D e s e r t E x p o s u r e
June 2010
Business Beat
Single Socks, the Silver City clothing store, has spawned a spinoff — Couch Potatoes, a used and consignment furniture store. As with Single Socks, all proceeds from the non-profit operation will go toward fighting hunger in Grant County, and donations are tax-deductible. You can do good while cleaning out your unwanted goods by donating on Saturday, June 5, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at the old warehouse behind the former Daily Press building. For future dates and more information, call 388-4647.
There's a new reason for glasses to be clinking at Deming's Southwest Wines: to celebrate the winery's 10 awards at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. Its DH Lescombes 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon earned a Double Gold, reflecting the unanimous opinion of the judges. Winemaker Phillipe Littot used a combination of seven different French oak toasts to achieve the wine's award-winning character. The new technique introduces a precise amount of oxygen and specific oak chips to the process over 18 months of aging.
"I am very excited by the intensity and the diversity of aromas that make this wine so appealing," Littot said. "I believe that in the future this technique will give me the opportunity to produce a variety of wines with ever-more complexity."
General Motors' axing of the Saturn brand has reached Las Cruces, with the sales operation of Saturn of Las Cruces at 860 N. Telshor Blvd. closed. The Saturn repair shop is still open for now, although one employee said, "With the economy the way it is, I don't know for how long."
In happier Las Cruces auto news, auto-collision repair veteran Quail White is back in town, opening Amador Auto Body at 2125 W. Amador Ave., former home to the Ivan Burton Body Shop. 525-2125.
The Gila Wilderness, along with the Taos area, will be the focus of the New Mexico Tourism Department's Ecotourism Program's first-ever "fast track" pilot projects. "The pilot-project designation means these two areas will become the focus of our Ecotourism initiative," says Jennifer Hobson, deputy director of the Tourism Department and director of the program. "All our efforts will be dedicated to transforming these two destinations into truly unique and innovative ecotourism destinations."
"Ecotourism has the potential to make New Mexico an even more enthralling destination for travelers from around the world," adds Michael Cerletti, secretary of the Tourism Department. "This initiative will build on the equity and add further dimension to our 'Land of Enchantment' marketing initiatives."
The legislature approved a special appropriation to fund the project in fiscal year 2010. The Tourism Department contracted with EcoNewMexico, LLC, to inventory ecotourism assets throughout the state.
Charles "Chip" Cunningham, managing director of EcoNewMexico, says the Gila Wilderness and Taos areas were chosen from all the areas visited and assessed based on the following criteria:
- Is the destination world-class and truly unique, offering what no other destination can?
- Are its residents "ready, willing and able" to commit all that is necessary to make it a successful ecotourism destination, with emphasis on the vision and values of a community?
- Does it have the potential to show a measurable before-and-after scenario on how Ecotourism has changed tourism in that area?
- Is the community working group coming together as a strong unit, and
is it interested in the greater good of the statewide ecotourism initiative
set forth by the Tourism Department?
"These two communities demonstrated a very real commitment to our initiative," Hobson says, "and a conscious ability to work together for the conservation of wilderness and preservation of indigenous cultures while being true to the spirit of adventure-based Ecotourism."
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