Nunez gives new timeline on media deal

The University of New Mexico Athletics Department is one step closer to signing a multi-million dollar media-rights deal, months after Athletics Director Eddie Nunez went public with the deal in Sept.

Nunez said during an Oct 15. Board of Regents meeting that he expects the deal to be done by December. 

In the meantime, Nunez told the regents that until the new contract with Outfront Media was signed, "bridge contracts" have been allowing the company to handle UNM's media, such as the golobos website. 

The contract with the previous company, Learfield, was worth $4,456,500, according to the Athletics department. The Santa Fe New Mexican reported that the department was expecting the new contract to be worth around $3.5 million.  

Outfront also represents Louisiana State University (Nuñez’s previous employer), University of Maryland, Wichita State University, the University of Virginia, along with five other university sports programs

Union election this week; results ready for Friday

The University of New Mexico faculty is set to vote for or against the formation of collective bargaining units on Oct. 16 and 17. 

If enough faculty vote “Yes,” a full-time and part-time union would begin to form as United Academics of UNM (UA-UNM.) If “No” wins out, it’s unclear what would happen to the multi-year effort to unionize. 

After months of dramatic showing by pro-union professors — covering the campus in signs reading “Yes” and flooding previous Board of Regents meetings in matching UA-UNM t-shirts — the "no" argument made itself heard. 

Early voting to be held in Albuquerque

As municipal election season approaches, multiple locations across Albuquerque will open for early voting on Oct. 19. Several of these locations are close enough to the University of New Mexico that students who are ready to vote now can head to the polls now. 

Several offices are up for election this voting season including four city council districts. Districts two, four, six and eight have new candidates as well as incumbents running for reelection, with the exception of Brad Winter, an incumbent for District 4 who will not be running. Pat Davis, who is the current city council member representing UNM constituents, is running for reelection against Gina Davis.

ASUNM tables student fee increase for a week

Undergraduate student government tabled a constitutional amendment on Wednesday, Oct. 9 that would raise undergraduates government fees from $20 to $25 per semester. 

After hours of back-and-forth between the 17 senators — the Student Union Building minutes away from closing — Associated Students University of New Mexico Vice President Madelyn Lucas approved a special session to rehash the bill on Wednesday, Oct. 16 in the Kiva classroom. 

The full senate meeting began with ASUNM president Adam Biederwolf asking senators to vote yes for the bill. He referred to it as an “opportunity to make change,” following it by asserting that the fee raise could raise student morale on campus. 

Centralized city homeless shelter proposal meets resistance

As the homelessness crisis in Albuquerque continues to escalate, the city is hoping voters will approve a general obligation bond that would allocate $14 million toward the construction of a centralized emergency shelter. 

The city’s plan, conceptualized in a presentation released by the Family and Community Services Department, would relocate Albuquerque’s city-run shelter on the far West Side to a site more central location within the city in an effort to focus resources and integrate homeless services under one roof.

Others, including service providers and advocacy groups, are skeptical that the city is on the right track.

At issue is the concept of a single site for the facility, which would be “centrally located” and operate on a year-round, 24/7 schedule. While the city contends that building the shelter at a single location would consolidate services and reduce costs, critics have been largely unified in opposition and instead are advocating for multiple, smaller shelters distributed across the city.

Grecian festival brings in Albuquerque community to celebrate Greek culture

Opa! Aromatic, authentic Greek food, upbeat lyrical music, the sound of people laughing and heels clacking against the dance floor — thousands came out to the Albuquerque Grecian Festival over the weekend.

The festival, located in downtown Albuquerque at the Greek Orthodox Church off of High Street, is held the first weekend of October every year. It features traditional Greek food and dance shows, a craft fair, a children’s carnival area, cooking lessons and dance lessons — all with the aim to immerse the Albuquerque community in Greek culture.

Mary Anne Kay, an active member of the community and volunteer, runs a booth at the festival. Kay said she has been doing this for many years and is passionate about it.