Udall and Bingaman keep pushing to increase range Mexicans can travel in U.S.

After watching businesses in their neighboring states profit for years, businesspeople and officials along the Mexico-New Mexico border impressed it upon their beltway representatives that they, too, finally wanted to cash in on what has not been coming their way.

Meaning: extend the traveling distance into which Mexican More…

Proposal aims to increase range Mexicans can travel inside New Mexico

After watching businesses in their neighboring states profit for years, businesspeople and officials along the Mexico-New Mexico border impressed it upon their beltway representatives that they, too, finally wanted to cash in on what has not been coming their way.

DOJ tells Feinberg to pay oil spill claims quicker, review recipient eligibility status

In a letter to oil spill claims administrator Kenneth Feinberg, the U.S. Department of Justice called on the Gulf Coast Claims Facility to release more cash to oil spill victims. #

The letter stresses the urgency of making payments quickly. Last summer More…

Feinberg acknowledges ‘mistakes,’ says fund will ‘take another look’ at denied oil spill claims

Oil spill claims administrator Kenneth Feinberg told a room full of representatives of Florida’s tourism industry that the Gulf Coast Claims Facility would “take another look” at denied claims when claimants file for final or quarterly “interim” payments. #

Speaking at a Florida More…

Immigration Hardliner Governors Likely in Many States

Suzy Khimm has a good piece at Mother Jones today on the crop of immigration hardliners who are favored to take over as governors of Georgia, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, South Carolina and Nebraska. For immigration reform advocates, the future looks bleak: Congress is unlikely to tackle immigration More…

BP Spill Spooked Summer Tourists

On Florida’s northwest coast, the beaches are clear and the water clean, yet tourists are canceling vacations in droves, CNN Money reports.

BP has capped the gushing well. But Destin’s economy has been walloped by a phantom ripple effect: Widespread fear by tourists that the oil had wrecked its

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How the Movement of the Oil Slick Might Affect Damages

If you’re interested in commentary about the the possible economic impact of the oil slick, I highly recommend signing up for the emails from David Kotok of Cumberland Advisors. (I quoted him earlier on the worst case scenario — read: multi-billion-dollar catastrophe.)

In his most recent advisory email, More…

Financial Damage Beginning to Seep from Gulf Disaster

This much everyone agrees is true: The 5,000 to 60,000 barrels of oil leaking from the ocean floor 50 miles off of the coast of Louisiana, caused by an explosion on BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig on April 20, will cause serious economic damage to the Gulf Coast. For the past More…

Cardin on Offshore Drilling: ‘The Risks Here Are Just Too Great’

As a number of Democrats are eying the political advantages of President Obama’s newly announced offshore oil drilling strategy, Sen. Ben Cardin has another take.

“Expanding offshore oil sites when you already have tens of millions of acres currently available to the oil industry for exploration that they’re More…

State Legislatures: Climate Change Threatens State Economies

My previous post reports on a UC Berkeley study showing how California’s environmental policies have boosted that state’s economy.

The National Conference of State Legislatures, in conjunction with the University of Maryland and the Center for Integrative Environmental Research, is releasing reports that also show that economic and environmental More…