New Mexico Airlines Cleared to Fly into Taos
By Patricia Chambers The Taos News

A ruling late last week from the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) should clear the way for New Mexico Airlines to bring commuter airline ser­vice to Taos and other small commu­nities in the country.

The FAA released a “CERTALERT,” or clarification on the question of whether Cessna 208B Caravans can land in an airport without Code of Federal Regulations Part 139 certification.

The expensive Part 139 proce­dures include full-time fire coverage at the airport plus daily and night­ly inspections of the airport, which requires additional staff, according to Taos Regional Airport Manager Mark Fratrick.

A fully operational fire station at an airport can cost $100,000 per year, said New Mexico Airlines CEO Greg Kahlstorf.

Kahlstorf said he is pleased with the ruling that will allow the Hawaii-based airline to fly its nine-passenger planes in Taos, as well as Artesia, N.M.

Artesia has been looking forward to local air service for access to the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) located in the com­munity, Kahlstorf said. New Mexico Airlines, which is owned by Pacific Wings, has been operating between Carlsbad, Hobbs, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Alamagordo and Ruidoso. It is now serving El Paso, Texas.

The company had expected to inaugurate air service from Santa Fe to Taos before the ski season started, but was stopped by an FAA inspector.

The trouble started several months ago when New Mexico Airlines asked the FAA inspector at its home base in Hawaii to grant permission for the nine-passenger planes to fly into Taos. The inspector told the company it could not fly into an airport without Part 139 certification, which is usu­ally only necessary for 14-passenger planes and larger.

The CERTALERT released April 25 by the FAA clarified the rules and agreed that small communities do not have to upgrade their airports to the higher Code of Federal Regulations standard.

“This is what we expected. It just takes a while for the machinery to turn,” Kahlstorf said. “The good news for the communities is that they can save a six-figure expense because it’s not necessary.”

Kahlstorf said his network staff is examining the plan to bring air service between Santa Fe and Taos. When the company is ready to proceed, he plans to present the information to Town Council.

Town officials will not need to take any legal action to allow the air service in Taos, Kahlstorf said.

“We are a federally certified airline and we meet the federal requirements to fly into Taos,” he said.

pchambers@taosnews.com

Taos Properties is proud to represent a 2800 square foot 3 bedroom, 3 bath home that sits on Blueberry Hill mesa with uninterrupted views in all directions. Easy access to Ski Valley and Town. It’s the perfect opportunity to finish this house to your own personal specifications. Hot water radiant floors, thermapane windows, Jacuzzi tub, two kiva fireplaces and a gorgeous wrap around porch for your outdoor enjoyment. This house has been plastered and is ready for your colorcoat. E-mail Lisa Cancro @ lisa@taosproperties.com.

ENVIRO BRIEFS
ENVIRO BRIEFS

Taos homes in ‘green’ tour

Four homes in Taos that have been built to sustain themselves will be part of a GreenBuilt tour among 26 homes in New Mexico.

On May 17-18, attendees of Sustainability Week will culminate seven days of lectures, tours and gatherings with a self-guided tour of homes in Taos, Santa Fe and the Albuquerque area. To get the location of the homes, a person must get directions and descriptions from organizers.

Sponsored by U.S. Green Building Council New Mexico, the week begins May 10 with a lecture series and expo, then continues May 13-17 in Albuquerque.

Some of the sessions cost money.

For more information, visit www.usgbcnm.org or www. greenbuilttour.net.

Safety tips for spring, summer in forest

U.S. Forest Service officials have announced their annual safety precautions so that those using the national forests will do so safely — for themselves and the forest.

Tips include: n Know where you are going by calling the local Forest Service office to check on conditions, closures, campgrounds and fire danger; n Check the weather before heading out into the forest; n Prevent forest fires by making sure a campfire is allowed, using a fire ring or building a ring out of rocks on the bare soil, keeping fire away from branches or dry grass, keeping a bucket filled with water, and drowning the fire completely before leaving the site.

Controlled burn set in Jicarilla

Motorists along U.S. 64 in the next couple of weeks will likely encounter smoke from a prescribed burn on national forest land. The burn, called the Bixler Burn, will be ignited on 1,100 acres north and west of the intersection of U.S. 64 and Forest Road 310. Depending upon weather conditions, the burning could take up two weeks to remove low vegetation and dead wood from the forest floor. For information, call (505) 632-2956.

Bandelier begins centennial upgrades

With its 100th birthday coming up in 2016, Bandelier National Monument will undergo improvements. The parks’ visitor and environmental programs will see upgrades, thanks to a “Centennial Initiative” from Congress. Federal funds of $24 million will coincide with $27 million in matching donations to spruce up 75 unites that will celebrate centennials in the next eight years, according to a press release from Sen. Pete Domenici’s office.

At Bandelier near Los Alamos, the improvements include analysis of its carbon footprint, improvements to water and electrical systems and purchase of a hybrid vehicle — plus a system to track visitors from Northern New Mexico.

— Compiled by Andy Dennison

RUNOFF

River’s on the rise

From Page A1

Ditch Association. “We have more problems in the ace­quias, with water overflowing the banks.”

She noted that mayordo­mos in charge of ditches must balance the amount of water in the acequia madre, stream and fields. At the height of irrigating season, streamflow below the point of diversion drops.

Michael Trujillo, interim emergency manager for Taos County, said Wednesday (May 7) that cool spring weather has decreased the chances of flooding around the coun­ty. If flooding does occur, he believes Arroyo Seco, Costilla and Amalia, and Pe-asco will bear the brunt of the overflow.

“Of course, a couple of good rains or a hot day will trigger the snowmelt and all bets are off,” said Trujillo.

If the weather holds, then this winter’s deep snowpack that thrilled skiers and ’board­ers will prove a boon to irri­gators, fishermen and rafters come spring. Snows above Taos built up to 175 percent more than 2006-2007, and just above the 30-year average.

R’o Grande on the rise

Along the R’o Grande, where rafting companies have already had a strong early season, fore­casters predict a crest of about 4,500 cubic-feet-per-sec­ond (cfs) in the Embudo area around early June — within normal flows and plenty for an exciting trip through the Taos Box or down the Racecourse below Pilar.

One important variable for R’o Grande flow is the actions of Colorado irrigators upstream. Under an interstate agree­ment between Colorado, New Mexico and Texas, Colorado must send a certain percent­age of flow down the river dur­ing runoff season. In a good snow year, southern Colorado irrigators try to push as much water downstream before the growing season begins.

However, irrigation season in Colorado has begun, Harris said, which will moderate the flow for much of the rafting season. On Wednesday (May 7), the river reached 2,000 cfs — an “entertaining” level, according to a veteran rafter.

“You never know,” said Harris. “In 1988, we had an early runoff with a peak in March and, by April, Colorado had delivered all it had to. On the other hand, in 1995, we had 100 percent snowpack in May, and Colorado had to recalculate its delivery so that we peaked in July.”

For now, river-watchers and

mayordomos alike believe they are on track for a healthy runoff season.

But they all know that Mother Nature can change all that — in a single day.

RUNOFF

River’s on the rise

From Page A1

Ditch Association. “We have more problems in the ace­quias, with water overflowing the banks.”

She noted that mayordo­mos in charge of ditches must balance the amount of water in the acequia madre, stream and fields. At the height of irrigating season, streamflow below the point of diversion drops.

Michael Trujillo, interim emergency manager for Taos County, said Wednesday (May 7) that cool spring weather has decreased the chances of flooding around the coun­ty. If flooding does occur, he believes Arroyo Seco, Costilla and Amalia, and Pe-asco will bear the brunt of the overflow.

“Of course, a couple of good rains or a hot day will trigger the snowmelt and all bets are off,” said Trujillo.

If the weather holds, then this winter’s deep snowpack that thrilled skiers and ’board­ers will prove a boon to irri­gators, fishermen and rafters come spring. Snows above Taos built up to 175 percent more than 2006-2007, and just above the 30-year average.

R’o Grande on the rise

Along the R’o Grande, where rafting companies have already had a strong early season, fore­casters predict a crest of about 4,500 cubic-feet-per-sec­ond (cfs) in the Embudo area around early June — within normal flows and plenty for an exciting trip through the Taos Box or down the Racecourse below Pilar.

One important variable for R’o Grande flow is the actions of Colorado irrigators upstream. Under an interstate agree­ment between Colorado, New Mexico and Texas, Colorado must send a certain percent­age of flow down the river dur­ing runoff season. In a good snow year, southern Colorado irrigators try to push as much water downstream before the growing season begins.

However, irrigation season in Colorado has begun, Harris said, which will moderate the flow for much of the rafting season. On Wednesday (May 7), the river reached 2,000 cfs — an “entertaining” level, according to a veteran rafter.

“You never know,” said Harris. “In 1988, we had an early runoff with a peak in March and, by April, Colorado had delivered all it had to. On the other hand, in 1995, we had 100 percent snowpack in May, and Colorado had to recalculate its delivery so that we peaked in July.”

For now, river-watchers and

mayordomos alike believe they are on track for a healthy runoff season.

But they all know that Mother Nature can change all that — in a single day.

Dimond, Kenward take district doubles championship
Taos vs. Taos

Dimond, Kenward take district doubles championship

By Gabe Toth

The Taos News

After two days of play, Taos junior Erica Dimond and senior Lauren Kenward took the dis­trict doubles title Saturday (May 3) at Taos’ Quail Ridge Inn.

The girls fell initially to the Kim sisters of Los Alamos while competing in the team singles and doubles competition, but then defeated the Kims 6-2, 6-4 in the final individual match of the weekend.

After taking the first set and gaining a 3-2 lead in the sec­ond, Kenward double-faulted five times to bring the Kims even, 3-3 instead of 4-2, but the girls kept their cool and recovered.

“At some point, I lost confi­dence,” Kenward said, “and just had to pick it back up.”

Coach Kurt Edelbrock said the big win showed “how they’ve developed over the year and how hard they worked on their particular style of dou­bles.

“They’ve brought the level of their game up. Their level of concentration over this week­end was exceptional, more than even their tennis,” he said. “They have great potential.”

With teams representing Taos, Los Alamos, Capital and Espa-ola Valley, players com­peted in two separate tourna­ments through the weekend; one to determine district status as a team, and the other to give individual players the chance to qualify for state.

Jessica Christian and Alex Cancro battled to the semifi­nals of the individual doubles bracket, but fell to the Kims, then went down against anoth­er LA team fighting for third place.

“They played their game very well,” Edelbrock said. “The other team beat them, but they (Christian and Cancro) didn’t give away their points.”

After falling to Los Alamos opponents in the semifinals, teammates Garrett Cottam and Robert Forbes found themselves facing off in a fight for third, which Cottam took 6-1, 6-1.

In the girls singles individual bracket, Tessa Zangara defeat­ed her Espa-ola opponent, Robyn Mart’nez, before going down against Elyse Jalbert of Los Alamos.

Stephanie Stebbins beat NicoletteMieraofCapitalbefore falling against Chelsy Smith of LA, and Kamal Jahrmarkt had a first-round by before losing to Capital’s Erika Ortega.

For the boys individual doubles tournament, Eric Christian and Taylor Braselle received a bye then took down a Capital opponent. They lost to the eventual champions from Los Alamos, and again in the match for third place to another LA team.

Josh Hensley and Bauer took a bye in the first round, then fell to Los Alamos, and John Laycock/Forbes won their match against Espa-ola before losing to LA.

Both boys and girls took sec­ond in the district tournament behind the powerhouse Los Alamos team, and begin state play this weekend.

The girls, seeded fifth, face fourth-seed St. Pius Friday morning (May 9). Singles start at 8 a.m., doubles at 9:30 a.m. If they win, the girls face Los Alamos — who receives a bye as the number-one seed —the following morning.

Taos’ boys are seeded sixth and will face Farmington, seed­ed third, Friday at 2 p.m. for singles and 3:30 p.m. for dou­bles. If they win there, they go on to face Los Alamos (number two seed) or the winner of an earlier Silver City/Piedra Vista match.

Photos by Gabe Toth

Taos’ Garrett Cottam, above, and Robbie Forbes found themselves across the court from each other during the individual singles tournament last weekend at the Quail Ridge Inn. After being eliminated from the semifinal round by Los Alamos competitors, the Taos pair faced off for third place, which Cottam clinched 6-1, 6-1.

Stocks modestly higher as oil falls, dollar gains
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| The Associated Press

5/12/2008 - 5/12/08

NEW YORK — Wall Street rose modestly in early trading Monday as oil prices ticked lower and the dollar advanced.

The market’s concerns about rising inflation and its effect on consumer spending receded somewhat as light, sweet crude fell 77 cents to $125.19 per barrel in premarket electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil prices surged nearly $10 last week, touching off concerns about rising prices and their effect on businesses and consumers.

The dollar’s gains also appeared to help ease some concerns about inflation. A weak dollar can exacerbate price increases, especially since hard commodities like oil become more attractive to investors seeking a hedge against inflation.

The market also got some encouraging news about the credit crisis from London-based HSBC Holdings PLC, which said its first-quarter profits were up from a year ago although the global banking company took a $3.2 billion write-down on subprime mortgage assets in the United States. The company did echo other assessments that the U.S. was likely to fall into recession this year.

In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 32.16, or 0.25 percent, to 12,778.04.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 2.89, or 0.21 percent, to 1,391.17, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 2.89, or 0.21 percent, to 2,451.58.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.76 percent from 3.78 percent late Friday. The dollar was higher against most other major currencies, while gold prices fell.

In corporate news, FedEx Corp. fell 51 cents to $89.86 after lowering its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings forecast, citing rising fuel costs.

MBIA Inc. posted a $2.41 billion first-quarter loss, as the struggling bond insurer took heavy charges to write down the value of liabilities amid continued deterioration in the credit markets. The stock rose 75 cents, or 8 percent, to $10.18.

Investors will be looking to other readings on consumers this week to determine the toll rising energy costs might be having. Government figures are due on retail sales in April. And retailers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Macy’s Inc., JCPenney Co. and Kohls Corp. are due to report first-quarter results.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 0.64 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.30 percent, Germany’s DAX index rose 0.51 percent, and France’s CAC-40 rose 0.58 percent.

———

Spring is here and there are some fabulous properties that have come on the market. Take the time to look through our webiste and view not only Taos Properties listings but all of the listings in the MLS. Please e-mail or call us with any questions or thoughts on Taos and/or the Real Estate market!

GREEN THUMB

Bonds Tied to Mortgages Have Hope
By LARRY LIGHT
May 10, 2008; Page B1

Maybe there’s a way to thrive in the howling wasteland that is the home-loan market. Bonds backed by mortgages look like a buying opportunity, assuming a new spate of defaults doesn’t send their prices tumbling again.

Already, these mortgage-backed securities, or MBS, are showing signs that the market thinks the bad times may be ending. At their worst in mid-March, MBS yields were pumped up to 1.89 percentage points more than ultrasafe Treasurys, according to Merrill Lynch research. Lately, that spread has narrowed to 0.97 point. Historically, the gap is only around 0.3.

What this means is that mortgage bonds are still cheap, with many selling below face value — and that investors, now less scared by them, no longer need large yield premiums as an enticement to buy. “We seem to be headed back to the spreads we used to see,” says Tanya Beder, who heads New York financial advisory firm SBCC Group.

MBS, which pool collections of mortgages, got a bad name because some held subprime loans, made to homebuyers with shaky finances. When this widely held paper, collected into other securities called collateralized debt obligations, turned bad, the credit markets seized up.

The good news for investors is that subprime loans are not being packaged into MBS. Even better, the chastened Wall Street firms that packaged this garbage have mostly gotten out of the mortgage-backed business.

These days, MBS are almost entirely the realm of government-sponsored entities: Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These so-called agency MBS don’t hold subprime loans and can’t blow up. If the underlying loans do go bad, the issuers must subsidize them. Agency mortgage bond prices, too, got walloped in the credit crunch — unjustifiably. Ginnies, Fannies and Freddies are easy to buy through a broker. With yields slightly over 5%, investors get safety and a higher return than Treasurys.

They do have a few downsides. Even ones with maturities of 30 years will be called long before that as homeowners refinance or retire mortgages. And, as with most bonds, MBSs have hefty markups: Buy a $50,000 Ginnie and pay 1% or more — $500 and up.

A better alternative is leaving the bond-buying to the pros. USAA GNMA fund is up 2.9% this year and Vanguard GNMA is ahead 2.4%, while stocks are in negative territory. Not all portfolios are great: Fidelity Mortgage Securities fund, which dabbled with subprime, has been in the red since 2007. Fidelity says it’s “confident the fund is in good hands.”

Write to Larry Light at larry.light@wsj.com

From Their House to the White House
McCain, Clinton Are
Property Millionaires;
Obama Also Profited
By CHRISTINA S.N. LEWIS
May 9, 2008; Page W1

Like millions of Americans, the three presidential candidates rode the real-estate wave. But for them there’s been no hard landing, and well-timed home purchases in prime neighborhoods have left two of them — Sens. John McCain and Hillary Clinton — with millions in real-estate gains.

The McCain family owns at least seven properties, including a spread in rural Arizona. In the past four years the Republican’s wealthy wife, Cindy, has spent roughly $11 million on real estate, buying three condos in Phoenix and two in California, across the bay from San Diego.

THEIR HOUSES

See detailed information on the past and present residences of:
• John McCain
• Hillary Clinton
• Barack ObamaSen. Clinton and former President Bill Clinton likely own the most-expensive property among the three candidates, a stately home in the Observatory Circle neighborhood of Washington that cost $2.85 million in 2001 and now is worth about $5 million. (Value estimates are based on an averaging of property-valuation Web sites, local broker assessments and real-estate listings and records; the candidates’ campaigns were contacted about the findings.) But the Clintons also once owned the most modest property, their first home together: a tiny house in Fayetteville, Ark., that cost $20,500 in 1975. It has since been converted into a Clinton museum.

Meanwhile, Sen. Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, paid $1.65 million for their Chicago house in 2005 — the rough market peak — and have seen its value stagnate, if not decline slightly. The purchase came after the success of Mr. Obama’s best-selling memoir, “Dreams From My Father.” That same year, the couple sold their Chicago condo for $415,000, $137,500 more than they paid for it in 1993.

But the Obama campaign has faced questions about whether the house purchase was subsidized by Chicago real-estate developer Antoin “Tony” Rezko. Sen. Obama bought the house for 15% less than its $1.95 million asking price — equal to the price the sellers had paid for it in 2000, when neighborhood values were lower. On the same day as Sen. Obama’s purchase, Mr. Rezko paid the full $625,000 asking price for an adjacent lot being sold by the same owners — 51% more than the sellers had paid for the vacant land in 2000. Some have asked whether the price paid by Mr. Rezko for the vacant land made the owners willing to sell Mr. Obama the house for less than its fair-market value. The sellers declined to speak to a reporter and Mr. Rezko’s lawyer didn’t return a call.

The McCains’ Phoenix condo (left); the Clintons’ Chappaqua, N.Y., house (center); the Obamas’ Chicago home.
Sen. Obama has categorically denied he received any discount from the fair-market value. The Obama campaign says he was the home’s highest bidder and that the sellers required the purchases to close on the same day. Real-estate records indicate the house purchase price was roughly consistent with sales of similar-sized homes in the area around that time. (Sen. Obama later also purchased a narrow strip of the vacant land from Mr. Rezko, for roughly $100,000.)

The McCain homes all are owned by Mrs. McCain, heir to a beer-distributor fortune, or by trusts for her benefit. The McCains bought luxury properties in the 1980s and ’90s and have seen dramatic gains from the real-estate boom. In 2006, the family sold their longtime Phoenix house for $3.2 million, nearly 29 times what it cost 20 years earlier, when Mrs. McCain bought it from her father. Their Arizona getaway is along a creek — rare in the desert — and is worth $4 million, nearly four times what it cost to assemble the three parcels in the 1990s. “They’ve made very wise real-estate investments,” says Gregory Hague of Hague Partners, an Arizona Realtor that wasn’t involved in the McCain purchases. With their multiple residences and seven children (three from Mr. McCain’s first marriage), Mrs. McCain paid $273,000 for household help in 2007, according to their recently released tax returns.

The Clintons also have created wealth through property. Near the end of Mr. Clinton’s presidency they bought two expensive homes, the Washington house and one in Chappaqua, N.Y., a wealthy suburb north of New York. That has resulted in big paper gains, though the values have fallen recently. In the 1970s and early 1980s the couple owned a series of relatively modest houses in that state but didn’t own a home at all during Mr. Clinton’s eight years as president.

John McCain