Fifteen minutes into what began as a relatively run-of-the-mill interview, Kenny Ausubel drops a bombshell. “I don’t usually make predictions,” he says—the type of statement interviewees consider a cautionary disclaimer, but which reporters tend to gleefully exploit—“but I think probably the next six or so years are the six most important years in the history of human civilization.”

Santa Fe is the latest in a long line of cities to host Occupy Wall Street protests. Saturday, Oct. 8, marked the second weekend in a row of protests in front of a local Bank of America branch.

While touting new standards-based initiatives to improve New Mexico’s public schools, state Secretary of Education Hanna Skandera gave three failing charter schools a pass, in defiance of state regulators.

New Mexico’s unemployment rate continues to drop steeply, something Mitchell says would be “phenomenal”—if it were accurate. Instead, he says, the number is meaningless. In the past six months, each new job has come at a cost of roughly five people dropping from the workforce, Mitchell says.

On Aug. 11, a dozen members of the press crammed into a Public Regulation Commission meeting to follow a juicy lead. Jerome Block Jr.—the embattled commissioner facing allegations of charging $8,000 worth of gas to his government-issued credit card in six months, stealing a car and misusing public campaign funds—had been in the news for weeks. Block’s fellow commissioners were set to remove him as PRC vice chairman, leading to speculations of either his impeachment or resignation. Block had also been hammered in the headlines for missing one-third of his PRC meetings. Predictably, he was a no-show.

On Sept. 6, after trying to reach an agreement for 18 months, Washington, DC-based Pegasus Global LLC—a federal Department of Defense contractor—announced a partnership with the state Economic Development Department to develop a high-tech “ghost town” to test experimental technologies. On Aug. 16, the EDD signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Pegasus to cooperatively perform a feasibility study for the ambitious $200 million project.

On Sept. 26, city officials revealed details of a $50 million potential bond package. Above, see the breakdown for the bigger chunk of the package, a $30 million (not all of which has been allotted to projects) general obligation bond that may require raising property taxes.

The state Department of Health will work toward voluntary federal accreditation with the help of two current and former Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center contractors.Public health accreditation is one requirement attached to a $300,000 federal grant DOH received in September. The Public Health Accreditation Board is a new project designed to recognize state and local health departments for doing a good job while giving them an incentive to improve.

Most Latinos are conservative and don’t know it. That’s the message many emphasized at the Hispanic Leadership Network’s Rebuilding the American Dream conference held in Albuquerque Sept. 23 and 24—the latest in the bipartisan battle for Latino support.

On Sept. 24, the New Mexico Legislature adjourned its special redistricting session. Lawmakers passed four plans—one for the state House, one for the Senate, one for the Public Regulation Commission and one for the Public Education Commission—for redrawing districts. Congressional districts—and any plans Gov. Susana Martinez opts to veto—will be left to the courts to determine.