not change public input time. This is an important role we, as a community take seriously. Thank you, Julia E. Ruiz
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Rob WoodMarch 8, 2024Knowledge BoxThis is in todays Wall Street Journal.Israel Takes the E Out of DEIT he ideology of “diversity, equity and inclusion” is a direct threat to Israel’s existence. That’s what I learned from Jewish and Arab Israelis during my five days in the country in February. They didn’t only say that DEI goes hand in hand with antisemitism, which it does. They also said it sacrifices the merit that has helped Israel survive in a sea of hostility.I traveled to Israel on a solidarity trip organized by the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine. Several professors wanted to support Israel while registering their displeasure with higher education’s largely antisemitic response to Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist attack. I joined at their invitation, hoping to learn how Israel approaches the DEI ideology that has swept the Western world.I quickly noticed that Israelis talk about DEI differently, most notably by excluding or redefining the E. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem is committed to “diversity and inclusion.” Ditto the Israel Institute of Technology, or Technion. Tel Aviv University keeps the E, but instead of equity, it emphasizes “equality and diversity.”The president of Technion disavowed DEI, telling me that it is an unacceptable answer to the question he asks himself every morning: “Is our work in the interest of Israeli society and Israeli security?”Instead of lowering standards in pursuit of equity, Technion is reaching out to Arab communities to find more qualified students. Its efforts have increased the number of Arab undergraduate students by about 80%, from 500 in 2020 to more than 900 in 2023, while the dropout rate has decreased.At the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, I asked an Arab woman who works as a diversity and equity official how her institution understands the topic. She said her school demands equal opportunity, not equal outcomes. The latter, she said, would pit people against each other, deepening divides that Israel has worked hard to close.Michael Halberthal, director general at Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa, made a similar point. He told us that “people get promotion into their position according to their abilities, not about their religion, not about their gender, not about anything else. And it works.” Mr. Halberthal said that it is the only hospital in the Middle East where an Arab woman heads the nephrology, or kidney disease, unit. After Oct. 7, the hospital’s Arab employees showed up en masse to treat the expected influx of patients. The hospital’s focus on diversity and inclusion rather than equity appears to have united its workforce.The most telling comment came from a lieutenant colonel who briefed us at Nevatim Airbase, a focal point of the country’s military response to Hamas. I asked if the Israeli Air Force has any initiatives to increase diversity in its ranks. The officer chuckled, then said that while there are efforts to recruit a broad swath of Israeli citizens, assignments and promotions are based on ability. A person has to earn the pilot’s seat in an F-35, because when Israel is at war, Israel must win. It can’t afford to embrace such a divisive and destructive ideology. Neither can the U.S., the leader of the free world.Mr. Kingsbury is director of research at Do No Harm. By Ian Kingsbury [...]
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Rob WoodMarch 8, 2024Knowledge BoxFlorida Senate Passes One Per Month Limit on Book Challenges [...]
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Dave TofstedMarch 6, 2024Sound-OffThe affidavit form used to implement the Extreme Risk Firearm Protection Orders and a related petition form, under New Mexico’s “Red Flag” law, are the enabling instruments government can use to confiscate an individual’s firearms temporarily or permanently.
Yet these forms contain unresolved loopholes that can unjustly affect the reporting party, respondent, or law enforcement officers, including school educators, employers and prosecutors.
For instance, every respondent will be immediately registered on the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), which could affect their rights to employment and/or community reputation. The initial affidavit form does not explain to the reporting party that they will be subpoenaed to testify at a court hearing in the county where the respondent resides. This form also does not warn the reporting party of the penalties for malicious or deliberately false statements, nor is there any indication that a copy is to be given to the reporting party.
Both forms require detailed evidence of the accused’s firearms and ammunition, their numbers, type and location. These forms, which must be notarized, also require evidence of intimate personal details of the respondent: age, health, personality, criminal record, mental state, including any past, present or future basis for issuing any future protection orders under this law. These forms require the reporting party to indicate who is at risk and invite additional comments and observations in addition to the 30-plus inquiries listed on each form. The reporting party is also expected to divulge any relationship between everyone listed in the affidavit, the petition or court hearing including personal, emotional or legal information.
The law enforcement officer and the court then adjudicate the evidence. The process of confiscating the respondent’s firearms and ammunition could be immediate, at the court’s discretion, while notification of the court hearing is only issued to the respondent 10 working days in advance. Such short notice regarding the hearing and possible confiscation of firearms conflicts with the right to sufficient time to obtain legal advice and prepare rebuttal.
The obvious threat to the guarantees of the 2nd Amendment posed by this red flag law is manifest in the ease with which the affidavit form may be initiated. Anyone, regardless of their relationship, spouse, family member, ex-partner, employer, co-worker, school administrator, without regard to possible bias, or qualification, may act as a reporting person. [...]
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Rob WoodMarch 6, 2024Sound-OffMayor and City Councilors,
Good Morning,As we step into another City Council meeting today these thoughts should be forefront in our minds.Rob WoodExcerpt from “American Paralysis and Decline” by Victor Davis Hansen 2/29/24 ……The crime epidemic is also similar. Everyone accepts that no society can long endure quasi-legalized shoplifting or green-lighting smash-and-grabbers and carjackers to be released without bail.But we assume that such a civilizational implosion will never reach our own sanctuary neighborhoods or safe places of work—at least not yet.
We also know that restoring deterrence by arresting, convicting, and jailing repeat felons will return safety to our streets.
But again, we fear even more that advocating “law and order” will earn slanders like “racist” or “reactionary.” Ditto the homeless. In an age of self-congratulation and hyper-environmentalism, we know that a million homeless defecating, urinating, injecting, and assaulting on our downtown sidewalks and storefronts is medieval. We know that it is illegal to camp out on the street and publicly harass citizens or relieve oneself in public. And we know the cure lies in building and staffing more mental institutions and providing areas far from public spaces where the homeless can find shelter, sanitation, and medical care.
But the very idea of removing anyone from his accustomed sidewalk spot, or the notion of the use of force to transport the mentally ill to proper and humane facilities, terrifies us. So we walk around, step over, and ignore those on the street.Societies do not always collapse from a lack of wealth, invasion, or natural catastrophes.
Most often, they know what is destroying them. But they are so paralyzed by their fear that the road to salvation becomes too painful even to contemplate. So they implode gradually, then suddenly.VDH
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CCIAMarch 5, 2024Sound-OffFrom: CCIAWINUSA <[email protected]>Date: On Friday, March 1st, 2024 at 12:34Subject: LCPD Chief’s Message 3/1/2024 “SUMMARY OF NEEDED CHANGES”To: Eric Enriquez <[email protected]>CC: Johana Bencomo <[email protected]>, Kassandra Gandara <[email protected]>, Yvonne Flores <[email protected]>, Becki Graham <[email protected]>, Becky Corran <[email protected]>, Tessa Stuve <[email protected]>, [email protected] <[email protected]>, [email protected] <[email protected]>, Diana Murillo <[email protected]>, Christopher Schaljo-Hernandez <[email protected]>, Manuel Sanchez <[email protected]>, [email protected] <[email protected]>, Angelica Rubio <[email protected]>, [email protected] <[email protected]>, [email protected] <[email protected]>, [email protected] <[email protected]>, [email protected] <[email protected]>, [email protected] <[email protected]>, [email protected] <[email protected]>, [email protected] <[email protected]>, Gerald Byers <[email protected]>, Roxanne Garcia-McElmell <[email protected]>, Kimberly Skaggs <[email protected]>, Samantha Barncastle Salopek <[email protected]>, [email protected] <[email protected]>, Sarah Smith <[email protected]>, [email protected] <[email protected]>
Mayor, Council, District Attorney, Commissioners, Representatives and SenatorsChief Story outlined a very clear plan to address the rampant crime in our community. We support the Chief. It is now up to you to implement your portion of the plan. It means you working with each other. This is about protecting the people you are serving.
https://youtu.be/JuATfVK7N2U?si=PGLq6SNoCj45FZ1_Advice on what we can do to help. We will be watching……And the community is waiting……
Thank You
Juan D Garcia575-449-5821Coalition of Conservatives in Action (CCIA)[email protected]://conservativesinaction.org/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuJo7X0StlnZfDJl097ljUA
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Rob WoodMarch 5, 2024Sound-OffCouncilor, etc…..,This has weighed heavy on my heart for some time now as I was one of the people that did the construction work of the semicircular granite monument of plaques at Veterans Park.I hope you will take some time to consider my thoughts.
Stolen Valor
I believe that only a war veteran can understand the sense of isolation with their thoughts they feel from such an experience. Occasionally I visit our Veterans Park to walk and sit amongst the thousands of names placed on the semicircular acknowledgement of all New Mexicans that served so I feel a connection that brings me comfort in my isolation.
During my last visit, myself and another Marine Veteran of the Vietnam Conflict found his name and his brothers name on the plaques, and he told me their stories. We walked amongst all the new park structures, some of which I felt were awfully gaudy for such a place of deep internal reflection, but we at last came to the picnic tables and sat looking out at all the plaques full of names looking back at us and I know, in silence, we both felt the honor shared in both directions.
As we rose to leave, I noticed off to one side a granite monument I had not seen before. Upon investigation I felt completely violated by names that had no right to be on this hallowed ground. They were not veterans but civilians that never knew the sacrifice all those thousands of others had made. Yes, they may deserve some minor recognition for the efforts they had made in the acknowledgement of Veterans (like the credits at the end of a film) but, as I have felt over the years, the violation of self by others that climb aboard with us and receive recognition when not deserved in our context lessens the respect Veterans earned. It is that slap on the face I feel when another falsely either intentionally or unintentionally climbs onto our parade in order to steal valor that they can never go back in time and gain thus do not deserve at any level. That ship for them already sailed.
This monument should be removed and possibly placed in another of the City’s parks noting what it is for which may actually direct others to go and visit Veteran’s Park. It and the names on it have no right to be in a park specifically dedicated to Veterans. It is disrespectful and dishonoring by lowering the standards of the parks intended purpose.
Please respect all Veterans for which Veteran’s Park was created to pay homage to and find a new home for this monument.
Rob Wood
USMC
Vietnam 1968, 1969
575-635-0803
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CCIAMarch 5, 2024Action AlertDespite an enormous state budget surplus of 3.48 billion dollars for 2024, the state is proposing increased fees for New Mexico Parks!The study they are looking at recommended:Elimination of most day-use fees for New Mexico residentsImplementation of a non-resident day-use feeEliminating Annual PassesAdjusting (increasing) camping and utility feesAdjusting (increasing) boat registration and launching feesAdjusting (increasing) entrance fees at Living Desert Zoo, Gardens State Park, and Smokey Bear Historical ParkIt raises questions about the state’s priorities and whether the actions they are taking are in the best interests of its citizens.Leave a Public Comment to tell the department what you think about this!Take Action!Thank you for joining us in speaking out against government overreach in New Mexico and protecting our people. Your voice matters! Share Tweet Share Forward Better Together New MexicoPO BOX 95735,ABQ, NM 87199 [...]
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Julie PfauFebruary 29, 2024Elected Officials / Sound-OffDear Mayor
I am writing in response to the news that the council is considering moving the Public Input section of the meetings to the later or end of the agenda. Though I understand why the meetings are at 1:00pm which is to serve and accommodate the city employees, being from out of state, I come from a city where city councils were held in the evening to primarily serve the public. So, I was quite surprised that here in Las Cruces, only the School Board held their meetings in the evening which are at 6:00pm.Should this idea come from the frustration that people come to the council only to vent, complain or accuse and walk out showing no interest in the city’s business, then this idea is rooted in the foolish notion that you can change human behavior. No more than if you moved all the student presentations and awards to the end, would the parents stay to the end and sit through the city’s business? This decision will have the optics of it being personal not professional.If there were to be any change, voters would have expected it to be a move toward the people and not more restriction for the public to have access to your meetings, their council representatives and yourself. Clearly moving public input to the end adds more restriction to those concerned citizens who already sacrifice by take their lunch time, if working individuals, to bring their concerns and issues to your chamber.As elected officials it is your highest duty to pave greater access to citizens’ voices. A positive decision, if a move is required, would be to put Public Input first on the agenda to show your dedication and commitment to those who have elected you into the seat you hold today.Thank you for considering the citizens and voters who entrusted you with this great responsibility.Sincerely,
Julie Pfau
District 5
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Rob WoodFebruary 29, 2024Sound-OffGood Evening Councilor (and Mayor) …….,The City has been reimbursing some small businesses for damages they have incurred but you are missing the real point. I am sure along with a City business license you require the business to carry a certain level of insurance. These costs are not some onetime payment and as I explain and for business operating on a small margin, which many in Las Cruces do, any increase due to no fault of their own can push them to close their doors.How does crime and vandalism affect insurance premiums?As vandalism and theft continue to increase in frequency and severity, small business insurance is significantly impacted. Insurance companies must adjust their rates and coverage to account for the heightened risk of these crimes. Here are some ways in which small business insurance is affected by vandalism and theft:
1. Higher premiums: Insurance companies may increase premiums for small businesses in areas with high rates of vandalism and theft. This is done to cover the increased likelihood that the business will file a claim for damages.
2. Limited coverage: In some cases, insurance companies may limit coverage for vandalism and theft, especially if the business is located in a high-risk area. Small businesses may need to purchase additional coverage to fully protect themselves against these crimes.
3. Deductible increases: Insurance companies may raise deductibles for vandalism and theft claims to mitigate the financial risk of insuring a business in a high-crime area. Small businesses may need to pay more out of pocket before their insurance kicks in.
4. Security requirements: Insurance companies may require small businesses to implement specific security measures, such as installing security cameras or alarm systems, to reduce the risk of vandalism and theft. Failure to meet these requirements may result in higher premiums or limited coverage.
Overall, as vandalism and theft rates continue to rise, small businesses are facing increased challenges when it comes to obtaining affordable, comprehensive insurance coverage. Also, as businesses close due to these unaffordable increases it puts pressure on the entire community financially and creates further escalation of crime.Rob Wood
3427 Chimney Rock Rd 88011
575-635-0803
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sarahFebruary 28, 2024Action AlertDear Las Crucens,We need your help! Public participation at City Council is being suppressed. Will you please email, call, and/or attend the March 4 City Council meeting to make a public comment? See below for more information and potential talking points. THE SITUATIONLas Cruces’ new Mayor, Eric Enriquez, is planning to move public participation to the end of the City Council meetings beginning in April. We have one month and two City Council meetings between now and then to try to put a stop to this. Whether or not this is intended to suppress public input, this WILL make it much harder for people to make public comments at the meetings since the time for the public participation will be very unpredictable. City Council meetings sometimes end in 2 hours, sometimes they drag on for 4, 5, or 6 hours. By moving public participation to the end of the meetings, far fewer people will be able to participate. TWO WAYS TO TAKE ACTIONPotential talking points are at the end of this email. PLEASE EMAIL/CALL CITY COUNCILMake sure to send individual emails instead of one group email if you want a response. Please be respectful in your communications for the maximum positive impact.— Mayor – Eric Enriquez – [email protected] – 575-541-2067— District 1 – Cassie McClure – [email protected] – 575-541-2073— District 2 – Bill Mattiace – [email protected] – 575-541-2068— District 3 – Becki Graham – [email protected] – 575-541-2070— District 4 – Johana Bencomo – [email protected] – 575-541-2071— District 5 – Becky Corran – [email protected] – 575-541-2072— District 6 – Yvonne Flores – [email protected] – 575-541-2069— City Clerk – Christine Rivera – [email protected] – 575 541-2115All email addresses: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] ATTEND THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING TO MAKE A PUBLIC COMMENTThere will be a City Council on Monday March 4 at 1pm. We need as many people as possible to attend and give comments on this issue. WHAT: City Council Meeting WHEN: Monday March 4 at 1pm WHERE: City Hall, 700 N Main St, Las Cruces 88001 POTENTIAL TALKING POINTSHere are some potential talking points about this issue. Please do NOT copy-paste these verbatim. Your communications will be most effective if you add in your own words as well. Please be respectful to make the most positive impact.—Please do not move public participation to the end of your meetings. This will prevent many people from being able to make comments at your meetings.—The public needs to be able to address the Mayor and City Council at your meetings. Our concerns are important and you were elected to represent us.—The working people in your community have to miss work to attend your meetings. Moving public participation to the end of the meetings will make it impossible for many people to participate.—We have families and jobs. We cannot afford to sit through many hours of meetings in order to make our voices heard. Do not move public input to the end of your meetings.—The previous Mayor had a good system for handling public input. By calling out each row, it was simple and easy for people to know when to go speak at the podium. This system worked well and I ask you to please use the same system instead of changing things in such a way that I will no longer be able to participate. Please take action on this to help us convince the Mayor that it is not right to suppress public input. Standing with you in solidarity,Sarah Smith and Juan Garcia
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Rob Wood: from GeoPolitical FuturesFebruary 26, 2024Knowledge Box / Sound-OffTo All,In understanding crime one needs to look at the effects Mexico’s is having on us. You are seeing very little coverage of this because the cartels and the Mexican government shut down the news outlets especially along the border to stop as much negative reporting as they could due to the outcry from a once informed public and the tarnishing of Mexico’s image. As Mexico attempts to attract foreign investment it is important to hide the lawlessness and corruption that exists so as to look prosperous in the eyes of the uninformed. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/special/math.html
And on top of that, the annual remittance sent to Mexican families from the families both legally and illegally here:
https://www.dallasfed.org/research/swe/2023/swe2310#
All this goes to show that a lot of money that fuels the Mexican economy arrives without the Mexican government having to lift a finger in creating it. They are not about to make any real effort to stop the flow.The way to impede the crime wave we are experiencing here can only occur if we fix (rethink) our way of educating our young that gives them realistic hope and establish ways that make life enriching opportunity to them available.
Rob
January 29, 2024How Mexico Plans to Reclaim Its EconomyThere are competing ideas on how to dislodge organized crime from the formal economy.By: Allison FedirkaIn Mexico, security and economic recovery are intertwined. Politicians and citizens alike understand that the country’s powerful criminal groups threaten both, and though they broadly agree that something should be done, no one agrees on the best path forward.Partly this is because of geography. Throughout history, mountains, deserts, peninsulas and other features have divided Mexico into various subregions, many of which are too remote or too inaccessible for Mexico City to effectively govern. These power vacuums have given rise to independence movements, warlords, revolutions and even parallel governments. Organized criminal groups such as the Sinaloa and the Jalisco New Generation cartels are simply a contemporary expression of a historical reality
The problem for the federal government is the power these groups have been able to amass. Ignoring the sheer wealth generated from the lucrative drug trade, one of the biggest contributions to their power is the mass defection of Mexican armed forces. When Vicente Fox of the National Action Party (or PAN) assumed office in 2000, his government fundamentally redefined its relationship with the military, and servicemen lost a lot of the immunities, operational freedoms, financial benefits and social status afforded to them through 70 years of rule under the Institutional Revolutionary Party (or PRI). Whatever their reasons for joining, the cartels’ capabilities improved markedly, gaining the sophistication, organization and discipline typically reserved for the forces meant to police them.More recently, cartels were able to massively expand their local influence at a low cost during the COVID-19 pandemic. In many remote locations, they stepped in to ensure the delivery of basic goods where the national government could not. This allowed organized crime to permeate even deeper into remote communities across the country.
Organized crime groups now control large portions of the formal and informal economies. To be sure, they still engage in illicit activities such as human, arms and narcotics trafficking, but increasingly they function like multinational corporations, with chief operating officers earning MBAs from top universities, assuming control over all branches of the business, working with the equivalent of subsidiaries and having strong ties to business in the rest of Latin America as well as Caribbean criminal groups. In the formal economy, they tend to function as adjuncts to government services. They monopolize local control of internet providers, source and provide pharmaceuticals, and engage in legitimate business activities such as manufacturing and selling their own cigarette brands. Nationally, they impose taxes and quotas on the avocado and lime industries, and they have even made inroads in the beer market.
The increased presence of organized crime groups in areas traditionally part of Mexico’s formal economy poses a new level of threat to the country. In years past, their presence might have scared off foreign investors or increased security and transportation costs. But now, it raises the question of who controls which parts of the national economy. This is particularly important as the country continues to recover from the pandemic – a tall order in its own right that becomes much more difficult if the government is limited on what it can do with its economy.Politically, there is consensus that regaining control of the economy is essential for economic recovery and requires redefining the role of organized crime in the country. However, Mexican political circles remain divided over what strategy would be the most effective in achieving their goal. The two leading strategies are represented by Mexico’s top two presidential candidates. The candidate from the ruling Morena party, Claudia Sheinbaum, wants to double down on the strategy used by the PRI: a gentleman’s agreement whereby the cartels operate relatively freely within the parameters set forth by the government. The benefit of this strategy is that the government wouldn’t necessarily have to reclaim control of certain sectors or retake territory – both of which would eventuate in violence. Instead, negotiated agreements would enable the government and the cartels to work together on economic matters. The problem, of course, is that this strategy would reward the cartels by giving them power over the government. It would also likely see the weakening of key government institutions needed to subjugate the cartels. Unsurprisingly, there is opposition to this strategy within security and defense circles, which would be inclined to slow implementation or impede it entirely.
The second strategy – advocated by opposition candidate Xochitl Galvez, whose view represents the PRI, PAN and the Party of the Democratic Revolution – calls for a strong state offensive to retake what it has lost. The upside here is that it would target corruption and the economic power propping up organized crime, and if it succeeds, it would eliminate a security threat that has plagued Mexico and its economy for decades while giving Mexico City undisputed control over its economy. The downside is that it requires a ton of political capital, which will be hard to come by if the government is purging corrupt rank and file, struggling to keep up morale and buy-in among security forces, and managing the political fallout of what is sure to be mass death and destruction. The latter would scare off the foreign investment the country’s economic recovery depends on. (A similar strategy was tried under President Felipe Calderon, with little success.)Each strategy will shape Mexico’s economic recovery in its own way. The Morena strategy will minimize violence but could hamper national businesses and reduce FDI as investors will find it hard to trust such an arrangement in the long term. The second strategy will require a massive amount of money and resources, increasing the likelihood of economic pain in the short term for potential gains in the long term. Neither strategy will be immune to the vagaries of political implementation.
Geopolitically, the fight against organized crime seeks to answer one of Mexico’s most fundamental questions: Can the government find a way to be in full control of its territory and economy despite the country’s geography and history? The Morena strategy essentially wants to work within those constraints, while the other believes Mexico can break out of its constraints – if it’s willing to pay the price.Andres Araujo contributed to this analysis. Mr. Araujo is an intern at Geopolitical Futures and a student at the University of Valle de Atemajac in Guadalajara, Mexico, where he studies international relations. [...]
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Rob WoodFebruary 25, 2024Sound-OffTo all,I have sent out the documentaries done in Seattle, Denver and San Francisco before that are about those cities dying. We are just a small town in comparison but that only means all you see in this video is happening here, just at a far smaller scale. No, I have not seen the street sales even though yesterday I saw a fellow set up in a vacant lot in town saying garage sale and I have not checked out the local weekend Flea Market (Big Daddy’s out on I-70). Of course an organized fencing operation sets up here and would take the goods to ABQ, Tucson, El Paso, Juarez or even Phoenix.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwzkuumU1jgOne of my friends that lives in the central part of town said while walking his dogs he sees the kids that should be in school riding around on their bikes scoping out open garages and checking for unlocked car doors. He said they are just the scouts that report back to the actual thieves who pay them and come back later. When our PD information officer gave the CCIA a rundown he explained that the major Cartels and the Biker Gangs are operating here. Of interest was his explanation of how these organizations support each other in order to support their ability to be financially successful. In the drug business there is no shortage of demand.Rob [...]
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