DAILY LOBO new mexico
Etsy @ UNM see page 6
April 14, 2011
thursday The Independent Voice of UNM since 1895
Mayor Guv: Don’t taint NM chile’s good name aims to house homeless Labeling out-of-state chile as in-state illegal
Francisco Arredondo arranges produce at Chile Konnection on Mountain Road and Broadway Boulevard in Albuquerque. Gov. Susana Martinez signed a bill prohibiting companies from claiming a product contains “New Mexico chile” unless 100 percent of the chile was grown in New Mexico.
by Kallie Red-Horse kallie69@unm.edu
by Chelsea Erven cerven@unm.edu
Anthony sits on a bench at the edge of campus with other men, surrounded by a heap of clothing, sleeping bags, a walker and grocery bags filled with old food. Five years ago, Anthony said he tumbled down the stairs at his apartment complex and suffered a brain injury that has left him unable to work. He’s been homeless ever since and sells pot to try and make a living. “I’m disabled,” Anthony said. “I’ve got bipolar, too, and since my traumatic brain injury, I can’t remember enough to keep a job. Ever since I cut my head, I have a hard time filling paperwork out. I get pissed off, and I just rip it up and throw it away.” Anthony is one of thousands who have experienced homelessness in New Mexico, according to a 2005 count done by the New Mexico
see Homeless page 3
“Red or green?” may be the state question, but for the local chile industry the question is, “Is it grown here or there?” Gov. Susana Martinez signed the New Mexico Chile Advertising Act April 5, making it illegal to advertise products as “New Mexico chile” unless the chiles are state-grown. Rep. Andy Nuñez (DTS-Hatch) sponsored House Bill 485. Local restaurants and supermarkets buy peppers from cheap, foreign chile producers, but claim to use New Mexico chile, said Jaye Hawkins, New Mexico Chile Association spokeswoman. She said state chile production acreage dropped from 35,000 acres in 1993 to fewer than 9,000 acres this year because of foreign competition, but the legislation will help rectify false advertising. “Everybody knows New Mexico green chile is the best in the world and because there was no law against it, they might as well say that’s where it is coming from,” she said. Dino Cervantes, managing vice president of Cervantes Enterprises, a food-processing organization specializing in chile pepper production,
Laurisa Galvan Daily Lobo
said his company’s chile comes from New Mexico, Arizona, Texas and Mexico. For products sold in New Mexico, however, he uses only New Mexico-grown chile. “It is important to have local chile available to people,” he said. “I think it is what they expect here. For some of the bigger industrial customers in other parts of country, it is not as big of an issue, so when we go outside of this area, we give the customer the choice — the products with New Mexico chile costs a premium price.”
Hawkins said the legislation will rejuvenate the local economy. “It is a part of New Mexico’s culture. It is a big part of how we define our state,” she said. “It is an important crop to the state economy. Up until couple years ago, the contribution was over $350 million a year from people purchasing chile for their products.” Cervantes said advertising New Mexican chile attracts customers, but businesses often look for ways to cut costs.
“I think they realize the ‘New Mexico-grown’ label carries a quality name, and in a lot of cases, it does bring a premium price to their product,” he said. “If they can buy it from somewhere else and call it New Mexican, that is economical for them.” Knowledgeable chile consumers can detect a difference between local chile and chile produced elsewhere, Hawkins said. “There is a distinctive flavor, or
see Chile page 2
Cuts likely to cause layoffs
WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE
by Shaun Griswold shaunz24@gmail.com
Zach Gould / Daily Lobo Roger Chavez, left, and Tyler Kelly lunge toward the ball during Tuesday’s waterpolo class scrimmage. The class meets Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Inside the
Daily Lobo volume 115
issue 136
Wednesday’s baseball game:
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The Board of Regents approved $10.5 million in cuts to the University’s budget Monday, and the Office of Equity and Inclusion was among the hardest-hit programs. Rumored to be cut completely, OEI budget was instead cut by $136,320, meaning it will have to terminate five positions within the department. The regents cut more funds from the OEI’s budget than any other management and administration department within the Provost’s Office. “It’s a pretty deep cut,” said Jozi De Leon, OEI vice president. “Any more cuts will be devastating because this year I am letting go people through attrition. Next year it would mean actually cutting folks who are very essential to the office.” The regents also approved a recommendation from the Provost’s Office to cut more than $1.3 million from the Provost’s Office’s budget. More than $328,000 was cut from the office’s management and administration. One-third of that comes through
see Regents page 2
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