Apr. 17—Santa Ana Star Casino Hotel Hosts Electronics Recycling

Santa Ana Star Casino Hotel, New Mexico's Best Bet, is teaming up with Albuquerque Computer and Electronics Recycling Co. to celebrate Earth Day by hosting an electronics recycling event on Saturday, April 22. Guests are invited to drop off electronics for recycling at the casino between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.

"Santa Ana Star Casino Hotel's electronics recycling event gives people an easy and secure way to properly dispose of their unused electronic devices," said Santa Ana Star Casino Hotel Director of Marketing Tammy Neil. "Last year we kept nearly 5 tons of electronics out of landfills, and we're hoping to do it again."

At the event, various types of electronics will be accepted including laptops, tablets, stereo equipment and cellphones. Most electronics will be accepted free of charge; however, a few items may have a disposal fee. For a complete list of accepted items and prices, please visit www.albuquerquerecycling.net or call (505) 990-3732.

Santa Ana Star Casino Hotel is situated off Highway 550 at Jemez Canyon Dam Road. For more information, call (505) 867-0000 or visit www.santaanastar.com.

Applications open for Healthy Food Financing Fund

The New Mexico Economic Development Department (EDD) is pleased to announce fiscal year 2023 funding for a new grant-based pilot program, the Healthy Food Financing Fund (HFFF). In FY 2023, HFFF will award $400,000 in competitive grants, between $20,000 and $100,000 each, to a range of food enterprises across the state of New Mexico. The application portal is open until the end of the day on April 25, with determination announced the week of May 5.

HFFF is an integral part of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's Food Initiative designed to strengthen the local food supply chain capacity and increase market opportunities for New Mexico farmers and agricultural producers, manufacturers, and food enterprises. The program and fund will directly support the capacity of small- and mid-scale food and agricultural enterprises in our state's food supply chain to grow, raise, process, aggregate, transport, and distribute local, culturally preferred foods to meet current and increasing demand.

For more information on HFFF program eligibility and to register for the webinar, please visit our website at https://edd.newmexico.gov/hfff.

Street Cat Hub Joins car donation program

One Community Auto announced that Albuquerque-based non-profit Street Cat Hub is joining its group of over 55 organizations in New Mexico who have chosen OCA as their designated car and donation service provider.

Street Cat HUB serves the City of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County with a spay/neuter service and return of free roaming cats.

They provide that service to several thousand feral cats each year, and also offer spay/neuter service for domesticated cats.

To learn more please visit https://www.streetcathub.org/

Award-winning One Community Auto offers a "One Call Does It All" service to those wishing to donate a car, or truck, van, RV, camper, motorcycle—even a boat or plane.

For those who are ready to make a donation of a car or any type of vehicle to support Street Cat Hub, please call OCA at 505-239-0850 to start the process. Donated cars and other vehicles are sold in a monthly auction at https://rt66auctions.com/

To learn more, please visit www.onecommunityauto.com.

National Small Business Week is April 30 to May 6

For over 60 years, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has celebrated National Small Business Week (NSBW), which honors outstanding entrepreneurs and spotlights our nation's 33 million small businesses. NBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman announced National Small Business Week will take place April 30 to May 6.

Cohost SCORE, mentors to America's small businesses and a resource partner of the SBA, announced that registration for the 2023 National Small Business Week Virtual Summit is now open. The two-day online event will take place from May 2-3. Attendance is free of charge, but registration is required. To register, visit National Small Business Week Virtual Summit registration.

The SBA invites all small business owners, policymakers, and stakeholders to participate in NSBW. For more information about National Small Business Week, visit www.sba.gov/NSBW.

2022 Energy Summit set for Santa Fe

The 2022 Energy Summit will take place in the Nation's oldest Capitol City, Santa Fe, this week. The potential for electricity generation from wind is enormous as New Mexico ranked 13th among states in wind production, and New Mexico's climate is typified by abundant sunshine, as the state is one of the top three in the nation with the best solar energy potential. The summit aims to spark dialogue on the critical issues affecting the energy sector. The inaugural 2022 Energy Summit runs April 21-22.

NMSU Foundation receives $1M gift

The New Mexico State University Foundation has received a $1 million charitable gift from New Mexico Mutual to support the NMSU College of Engineering, College of Business and Arrowhead Center. New Mexico Mutual is the leading provider of workers' compensation insurance in New Mexico, covering more than 30% of all businesses in the state.

Included as part of its gift, New Mexico Mutual gains the naming rights for a new Metal Additive Manufacturing Center for the College of Engineering to be built on the NMSU Las Cruces campus. The center will bring metal additive manufacturing to the southern part of the state, enabling students and faculty to conduct research that meets the local and state manufacturing needs.

The College of Business will receive support to establish a New Mexico Mutual Program Current Use Fund to strengthen student recruitment and outreach in the Risk Management and Insurance Studies program at NMSU. This will help reduce the talent gap facing the insurance industry.

"As the first Insurance Studies program in the western mountain states region, New Mexico State is renowned for our highly qualified faculty and industry support," said Bryan Ashenbaum, NMSU College of Business dean. "This gift will enable our insurance faculty to continue serving students and companies seeking to fill career or internships and co-op positions in the field of insurance."

Finally, the NMSU Arrowhead Center will receive funds for competitive innovation and entrepreneurship events. This includes the New Mexico Mutual Speaker Series for the Arrowhead Program, aimed at elevating research and creativity by connecting students with business professionals.

Jemez Pueblo among grant recipients

The American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association (AIANTA), the only national organization dedicated to advancing cultural tourism in Native Nations and communities across the United States, as a collaborative partner with the U.S. Forest Service, has made its selection for the awardees of the U.S. Forest Service/AIANTA NATIVE Act Grants for FY22. Six project proposals will receive NATIVE Act funding support from the U.S. Forest Service, to aid their efforts to enhance cultural tourism and recreation for the advancement of Native American communities.

Among them is Jemez Community Development Corporation (DBA Jemez Enterprises) in Jemez Pueblo, New Mexico, Grant Award: $129,000, Project Name: Red Rocks Interpretive Trails.

For nearly 25 years, AIANTA has served as the national voice for American Indian nations engaged in cultural tourism, while providing technical assistance, training and capacity building to Tribal nations and Native-owned enterprises engaged in tourism, hospitality and recreation.