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Writing a new draft

A City Council majority has rewritten Mayor Martin Chavez's $160 million infrastructure budget. And in doing so, the councilors made significant cuts to some of Chavez's coveted projects - a therapeutic pool and aquarium expansion - in favor of things like roads, trails, and sidewalks.

This ongoing drama takes the stage again Monday as the council meets to consider approval of the revised capital budget.

While Chavez has authority to veto the whole budget or individual line items, the council majority appears strong enough to override the veto.

Ethics bills stall

Key advocates of ethics reform bills at the Legislature expressed frustration this week after watching their measures stall in the Senate.

Bob Johnson, director of the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government, on Tuesday watched as the Senate killed a bill he was tracking that would open conference committees to the public.

Meanwhile, Matt Brix, executive director of Common Cause, said the House had passed five of the seven ethics bills he was following, but the Senate had passed none.

"We haven't seen the same traction and support in the Senate," Brix said.

Intel spends a billion

Intel Corp. on Monday announced it would invest up to $1.5 billion to retool the company's Fab 11X microchip manufacturing plant in Rio Rancho so it can make the company's next-generation transistors.

By mid-2008, Fab 11X will start production of its 45-nanometer transistors using new materials the company says will reduce power leakage in computer processors while increasing performance.

Local political and economic development officials saw the news as a sign that Intel - which employs around 5,000 locally - is planted firmly in New Mexico.

Policies questioned

The American Civil Liberties Union says it is considering legal action against the Rio Rancho School Board over a January vote to continue abstinence-only sex education in the school district, despite state standards that require a broader curriculum.

ACLU Executive Director Peter Simonson also said former school board member Kathy Jackson should not have voted for the abstinence-only curriculum because she is a lobbyist for the company that provides it, Best Choice Educational Service.

Jackson's husband, Rio Rancho Mayor Kevin Jackson, is the executive director of Best Choice. He said his wife, whose term on the school board ended this month, hasn't done any lobbying for Best Choice this year and shouldn't have been registered as a lobbyist.

The Rio Rancho School Board voted 4-1 Jan. 22 to continue the abstinence-only program, though several board members raised concerns the policy would violate state education requirements.