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Sept. 25 First News: SF mayoral salary a first topic of special election considerations. (listen)

How much money should the mayor of Santa Fe receive for the job? That was among first items of discussion as Santa Fe City Council considers city charter amendments for voter consideration in a special election. At the first of three public meetings on the matter, the assembly demurred on setting a fixed amount but noted that earlier discussions cited an amount of more than $100,000 annually. The Charter Review Commission advocates making the mayoral post a fulltime position with expanded powers while also barring additional employment.  The next public meeting is set for Oct 3rd with a final meeting at City Hall on October 15th.

Developers of new technologies can have their inventions patented in a matter of days, instead of years, thanks to a new licensing program at Sandia National Laboratories. KOAT-TV reports the Albuquerque lab effort requires developers to complete forms and pay a fee of about three-thousand dollars. A Sandia spokesman says developers must choose from fields including Homeland Security, bioscience and microelectronics. The U-S patent office says the average wait time for a patent 34 months.

Santa Fe District One city Councilor Chris Calvert has announced he will not seek another term in next year's municipal election. Calvert has served since 2006, winning re-election in 2010 in the district also represented by Patti Bushee. Calvert says he wants more time for his family and other interests and has endorsed the City’s current Planning Commissioner as the successor for his post.

Santa Fe Public Schools' excessively high drop-out rate is the focus of the Santa Fe Children & Youth Commission today.  It’s hosting an afternoon gathering of local and state agencies partnering with city, state and federal officials. Santa Fe's drop out rate is among the top 3 in the state. New Mexico as a whole also nears the top of the list for high drop-out rates nationwide. Today's conference gets underway at 3PM at Zona Del Sol on Valentine Way.

Immigrant rights advocates, Somos Un Pueblo Unido, says some 50 Hispanic and immigrant business owners have met with New Mexico Congressman Steve Pearce to discuss immigration reform and Pearce's lack of support for a path to citizenship. The republican congressman instead favors a temporary guest worker program. Somos Un Pueblo Unido is organizing a statewide caravan to Hobbs, the congressman's hometown, as part of the National Day of Action for Immigration Reform on October 6th. The Immigration Policy Center estimates that immigrants make up at least 12% of the state's workforce and Hispanic-owned business in New Mexico generate over $6.5 billion in revenue each year.

The Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs has established a new student scholarship program with Santa Fe Community College.  The venture is designed to raise the educational level of Mexican-American and Mexican students to advance the culture and economy of Mexico. SFCC was awarded $10,000 and has matched funding for a total of $20,000 in scholarship monies. Awards will be made to low-income Mexican or Mexican-American students who require financial aid to begin, continue or complete their studies. The Consul of Mexico in Albuquerque meets with SFCC President Ana "Cha" Guzman on Thursday to officially sign the agreement.

The Santa Fe Municipal Airport and the Santa Fe Civil Air Patrol Squadron are hosting their first ever Search and Rescue Expo at the airport on Saturday from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. The event is free and will showcase ground and air search and rescue organizations that respond in the event of a lost hiker, downed aircraft, or other emergency.

Weather for Santa Fe – a sunny day in store with highs in the mid-to-upper 70s. Clear skies overnight with a low of 50.  Clouds on the increase tomorrow with a 10% chance of isolated afternoon showers and thunderstorms, increasing to 40% tomorrow evening. Thursday’s highs in the mid 70s.  Friday will be partly sunny with a 30% chance for precipitation.