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Monday, O c tober 15, 2018 | Vo l u m e 1 2 3 | I s s u e 1 8
Netflix and Bill:
City Council to hold special meeting over Netflix deal
UNMPDwillincrease campuspresence By Anthony Jackson @TonyAnjackson
Danielle Prokop / @ProkopDani / Daily Lobo
The front entrance to Albuquerque Studios on Oct. 14, 2018. The studios are part of a prospective deal with Netflix Studios LLC.
By Danielle Prokop @ProkopDani On Sunday Albuquerque City Councilor Pat Davis (District 6) and City Council President Ken Sanchez (District 1) announced legislation to authorize the prospective Netflix deal to buy Albuquerque Studios will have its own special session this Thursday, instead of being discussed at Monday’s City Council meeting. “We had looked at holding this meeting on Monday, but we just felt the issue was too critical and too important,” Sanchez said. Davis said having the meeting pushed back allows the public to “examine a deal shrouded in secrecy and excitement for months.” This would be Netflix’s first studio in the United States. The multinational company owns another studio just outside of Madrid, Spain. The media juggernaut has an net income in 2016 of over $500 million and over 57.4 million subscribers U.S. And while the proposal has been receiving international attention, it’s not a done deal yet. “Nobody has signed on the bottom line yet,” Davis said. “Somebody said the other day that this was sort of a very big billion dollar handshake-deal.” The $1 billion figure cited in headlines is money Albuquerque is speculated to make in the next decade because of the deal. According to the proposed agreement Netflix is commiting to spending at least $600 million in the first five years in the studio on original New Mexico productions. It also pledges at least $400 million
from directly and indirectly spending on productions and leasing to other filmmakers for the following five years. Netflix is asking for a total $14.5 million Local Economic Development Act (LEDA) funding, $4.5 million from city funds and an additional $10 million the city could receive from the State Economic Development Department. How LEDA funding is under the City Council’s purview. The Albuquerque Development Commission voted unanimously last Thursday recommending the City Council pass the $4.5 million incentive package, asking that it be
“The film industry builds solid middleclass jobs,” Synthia Jaramillo director of Economic Development Department voted on Monday. Netflix has set a deadline of Oct. 23 for securing LEDA funding and moving forward with the deal. Director of the city’s Economic Development Department Synthia Jaramillo,emphasized the job creation alongside economic impact. “The film industry builds solid middle-class jobs,” Jaramillo said. “And that is very important to this council and the administration.” Albuquerque Studios is located south of Albuquerque in the Mesa Del Sol Development. Back when it was proposed in 2002,
the 25-square mile development is part of a private-public partnership including The City of Albuquerque, the state and The University of New Mexico. Film Liaison Alicia Keyes, newly appointed in April, directs the city’s film office. She said that the mayor’s office saw Albuquerque Studios as being underused. “It’s a world-class facility that sometimes wasn’t even at fifty percent capacity,” Keyes said. Albuquerque Studios were unveiled in 2007, the eightsoundstage complex spans 316,000 square feet between stages, offices and storage, costing $74 million dollars. In 2016, there were 10 productions being made in New Mexico. While the meeting is later in the week, both councilors were optimistic in passing the bill. President Sanchez said the economic projections for the project may be “conservative estimates.” “Bringing Netflix to the Land of Enchantment and Albuquerque will be a tremendous asset for the workforce and our community,” Sanchez said. Sanchez said public comment will be available at Thursday’s meeting, and will start at 5 p.m. the Albuquerque City Council building. Danielle Prokop is a staff reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted by email at news@dailylobo. com or on Twitter @ProkopDani.
The University of New Mexico announced in an online statement on Saturday, Oct. 6 that the UNM Police Department will be increasing their presence on campus. “Officers will saturate the community and increase the visibility of mobile unit, bicycle and foot patrols, especially during the evening and late-night hours,” UNM President Garnett Stokes’ statement read. This statement followed two armed carjackings, one on Friday, Oct. 5 at A Lot and another on Sunday, Oct. 7 on Las Lomas Street, east of Yale. On Monday, Oct. 8, a statement issued by Stokes notified students that with the help of the UNM PD, the Albuquerque Police Department arrested one of the suspects involved in the carjacking. Despite the fact that an arrest was made, Trace Peck, public information officer with UNMPD, said the Department will maintain their increased presence. “We’ve called in officers on their days off. We’ve had officers work-
ing seven days a week right now, just saturating the University until we get a handle on this carjacking crew,” Peck said. In addition to reducing and preventing crime on campus, Peck said he hopes the increased officer presence on campus increases resource awareness. “We want the students to feel comfortable if they have a concern about safety or a situation that occured that we’re here to talk to,” Peck said. To further increase security on campus, Peck said the Department will receive a mobile camera unit. He said the unit will be used in parking lots to monitor traffic around, and in and out of the area, adding that the Department will be seeking more mobile camera units in the future. “It can show us anybody coming in off Central (Avenue) — just the fact that we can read a license plate or a VIN number — I mean it is an amazing camera system,” Peck said. On Oct. 1, UNM released the Annual Clery Report for 2018. In 2017 UNM saw eight counts of armed robbery, compared to five
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FOOTBALL
Lobos lose nailbiter to CSU
Cameron Goeldner /@goeldfinger /Daily Lobo
Tyrone Owens attempts to get away from CSU linebacker Caleb Smith during the first half of Saturday’s game at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins, CO. The Lobos lost 20-18 on a last second field goal.
By Cameron Goeldner @goeldfinger FORT COLLINS, CO — An opportunity to spoil Homecoming and break an eight-game losing streak, squandered. The University of New Mexico (3-3, 1-1 Mountain West) had an 18-17 lead with just over two minutes remaining in the game, but the two minute offense and a second
chance for field goal kicker Wyatt Bryan gave the Colorado State Rams (3-4, 1-1 MW) a 20-18 victory on Saturday. “I think we have a chance to have a good team, because there’s a bunch of hurting people in that locker room and because of that we have a chance to try to continue to get better,” head coach Bob Davie said. The Lobo received the ball first, but didn’t hold it for long as Tyrone
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Football page 2
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