This year's Flood Control District 5 director election is uncontested with incumbent Bruce Thomson on the ballot unopposed. The Flood Control Board of Directors is a political body in the Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority that is elected for six-year terms to work and set budgets for flood control projects in the City.
This upcoming election, three of the five elected positions on the Ciudad Soil and Water District Supervisor Board are up for election. Of them, two are landowner positions – meaning you must own land in the district – and one is an at-large position. There are several soil and water conservation districts (SWCD) across the state. The SWCD are volunteer positions and the board is responsible for the control and prevention of soil erosion, flood water damage, promoting conservation and water recreation, according to the Act creating the districts. The board sits under both the New Mexico Department of Agriculture and the National Resource Conservation Service, which is positioned under the federal U.S. Department of Agriculture – providing perspective to both state and federal matters.
Located in the Northeast Heights, District 4 has two candidates on the ballot for City Council, the incumbent Brook Bassan and incoming candidate Abby Foster. The district is home to many schools, religious structures and family-owned businesses. Neither candidate responded to the Daily Lobo's request to comment.
On Nov. 7, voters will choose between four City Council candidates to represent District 6, the University of New Mexico’s district. The candidates – Abel Otero, Jeff Hoehn, Kristin Greene and Nichole Rogers – are vying for the seat incumbent Pat Davis has held since 2016. A fifth candidate, Joseph Pitluck Aguirre, withdrew from the race in August but is still listed on the City of Albuquerque’s candidate list.
With the election coming up, a question on the ballot proposes an Albuquerque municipal Public Schools Mill Levy or asks whether or not to continue to utilize property taxes in order to fund APS and charter schools. If approved, property taxes will not increase and APS will continue to get $264,673,790 for the next six years. If failed, APS would not receive this funding. Mill Levy, also referred to as a Capital Improvements Tax, provides funding for school activities, maintenance and other miscellaneous things.
As election season approaches in November, the University of New Mexico opens up polling sites in the Student Union Building. However, what about students from out-of-state? As of fall 2023, UNM had 3,609 out-of-state students, according to enrollment reports — leaving them to figure out how to absentee vote while being away from home. UNM’s Office of Institutional Analytics has data from 2022 that indicates that there is at least one out-of-state student from every state. This means there are 50 states, each with its own guidelines and specifics on how to mail-in vote.
Election Day is on Nov. 7 and knowing where and how to cast your ballot is just as important as knowing who you’re casting that ballot for. There are three major ways to vote – through an absentee ballot (also known as mail-in ballot), voting on Election Day or voting early. Absentee ballots in New Mexico require an application to state where the ballot should be sent. The last day to request an absentee ballot is Oct. 24. Past that, your civic duty must be performed in person. With an absentee ballot, it must be filled out as you would at a polling location, then mailed or hand-delivered to your county clerk’s office. The locations to vote in-person are different if you are voting early or on Election Day. There are 72 election voting convenience centers (VCCs), ranging from shopping centers to schools to plazas, but only 20 VVCs are open for early voting.
On Nov. 7, Albuquerque Public Schools will hold an election for school board members. District 1, 2 and 4 each have representatives running for a spot on the school board. Community focuses and values have been voiced throughout fall 2022 within organized community meetings and numerous individual conversations. Consistent concerns regarding the need for schools to emphasize literacy, math, post-secondary readiness, and the skills, habits and mindsets that lead to success, according to APS Goals and Guardrails.
Current city councilor for District 8, Trudy E. Jones, will not be running for re-election, making her last term and 16 years in the position. Located in the Northeast Heights and Foothills this year, there’s two new candidates that are vying to assume the role: Idalia Lechuga-Tena and Dan Champine.
This entry to the controversial “Saw” series, ironically, breathes new life into the franchise. The movie follows the notorious serial killer, John “Jigsaw ‘’ Kramer (Tobin Bell), to Mexico for a new cancer treatment. The film has a perfect combination of fanfare and casual viewer content. It keeps the most fun aspects of the series: the wild editing, the quick cuts and gut wrenching sounds that combine for a visceral reaction that puts you in the shoes of Jigsaw’s victims.
From the first minutes of “Men,” the atmosphere is deeply unsettling despite the audience not knowing exactly what is wrong – putting the viewer in the shoes of the recently widowed Harper (Jessie Buckley). In “Men” (2022), directed by Alex Garland, Harper visits an isolated village to spend some time alone healing after the death of her husband. Through a series of flashbacks to the night he died, the audience discovers that he became increasingly abusive which culminated in his own accidental death. As Harper copes with surviving domestic violence and witnessing the death of her husband, she meets a series of uncannily similar men, all played by Rory Kinnear.
The greatest horror film plot twist of all time took place in 1960 with the spin of a chair. “Psycho,” directed by Alfred Hitchcock, is irrefutably a classic. It follows secretary Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) who is caught in a thunderstorm while on the run with stolen cash. Exhausted, she stops at Bates Motel for the night, which proves to be a fatal mistake. The performances are electric. Leigh’s growing anxiety as the plot unfolds is palpable through the screen 63 years later.
October is arguably Albuquerque's biggest month of the year, thanks to Balloon Fiesta. There was no better way to kick it off than to see a rock ‘n’ roll show. On the night of October 1, Wilco – an alternative rock band – performed at the Kiva Auditorium to a sold out crowd of enthusiastic fans. The Kiva Auditorium is located in the Albuquerque Convention Center. It offers a calm and relaxing venue with comfortable seating and a wide stage for all to see, but fans found no time to sit during their performance; everyone couldn’t help but stand and dance. The audience was full of a wide range of ages from folks who have known Wilco their whole life to parents bringing their kids to see the show for the first time.
After the failure of the bills proposed in hopes of increasing voter turnout, President Krystah Pacheco and Vice President Mikenzie Chessman soon after created a petition to do the same as the failed bills. Bill 9F would have changed the constitution by combining Spring Presidential and Senatorial elections and Bill 10F would have been an extension of this bill to the ASUNM lawbook. Both failed at the Full Senate on Sept. 27. “Our priority is to let the students have a say on this decision with its placement on the ballot and at the time of elections,” Pacheco wrote in an email addressed to the Senate on Oct. 9.
Last season, the Lobo women’s basketball team finished with a record of 21-13. In Mike Bradbury’s seventh season as Head Coach, it was a slight drop off compared to the 2021-2022 season. Despite that, Bradbury was offered a five-year $275,000 contract extension this past May, keeping him in charge through 2028. Last year, the Lobo’s production was unbelievable, scoring 75.7 points per game – the second most in the conference. Along with that, they were efficient — scoring a top thee field goal, three point and free throw percentage in the conference. A majority of last season’s offense came from University of New Mexico’s four senior starters — Amaya Brown, LaTascya Duff, LaTora Duff and Shaiquel McGruder. Together they combined for 46.5 points per game and were key players in all components of the Lobo’s system.
For most Queer people, coming out can be nerve-wracking. It has always been a universally complicated topic for those in the LGBTQ+ community to open up about. On Oct. 11, 1988, Jean O’Leary and Robert Eichberg created National Coming Out Day as a way to bring visibility to Queer people during the ongoing AIDS crisis that the federal government did little to support, leaving 46,134 dead in 1988, according to the Washington Post. The University’s LGBTQ+ Resource Center was first founded on National Coming Out Day in 2010. Created by students, staff, and faculty, the center has resided on Las Lomas since Oct. 11, 2010 — now six years since its opening.
As COVID-19 impacted the food industry due to restrictions on in-person dining, a total of 5.5 million restaurant jobs were lost by April 2020. Matt Bernabe, who just opened doors at “Urban Hotdog Company” a year ago in Nob HIll, sought to give back to the Albuquerque community and the industry workers who faced unemployment in the form of “Project 86’d.” Leveraging one of his food trucks, Bernabe and his staff set out with the goal of giving away food to industry workers who were left without a job due the pandemic.
The University of New Mexico Lobos lost 52-24 at home against the San Jose State Spartans on Saturday, Oct. 14. A disappointing second half led to a 28 point loss for the Lobos, earning them their 14th conference loss in a row. The Lobos are now 2-4 overall and 0-2 in conference play. Early in the game, the Lobos began to switch between senior quarterback Dylan Hopkins and freshman Devon Dampier. Dampier went in for the first time midway through the first quarter and continued to play periodically throughout the game.
New Mexico United played their final game of the regular season on Friday, Oct. 13 against Memphis 901. New Mexico took the match with a dominant scoring of 4-1, and with that final score, United will be attending the 2023 United Soccer League Championship playoffs. United came into the match off the back of a 2-1 win over Phoenix Football Club but still only had a seven percent chance to make it to the playoffs. They proved this statistic wrong. The match started strong for United with the first goal in the third minute by Harry Swartz. From there, the boys in black and gold kept up on the offensive, even on defense. United’s goalie – Andrew Thomas – was scrappy.
Mayor Keller presented future city plans and developments to the ASUNM Senate – offering information regarding Albuquerque’s unhoused population, mentioning shelter and treatment but not addressing permanent housing solutions. Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller appeared as a guest speaker at Associated Students at the University of New Mexico’s recent full Senate meeting on Oct. 11. The Gateway Center aims to be Albuquerque’s answer to fill the need for a 24/7 shelter and treatment facility. The facility is currently under work to take over the old Gibson Medical Center located near the intersection of San Mateo and Gibson and is planned to open in stages. “In the Gateway, this winter we’re expecting to open up a sobering center and a medical triage facility,” Keller said. Based on a feasibility report done for the sobering center, the initial staffing required would be 22 individuals, 15 being clinical staff.
Solutions by The State News
