April 14, 2010
The Valencia County Commission voted 3-2 tonight to begin exploring whether or not the county should find a new home for the 13th Judicial District Attorney’s office, possibly moving the office from Belen. Commissioners Ron Gentry and David Medina, who were counted as “no” votes, asked that the office remain in Belen, regardless of whether [...]
April 11, 2010
Valencia County’s unemployment rate continued to rise in February, jumping up two-tenths of a percent from January. The unemployment rate for February hit 10.3 percent, surpassing January’s high of 10.1 percent, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. February’s numbers were released as Signet Solar, a solar technology manufacturing company promising to bring [...]
April 06, 2010
Construction work on the North Belen interchange will shut down by July if the developer of Rancho Cielo doesn’t come through with its portion to complete the project. Using a $3-million state appropriation, the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) has continued the reconstruction of the interchange despite not having Coast Range Investment’s contribution, which [...]
April 06, 2010
Signet Solar has decided it won’t build its solar technology manufacturing facility in Belen, according to Jim Wood, the vice president of Coast Range Investments, the developer of Rancho Cielo. During last night’s Belen City Council meeting, Wood made the announcement by saying Signet Solar won’t build anywhere in New Mexico, largely because the federal [...]
March 31, 2010
The Belen MainStreet Partnership, a downtown revitalization group, is seeking additional board members to help existing businesses in the downtown area, while attracting new business to the area. Belen has been an “emerging community” with the New Mexico MainStreet program since May 2009. The nonprofit partnership is supported by the New Mexico Economic Development Department. [...]
March 29, 2010
Former Belen Mayor Ronnie Torres last week resigned as the president of the Belen MainStreet Partnership. The partnership is a downtown revitalization group formed last summer with the help of New Mexico MainStreet and the New Mexico Economic Development Department. Torres had led the group since May 2009 when Belen was designated a MainStreet Emerging [...]
March 21, 2010
Valencia County’s unemployment rate for January 2010 shows an alarming rise in unemployment. The rate jumped more than one percent from December, rising to 10.1 percent, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. In Belen, several businesses have closed or are nearing closure. Tire Crafters (formerly Big O Tires), located in the Heart [...]
March 09, 2010
The board of directors for the Greater Belen Economic Development Corporation (GBEDC) today accepted the resignation of its executive director. Claudette Riley is leaving the GBEDC to concentrate full-time on her husband’s business after several years with the private, nonprofit economic development group. Her resignation was effective March 1. With Riley out, the GBEDC, a [...]
February 23, 2010
Rep. Elias Barela said over the weekend that not supporting the development of a master-planned community in Rancho Cielo’s 6,000 acres west of Los Chavez could lead to unwanted development there. “It’s a quality development. It’s private land. If we drive Rancho Cielo out, who’s going to take over it? What’s going to happen with [...]
February 19, 2010
The Valencia County Commission is considering relocating District Attorney Lemuel Martinez’s office to Los Lunas to ease the costs the county pays to lease space in Belen’s four-story Wells Fargo building. The office was expected to be located in Belen only temporarily while a new district attorney’s office was constructed near the new 13th Judicial [...]