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Advocating for workforce education in prisons to curb repeat offenses

Advocating for workforce education in prisons to curb repeat offenses

Yahoo02-03-2025

Mar. 2—SANTA FE — Piercing blue eyes set apart by dark-inked tattoos covering much of his head and arms, Isaac Sork took in the small Goodwill office space he sat in, complete with a computer and a few rolling chairs.
It was a stark contrast to the prison cell he was confined to just days before, and representative of his transformation back into society and the workforce.
"Five days ago, I was locked up," Sork said. "I was told when I could use the restroom ... told when to get up, when to go to sleep. For me to be out now, I feel liberated. I'm independent.
"And then I have these two standing behind me. I thank God for these two guys."
The two with him, Fernando Ruiz and Ralph Martinez, played crucial roles in ensuring Sork had a job lined up upon his release. Both also know what it's like to leave prison systems feeling unsupported and lost, often leading to a cycle of repeat offenses.
Last year, nearly 40% of all inmates released from prison ended up back in the system.
It's in part why Ruiz and Martinez started the Entrepreneurial Institute of Northern New Mexico, or EINNM, a nonprofit that aims to smoothen out the transition from behind bars to release. Ruiz, Martinez and Sork are all also spending time at the Roundhouse during this year's 60-day session to advocate for such re-entry programs.
Launched in April, EINNM in collaboration with other advocacy groups held its first program with dozens of at-risk youth and individuals at the Kitchen Table Santa Fe, a community kitchen that supports entrepreneurs. As the program was wrapping up, the New Mexico Corrections Department called asking EINNM to host programs for inmates.
After securing some state dollars to teach the hands-on work, EINNM had its first prison class in August, which Sork participated in. Another cohort that started in January is wrapping up now, and the next iteration will start in March. EINNM committed to three cohorts a year in the prisons.
The eight-week program, accepting a little more than a dozen inmates with 10 months or less to the door, teaches professional and culinary skills. Martinez said there's a waiting list of more than 100 inmates wanting to take the program.
"We come from the same place," Martinez said. "We know the realities, which makes the connection a lot stronger."
Multiple bills are trying to pass the Legislature that would support correctional workforce reentry development programs. Senate Bills 350 and 351, with mirror bills House Bills 419 and 420, respectively, together seek nearly $20 million to support workforce reentry programs and transitional housing needs.
From the pot, $13.5 million would be set aside for the North Central New Mexico Economic Development District to administer and expand a correctional workforce reentry program. The other $6 million would go to the state's Health Care Authority for former inmates' transitional housing needs.
The money hasn't made it into the annual budget yet, though bill sponsor Sen. Leo Jaramillo, D-Española, told the Journal he's hopeful it will. A Senate committee is still reviewing the appropriations bill.
The workforce reentry bill, HB419, passed one of its two House committee assignments last week, and the two Senate bills — including the mirrored workforce reentry measure — will likely be heard this week.
There are just under three weeks for the measures to make it through before the Legislature wraps up on March 22. However, by introducing mirror bills in both chambers, legislators could be quicker to pass the measures since both sides will have already heard about them.
"This is just the beginning, we hope," said Nina Chavez, director of government relations for Goodwill Industries of New Mexico, which has a workforce reentry program of its own.
From behind bars to behind the grill
Ruiz grew up in Arizona and Mexico, with close family cartel connections from a young age. He picked up drug and stolen gun charges at 15 years old, bouncing in and out of the system years after.
During one prison stint, Ruiz got his GED and upon release, graduated from culinary school. He settled down in New Mexico 24 years ago and started fielding offers to compete on national culinary shows — "Guy's Grocery Games," "Chopped," "The Great Food Truck Race." Most recently, he won "Beat Bobby Flay."
Ruiz didn't want to participate in most of the shows, not wanting the national television fame, but his wife convinced him to.
"After that, my life turned upside down," Ruiz said, swiping on his phone from his mugshot to his thousands of unread text messages.
He opened a restaurant of his own in August, Escondido, in Santa Fe.
Amid all the culinary world fame, Ruiz and Martinez met in 2019. The duo quickly started hosting community events largely focused on helping formerly incarcerated people succeed in life.
"We've raised probably over $3 million for different resources over the course of the past four or five years, me and Chef," Martinez said. "And it's just because we share in that same background and we know what it's like."
Hope isn't as apparent for Chris, a maximum security inmate at the Penitentiary of New Mexico whose full name officials declined to release due to crime and victim protection concerns.
He's serving a life sentence and entered the justice system when he was a teenager. He's been behind bars for 26 years now.
Then came Cody — a shepherd-mix dog in need of training and adoption. Española Humane in 2022 launched a different kind of workforce reentry program, pairing inmates with dogs that could use some training for eight weeks to help with their adoption chances out in the public. Chris has been participating in the program for about a decade now.
Watching over his most recent pup, Leeloo, Chris naturally guided her leash around when she tried to jump up to give some of the people surrounding her a kiss, also showing off her skills to sit on command and even wave with her paw.
"Before I found this, I just kind of existed. I wasn't sure how to get by. I was young," he said. "Then I found this, and I found something to change my situation — something to look forward to, something I'm good at, something I'm proud of."
The dogs aren't the only ones learning. The program also teaches inmates responsibility and communication skills, leaving the dogs in their care 24/7 and requiring daily training of the pups.
While in the corrections system, Chris is taking a class to become a certified behavioral dog trainer. He said now that he has a life skill that he can get paid good money for, he hopes to pursue a career in the industry if ever granted parole.
"If you don't give us skills, what are we going to do? We want us to stay out of prison. Give us some way to do that," he said.
'Another chance'
Sork grew up in what he described as a broken home, out on the streets by age 16. He dropped out of high school, losing out on a football scholarship he had, and ended up getting involved with a gang.
He picked up gun charges in Texas with a seven-year sentence, which was discharged. Six months after he was released, Sork had another gun charge in New Mexico and five-and-a-half years to serve.
"I had lost my wife. I had lost my kids," he said, recounting anger over the sentence. "Family members had died."
Upon getting out, he knew he'd battle with stigmas — people looking at his tattoos and assuming he's off or different, when really "I'm a goodhearted individual." Sork wanted to battle the stereotypes, coming out of prison with resources to prepare him for life.
When he saw the flyer for a culinary class hosted by EINNM, Sork was excited to signed up. He said he always liked cooking.
It's not only culinary skills taught in the class; it's also life skills. On his first day, Sork had to write down five important things to him to remember when he would get out.
"I told myself this time, this five and a half years, I reevaluated the way I am," he recalled. "And I'm getting older, so now that I'm getting closer to 40, I have to figure out how to use resources and be independent because, at the end of the day, I want to be a productive part of society."
It was a similar sentiment for Daniel Jojola, a current inmate at the Penitentiary of New Mexico who's served multiple stints. He said he's been away from his young kids for the year-and-a-half he's served, and he doesn't want to miss them growing up.
It's part of the reason Jojola signed up for an HVAC class offered at the prison, and he hopes to pick up residential work when he's released. He said he has no other choice but to get a good-paying job when he gets out, which is less than a year away.
"The sky is the limit. All we need is another chance," Jojola said.
On Feb. 14, authorities released Sork, and he began working at Ruiz's Escondido Santa Fe a week later.
Among the five important things Sork wrote down on his first day of EINNM's culinary class? Having a place to stay, employment, food and clothes, and a networking system.
He's achieved every item on that list since getting out.

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Horse racing fans remember The Downs at Santa Fe as it's demolished
Horse racing fans remember The Downs at Santa Fe as it's demolished

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Horse racing fans remember The Downs at Santa Fe as it's demolished

At his home just 5 miles from the recently razed grandstand of the former horse racing track southwest of Santa Fe, Tony Martinez's mind wandered into the past. He recalled the names of horses and jockeys from the 1970s — the brigade of swift thoroughbreds raising dust as the finish line approached. Much like the jubilant shouts sweeping through the crowds, they are just memories now, as is The Downs at Santa Fe. The faded grandstand has been demolished, toppled in the last few weeks to make way for redevelopment plans by Pojoaque Pueblo, which purchased the struggling track in the 1990s and hoped to put it on the map with big races and, later, a 'racino' with slot machines that could compete with tribal casinos — including its own operations. Those plans never came to fruition. The pueblo secured $4 million in state legislative capital outlay this year and $8 million last year to help move forward with new plans for the 320-acre site at 27475 W. Frontage Road just off Interstate 25. Pueblo officials did not respond to inquiries last week about the project, though a preliminary development plan obtained by The New Mexican indicates a hotel and various types of housing could be in the works, as well as commercial space. Martinez, a former horse trainer, now 83, is among many longtime patrons who lament The Downs at Santa Fe's demise and now its disappearance. 'We had some really, really good times at The Downs,' Martinez said. 'We really, really miss it. It just gets into your blood.' 060525 jw horse trainer Santa Fe horse trainer and racing enthusiast Tony Martinez talks about his days working at The Downs at in the 1970s with his wife, Lou Martinez. A former horse trainer, the 83-year-old Tony Martinez has almost perfect recall for races run at The Downs. 'A sentimental deal' The towering and long-lonely grandstand at The Downs was a landmark that loomed off I-25 since the early 1970s. Suddenly, almost overnight, it is gone, stirring memories for locals, some of whom stopped in recent weeks to take photographs of the stadium buckling under the pressure of excavators. It served for a couple of decades as a fixture of entertainment and gambling during its heyday in Northern New Mexico until it closed in the late 1990s, then lay mostly dormant for more than 25 years. As a music venue, The Downs drew top-dollar musicians, including the Grateful Dead — with fans recalling legendary performances there in 1982 and '83 — and country star Roger Miller, known for his 1965 hit 'King of the Road.' Plans to revive horse racing at The Downs in the 2000s never took hold, though Pojoaque Pueblo made preparations, smoothing out a massive pile of manure that had angered neighbors and restricted use of the property. Workmen began screening trash out of the pile in 2008 and spreading manure 4 to 5 inches thick across a 40-acre parcel on the property. The manure was tilled into the soil and native grasses were planted over it. The site has since hosted soccer matches, flea markets, movie nights, music shows — one festival that epically fizzled — and a fall fest with pumpkin carving and a costume parade. Some 800 people gathered for the Ultimate Gladiator Dash, an extreme sports challenge, in 2014, the same year an equestrian event was staged there — but not for racing. Horses and riders tested their skills in dressage, show jumping and cross-country jumping competitions. Mostly, The Downs has been empty. SKM_450i18092610340 The Downs at Santa Fe circa 1976. Racetrack anticipation burned hot in Santa Fe when the track opened in 1971: So popular was The Downs, a $5.5 million, 1-mile oval track, that on its opening day in June a crowd of 11,000 people lured to the events created traffic jams. Members of the horse racing industry in New Mexico cite a suite of reasons why operating venues like The Downs has proved challenging amid increasingly high competition for the 'gambling dollar' in the Land of Enchantment. The racing industry has struggled nationally in recent decades amid what is generally perceived as a dip in interest; slot machines and gambling are keeping many racetracks — which double as 'racinos' — afloat. These days, Martinez and his wife travel to The Downs Racetrack & Casino at Expo New Mexico in Albuquerque to play the horses there, but the experience isn't the same as what they remember decades ago at their hometown track: Times have changed, and they no longer see people they know. J.J. Gonzales, another Northern New Mexican involved in the industry who fondly recalls The Downs at Santa Fe, enjoyed a storied career in the sport, winning the All American Futurity — considered to be quarter horse racing's biggest event — at Ruidoso Downs Racetrack & Casino in 2003. Once a boy with a talent, he became a licensed jockey at age 16, and he credits Santa Fe with launching his career in the 1990s. 'I won my first race there, and that's always a sentimental deal right there,' said Gonzales, a native of the community of Sena in San Miguel County. 'That sticks to you pretty hard.' Don Cook, now president of racing at The Downs Racetrack & Casino in Albuquerque, worked at the local Downs from 1988 until it closed in the 1990s. While in Santa Fe, he did about everything there is to do at a track: He was a clocker, a placing judge, a stall superintendent, a director of security. 060625 jw albq downs Don Cook, now president of racing at The Downs Racetrack & Casino in Albuquerque, did about everything there is to do at The Downs at Santa Fe during his tenure there, working as a clocker, placing judge, stall superintendent and director of security. It's a shame the track closed because it had ample potential and upside, he said. 'It was nicknamed the Saratoga of the West,' Cook said, referring to the famed racetrack in New York state. 'It had a nice, beautiful grass infield, a great view of the mountains. It was a shame it got closed down, but things happen.' Out of the gates hot Racetrack anticipation burned hot in Santa Fe in 1971. On opening day in June, a crowd of 11,000 people turned out at the $5.5 million, 1-mile oval track, creating traffic jams. Stabling facilities were unable to accommodate the volume of horses streaming into Santa Fe, so ran the reports in late May that year. Ismael 'Izzy' Trejo, executive director of the New Mexico Racing Commission, grew up around the track; his father was a horse trainer. He recalled the feeling of euphoria as a child when jockeys gave him their goggles following races. But the racetrack, run by a company called Santa Fe Racing, began to experience financial difficulties even in its early years — the 1976 racing season was in doubt for a time when debts exceeded $3.5 million, according to reports in The Santa Fe New Mexican. The Pueblo of Pojoaque acquired the property in the mid-1990s and had big plans to continue horse racing. With events such as the Indian Nations Futurity Cup under the pueblo's ownership, there was every indication the struggling racetrack could still become a significant place for the sport in the Southwest, Trejo said. Racing at The Downs in September 1982. The racetrack, run by a company called Santa Fe Racing, began to experience financial difficulties even in its early years — doubt was cast on the 1976 racing season, with debts exceeding $3.5 million, according to reports in The Santa Fe New Mexican. In 1997, track officials hoped the Indian Nations Futurity Cup would shower national prestige on Santa Fe, The New Mexican reported. A Pojoaque Pueblo official told a reporter at the time the goal was for the race to put The Downs at Santa Fe back on the map, with an estimated purse of up to $600,000. 'But I think they realized it's hard to run a racetrack,' Trejo said. 'It's costly. You have to have a lot of employees — assistant starters, jockey valets, racing office staff, stewards, concessionaires, track maintenance people, mutual tellers. You have a whole army.' The pueblo closed the track in the late '90s after a few years of ownership, citing millions of dollars in losses. Cook said, in his opinion, the closure of The Downs at Santa Fe had more to do with a dispute over the number of race days than anything else — with the racers wanting more. 'It was actually closed down over the amount of races the horsemen wanted to run and the racetrack wanted to recall. From what I can recall, it was over one day,' Cook said. 'In my opinion, that track would still be there if there wasn't a fight over a race day.' Making name in Santa Fe While the racetrack had its ups and downs in its two decades of operation, it allowed trainers and jockeys in the area to get a strong start on their careers. Two prominent photographs of J.J. Gonzales appeared side by side in The New Mexican in 1993. Then 16, the young jockey was already turning heads in the sport. One image shows him riding a quarter horse named Sapello Kid at The Downs at Santa Fe. In the other, he is shown stroking another fleet-footed equine in the barns where his father, James Gonzales Sr., was a trainer. Ten years later, he would win the All American Futurity in Ruidoso. 060525 jw horse trainer Santa Fe horse trainer and racing enthusiast Tony Martinez goes through his scrapbook of winners at The Downs last week. 'We had some really, really good times at The Downs,' Martinez said. 'We really, really miss it. It just gets into your blood.' About a year after he retired as a jockey in 2008, he began training horses. Now Gonzales and his sons operate a successful stable based in El Paso, known as the Gonzales Racing Stable, and compete in races around the Southwest, including in Oklahoma City and Dallas. The Downs in the City Different was where many horsemen, especially those from the region, made their name. 'It started right there in Santa Fe,' Gonzales said. 'For me, that was a big part of my life growing up.' Gambling rise takes toll Meanwhile, the rise of tribal gambling operations in the state in the 1990s created difficulties for New Mexico's horse racing industry. In 1995, then-Gov. Gary Johnson began signing compacts with various pueblos and tribes, allowing them to open casinos. When Johnson signed those compacts, 'he signed a death knell for racing in this state,' Ken Newton, the former Downs at Santa Fe owner, once told The New Mexican. 'Racing can't compete, even with video slots, against full-bore casino gaming,' he said at the time. Newton, who died in 2015, sold his interest in Santa Fe Racing to the six other stockholders in 1996; later that year, they sold it to Pojoaque Pueblo. The casinos would continue to pose challenges for the horse racing industry, which fought for two years for a 1997 law allowing slot machines at up to six racetracks in the state. Steven Hollahan at The Downs in 1982. Casino operations at five tracks — now known as racinos — help subsidize the racing, Trejo noted. 'The competition for the gambling dollar has gotten fierce,' he said. There were attempts to get a racino license for the track in Santa Fe. Pojoaque Pueblo sought in 2008 to convince the Racing Commission The Downs at Santa Fe would be the best place to locate what was expected to be the state's sixth and final racino for at least the next 33 years. It was one of three in the running. However, an operator in Raton won the license based on a little-known statute designed to regulate competition between neighboring racetracks — The Downs at Santa Fe was too close, within 80 miles, of the Albuquerque track. The Racing Commission later revoked the Raton license after the project collapsed following repeated construction delays and persistent questions about its financing, The New Mexican reported in 2018, when the Racing Commission was again considering issuing a sixth racino license. The process faced delays, and a new license was never issued. A former Pojoaque Pueblo governor had told The New Mexican in 2008 The Downs at Santa Fe was not profitable without slot machine revenue to subsidize the horse racing operation. Supporting this statement, a 2008 economic impact study of southeastern New Mexico's Zia Park Racetrack, which opened in 2005 in Hobbs, found casino revenues were the primary source of income for racetracks in the state. Gamblers' slot machine losses enrich purses in horse races, according to the study, conducted by the New Mexico Racing Commission. Competing with casinos The horse racing industry relies heavily on a pari-mutuel system, which combines bets from racetracks and casinos. It has been in place in New Mexico for more than a quarter-century and has become a significant source of revenue. New Mexico commercial casinos, or racinos, face considerable competition from the state's 21 tribal casinos, according to the American Gaming Association, with tribal casinos in the state generating $835 million in casino gaming revenue in fiscal year 2023, an increase of 4.6% from 2022. 'Unlike the state's racinos, tribal casinos are permitted to offer table games and sports betting in addition to electronic gaming devices,' states a 2024 report from the association about New Mexico. 060625 jw albq downs Maintenance workers grade the track as trainers start to arrive at The Downs Racetrack & Casino last week. The Albuquerque track is one of five 'racinos' in the state — Ruidoso Downs Race Track and Casino, Zia Park Casino Hotel & Racetrack in Hobbs, Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino and Sunray Park & Casino in Farmington. Cook, who noted there are few horse tracks in the nation operating without slot machines, highlighted some of the competition in the Albuquerque metropolitan area when it comes to gambling. He said The Downs there competes with an array of casinos on tribal land within a half-hour drive, including Sandia Casino and Isleta Casino. 'There are so many other forms of gambling now that were not around in the '70s and '80s,' Cook said. He thinks only a couple of racetracks in the state would be able to survive without casinos attached — the Ruidoso Downs and The Downs Racetrack & Casino in Albuquerque. The state has three other racinos aside from those in Ruidoso and Albuquerque: Zia Park Casino Hotel & Racetrack in Hobbs, Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino and Sunray Park & Casino in Farmington. Trejo said costs associated with the sport have jumped. 'They used to call it the sport of kings, and the amount of cost that the racetracks and the horsemen have to endure just to enjoy the entertainment of horse racing, it's very expensive now,' Trejo said. 'It's going full circle to where the common man is having difficulty sustaining in this industry,' he added, 'and it's becoming the sport of kings again — only the wealthy can prevail.'

Massachusetts has the best state economy, according to WalletHub. Here's why
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In order to determine America's best and worst state economies, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 28 key indicators of economic performance and strength. The data set ranges from changes in GDP to startup activity to the share of jobs in high-tech industries. Out of all 50 states, Massachusetts received the highest score, beating out the second-place state by over a full point. Here's what WalletHub had to say about the state's economy. According to WalletHub, Massachusetts has the best state economy for various reasons. Economic outlook: Emergency savings are crucial in a recession. Here's the dollar figure to aim for. Here's what the personal finance company had to say about Massachusetts' economy: "Massachusetts invests a lot more in both industry and academic R&D than most other states, which leads to big payoffs in economic growth. This has led to the state having the second-most invention patents per capita. The Bay State has a lot of workers in industries that propel the economy forward, too. It has the highest share of jobs in high-tech industries and the third-highest share of STEM professionals. In addition, Massachusetts has the highest percentage of firms that are listed on the Technology Fast 500 list." Here is WalletHub's list of the top 10 state economies: Massachusetts Utah Washington California New Hampshire North Carolina Idaho Texas Maryland Colorado This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Massachusetts' economy ranked top in US by WalletHub. Here's why Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

Massachusetts has the best state economy, according to WalletHub. Here's why
Massachusetts has the best state economy, according to WalletHub. Here's why

Yahoo

timea day ago

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Massachusetts has the best state economy, according to WalletHub. Here's why

In order to determine America's best and worst state economies, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 28 key indicators of economic performance and strength. The data set ranges from changes in GDP to startup activity to the share of jobs in high-tech industries. Out of all 50 states, Massachusetts received the highest score, beating out the second-place state by over a full point. Here's what WalletHub had to say about the state's economy. According to WalletHub, Massachusetts has the best state economy for various reasons. Economic outlook: Emergency savings are crucial in a recession. Here's the dollar figure to aim for. Here's what the personal finance company had to say about Massachusetts' economy: "Massachusetts invests a lot more in both industry and academic R&D than most other states, which leads to big payoffs in economic growth. This has led to the state having the second-most invention patents per capita. The Bay State has a lot of workers in industries that propel the economy forward, too. It has the highest share of jobs in high-tech industries and the third-highest share of STEM professionals. In addition, Massachusetts has the highest percentage of firms that are listed on the Technology Fast 500 list." Here is WalletHub's list of the top 10 state economies: Massachusetts Utah Washington California New Hampshire North Carolina Idaho Texas Maryland Colorado This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Massachusetts' economy ranked top in US by WalletHub. Here's why

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