New Mexico
Unlike energy issues that will appear in the form of ballot initiatives on Tuesday in three western states, voters in New Mexico will cast their energy vote in their choice for state land commissioner, an arcane position with considerable authority.
NPR
The city of Albuquerque has finally received the $75 million it needed to complete an ambitious plan for electric bus rapid transit along Central Avenue.
KOB4
Congress and presidents have threatened Amtrak service on the Southwest Chief, connecting Los Angles to Chicago, in the past. This time the threat is coming from inside Amtrak.
The Kansan
More than half of American tenants are rent-burdened, putting them at risk of displacement. A national collaboration with PolicyLink hopes to help.
Curbed
And now those property owners are putting barbed wire over the river to keep out "trespassers."
The Guardian
In Oakland, California and Torreon, New Mexico, Julian Brave NoiseCat reports that "[f]or Indigenous people, the crisis of the home is intergenerational."
High Country News
In the drive to begin construction in New Mexico, the Trump Administration has bypassed dozens of federal environmental regulations.
The Architect's Newspaper
Streetsblog USA is seeking nominations.
Streetsblog USA
Overcoming lawsuits and controversy, Albuquerque opened the Albuquerque Rapid Transit to partial service over the holiday weekend.
Albuquerque Journal
Albuquerque has approved the new Integrated Development Ordinance.
Albuquerque Journal
Streetsblog USA wants you to use #walkinginthemargins to expose hostile pedestrian environments.
Streetsblog USA
Efforts to ensure that Amtrak's Southwest Chief continues its current route through three states has united more than 20 small communities in New Mexico, Colorado, and Kansas.
The Denver Post
The Sabinoso Wilderness is designated public land, but it's completely surrounded by private property. That could soon change.
High Country News
New York's ability to feed itself with locally grown urban agriculture is only being partially realized. Better planning, specific to urban agriculture, would help.
The Wall Street Journal
Documenting the effects of climate change on the West's most vital source of water.
The Conversation
Already California, Indiana, Montana, South Carolina (overriding a governor's veto), Tennessee, and Utah* have raised gas taxes this year, while last year was a drought—only New Jersey increased its gas tax.
The Council of State Governments
The Democratic-controlled New Mexico legislature passed a 5-cents per gallon fuel tax increase and the Republican-controlled Assembly in Wisconsin backed a plan to apply sales tax to fuel, but their Republican governors oppose any tax hikes.
Wisconsin State Journal
After a slow 2016, four states this year have already passed state gas tax increases. South Carolina may be next if they override the governor's veto. A new analysis should help legislators do just that.
Governing
Feature
The city of Albuquerque is focused on bringing consistency and coherence to an unwieldy collection of planning and land use regulations. An interview with Albuquerque Planning Director Suzanne Lubar explores the city's approach to the challenge.
A planner reflects on one of New Mexico's great planning successes, the Santa Fe Railyard.
Santa Fe New Mexican
