Spaceport groundbreaking begins ‘a new chapter’

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Hundreds gather in Las Cruces on Thursday to celebrate construction of Spaceport America, which starts today with a groundbreaking ceremony With contentious debates about how to fund Spaceport America behind them, government officials gathered at New Mexico State University Thursday evening for the first of three celebrations of the facility’s official groundbreaking. Gov. Bill Richardson spoke at the celebration on the NMSU Horseshoe about the educational and economic development opportunities he predicts the spaceport will create in southern New Mexico. “I want you to remember this day,” he told the hundreds of people in attendance. “… Today, we celebrate a new chapter.” In his remarks, Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima said today’s groundbreaking ceremony will usher in a new era. “Tomorrow is going to start a new space age,” he said Thursday. Continue Reading

Arnold-Jones wades into gubernatorial race

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State Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones, R-Albuquerque, said late Thursday that she’s decided to form an exploratory committee as she considers running for governor next year. Arnold-Jones wrote in an e-mail that it will take about a week to “pull the details together” for a formal announcement. She made no further comments in the e-mail. Arnold-Jones said in May that she was considering whether to run for governor, Congress or re-election to her legislative seat next year. At the time, she sounded most excited about the possibility of running for governor, saying she is “interested in making sure that the system and the entities of state government serve people.” Arnold-Jones considered running for Congress last year but ultimately opted to seek re-election to her state House seat after she failed to raise as much money for a potential congressional run as she thought she needed to be successful. Continue Reading

Dem’s endorsement of Barela reveals GOP strategy

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This article has been updated.Perhaps most interesting about today’s already expected announcement that Republican Jon Barela will challenge U.S. Rep. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., next year was the endorsement of the former state GOP vice chairman by a member of the state Democratic Party’s 450-member central committee. “I’m a lifelong Democrat, but I’m a New Mexican first. I’m enthusiastically supporting Jon Barela because I know he’s one of us and he’ll always put New Mexico first, and that’s more important than partisan politics,” Robert Aragon said today in a news release from the Barela campaign. In addition to holding the position in the state Democratic Party, Aragon is a Democratic ward chairman in Bernalillo County and a former state representative. The endorsement, announced earlier today when Barela formalized his candidacy at a news conference in the South Valley, reveals the GOP strategy: Paint Heinrich as a Nob Hill liberal who is out of touch with the more moderate district he represents. Continue Reading

New Dem poll has Denish leading Pearce, Wilson

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This article has been updated.A new poll released by a national Democratic group shows Lt. Gov. Diane Denish far ahead of Republicans Steve Pearce and Heather Wilson in potential head-to-head contests in next year’s gubernatorial race. In both cases Denish leads by 22 points, 57 percent to 35 percent, in the poll, which was conducted by the Democratic polling company Harstad Strategic Research of Boulder, Colo., and released today by the Democratic Governors Association. The survey, conducted between May 31 and June 4, polled 613 likely 2010 voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. “Clearly, Diane Denish starts off this gubernatorial race with a lot of goodwill among New Mexicans, and she is in a heavily favored position against either one of the well-known Republicans who ran in statewide elections last year,” the polling memo states. Denish leads both Republicans in the poll in every area of the state and among men, women, Hispanics and Anglos. Continue Reading

Third-party marketers were on someone’s radar

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Haven’t state officials repeatedly said in the midst of the current investment scandal that the fees being paid to third-party marketers who helped companies win state investment contracts weren’t on their radar? They have said that. In fact, Gilbert Gallegos, a spokesman for Gov. Bill Richardson, said this last month: “The state did not pay these fees, and the governor was not informed of any fees paid by private fund managers to third-party marketers,” Gallegos told me. “Those were private transactions, which were only disclosed after the state asked for more information about the fees from the fund managers who paid them.” Other officials have been quoted in the New Mexico Independent about the topic as well: “‘Until recently a review of a fund was about quality of the investment. Placement agents was not the first thing on the list,’ said Bob Jacksha, chief investment officer for the Educational Retirement Board. Continue Reading

Foy seeks contempt charge, release of documents

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An attorney for Amanda Cooper, who ran the Moving America Forward Foundation, calls the motion an ‘irresponsible publicity stunt,’ offers affidavit instead of documents Frank Foy, whose lawsuit alleges pay to play in the Richardson administration, has asked a judge to hold the now-defunct Moving America Forward Foundation (MAFF) and the Richardson political operative who ran it in contempt for refusing to produce records in response to a subpoena. Foy is also asking the judge in a motion filed Tuesday to order that records be turned over by the foundation; the woman who ran the foundation, Amanda Cooper; and the foundation’s accounting firm, Meyners + Co. Foy, through his attorney Victor Marshall, issued the subpoena in January. It sought a list of donors and other information from Gov. Bill Richardson’s nonprofit foundation, which took in $1.7 million in donations through the end of 2007. The foundation dissolved several months ago. Continue Reading

Barela to announce decision on CD1 race Thursday

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Republican Jon Barela will announce Thursday whether he will challenge U.S. Rep. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., in 2010. That’s according to a news release sent today. All signs point to Barela entering the race. He held a fundraiser in May as he weighed getting into the race. He filed notice with the Federal Election Commission of his potential candidacy shortly thereafter. Continue Reading

How times change: Segura now works for the county

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Doña Ana County has made what to some is an eyebrow-raising hire in its Health and Human Services Department. Eyebrow-raising because it’s former Sunland Park Mayor Jesus “Ruben” Segura. The Las Cruces Sun-News is reporting that he’s been making $51,396.80 annually as the head of one of five divisions in the department since he began work on May 26. Segura, who shocked the local political scene in January 2008 when he didn’t file to seek a fourth term in office, left the Sunland Park job in March of that year. According to the Sun-News, he will “oversee a DWI grant program, meant to ensure DWI violators comply with their sentencing terms, and a pool of health-care dollars meant to improve access for uninsured and underinsured in the county.” Silvia Sierra, the director of that county department, told the Sun-News that Segura has a master’s degree in public administration and has done a good job thus far. Continue Reading

Udall: Sotomayor has ‘a true commitment to justice’

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U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., said he was impressed after meeting today with Judge Sonia Sotomayor, President Barack Obama’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. “I found Judge Sotomayor to be extremely qualified and well suited to serve on the United States Supreme Court,” Udall said in a statement released by his office. “In our meeting, Judge Sotomayor showed a true commitment to justice. We discussed her background and cases as a prosecutor, and I was very impressed by her temperament and dedication to the law,” said Udall, a former New Mexico attorney general. “We also talked about her love for New Mexico, where her former law-school roommate lives, and her appreciation for our spicy food.” Earlier today, U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., said he was “very impressed” after meeting with Sotomayor. Continue Reading

State breaks ground Friday on Spaceport America

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Public can watch online and participate in celebrations in Las Cruces and T or C The long-awaited groundbreaking for Spaceport America is taking place Friday, well over a year after state officials initially hoped it would happen. The ceremony at Upham, the location where the spaceport is to be built, isn’t open to the public, but you can watch it online at spaceportamerica.com. It’s scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. on Friday. In addition, there are public celebrations on Thursday in Las Cruces and Friday in Truth or Consequences that are scheduled to coincide with the groundbreaking. On Thursday, Gov. Bill Richardson, Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima and officials from Virgin Galactic will be among those present at the celebration in Las Cruces. Continue Reading

Bingaman ‘very impressed’ with Sotomayor

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U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., said he is “very impressed” after meeting earlier today with Judge Sonia Sotomayor, President Barack Obama’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. The two met for about 15 minutes. “She is clearly well qualified and I think she’d be a great addition to the Supreme Court,” Bingaman said in a statement released by his office. Sotomayor also met this afternoon with U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M. Udall’s office said a statement was forthcoming. Hearings in the Senate Judiciary Committee on the confirmation of Sotomayor begin in mid-July. Continue Reading

Golf tournament to raise cash for Block Sr.’s defense

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Earlier this month, a send-off party held for Manny Aragon, the prison-bound former president of the New Mexico Senate, created controversy. Now, a golf tournament is being held to raise money for the legal defense of former Public Regulation Commissioner Jerome Bock Sr., who is facing felony charges related to the 2008 election. “With this warm weather that is now upon us, it is time to go out and hit some golf balls,” states an e-mail from lobbyist Maurice Bonal about the event, which, according to the e-mail, is being held June 25 in Pojoaque “in honor of Jerome D. Block, Sr.” Registration forms and sponsorships are to be mailed to a post office box in Santa Fe listed under the name “Legal Defense Fund Committee.” Block Sr. and his son Jerome Block Jr., a current public regulation commissioner, were indicted by a grand jury in April. They’re charged with violating the elections code, conspiring to violate the elections code, tampering with evidence and conspiring to tamper with evidence. The charges against the younger Block also include embezzlement of between $500 and $2,500. Continue Reading

Feldman heads to DC to talk about health-care reform

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Sen. Dede Feldman, D-Albuquerque, is one of approximately 30 state lawmakers from around the nation who will be in Washington on Wednesday to consult with President Barack Obama’s administration about health-care reform. Feldman wrote in an e-mail that the lawmakers will hold a news conference with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in front of the White House around 4 p.m. on Wednesday. Feldman said a letter she and others recently sent to Washington leaders about health-care reform may have been the reason for the invitation. “What a thrill– I have been waiting for leadership on this issue from the federal level for over a decade,” Feldman wrote on her blog. “And they want to know what works– and what does not– out here in New Mexico, which has one of the lowest rates of insurance in the country.” “Here’s where it’s great to have a former State Senator in the White House,” Feldman wrote. Continue Reading

Don’t political signs have to come down sometime?

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While driving to Albuquerque and back to Las Cruces on Interstate 25 today, two signs caught my attention. The first, near mile marker 71 just south of Truth or Consequences, is a 4×8 foot sign from U.S. Rep. Harry Teague’s successful campaign for the 2nd Congressional District seat last year. The Democrat’s sign is prominently displayed just off the highway facing the northbound lanes. It’s in the middle of nowhere, so it’s hard to miss. The second, a large billboard, has been up for years. Continue Reading