Presbyterian will create a healthcare system for west side patients and members that is safe, patient-centered,operationally efficient and flexible, environmentally friendly and technologically innovative. Presbyterian has spent more than a year researching, reading, going to other state-of-the-art hospitals and planning to provide New Mexicans with a healthcare delivery system that will meet their needs today and in the future.

Hospitals are complex facilities to build with special considerations given to medical gas lines, safety for patients and visitors and many other factors. The average hospital takes two to three years to build. Presbyterian has broken ground for the new hospital and medical center in the summer of 2008 with completion targeted for the fall of 2010.

The 21st Century Hospital

* 66 acres east of Unser Blvd. & north of Black Arroyo Blvd.
* 120 private patient rooms in 340,000 square feet of hospital space.
* Full-service emergency department with helicopter pad.
* Medical office building with four floors providing more than 110,000 square feet of medical services.
*More than 140 physicans and 500 plus employees.

More of the nation's space operations are moving to Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque next year. The Battlespace Environment Division, with 175 jobs and an $89million annual budget is transfering from Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts to Kirtland next year as part of the recommendations of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission.

The division's missions include developing advanced surveillance technologies and studying conditions in space that can affect military operations. The division has Dept. of Defense wide responsibility to perform basic and applied research and development to provide technologies to warn operators of potential problems and to protect our space assets from the effects of the space environment.

The Battlespace Environment Division is one of three divisions that make up the Space Vehicles Directorate. The other two divisions are already at Kirtland. The Battlespace Environment Division includes the Space Weather Center of excellence and the Battlespace Surveillance Innovation Center. The Innovation Center develops detection and imaging technologies that can provide the military with information about combatant forces in the field. The Weather center studies phenomena in space that can affect military systems and develops ways to predict, mitigate and reduce those effects. These range from radio signal interference in the ionosphere to radiation damage to spacecraft hardware. The Environment Laboratory will develop technologies to improve space systems and operations.

The Air Force plans to break ground in January with a completion date of July 2010.

Rio Rancho's firefighter union ( local 7911 ) along with the Rio Rancho Benevolent Association of Firefighters are participating in a food drive to benefit St. Felix Pantry. During the holiday season St. Felix Pantry serves about 800 families a week. Waste Management of New Mexico has donated six containers to use as collection bins which have been set up at fire stations as well as city hall. Firefighters will be taking donations of non-perishable food, toys, household items, and clothing for all ages. Donations will be accepted now through the end of December.

Rio Rancho has been named by Business Week magazine as the state of New Mexico's best place to raise kids in 2009. For Business Week's second annual list of best places to raise kids they teamed with New York based real estate provider OnBoard Informatics to select a community from every state. Communities with 50,000 residents and a median family income between 440,000 and $100,000 were used as a starting point to create this year's list.

The list was then narrowed using weighted criteria such as school performance, number of schools, household expenditures, crimes rates, air quality, job growth, family income, museums, parks, theaters, diversity, and other amenities. School performance and public safety were weighted the most heavily when assessing a community followed by amenities and affordability.

This past April, Rio Rancho was recognized by Fortune Small Business magazine as one of the best places to live and launch a business in the United States. In addition in 2005 and 2006 the city was listed by Money Magazine as one of the best 100 places to live in America.

The City of Rio Rancho 2009 calendar is now available and can be obtained by visiting city hall (3200 Civic Center Circle NE), the Meadowlark Senior Center (4330 Meadowlark Lane), the Loma Colorado Main Library (755 Loma Colorado Drive) and the Esther Bone Memorial Library (950 Pinetree Road). Calenders are free and will be available while supplies last.

The calendar's theme is "Growing Green in Rio Rancho" and throughout, water wise tips residents can use year round to reduce water waste, conserve energy, and save money are provided. In addition, colorfull photographs capturing every season in the City of Vision are used.

The calendar is produced by the city's Environmental Programs and Water Conservation Office which is part of the city's Utilities Division. Their mission is to educate, provide outreach, and offer programs that empower residents and businesses to act responsibly to protect the city's most precious resources.

For more information call 505-896-8715

Intel 5,000 employees
Rio Rancho Public Schools 1,838
Sprint PCS 800
Bank of America Banking Services 700
City of Rio Rancho 651
eTelcare Global Solutions 600
Brycon Construction 422
Sandoval County 406
Victoria's Secret 400
JC Penny Customer Service Center 350
Wal-Mart 334
US Cotton Inc 210
Intersections 200

Intel did it in the 1980's and 90's. Rio Rancho officials are counting on computer giant Hewlett-Packard to do it starting next year. The construction and opening of HP's 218,000 square-foot customer and technical support center in Rio Rancho will jump start local economic activity much the way Intel's massive chip-making plant did here 20 years age.

Hewlett-Packard has said it will provide 1,300 high-tech, high-pay jobs when it opens a year from now. The company expects to break ground next month. Employees will do sales and provide technical support for HP products ranging from notebook computers to desktops, from servers to hand-held devices. Most employees will be hired locally.

The company has pledged to create 1,300 sales and technical support jobs by 2013 and 1,800 within 15 years. Most of the jobs will offer an annual salary starting at $40,000. Rio Rancho will be the largest of 3 U.S. sites where HP will consolidate operations supporting 10 divisions, including its PC, computer server and printer business lines. The other sites are in Georgia and Arkansas.

HP will begin construction on the 3 story center in January and hopes to open by Dec 20, 2009. The center will be on a 17 acre site in the City Center area, nortwest of the Santa Anna Star Center. Central New Mexico Community College and the University of New Mexico plan to open a campus nearby in 2010.

HP, based in Palo Alto Ca. reported net revenue of $28 billion for the third quarter of 2008, a 10% increase over the same period in 2007

Rio Rancho Public Schools is dedicated to helping every student gain the knowledge and skills needed to adapt to a changing world and become a productive citizen. The Rio Rancho community insists on safe, clean, functional schools where where students can learn effectively and demands that students meet high expectations in the areas of academic achievement,character, behavior, and career readiness. To further these goals, the district encourages parent involvement and community and business partnerships.

There are two new elementary schools to serve our city's growing population open in 2008. Cielo Azul Elementary will serve the fast-growing Northern Meadows community. Sandia Vista Elementary will serve portions of the Enchanted Hills neighborhood and the new Lomas Encantadas neighborhood just ot the south. Meanwhile, construction continues on the new Sue V. Cleveland High School opening in the fall of 2009. Already the school's three story main classroom building and other facilities are a dominating presence on the landscape to the east of the City Center. The new school was conceived and designed with 21st century skills in mind. Like Rio Ranch High School, Cleveland High will offer students a choice of career-based academies in engineering, the sciences, liberal arts and performing arts.

Rio Rancho High School is especially well known for excellence in science,enginering, and student research. In 2004 Rio Rancho High was one of eight schools nationally named a Microsoft Center of Innovation school. The school has sent students to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair for the past six years. Rio Rancho High won the state championships in robotics for the seventh time and sports medicine in 2008 The high school also captured state championships in volleyball, girls soccer, wrestling and district championships in nine sports.

Rio Rancho students can take advantage of a strong curriculum including a wide selection of advanced placement courses and concurrent enrollment and duel credit opportunities at the University of New Mexico, Central NM Community College and other institutions.

To succeed in high school and beyond, students must have a solid foundation. Rio Rancho's 10 elementary schools laid that foundation with special emphasis on math, reading and other literacy skills. All elementary schools offer full day kindergarten programs and have full time librarians and music, technology, arts, and physical education programs. Rio Rancho's Shining Stars Pre-school helps three and four-year olds learn the reading readiness and social skills that they need to be prepared for kindergarten. It primarily serves students who are developmently delayed and students with disabilities, but also accepts typically developing four-year olds selected through a lottery system.

At the community's three middle schools students are taught math, science, and humanities by a team of teachers who work together to provide an integrated program. Middle school students also take elective cources geared to the needs of young adolescents. Rio Rancho Mid-High School's campus serves the district's eighth and ninth-graders. The Mid-High's programs are designed to meet the special academic needs of students making transition from childhood to adolescence, and from lower grades to high school.

RRPS offers several other educational opportunities for secondary students. The Rio Rancho Cyber Academy provides classes on line featuring live interaction with teachers as well as self paced computer courses. Cyber Academy students are often high achieving young people , who do well with a program that combines rigor with flexability. Independence High School offers an option for students seeking extra support so they can earn a high school diploma. Among its programs IHS provides day care services and parenting classes for young families and flexible schedules for students required to work. Independence also partners with CNM to offer careers education programs in film, culinary arts, and health care.

Rio Rancho Public Schools is the state's third largest school district with 15,600 students. Since the district was founded in 1994, Its rapid growth has paralleled that of the city of Rio Rancho. The district has maintained high academic standards while building and opening eleven new campuses in twelve years. This rapid expansion has been suported through voter-approved bond levies, corporate and government partnerships, and state funding.

AAA has awarded 2 hotels and 1 restaurant the prestigious AAA Diamond Rating for the year 2009. Lodgings at that level offer an extensive array of amenities combined with a high degree of hospitality, service and attention to detail. Restaurants at this level offer distinctive fine dining experience marked by high level ingredients, creative presentation and attentive service.

Just 3.9% of the more than 31,000 AAA rated lodgings and 2.8% of the 27,000 AAA Rated restaurants were awarded the prestigious AAA Four Diamond designation for 2009. AAA Four Diamond Award winners represent an important tier of the hospitality industry, offering guests superior experiences with a high level of hospitality in luxurious surroundings.

The winning resturant in Albuquerque is the Rancher's Club of New Mexico. The winning hotels are the Hyatt Regency in Albuquerque, and the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa in Bernalillo.