The contractor that runs Los Alamos National Laboratory has lost out on millions of dollars from the federal government because of what officials call a serious performance failure. The National Nuclear Security Administration has finished its annual evaluation of Los Alamos National Laboratory and the overall results aren't positive. The fee earned by Los Alamos National Security LLC for the 2014 fiscal year was slashed to six-and-a-quarter million dollars, a fraction of the $63.4 million the contractor could have earned. The NNSA singled out a mishap in February at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in southern New Mexico. That's where a container packed with radioactive waste from Los Alamos ruptured and forced the plant's indefinite closure. New Mexico officials have already fined Los Alamos nearly 37-million dollars for mixing incompatible waste, treating hazardous waste without a permit and failing to notify regulators about changes in the way waste was being handled.
Uber—the ride-sharing firm that launched operations in Santa Fe just last month—is promoting its relationship with Mothers Against Drunk Driving, or MADD as the New Year’s Holiday approaches. Uber spokesman, Michael Amodeo: *****123014-Amodeo-3 :10***** Amodeo says the form it’ll take New Year’s Eve will feature a one-dollar per Uber ride donation to MADD during a 12-hour span ending New Year’s Day, part of its efforts to fight drunken driving. Amodeo also explained the firm’s dynamic or “surge” pricing to reporters Monday during a telephone news conference. I asked Uber Southwest Regional Manager Steve Thompson how many drivers Uber now has serving Santa Fe since its November 19th start: *****123014-Thompson-1 :59***** The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission has yet to decide Uber’s fate. Taxi firms and other critics point to the smartphone-based company’s lack of vehicle inspections and other regulations saying its operating an illegal and unregulated taxi service.
For the first time its four-decade history, the San Juan Chama Project has fallen short on the amount of water it has delivered from the mountains of southwest Colorado to central New Mexico. The shortage comes as the region deals with the effects of three straight years of dismal snowpack. Water managers tell the Albuquerque Journal the impact on Rio Grande Valley water operations was small, but the implications are significant. They say it demonstrates that a supply once seen as dependable backup to a faltering Rio Grande might not be as reliable as once thought. It also means there's less stored water that can be carried over next year. The shortage amounted to 10,000 acre-feet. One acre-foot is about enough to serve two average households for a year.
New Mexico's solar industry is worried about fees the state's largest electric provider has proposed for its customers with rooftop solar panels. PNM says the grid provides electricity to solar customers when the sun isn't shining and they should have to pay their fair share for the fixed costs of maintaining the system. The fees could range from $21 to $36 a month depending on the size of a customers' system, and industry representatives say charging a monthly fee could end up undermining the economic benefits of going solar. Kevin Goodreau of Direct Power and Water Corporation tells the Albuquerque Journal the fees represent the “fight of the century” for the industry. Goodreau and other industry representatives have vowed to fight PNM's proposal before the state Public Regulation Commission.
Las Cruces is spicing up New Year's Eve with its first ever chile drop. The coordinator of downtown development for Las Cruces says plans to drop the 19-foot chrome chile at midnight Thursday is about raising the level of visibility downtown. Las Cruces residents have been voting through an online poll on whether the chile's LED lights should shine red or green.
Santa Fe Weather: Mostly cloudy and cold today through tomorrow with highs in the mid-to-low 20s and tonight’s low, 14. There’s a 20-percent chance for snow today, it’s 30-percent for tonight and 10-percent tomorrow. It will also be windy today and tonight with wind-chill values as low as minus five-degrees.