10 Things to Know in Albuquerque, New Mexico

February 14, 2005

Hookah how-do: The Bubble Lounge has opened Downtown on Central between Fifth and Sixth streets. Patrons can smoke a hookah with flavored tobacco, sip Turkish coffee and try Middle Eastern snacks.

Write it down: SouthWest Writers is offering a three-part business of writing workshop starting Thursday. It'll cover tax issues for professional writers, record keeping and business plans.

Juggernaut: D.R. Horton was the metro area's biggest home builder in 2004 with 788 starts. Centex Homes was second at 696. Longtime leader Artistic Homes slipped to sixth with 590 starts.

Lawn gone: The 10th Xeriscape Conference and Trade Fair is Feb. 24-26 at the Convention Center. There will be speakers and seminars along with 120 vendors. See www.xeriscapenm.com.

Two for one: The Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce is the first chamber in New Mexico and one of 26 nationwide (out of 6,950 total) to offer joint membership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce at no extra charge.

Out of a job: Suzanne Bernadette is no longer editor of the New Mexico Business Journal. The magazine says it has hired a new editor - unnamed - who is wrapping up another job before coming to Albuquerque.

Moving up: Presbyterian Healthcare Services ranked seventh on the latest list of the 100 most highly integrated health care networks in the nation. The report was by Versipan and was featured in Modern Healthcare. Pres was ninth last year.

Quality control: Five Albuquerque companies were 2004 graduates of New Mexico 9000, an international quality program. They are Adherent Technologies, Consolidated Service Systems, Excel Manufacturing, MCL Technologies, MKM Engineers and Manufacturing Technologies.

Roomies: Two of New Mexico's key arts institutions are sharing a home. Chamber Music Albuquerque moved its administrative operations to offices at Symphony Center, owned by the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra on Menaul near Carlisle.

Identity crisis: Bank of the West and the National Association of Women Business Owners are offering a free seminar Wednesday on bank fraud prevention. More than 1,300 New Mexicans were victims of identify theft in 2003, much of which occurs through bank fraud.