The Carlsbad Cavemen lost a very close, 57-52, varsity basketball game to Hobbs on Friday night. The Cavemen took an early lead, but Hobbs outscored Carlsbad, 20-12, in the final quarter. Carlsbad (19-4) will play Clovis on Tuesday. Thank you to all of the fans who turned out Friday night to support the Cavemen, as well as to everyone who watched an online broadcast of the game online. Carlsbad will have an opportunity for a rematch against Hobbs later this season.
The Cavegirls lost a tough one, 51-20. They will host Clovis on Tuesday. Basketball season will run through February, with the state playoffs planned for March. Our region has seen a decline in COVID-19 numbers over the past week, which allowed the school district to fully open its gym.
As a reminder, vaccine clinics and COVID-19 testing will continue to be offered at the civic center every Monday.
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Two of the important bills to watch from our end throughout this legislative session address the issue of destination sourcing. Changes to the way gross receipts taxes are calculated meant that communities such as our own – where a large number of companies provide services outside of city limits- are suffering considerably in terms of gross receipts tax revenue. This gross receipts tax provides funding that we use to hire critical employees and complete infrastructure projects.
An amended version of SB 137, which will establish a temporary fund allowing these adversely impacted communities to receive partial reimbursement for the next couple years, has cleared its first committee and is moving on to Senate Finance. We will continue to follow this bill closely and appreciate all of Senator Kernan’s hard work. This is a short legislative session, so we’re also hoping to see everything move quickly.
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Unfortunately, Senate Bill 54 and House Bill 127, bills intended to stop a proposed HI-STORE Consolidated Interim Storage Facility for spent nuclear fuel, have also cleared through their first committees. The Senate Bill received a “no recommendation,” however. There were some great points made in opposition to these bills, in particular during the House debate. Representative Jim Townsend pointed out that communities are trying to build economic opportunity in their area, and suggested that the state should be extremely cautious about interfering with these attempts. Representative Rod Montoya noted that court cases have ruled that federal law pre-empts efforts to stop a specific industry.
A large number of Carlsbad residents have spoken out in opposition to these bills. In fact, Carlsbad has had a high level of participation throughout the 2022 legislative session, and that has been wonderful to see.