Walker Stapleton left his blind trust out of a public financial disclosure

State Treasurer Walker Stapleton (R) will be amending a financial disclosure form he filed with the state as part of his run for governor after The Colorado Independent questioned why the blind trust he said holds his assets was not listed on the form.

“We are filing a clarification,” said Stapleton’s campaign manager Michael Fortney following inquiries about the public document, which is called a personal financial disclosure statement and is required by candidates for state office in Colorado.

In question is Rocky Mountain Trust LLC, which incorporated after Stapleton, a political newcomer at the time, won office as state treasurer in 2010. Stapleton has said Rocky Mountain Trust is a “blind trust” – a tool some elected officials and others use to avoid potential conflicts of interest in their investments. The arrangements vary. In some blind trusts, the person who owns the assets is totally blind to what investments the trust holds. In others, they know what assets are, but are not involved with managing or making decisions about them.

As of May 25th, that trust also has been listed as delinquent since late February with the Secretary of State’s Office. Fortney said that likely means someone neglected to reregister it, an oversight he said someone with the trust would handle.

Read more: http://www.coloradoindependent.com/170360/walker-stapleton-blind-trust

Suppliers settle with state in dispute over tribal casinos

A company that provided gaming devices to Pojoaque Pueblo while it was operating casinos in violation of federal law for more than two years has entered into a financial settlement with the state Gaming Control Board.

A company that supplies cash-dispensing and counting machines to casinos also settled with the board as a result of its business with the pueblo.

The settlements by Bally Gaming and Glory Global Solutions bring to six the number of companies that have resolved disputes with the Gaming Control Board over the use of their equipment by Pojoaque casinos while the casinos were operating without required agreements with the state.

The settlements with Bally and Glory resolved the final two administrative and enforcement actions by the Gaming Control Board against the Pojoaque suppliers, according to a board spokesman.

Read more: http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/suppliers-settle-with-state-in-dispute-over-tribal-casinos/article_915c5961-7a09-5cc9-9dbc-fec1d246339c.html

New Mexico counterclaim filed in Rio Grande water suit

WASHINGTON – New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas is pushing back against Texas in a long-standing Rio Grande water fight, and this week he filed a counterclaim in U.S. Supreme Court accusing Texas of mismanaging water and hurting New Mexico’s farmers.

Texas sued New Mexico in 2014, claiming that New Mexico farmers and pecan growers illegally pump groundwater from below Elephant Butte Dam that would otherwise flow to El Paso and West Texas. New Mexico claims that its water obligations to Texas are measured at the dam. The complex dispute is being overseen by a so-called special master appointed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in March that the federal government can intervene in the case, complicating New Mexico’s position. Balderas’ filing late Tuesday aims to put Texas and the federal government on the legal defensive.

“I’m asking the United States and Texas to address my counterclaims and show me the (water) accounting and the hydrology science, because I believe Texas has suffered no harm,” Balderas told the Journal on Wednesday, adding that he assembled a team of lawyers and hydrology experts to make his 30-page case. “I believe New Mexico has worked hard to be very fair and Texas’ claims are exaggerated and quite greedy.”

Read more: https://www.abqjournal.com/1175900/nm-counterclaim-filed-in-water-suit.html

Cross-posted in the Texas Group.

New Mexico counterclaim filed in Rio Grande water suit

WASHINGTON – New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas is pushing back against Texas in a long-standing Rio Grande water fight, and this week he filed a counterclaim in U.S. Supreme Court accusing Texas of mismanaging water and hurting New Mexico’s farmers.

Texas sued New Mexico in 2014, claiming that New Mexico farmers and pecan growers illegally pump groundwater from below Elephant Butte Dam that would otherwise flow to El Paso and West Texas. New Mexico claims that its water obligations to Texas are measured at the dam. The complex dispute is being overseen by a so-called special master appointed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in March that the federal government can intervene in the case, complicating New Mexico’s position. Balderas’ filing late Tuesday aims to put Texas and the federal government on the legal defensive.

“I’m asking the United States and Texas to address my counterclaims and show me the (water) accounting and the hydrology science, because I believe Texas has suffered no harm,” Balderas told the Journal on Wednesday, adding that he assembled a team of lawyers and hydrology experts to make his 30-page case. “I believe New Mexico has worked hard to be very fair and Texas’ claims are exaggerated and quite greedy.”

Read more: https://www.abqjournal.com/1175900/nm-counterclaim-filed-in-water-suit.html

Cross-posted in the New Mexico Group.

State's permanent funds hot topic for governor hopefuls

New Mexico House candidate threatens legal action

Lost in the bitterness of the House District 46 Democratic primary race and the sniping between the party’s gubernatorial candidates is a contentious battle for Northern New Mexico’s House District 41.

The fight for the District 41 nomination heated up over the weekend, with political newcomer Susan Herrera threatening legal action action against her opponent, longtime state Rep. Debbie Rodella, D-Española.

Herrera said she’s considering sending a cease-and-desist letter to demand that her opponent stop sending campaign mailers that Herrera described as “slanderous” and “full of lies.”

The mailers — and subsequent radio ads hawking the same message — accuse Herrera, the former CEO of the Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation, of mismanaging the foundation’s money at the expense of educational programs.

Read more: http://www.santafenewmexican.com/elections/new-mexico-house-candidate-threatens-legal-action/article_ea57e2b9-0a2c-5ac6-a5e4-a79be5b43259.html

2 of 4 New Mexico governor hopefuls provide tax returns

SANTA FE – Two of the four candidates for governor in New Mexico have provided their tax returns in response to a request from a newspaper.

The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that two Democrats – businessman Jeff Apodaca and state Sen. Joseph Cervantes – agreed to the newspaper’s request to provide their tax returns.

But Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham and Republican Steve Pearce declined to provide tax returns and instead offered the documents they file as members of Congress, which don’t provide as much detail.

The newspaper asked each campaign to provide within one week personal income tax returns filed in 2017 and 2018.

Read more: https://www.abqjournal.com/1177873/2-of-4-new-mexico-gubernatorial-hopefuls-provide-tax-returns.html

2nd powered test flight for Virgin Galactic spaceship

Source: AP

MOJAVE, Calif. — Virgin Galactic has conducted the second rocket-powered test flight of its tourism spaceship in the skies over California.

The company says VSS Unity fired its rocket motor for 31 seconds and climbed to an altitude of 114,500 feet (34,899 meters) on Tuesday, then glided to a landing at Mojave Air and Space Port.

Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson was on hand to greet pilots Dave Mackay and Mark “Forger” Stucky as well as the crew of the carrier aircraft that launched the spaceship.

Tuesday’s flight came less than two months after the first powered flight on April 5. Virgin Galactic says that brings the company closer to its goal of being able to fly its spacecraft more frequently than has been typical for human spaceflight.

Read more: https://www.abqjournal.com/1177951/2nd-powered-test-flight-for-virgin-galactic-spaceship.html

Security Breach -- The feds say it's time for Santa Fe's airport to get its act together, or else

The fine is no small matter. Potentially, the Transportation Security Administration could charge the city more than $13,000 a day.

The real hammer, though, is the category downgrade. If the TSA follows through with its recent threats and Santa Fe's airport loses its Category III status, it risks losing the 60-plus-seat jets that American and United Airlines use for commercial flights in and out of the regional airport.

City Councilor Mike Harris doesn't expect that to happen. Nor does Nick Schiavo, the longtime city hand currently acting as airport manager. That is, if Santa Fe's governing body changes city law to ensure it doesn't.

At next Wednesday's City Council meeting, Harris plans to carry a bill that would make a number of changes to Santa Fe's airport ordinance. Harris says the move will modernize language and expectations for airport operations and commercial service that haven't been updated since the mid-1980's.

Read more: https://www.sfreporter.com/news/2018/05/25/security-breach/

Begging your Pardon