SANTA FE – Statewide broadband internet in New Mexico is one step closer to reality with House Bill 10: the Connect New Mexico Act, which institutes a centralized plan for the state to build, manage and deliver broadband internet access to communities across the state.

It includes three main components:

Establishing a centralized Office of Broadband within the Department of Information Technology to coordinate state, local, and federal resources to build new infrastructure and connect every community in New Mexico.

Creating a comprehensive plan that maps out New Mexico’s current broadband infrastructure and assesses what it will take to finish the job and connect New...

Gallup Municipal Airport could reopen as a vehicle testing hub

Self-driving cars may soon be coming to Gallup.  Autonomous cars were on the agenda for the March 2 McKinley County Commission meeting.

Michael Sage, the deputy director of the Gallup Economic Development Corporation, made a presentation about autonomous cars. He talked about self-driving vehicles being tested in Gallup. He also mentioned the possibility of reopening the Gallup Municipal Airport to air passenger service and using it as a mobility hub for autonomous vehicle testing.

Tesla came to the EDC in 2013 thinking that Gallup would be a great strategic location for testing autonomous cars, because of its...

‘We have to be ready or they’ll pass us by’

Autonomous cars are becoming more popular thanks to people like Elon Musk and Tesla and the other car companies that will soon be competing with him in the field. In order to prepare for this future, more states are creating legislation addressing the subject of self-driving vehicles.

Michael Sage, the deputy director of the Economic Development Corporation, has been a leading force on this front in McKinley County. On March 2 he presented two bills – New Mexico House Bill 270 and New Mexico Senate Bill 133 - that would bring legislation to bring autonomous vehicles to Gallup in a special city council meeting on March 2. He also...

Week ending Friday, February 26, 2021


Open Arctic

Global heating has melted so much of the thick multi-year ice off the coast of Siberia that Russia has for the first time been able to navigate a cargo ship from Asia to a home port on the Arctic Ocean in winter. By using the newly opened Northern Sea Route instead of the traditional path around Asia and the Middle East, through the Suez Canal and around Europe, the Sovcomflot shipping company saved millions of dollars and days of travel time. Traffic through the NSR has exploded during summer in recent years but has remained closed from November until July. Russia now has plans to use its expanding fleet of civilian nuclear-powered...