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Cathy Jones, CCIM has built her firm, Sun Commercial Real Estate, into the number one woman-owned commercial brokerage in the Greater Las Vegas market, reaching $650 million in commercial transactions. Cathy joined host Alex Ruggieri to discuss her transition from accounting into real estate, highlighting how she and her team bounced back from a difficult economic downturn. Tune in to hear her perspective on building successful teams, the importance of referrals, reputation, and why women in business shouldn’t shy away from self-promotion or leadership.
By: National Association of REALTORS® (realtor.org)
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Archives for December 2014
New Mexico Experience to Aid Lopez at Bureau of Reclamation
Estevan López spent a dozen years managing water controversies in drought-prone New Mexico as director of the Interstate Stream Commission and the deputy state engineer.
That training was about the best anyone could get for managing the nation’s largest water wholesaler, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, said his longtime colleague, former state engineer John D’Antonio. The U.S. Senate confirmed López on Wednesday as the federal agency’s new commissioner.
D’Antonio worked closely with López, his deputy for nine years. “New Mexico is a sort of microcosm of the issues he will deal with at the federal level,” D’Antonio said by phone from his Albuquerque office at the Army Corps of Engineers.
In New Mexico, López dealt with tribal water rights, traditional acequias, interstate stream compacts, rivers that crossed state boundaries and battles over who had first dibs on the water. He’ll deal with all those issues on a larger scale as head of the Bureau of Reclamation.
D’Antonio said López is right for the job. “He’s very calm, very analytical and extremely smart,” D’Antonio said. “He has the perfect temperament to deal with highly volatile situations. He will cut through a lot of the emotion that is inherent in Western water issues.”
As commissioner, López will oversee a 112-year-old agency responsible for dams, hydroelectric power plants, reservoirs and canals the agency built in 17 states to foster development. He will oversee a $1 billion budget and more than 5,000 employees.
More than 31 million people and businesses in the West rely on water provided by 476 dams and 337 reservoirs maintained by the Bureau of Reclamation. The agency also takes care of 53 hydropower plants that generate 40 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity.
López, a Peñasco native, directed the Interstate Stream Commission under the administrations of both Gov. Susana Martinez and former Gov. Bill Richardson.
López worked as the Santa Fe County manager and director of the county’s land use and utilities departments before becoming the Interstate Stream Commission director in 2003. He earned undergraduate degrees in chemistry and petroleum engineering from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology.
President Barack Obama nominated López to head the Bureau of Reclamation in March.
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said López was the right choice to guide the bureau through a period of increased water and power demands in the West that are coupled with drought, climate change, endangered species concerns and decreasing water supplies.
“I am pleased the Senate has voted to confirm Estevan López to this important leadership post at the Interior Department,” Jewell said in a statement issued Wednesday morning. “Estevan is uniquely qualified to lead the Bureau of Reclamation.”
López will be filling the commissioner position held until March by Mike Connor, another New Mexican. Connor, who was the bureau’s commissioner for five years, was confirmed by the Senate as Jewell’s deputy secretary for the Department of the Interior. Connor said in a phone interview from his office that he’s “incredibly excited” to work with López, whose job will be increasingly tough if drought continues in the West.
California’s three-year drought is the worst in 1,200 years, according to a recent peer-reviewed study in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. The Bureau of Reclamation is focused on easing the water scarcity to farmers and cities it supplies through its day-to-day operations of reservoirs, Connor said.
Water woes also are felt on the Colorado River and its dwindling reservoirs, including Lake Mead. The river supplies water to Arizona, California, Nevada and Mexico. “The river is in the midst of 15-year drought,” Connor said. “The reservoirs are less than half full, and the predictions are that the situation won’t get better for long-term water supply.”
López is familiar with all those issues, Connor said.
López left his post as director of the Interstate Stream Commission at the tail end of a controversial water issue in New Mexico, as the commission prepared to vote on a diversion project for the Gila River. The commission approved the project recently under terms of the Arizona Water Settlements Act, making the state eligible for millions of dollars in federal funds. Many river advocates had lobbied hard against the diversion project, saying it would provide little water at a high cost. Farmers in southwestern New Mexico along the Gila lobbied for the diversion project.
Along with López and Connor, other New Mexicans confirmed to federal posts this year by the U.S. Senate include: Gloria Valencia-Weber as a member of the board of directors of the Legal Services Corporation; Norman C. Bay as member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; Damon Paul Martinez as the U.S. attorney for the District of New Mexico; France A. Cordova as director of the National Science Foundation; and Camilla Feibelman, Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter director, as a trustee of the Morris K. and Stewart L. Udall Foundation.
By: Staci Matlock (Santa Fe New Mexican)
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By: Staci Matlock (Santa Fe New Mexican)
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Mayor, Governor Open Paseo, I-25 Interchange
The Paseo del Norte/I-25 interchange is finally set to open. Construction crews are putting the finishing touches on the $93-million project right now.
On Tuesday, barrels will be gone and so will a lot of the traffic headaches. The Paseo project, which started more than a year ago, is expected to wrap up Monday night.
Gov. Susana Martinez, Mayor R.J. Berry and others will gather to celebrate the end of the project with an event starting at 8:30 p.m. Monday. Soon after they cut the ribbon, the first cars will be able to use the flyover.
On Tuesday, drivers will be able to pass through four new bridges and three new interchanges that link the city’s east and Westside. The most noticeable change, the flyover that connects northbound I-25 to westbound Paseo – will also be open.
The free-flow ramp is expected to cut down the drive time for many people in that area.
“We’ve opened up quite a bit of the project already as we crept toward the end of the project, and this is the final piece, and by tomorrow morning, everybody will be able to use Paseo Del Norte at full capacity the way the project was intended,” said Phil Gallegos, spokesman for the New Mexico Department of Transportation.
Transportation officials said approximately 154,000 cars travel through the interchange each day. In addition, an estimated 470 accidents a year have occurred at the interchange, and the new project is designed to reduce those crashes.
Drivers like longtime Albuquerque resident Pete Roth said, “I remember when this was a dirt road out here for Paseo, so this is a whole near era for Albuquerque.” He is confident the traffic congestion will be eased. “Absolutely, this is going to be a great improvement, especially for those who live on the west side,” he said.
Jesse Story, another driver, added, “Oh, yes, it will definitely make a difference. Get the traffic flow going a little faster. That’s what’s it’s all about.”
“We live in Placitas, so having the freeway closed sometimes and taking a half an hour to just get through this area, it’s going to be awesome,” said Alyssa Lamb. “We will celebrate tomorrow once we see it completely open.”
Even though there’s a big ribbon cutting Monday night, the project isn’t completely finished. Crews still need to work on a few things in the spring when weather allows. The New Mexico Department of Transportation said crews will return once the weather warms up in the spring to complete bridge overlay work.
The opening of the flyover is four days ahead of schedule. KRQE News 13 will have crews at the ribbon cutting and will provide updates on air and online.
By: Emily Younger, Aaron Drawhorn and Alex Goldsmith (KRQE News 13)
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Albuquerque Gets Bloomberg 'Innovation Team' Grant
Local efforts to boost educational opportunities and career paths for young people helped Albuquerque land up to $1.2 million in funding as part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Innovation Teams program, Mayor Richard Berry said Monday.
Albuquerque is one of 12 cities nationwide, including Boston and Los Angeles, along with two Israeli cities, that won awards from the foundation started by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to create teams charged with tackling problems of job growth, poverty and public safety.
“Bloomberg Philanthropies is validating what is going on, they are seeing us (Albuquerque) as innovators, and they’re bringing additional resources to bear for us to continue the work that’s already going on,” Berry said at a news conference Monday.
The city will be granted $400,000 annually for three years to create an “innovation team” that will study education and employment and identify ways the city can make improvements.
“The i-team will provide Albuquerque with a clear-headed approach and resources to identify gaps in Albuquerque’s decision-making infrastructure in regards to education and employment opportunities,” city spokeswoman Rhiannon Schroeder said in a release.
Among innovative efforts in Albuquerque are Running Start for Careers, a public/private partnership designed to give high school students access to industry-taught curricula, and Homework Diner, a school-based initiative that helps elementary-age kids and their parents with homework tutoring, Berry said.
The grant was possible because of a public/private partnership between the city and New Mexico Educators Federal Credit Union. The credit union paid one of its vice presidents, Robin Brule, while she worked with the mayor’s office and wrote the grant, Berry said.
Brule said the city will receive the money in a couple of months as its begins identifying projects the innovation team will work on. Berry expects the city will recruit a couple of additional mayor’s office staffers in the next two months to work on the team.
By: Rosalie Rayburn (Albuquerque Journal)
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