More than $2 million in federal funding has been secured for the planning of a project that will build a new throughway in rural southeastern Arizona. The two-lane Davis Road runs east to west between U.S. Route 191 and Arizona State Route 80 and is sometimes closed owing to flooding, inconveniencing travelers trying to get from one place to another, as well as area homeowners and ranchers. Now the Department of Transportation has announced that it is awarding funding for the planning and engineering of a roughly 22-mile segment of the road with the idea of expanding it to four lanes. The funding is coming through a Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity grant. According to Transportation Department documents, the project "seeks to mitigate safety incidences related to vehicles, pedestrians, and local wildlife along the corridor." A Davis Road upgrading will ultimately "eliminate unnecessary vehicle hours spent idling waiting for the roadway to clear, thus reducing total vehicle emissions, in addition to bringing the roadway into a state of good repair." Local officials have said that what will be a multi-year rebuilding of Davis Road will also allow the throughway to accommodate more truck traffic and heavier weights. Altogether, Arizona this summer is receiving more than $60 million in RAISE grants for half a dozen transportation infrastructure projects. Nationally, up to 70% of RAISE grants have been going to projects located in what are defined as an Area of Persistent Poverty or Historically Disadvantaged Community. By Garry Boulard
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In a city with a national reputation for the number and variety of dog parks it operates, plans have been announced for the development and construction of 18 more such spaces. “Albuquerque is a dog-friendly city," Mayor Tim Keller said in announcing the plans, which he said will provide additional "safe, fun connection points" in the city. Beginning more than two decades ago, Albuquerque undertook an ambitious initiative to build dog parks in every section of the city. Those fenced-in parks are nicely landscaped affairs with small hills, trees, grass, and gravel space, and segregated sections for smaller canines. The parks are oftentimes also expensive undertakings, costing millions of dollars to plan, design, build, and maintain. As overseen by the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, the new dog parks project will see the building of seven standard-sized parks of up to two acres, along with nearly a dozen smaller dog parks of substantially less acreage, between now and 2025. The effort is being undertaken just as the city has completed some $270,000 in renovation work to the Rio Grande Triangle Park in the downtown area, one of the oldest mainstays in the city’s dog park system. Expansion of the city’s dog park system is being paid for by up to $2 million in set aside city funds in the 2023 fiscal year budget. Last month, Albuquerque was listed at number 11 for cities with the best dog parks in America, coming in ahead of more than 85 other parks. The list was compiled by the company Lawn Starter, which is based in Austin and manages and surveys public and private green space. Dog parks have increasingly become a part of the nation’s urban environment. According to the Smithsonian, one of the very first such parks, laid out over a subway tunnel, was opened in Berkeley, California in 1983. In the following decade at least 25 other dog parks were opened across the country, with many regarded as evidence of a thriving neighborhood. Some studies have even suggested that dog parks are even good for fighting crime. The site Healthypaws has noted that “when a vacant space, especially if it was previously crime-ridden, is transformed into a dog park, there’s a correlated reduction in crime levels.” Today, according to the National Recreation and Park Association, there are more than 2,200 dog parks in urban, suburban, and even rural areas of the country. By Garry Boulard The construction industry is still awaiting heat standards from the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, even as temperatures in large sections of the country have this summer hit record levels. According to a recent Construction Dive piece, “sweltering conditions means an additional job site hazard” for construction workers. Those sweltering conditions have led to the death of up to 2,000 workers annually in a variety of industries. Even so, the publication notes that OSHA has yet to release any enforceable standard for “protecting workers during extreme heat that contractors can look to for guidance.” The agency has, however, been in the process of soliciting public and industry feedback pertaining to a proposed rule designed to protect workers from extreme heat situations. What is called an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Heat Industry and Illness Prevention was issued in the fall of 2021, asking companies to describe what if any heat illness and prevention plans and programs they had in place, while also looking at the amount of engineering and administrative controls, as well as type of personal protective equipment in use. Late last month an OSHA spokesperson told the publication Safety & Health that the agency has launched a Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act panel review designed to look at what heat rules may eventually be promulgated and studying their likely effectiveness. The spokesperson indicated that the review is the next step before OSHA publishes a proposed standard. On the way to that step, OSHA has said it is interested in getting input not just from the construction industry, but also officials in the agriculture, landscaping, warehousing, and utilities sectors. For now, notes David Michaels, former OSHA assistant secretary, the agency has “no rule requiring protection from extreme heat.” Writing in The Atlantic, Michaels asserts: “How to prevent heat illness and death is no mystery. Provide workers with adequate rest breaks in the shade or a cool area where they can rehydrate.” But Michaels predicts that “OSHA is unlikely to require these basic protections any time soon,” and partly faults Congress for not providing the resources needed for the agency to enforce an effective heat rule. For now, OSHA plans to convene the small business review panel sometime in late August. By Garry Boulard An El Paso group dedicated to economic development along the U.S./Mexico border is on the verge of giving new life to a handful of existing and historic residential and commercial structures. Members of the El Paso City Council have given their unanimous approval to a rezoning plan that will allow Abara Borderland Connections to renovate and reconstruct four separate properties in the 1700 and 1800 block of West Paisano Drive. That street, running adjacent to Interstate 10, is in some ways a forgotten part of the city hugging the border. But it is also one of the most historic and includes the former home to La Hacienda Grill, a culinary mainstay in the city for more than six decades. The structure housing the famous restaurant was built in 1901 and measures around 10,000 square feet. Next to the former restaurant building is a one-story 6,100-square-foot brick structure erected in 1935 that, like the building housing La Hacienda, has been vacant for several years. Also, part of the upgrading project on West Paisano: a one-story 3,300-square-foot rectangular brick structure that was built in 1928. All of the structures in question are located just down the street from the historic 19th century officers' quarters buildings of Old Fort Bliss. Besides economic development, Abara Borderland Connections is devoted to a greater understanding of the issues impacting communities along the U.S./Mexico border. By Garry Boulard The City of Alamosa in southern Colorado has secured $4.2 million for the building of infrastructure that will be a crucial part of a new and big affordable housing community. That funding is coming through the state’s Department of Local Affairs in the form of what is called a Transformational Affordable Housing Grant. The Tierra Azul project is set to go up near the intersection of South Craft Drive and West 8th Street on a sweeping and currently vacant 43-acre site. That site was earlier purchased by the nonprofit group Community Resources & Housing Development Corporation. Long in the planning stage, the Tierra Azul project is expected to be developed over a span of six phases, resulting in the building of 406 new affordable housing units. According to city documents, the goal of the project is to develop a “diversity of affordable housing typologies to appropriately address the housing needs of Alamosa.” That diversity of housing will include everything from single-family and multi-family houses to townhomes, and apartment buildings. The project has been in the talking and planning stage for at least three years and is expected to have an expansive development life, taking at least 25 years to finally complete. Regarded as a game-changer by many in local housing industry, the project has been described by the Alamosa Citizen as “Alamosa’s largest-ever housing development.” While Tierra Azul, according to its supporters, will be designed to substantially increase Alamosa’s affordable housing stock, it will also have housing units for all the components of the modern housing market base, including families, single homeowners, renters, and seniors. The $4.2 million grant awarded to the Tierra Azul project is part of a larger $48 million in grants via Colorado’s Transformational Housing Program, which this year is providing funding for affordable housing projects in 13 counties of the Centennial State. By Garry Boulard U.S. companies may find it somewhat less complicated to do business in Europe as the result of a new Department of Commerce policy program. The agency has announced the official launching of what is called the Data Privacy Framework program, which is designed to aid in “facilitating cross-border transfers of personal data” in compliance with European Union law. “Businesses large and small will be able to access a streamlined and affordable mechanism to transfer data between our jurisdictions,” Gina Raimondo, the secretary of the Commerce Department, said in a statement announcing the new program. Noting that trade between the U.S. and Europe currently exceeds $1 trillion annually, the Commerce Department says the Data Privacy Framework program will prove “particularly valuable for small and medium-sized enterprises that can now access an affordable and streamlined mechanism for personal data transfers.” The program will be available to entities in all of the European Union’s 27 countries. The program has been a long time in the making process, crafted not only by the Commerce Department, but also the European Commission, the United Kingdom, and the Swiss Federal Administration. As designed, it is also hoped that the program will resolve issues regarding the ability of U.S. intelligence agencies to gather information on European citizens. This matter, notes the New York Times, has singularly “pitted U.S. national security concerns against European privacy rights.” With the consent of all involved parties, the agreement is seeing the creation of what is being called a Data Protection Review Court designed to review the complaints of any individual European concerned about data collection issues. In a statement, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said the Data Privacy Framework will “ensure safe data flows for Europeans and bring legal certainty to companies on both sides of the Atlantic.” Von der Leyen additionally predicted that the new program will cement economic ties between the EU and the US and reaffirm what she called “our shared values.” By Garry Boulard A two-day auction is set to begin on August 7 for a one-story office building in Farmington, New Mexico with a modernistic adobe design. The just-over 10,400-square-foot structure at 305 N. Allen Avenue is located around one mile to the east of downtown Farmington and has for years served as press facilities for the Farmington Daily Times. The listing also includes a second on-site structure measuring around 1,500 square feet that was built in 1965, while the entire site itself is across the street from the historic Sacred Heart Catholic Church. The Daily Times, one of the oldest newspapers in the state, moved its primary facilities to the site of a former J.C. Penny’s store at 203 W. Main Street in 2016 some two years after the City of Farmington agreed to buy the property for $850,000. The listing is being handled by the BellCornerstone commercial real estate firm based in Manlius, New York, with a starting bid set at $100,000. BellCornerstone specializes in property disposition, among other services. By Garry Boulard A fund-raising campaign is underway in the southern Arizona city of Surprise to build a no-kill animal shelter. The project will go up on the northwest side of the city in the North Copper Canyon community. Land for the shelter has been donated by area home builder Courtland Homes. As envisioned, the shelter will measure between 12,000 and 15,000 square feet and will have both lobby, shelter, and care space. The Chance Shelter organization was launched in 2015 and primarily serves as a pet foster and adoption resource, particularly sponsoring outreach and educational events at the Surprise Resource Center, located at 12425 W. Bell Road. According to the Chance Shelter's 2022 financial statement, it had nearly $104,000 in listed assets as of the end of last year, which won’t be enough to build a new facility. For that reason, a fund-raising campaign is underway for the project. That campaign includes a golfing and costume event scheduled to be held in September. The no-kill concept in animal shelter care is seeing growth across the country. According to industry statistics, no-kill facilities as recently as 2016 made up only 22% of the nation’s total animal shelters. That figure is now up to 57%. The growth of such facilities, says the group Animal Humane Society, is a reflection of increased adoption rates nationally. According to the AHS, as adoption has become more popular with the public, shelters have been “able to gain more funding,” which, in turn, has led to the building of larger facilities and an ability to take care of cats and dogs on a longer-term basis. Recently released figures from the Best Friends Animal Society show that the no-kill shelter movement is largely a state-by-state story. While 15 out of 15 shelters in New Hampshire are now classified as no-kill, figures show that 156 out of 366 shelters in Texas could be so classified. In New Mexico 17 out of 44 shelters are now defined as no-kill. No-kills shelters, not unlike conventional animal shelters, usually include space for separate cat and dog kennels, medical suites, outdoor play areas, and meeting spaces for animals and their would-be human companions. By Garry Boulard New Survey Shows Historic Low Levels of Confidence in Congress, Among Many Other Institutions7/18/2023 Congress places first in a dubious category: according to a new survey released by the national polling firm Gallup, Incorporated, the federal legislative branch leads the way as the institution inspiring the least confidence in the country. The survey shows only 8% of respondents expressing any degree of confidence in the ability of Congress to get anything done. That depressing figure, at least from the perspective of an actual member of Congress, is actually an improvement over 2021 when 12% of respondents said they had no confidence in either the House of Representatives or the Senate. While President Biden may enjoy Congress’ low repute, the respondents’ level of confidence in the presidency is also on the deficit side: only 26% expressed confidence in the executive branch, a drop of 12% since the summer of 2021. The institution garnering the largest rate of confidence? The nation’s small businesses, with a 65% positive rating. That high positive rate is followed by the military, with a 60% confidence rate, and the nation’s police at 60%. A narrative accompanying the new poll results notes that the nation’s “medical system and the church or organized religion round out the top five annually rated institutions, albeit with meager 34% and 32% confidence ratings, respectively.” The survey, additionally showing a lack of confidence in such institutions as banks, public schools, large technology companies, labor unions, and the media, reflect a larger decline in nearly all institutions in general. According to Gallup’s archived findings, the average confidence level on the part of respondents for all institutions in 1987 during the last year of Ronald Reagan’s presidency was at a high of 47%. That figure was down to 32% during George W. Bush’s last final twelve months as president and is now at an all-time low of 26%. The Gallup narrative suggests one positive take on the country’s ongoing negative feelings: “None of the 15 institutions rated annually managed to repair their images, with many remaining at or near their all-time low,” it says of the most recent survey. On the other hand, “the good news is that none worsened significantly.” By Garry Boulard A two-day auction is set to begin on July 25 for a 98-room, two-suite hotel in Fort Morgan, Colorado. Branded as part of the popular Baymont Inn & Suites chain, the two-story hotel comprises just over 64,500 square feet and includes a swimming pool and fitness center. Designated as a Class C building, the structure underwent a major renovation in 2015. The hotel’s official address is 14378 U.S. Route 34, on the west side of Fort Morgan. Built in 1968, the hotel was formerly a part of the Quality Inn chain. The property’s auction listing is being conducted by the consulting firm HVS, which focuses on the hospitality sector. Starting bid for the hotel is $1.4 million. The Baymont Inn & Suites franchise is owned by the larger Wyndham Hotels & Resorts company. Baymont current has more than 400 hotels nationally, with a property concentration primarily in the South and Midwest. By Garry Boulard |
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