Thursday, September 24, 2020Biden Presidency Could take Some Wind Out Of The Sails Of NM's National Labs, Plus: NM Claims Top Slot For "Healthiest Community And Haaland Eyes Higher Spot in House . . . Biden leaves little doubt that if elected he would try to scale
back President Trump’s buildup in nuclear weapons spending. . . .In a questionnaire by the Council for a Livable World in which Biden and other candidates were asked whether the U.S. should review its policy reserving the option of using nuclear weapons first, Biden said yes but did not elaborate. He also agreed that modernizing the U.S. arsenal could be done for less than the currently projected $1.2 trillion. The nation's nukes are being modernized which means. . . LANL’s
nuclear weapons production programs are slated for a 33% increase ($2.9 billion
in FY 2021). NNSA plans to spend at least $5.8 billion at LANL and $4.6 billion at the
Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina over the next decade on construction
or upgrades of plutonium pit production facilities. Nuclear Watch NM reports ABQ's Sandia Labs had an FY 20 budget of $3.72 billion and is set to go through the $4 billion mark. That has made Sandia--along with Kirtland Air Force Base--the backbone of the metro area economy. Some anti-nuclear advocates have said the nuke modernization program is unnecessary and a waste but Biden is not proposing to end it, but make it less costly. Dems cringe when they hear it but it's true---when it comes to federal funding in federally-dependent New Mexico Donald Trump has kept the green flowing like few presidents before him. There's got to be a few votes for him in that. HEALTHY ON THE HILL You might think with all the environmental pitfalls that have resulted from nuclear weapons work at Los Alamos that it would be an unlikely candidate to rank as the healthiest community in the USA. But it does: With its vast mountain ranges, diverse
wildlife and clean air, Los Alamos County, New Mexico, has been ranked the
healthiest community of 2020. . . The county received a perfect score for measurements
including drinking water quality, affordable housing availability, park access
and population with an advanced degree, according to the annual U.S. News
Healthiest Communities rankings report. "A healthy environment
is part of what definitely contributes to being a healthy
community," said Los Alamos County Council Chair Sara Scott. "People have the opportunity and the interest in getting out,
taking advantage of our mountains, trails, biking, horse-riding (and) golfing." The Healthiest Communities rankings and analysis are based on evaluations of
nearly 3,000 communities nationwide for 84 health and health-related
measurements in 10 categories, including community vitality, equity, economy,
education, environment, food and nutrition, population health, housing,
infrastructure and public safety. The county is also very healthy financially, usually ranking near the top of the list of USA counties with the highest per capita income, thanks, of course, to Uncle Sam. CLIMBING HIGHER?  ABQ Dem US Rep. Deb Haaland says she is considering running for the #6 leadership position in the House--Vice Chairman:Haaland, 59, made history as one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress in 2018; she would be the first to serve in House leadership, if elected. Haaland told CQ Roll Call her desire to promote caucus diversity is among the reasons she’s considering running. “I feel like I could move our caucus forward." XTS VS. HERRELL Political junkies will take a pass on football at 4 p.m. this Sunday and tune in to the first televised political debate of the season. Republican Yvette Herrell and Dem Xochitl Torres Small will face-off at 4 p.m. on KOAT-TV. Well, face-off is a stretch. Becuse of the pandemic the candidates will debate over zoom--not in the studio. The southern battle is the only one of the three NM US House races seen as competitive this cycle. The latest ABQ Journal poll had Torres Small leading 47-45. She beat Herrell in 2018 by less than 4,000 voters. The ABQ Journal is also a debate sponsor and will stream the program on its website as will KOAT. The debate will not be live. It will be prerecorded on Saturday. THE BOTTOM LINES Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber appreciates our concern for his city's economic future which we described as going through a "slow motion economic collapse." Not so says His Honor. "Our latest report on gross receipts tax collections has them down 11 percent, significantly less than anticipated . . .” We erred in our first blog draft Wednesday regarding a photo taken outside the business of Silver City Dem state Senator Gabe Ramos that showed two political signs in support of candidates. Ramos, defeated in the June primary by fellow Dem Siah Correa Hemphill, is indeed supporting the Republican in the race to succeed him as we blogged. But the R candidate is James "Jimbo" Williams not Luis Terrazas whose sign was also in the photo and who we said was Hemphill's opponent. Terrazas is another R Ramos is supporting. He is running for the state House seat held by Dem Rep. Rudy Martinez. This is the home of New Mexico politics.
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