Sorensen claims the restaurant’s owner or bookkeeper write down a wage of $3.83 an hour on their timecards just to make it look like they’re complying with the city’s new minimum wage for tipped employees. Then the owner tells employees they were overpaid and owe money.

“The only way to get my check is to pay back the owner the difference from how the bookkeeper paid me, because [the restaurant] is paying me $2.50 [an hour, plus tips] and the bookkeeper is paying 3.83 [an hour, plus tips]," she said.

A new National Park Service report showed that nearly 1.5 million national park visitors in New Mexico in 2011 spent $102 million and supported 1,538 jobs in the state. Nationwide, visitors to the 398 units of the National Park System had a combined $30 billion economic benefit that supported 252,000 jobs. The report shows $13 billion of direct spending by 279 million visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park.

The Legislature passed the 5 percent biodiesel rule in 2006, but it never went into effect. Now, State Sen. Phil Griego, D-San Jose, has introduced a bill to repeal it.

The mandate never took effect because the state doesn’t have the infrastructure to support that much biodiesel and the fuel costs too much, said a spokeswoman for the New Mexico Department of Agriculture. The mandate would require 1.5 million to 2 million gallons of biodiesel in the state each month, but the state has only one producer with a capacity of 1.5 million gallons a year, said spokeswoman Katie Goetz.

Salary for the mayor will go from $650 to $1,000 per month, which would be $12,000 annually; and commissioners will go from $600 to $800 per month, which would be $9,600 annually.

The proposal makes it clear that the “launching and landing of hot air balloons” is allowed in all zoning districts in Albuquerque. Separate land-use documents, such as sector development plans, could still prohibit balloons, and bans on trespassing would apply, too.

Commissioner Jeff Carr said he is proud of the Public Education Commission’s decision to appeal that ruling to district court and ask for a stay to prevent the schools’ opening in the meantime.

“It is unprecedented; it’s the first time we've done it,” Carr said. “We’re not arbitrary or capricious in our decision-making.”

The commission voted 8-1 in September to deny Taos International School’s application. However, that decision was appealed, and Skandera reversed the decision earlier this month. The school seeks to offer a dual-language and International Baccalaureate education to as many as 360 students in grades K-8.