Landscape Changing – But Still Good – for New Mexico’s Film Industry

Eric Witt

Eric Witt, former Deputy Chief of Staff and Film Advisor for Gov. Richardson, 2003 – 2010

Elliott Location Equipment of Albuquerque is one of many New Mexico businesses that expanded dramatically after 2001, when the state initiated a successful program of tax incentives to attract film and television production here.

Owner Wayne Elliott had one water truck in 1988 when he hauled water to locations for The Milagro Beanfield War. A look at his website in 2011 (http://elliottlocationequipment.com) shows a full-service provider of trucks, trailers, drivers and special-effects equipment for productions throughout the western and Gulf Coast states. The film incentives program made that expansion possible, said Elliott, who added to his fleet of water trucks and other portable services over the years as he attracted five times the work — and five times the revenue — as he had before the state launched a program that offered 25 percent rebates for in-state film-related expenses.

Continue reading

Investments Nurture Businesses to Create Jobs

 

Paul Goblet

Paul F. Goblet, Financial Advisor, NM SBIC

As financial markets gyrate, legislators argue about the national debt ceiling, and people lose homes to foreclosure, it’s hard to believe the economy is improving. Few words can convince those unlucky enough to remain jobless; but numbers are beginning to tell a slightly better story, at least in New Mexico. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that New Mexico made strides in improving its July jobless rate over the same month last year – second only to Nevada, a state with one of the highest unemployment rates in the country.  New Mexico’s July, 2011, unemployment rate was about two and a half points lower than the national average, as it has been throughout the recession.
Continue reading