New Mexico
What to know about moving scams in New Mexico
Last year, the Better Business Bureau reported 6,000 complaints against shading moving companies. Victims lost an average of $350.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — We know what you’re thinking, moving in and out of a house or an apartment in the heat doesn’t sound too appealing.
But, it’s that time of year. And it’s not just the heat you should be worried about while moving.
Last year, the Better Business Bureau reported 6,000 complaints against shading moving companies. Victims lost an average of $350.
Local movers Joseph Keith and Elijah Robertson, with Two Men and a Truck moving company, say there’s a greater chance of these scams happening with more people moving.
So what should be on your checklist before giving money to the wrong people?
“What you want to look out for is, like any company that would want to ask for, like, the full amount up front,” Keith said.
Keith says a pair of codes can give you clues.
“You want to look out for a company with a nice truck with a good logo, one that has a DOT number and a PRC number,” Keith said.
The DOT and PRC numbers basically confirm the company is licensed and insured. That information should be available on the company’s website. They should give it to you if you request it.
Scammers are quick to ask for money and never deliver.
“It’s a busy season. Sometimes they’re going with companies that ain’t really well known,” Keith said.
Licensed movers always have background checks and drug screenings for their employees available so it’s always OK to ask for it.
Finally, you should always get moving estimates from several companies. If a quote seems too good to be true, it probably is.
“Most estimates should range around the same price, you know? I mean, some will vary just based on companies,” Robertson said.
After years of failure to land a “big fish” business for New Mexico’s economy (or effectively use the oil and gas revenues to grow the economy) Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham with the help of her Economic Development Secretary Rob Black have lured no fewer than three large data centers to New Mexico. These data centers are being built to serve the booming world of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and they will have profound impacts on New Mexico.
It is our view that having these data centers locate in New Mexico is better than having them locate elsewhere. While we have many differences of opinion with this governor, we are pleased to see her get serious about growing and diversifying New Mexico’s oil-dependent economy albeit quite late in her second term.
Sadly, the governor and legislature have chosen not to use broad based economic reforms like deregulation or tax cuts to improve New Mexico’s competitiveness. But, with the failure of her “preferred” economic development “wins” like Maxeon and Ebon solar both of which the governor announced a few years ago, but haven’t panned out, the focus on a more realistic strategy is welcome and long overdue.
Currently, three new data centers are slated to be built in New Mexico:
- Oracle’s Project Jupiter in Santa Teresa with an investment of $165 billion.
- Project Zenith slated to be built in Roswell amounts to a $11.7 billion investment.
- New Era Energy & Digital, Inc. While the overall investment is unclear, the energy requirement is the largest of the three at 7 gigawatts (that’s seven times the power used by the City of San Francisco).
What is a data center? Basically, they are the real-world computing infrastructure that makes up the Internet. The rise of AI requires vast new computing power. It is critical that these facilities have uninterrupted electricity.
That electricity is going to be largely generated by traditional sources like natural gas and possibly nuclear. That contravenes New Mexico’s Energy Transition Act of 2019 which was adopted by this Gov. and many of the legislators still in office. Under the Act electrical power emissions are supposed to be eliminated in a few years.
With the amount of money being invested in these facilities and the simple fact that wind and solar and other “renewable” energy sources aren’t going to get the job done. In 2025 the Legislature passed and MLG signed HB 93 which allows for the creation of “microgrids” that won’t tax the grid and make our electricity more expensive, but the ETA will have to be amended or ignored to provide enough electricity for these data centers. There’s no other option.
New Mexicans have every right to wonder why powerful friends of the governor can set up their own natural gas microgrids while the rest of us face rising costs and decreased reliability from so-called “renewables.” Don’t get me wrong, having these data centers come to New Mexico is an economic boon.
But it comes tempered with massive subsidies including a 30-year property tax exemption and up to $165 billion in industrial revenue bonds. New Mexico is ideally suited as a destination for these data centers with its favorable climate and lack of natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods. We shouldn’t be giving away such massive subsidies.
Welcoming the data center boom to New Mexico better than rejecting them and pushing them to locate in other states. There is no way to avoid CO2 emissions whether they happen here or somewhere else. But, there are questions about both the electricity demand and subsidies that must be addressed as New Mexico’s data center boom begins.
What will the Legislature, radical environmental groups, and future governors of our state do to hinder (or help) bring these data centers to our State? That is an open question that depends heavily on upcoming statewide elections. It is important that New Mexicans understand and appreciate these complicated issues.
Paul Gessing is president of New Mexico’s Rio Grande Foundation. The Rio Grande Foundation is an independent, nonpartisan, tax-exempt research and educational organization dedicated to promoting prosperity for New Mexico based on principles of limited government, economic freedom and individual responsibility
SANTA FE, N.M. (KFOX14/CBS4) – The New Mexico Department of Health says it will continue to recommend the full schedule of childhood vaccines.
State officials announced the move Tuesday, directly defying a new federal policy that scaled back routine immunization guidance.
The announcement comes after U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS), under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., reduced the number of vaccines it recommends for all children.
The New Mexico Department of Health stated the federal changes were “not based on new scientific evidence or safety data.”
“New Mexico will not follow the federal government in walking away from decades of proven public health practice,” said Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. “Our recommendations remain unchanged.”
State health officials sought to reassure parents, emphasizing that vaccines remain widely available and covered by insurance.
“We know this is confusing for parents, but the science is clear: vaccines are safe, effective, and save children’s lives,” said Dr. Miranda Durham, chief medical officer for NMDOH.
All childhood vaccinations will continue to be covered under programs like Medicaid and the federal Vaccines for Children Program.
The state encourages parents to consult their healthcare providers using the American Academy of Pediatrics’ immunization schedule.
RECOMMENDED: CDC cuts childhood vaccine list, sparking healthcare professionals’ concerns
Sign up to receive the top interesting stories from in and around our community once daily in your inbox.
May they see your driver license?: Down in Alabama
Alaska delegation mixed on Venezuela capture legality, day before presidential war powers vote
Arizona, career nights from Burries, Krivas beat K-State
Questions for Hester on prison, kowtowing to Sarah | Arkansas Democrat Gazette
California’s exodus isn’t just billionaires — it’s regular people renting U-Hauls, too
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Video: ‘It Didn’t Have to Happen This Way:’ U.Va. Faculty Call for Review of Police Response to Protests
Video: Minnesota Governor Condemns ICE Shooting
Trump greenlights Russian sanctions bill, paving way for 500% tariff on countries supporting Moscow: Graham
Saudi-led coalition says STC’s al-Zubaidi fled to UAE via Somaliland
U.S. to exit 66 international organizations in further retreat from global cooperation
San Diego sues to stop border barrier construction
-
News1 week agoFor those who help the poor, 2025 goes down as a year of chaos
-
Detroit, MI4 days ago2 hospitalized after shooting on Lodge Freeway in Detroit
-
Dallas, TX3 days agoDefensive coordinator candidates who could improve Cowboys’ brutal secondary in 2026
-
Southeast1 week agoMurder in small-town America: The crimes that tore quiet communities apart in 2025
-
Technology2 days agoPower bank feature creep is out of control
-
Midwest1 week agoMcDonald’s locks doors to keep out individuals who present ‘a risk’ in crime-ridden Minneapolis area
-
West1 week agoApex predator threatening Northwest salmon sparks rare bipartisan push to ‘kill more’
-
Southwest1 week agoMissing 19-year-old Camila Mendoza Olmos believed to be ‘in imminent danger,’ Texas sheriff says