The Gallup Business Improvement District spent time during their two recent meetings discussing the operating budget for FY19-20.

The budget draft presented June 26 shows a total income of about $371,185 against expenses totaling $304,788, for a net income of $66,397.

One of the main talking points was the amount spent on marketing, a total of $13,350. Of that amount, the BID plans to spend $6,000 on print advertising.

The question then was where and how the print advertising would be handled.

District member Sammy Chioda said June 26 that running a quarterly ad in a local publication and updating the Gallup BID website to direct visitors to downtown businesses is a good move for the...

Zuni Olla Maidens are all blood relations

The Zuni Olla Maidens make the Summer Night Indian Dances in Gallup a sight to behold. The dances showcase different Native American tribes in traditional regalia, performing cultural dances and songs. In the case of The Zuni Olla Maidens, they are one of the few pottery dancing groups still active today.

From the Pueblo of Zuni come the Zuni Olla Maidens, an all-female group, who balance painted pottery jars on their heads as they perform dances to the beat of drums. The group sings songs of social dance and blessing, learned from the men of the pueblo, while balancing an “olla” on their heads. “Olla” is the Spanish word for...

KAIBETO, ARIZ.- Three Kaibeto road projects are currently underway where the Navajo Division of Transportation will pave over three miles within the chapter.

Navajo Engineering and Construction Authority is the contractor for the $15.6 million-dollar project that will pave 3.52 miles of roadway and ease traffic at a critical intersection.

Construction crews have created a concrete roundabout and are preparing N21, N6331 and N6330 to be paved.

“Crews are currently excavating and filling embankments on N6331 near the chapter house to prepare the road for paving,” said NDOT Executive Director Garret Silversmith. “South of the Kaibeto gas station, a roundabout is being constructed...

Funds to help under-served communities

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is announcing the New Mexico Environment Department and its coalition partners, Northwest New Mexico Council of Governments, Gallup, Southwest New Mexico Council of Governments, and the city of Silver City are among 149 recipients of 151 grant awards totaling more than $64.6 million in EPA Brownfields funding through the Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup Grant Programs. The coalition will partner to administer a $500,000 assessment grant to address contaminated properties in New Mexico.

These funds will aid under-served and economically disadvantaged communities in opportunity zones and other parts of...