REVENUE: Money, money, money. Revenue bonanza provides new opportunities, challenges for lawmakers

REVENUE: Money, money, money. Revenue bonanza provides new opportunities, challenges for lawmakers

Copyright © 2023 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE – New Mexico’s revenue growth shows no signs of slowing down, with the state set to enter uncharted budget territory amid surging oil production, high inflation and robust wage growth. Specifically, new estimates released last month by executive and legislative economists project the state will have nearly $3.6 billion in “new” money available for the budget year that starts in July – a figure that represents the difference between forecasted revenue and current spending levels. In August, the amount of projected new money had been pegged at about $2.5 billion. “With this revenue forecast, there’s an opportunity knocking at our door,” said Sen. George Muñoz, D-Gallup. “No one in our state’s history has ever had this opportunity.” Overall, projected revenue levels for the coming budget year, if they materialize, would mean total state revenue would have more than doubled over the last seven years. The record-high revenue levels could also allow state lawmakers and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to approve tax relief for New Mexicans, additional teacher salary increases and other initiatives during the 60-day legislative session. But effectively spending the money could prove challenging, due in part to a state labor […]

2023: A year of opportunity on our journey of faith

2023: A year of opportunity on our journey of faith

Another year has been and gone but as we head further into January, we take a look ahead at what’s in store for 2023. Packed full of regular Masses, retreats, and other events , 2023 already looks set to offer a fulfilling and faith-filled experience for many across the diocese, and with some landmark opportunities on the horizon, we hope this year will be truly transformative for our whole diocesan community. Continue reading below to find out more about what’s in store and how you can get involved. Synod This year will see the launch of our diocesan synod, giving us the opportunity to come together in a spirit of prayer to discern what God is asking of His Church in our diocese. The diocesan synod follows on from the Universal Synod announced by Pope Francis in 2021. Last year, over 1500 individuals responded to the questions in universal synod, a summary of which you can read here. Now, we are called to consider our Church on a more local level, and explore more about how God is calling us to grow and progress as a diocesan community. Hope in the Future This year also sees the launch of […]

Iowa families deserve school choice opportunities

Iowa families deserve school choice opportunities

Last night, Governor Reynolds used her State-of-the-State address to boldly stand up for students and educational options. Following her decisive victory in November’s election, she has a strong mandate to pursue school choice for thousands of Iowa students. We’re thankful that the Iowa legislature has the opportunity to give thousands of students the same educational options that we had. Thanks to Iowa’s Catholic Tuition Organization, both of us were able to attend Dowling Catholic High School, an institution that aligns with our family’s values and meets our academic expectations. The experience greatly enriched our lives and set us on the path to success in school and life. Every child deserves that chance. We are now thriving college students, and we owe our success to the opportunity that allowed us to get a K-12 education that met our needs. However, we recognize that most families in Iowa lack the financial resources to make that opportunity possible, and the Catholic Tuition Organization cannot serve them all. If Iowa expands school choice this year, even more students will have that opportunity. Governor Reynold’s “Student First Act” (ESA) would be a significant step in the right direction, giving thousands of Iowans access to […]

Heading BRICS Is an Opportunity and a Risk for South Africa

Heading BRICS Is an Opportunity and a Risk for South Africa

Xi Jinping with Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi at the 2017 BRICS Summit in Xiamen, China. Welcome to Next Africa, a weekly newsletter on where the continent stands now — and where it’s headed. South Africa’s chairmanship of the BRICS club of nations has come at an opportune time. There’s fierce competition between the world’s powers for influence on the continent. Already the country has set out its stall. The ruling African National Congress wants the group to be expanded and relations between the BRICS nations and the African Continental Free Trade Area member states strengthened. President Cyril Ramaphosa said this week that other African nations will be invited to the summit he will host this year. Ramaphosa waves as he walks past Chinese President Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, at a Group of 20 summit in Japan in 2019. That comes hot on the heels of US President Joe Biden’s African leaders summit in Washington, a high profile visit to Africa by German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck and an August pledge of $30 billion for African development from Japan. While China remains Africa’s strongest development partner, it’s wary of the renewed push for influence by its […]

New Membership Opportunity for Participants of the Volunteer Incentive Program

New Membership Opportunity for Participants of the Volunteer Incentive Program

USEA/Hope Carlin photo The United States Eventing Association (USEA) is proud to announce a new membership category, the “Digital Membership,” which will be available to qualified participants of the Volunteer Incentive Program in 2023. This new membership will serve as a thank you to the loyal volunteers in our sport for their dedication to supporting events around the country throughout the year. The USEA Volunteer Committee submitted a proposal for this new membership category to the USEA Board of Governors for review at their August 2022 meeting. A motion was approved at the August meeting to reward volunteers that log 10 hours or more through EventingVolunteers.com with a complimentary digital version of the USEA’s Supporting Membership for the year following their service. Therefore, any volunteer that logged 10 or more hours of service in 2022 receive a Digital Membership at no charge for 2023. Only hours logged in EventingVolunteers.com will qualify towards this benefit. “The USEA Volunteer Committee is pleased that the Board has approved this measure. Welcoming volunteers into the USEA as Digital Members not only helps grow our organization and the sport as a whole, but recognizes, in an official membership capacity, the integral role volunteers play […]

A Year of Opportunity for Africa

A Year of Opportunity for Africa

In what is sure to be a pivotal year in the effort to combat climate change, Africa can make significant progress toward a carbon-neutral economy. But to do so, African countries must eliminate barriers to trade and innovation, address institutional decay, and build on recent diplomatic breakthroughs. WASHINGTON, DC – The past year has been challenging for Africa. After a hopeful 2021, during which the continent-wide GDP increased by nearly 7% and every region experienced real growth, the economy slowed in 2022 amid rising inflation, monetary tightening, and geopolitical tensions. But it was also a year when African countries were finally able to make their voices heard on the global stage. At the start of another critical year, with the continent’s GDP projected to increase at a relatively modest pace of 4.1% , governments can take several steps to boost economic activity and ensure a sustainable future. For starters, policymakers must foster trade and investment through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Under a fully implemented AfCFTA, Africa’s combined consumer and business spending is expected to reach $6.7 trillion by 2030 and $16.12 trillion by 2050 , transforming value chains and potentially reducing poverty across the continent. Eight […]

Cryptomining? The opportunity Fog Hashing brought to CES 2023

Cryptomining? The opportunity Fog Hashing brought to CES 2023

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 13, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Last year at CES 2022, Fog Hashing was the world’s first company to release a product tailored for decentralized home or office mining. That product immediately harvested public attention and went on hot sale afterward. After one year of research and development based on the C1, Fog Hashing was back at CES 2023 with its latest product, the C2 . In addition to the sleek aesthetics inherited from C1, four universal wheels have been added to C2, allowing it to travel around more easily. The sleek 1.35-inch OLED screen allows both touchscreen control and real-time display of the system’s operating status, making this hardcore mining machine more like a well-designed modern home appliance. Besides its appearance, the C2 model is more pragmatic. As an upgraded model from C1, it optimized more than 30 details. The most eye-catching aspects are: The improved cost-effectiveness. The lowered noise. The enhancement of leakage protection. The optional integration with solar mining or heat recovery technology reduces the cost of mining. Fog Hashing comes with its consumer end products, the C1, C2 and B6D, filling the gap in the consumer market. A Mind-Blowing Product You May Never […]

Mine rehabilitation: a sustainable development opportunity

Mine rehabilitation: a sustainable development opportunity

Global mining services provider Thiess has been providing mine rehabilitation services to its clients for over 20 years. However, recognising the value of this specialist service to the market – to both existing and prospective clients – it established its mine rehabilitation company, Thiess Rehabilitation, in March 2022. IM Editorial Director Paul Moore sat down with Thiess Rehabilitation Group Manager, James Anderson, at the IMARC conference in Sydney in November 2022, to further understand the value Thiess Rehabilitation’s approach to mine rehabilitation can and is bringing to the mining sector. James Anderson, Thiess Rehabilitation Group Manager One of Thiess Rehabilitation’s unique strengths is that it delivers mine rehabilitation services by miners, who are also environmental experts. Capitalising on this multi-skill set, the team assesses, designs, develops and delivers tailored, strategic rehabilitation solutions with flexibility in process and equipment. Some of the factors that influence clients looking to Thiess Rehabilitation include the team’s experience using best-practice methods in landform design optimisation, its in-depth understanding of regulatory requirements and emerging industry trends in rehabilitation, and innovation, such as efficient material movement, autonomy for bulk reshaping and use of high-precision drones. While established as its own specialist entity, Thiess Rehabilitation’s team also […]

Great opportunity to look at sectors like green hydrogen: G20 Sherpa Kant

Great opportunity to look at sectors like green hydrogen: G20 Sherpa Kant

G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant on Friday said it is a great opportunity to look at sunrise sectors like green hydrogen development and mobile phone manufacturing with India holding the presidency of the G20 grouping. "The stars are aligned in favour of India," he said while referring to India’s G20 presidency while delivering the third annual lecture of Public Affairs Forum of India. With the G20 summit scheduled to take place in September in Delhi, Kant said India holds an advantage in terms of demographics, digitalisation, decarbonisation and deglobalisation to be a major power and become a voice of the Global South. Referring to the various crises being faced by the world at a time when India has assumed presidency of G20, Kant said: "To my mind, every crisis has a huge opportunity and G20 in the past has demonstrated the ability to deliver in times of adversity." "India’s focus would be on highlighting the need to address the climate crisis, progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, global debt, geopolitical tensions and the ensuing food and energy crisis," he pointed out. Kant further said that there will be a renewed push for green development and climate […]

Learn the 6 digital transformation stages

Learn the 6 digital transformation stages

Digital transformation can be a complicated and intimidating process. Company leaders should learn the six digital transformation stages so they know what to expect for their organization and can better plan for the inevitable disruption. The stages progress from business as usual , in which a company is at the beginning of its digital transformation, to innovative and adaptive , when the organization has finished its transformation and has embraced this change. Each step comes with its own challenges, which can include vendors resisting change and employees potentially objecting to the change, and the amount of time that each step takes will vary between companies. Here are the six digital transformation stages and what each involves. 1. Business as usual During the business as usual stage, the company operates normally. No effort is expended to look to the future and investigate how a digital transformation could improve the business. Company leaders do not look to industry and consumer trends to determine whether implementing new digital software could help the organization grow and become more efficient. To kick-start the journey, the company may need to experience losses like sales declines, high turnover, or higher-than-average operational costs, which will convince leaders […]