Lyons to run for Public Regulation Commission seat

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New Mexico Land Commissioner Pat Lyons announced today that he’ll run for a seat on the Public Regulation Commission next year, when term limits oust him from his current job. As one of the most powerful regulatory boards in the nation, the PRC regulates utilities, telecommunications, transportation, railroad safety, natural gas and hazardous liquid pipelines and insurance industries. It also oversees business and industry compliance, organization and registration. Lyons, a Republican, will seek to replace District 2 Republican Commissioner David King, who is also term-limited from seeking re-election. “Infrastructure is vital for society and the economy to function, and should be governed to protect the interests of the public. Continue Reading

Early voting to start in county beer and wine election

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Early voting starts Tuesday for voters in unincorporated areas of Doña Ana County who get to decide whether to allow the sale of beer and wine in areas outside incorporated municipalities. The deadline to register to vote in the June 9 election is also on Tuesday, at 5 p.m. Alcohol is already sold in incorporated areas of the county. Only county residents who don’t live in Las Cruces, Hatch, Mesilla and Sunland Park are eligible to vote on whether to also allow the sale of beer and wine outside of those cities. Early voting will run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays (through June 5) and on Saturday, June 6, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Doña Ana County Government Center, 845 North Motel Boulevard. The deadline to request an absentee ballot is 5 p.m. on June 5. Continue Reading

Richardson to visit Las Cruces again this week

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Gov. Bill Richardson, who was in Las Cruces last week to help educate the public about swine flu, will be back here on Wednesday to meet with community leaders as part of a “statewide listening tour,” according to a news release from his office. The meeting will be held at 5 p.m. in the commission chambers at the Doña Ana County Government Center, 845 North Motel Boulevard. At the meetings, according to the release, the governor “will meet with invited local leaders, county officials, community leaders and lawmakers to discuss issues facing their communities as well as their stimulus needs.” Richardson will also hold meetings this week in Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Santa Fe, Ft. Sumner, Clovis, Portales, Hobbs, Carlsbad, Roswell, Alamogordo, Moriarty, Mora and Mosquero. Continue Reading

Obama’s town hall to be held at Rio Rancho HS

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Rio Rancho High School will be the site of President Barack Obama’s Thursday town-hall meeting in New Mexico. The event, which will focus on credit card debt and coincides with related legislation Obama is seeking, is scheduled to last from 10-11:15 a.m., according to a news release from the White House. Those who are interested in attending must register by clicking here or calling (505) 896-5640 before 5 p.m. on Monday. While you can already register via the Internet, the phone line won’t be available until 10 a.m. Monday. Tickets will be randomly given out to some of those who register. Continue Reading

Kilmer ‘probably not’ going to run for governor

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“No, probably not,” is the answer actor Val Kilmer gave this weekend when asked if he was going to run for New Mexico governor. That’s not too surprising, since Kilmer’s level of activity related to the 2010 race has dropped and he has put his Pecos ranch up for sale in recent months. It was a reporter from The Politico who caught Kilmer on video telling a woman at an event this weekend that she could not call him governor and then saying he’s probably not going to run. See for yourself: If Kilmer, a Democrat, stays out of the race, it’s possible that Lt. Gov. Diane Denish won’t have a primary challenge. Meanwhile, a number of Republicans are preparing to battle for the right to take on Denish next year. Continue Reading

NMSU presidential search committee members named

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The New Mexico State University Board of Regents announced most members of their presidential search committee on Friday. The committee will be chaired by former Regents President Adelmo “Del” Archuleta. The other nine members who were announced on Friday were College of Business Dean Garrey Carruthers, NMSU Grants President Felicia Casados, Las Cruces City Councilor Dolores Connor, student body President Travis Dulany, Faculty Senate Chair Chris Erickson, New Mexico Association of Counties Director Paul Gutierrez, former basketball coach Lou Henson, NMSU Cooperative Extension Service Eastern District Director Bruce Hinrichs and College of Agriculture Assistant Dean Tim Nesbitt. State Rep. Mary Helen Garcia called me Friday to express frustration with the fact that the percentages of Hispanics and women on the committee don’t equal the percentages of Hispanics and women at NMSU, and also complained that there are no American Indians on the committee. “We’re a multicultural state,” she said. Continue Reading

Most voters in poll not too concerned about swine flu

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The vast majority of voters in last week’s non-scientific poll on this site said they are either not concerned at all or only a little concerned about swine flu. Of 217 voters, 102, or 47 percent, said they aren’t concerned at all about the virus, while 93, or 43 percent, said they’re concerned a little. Meanwhile, 20, or 9 percent, said they are concerned a lot, and two, or 1 percent, said they don’t know. Don’t forget to vote in this week’s poll, located at the top of the right column on this page. Continue Reading

Coverage of public-records lawsuit against NMFA

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There’s been some pretty good media coverage in the last week of my company’s lawsuit against the New Mexico Finance Authority (NMFA), and I wanted to share it with you. In case you missed the news, Haussamen Publications has filed a lawsuit seeking a court order to force the NMFA to release copies of subpoenas it has received in the federal probe of allegations of pay to play in the Richardson administration. Though the governor’s office has released a similar subpoena, the NMFA has refused. Newspaper coverage of the lawsuit has come from The Santa Fe New Mexican’s Steve Terrell and an Associated Press article that ran in the Las Cruces Sun-News, Albuquerque Journal, on The New Mexican’s Web site and in other print and online publications. There’s also been some radio coverage from KRWG-FM’s Evan Woodward in Las Cruces and KUNM-FM’s Julie LaJeunesse in Albuquerque. Continue Reading

Regent says guv not involved in Cruzado resignation

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Javier Gonzales and Lt. Gov. Denish say community should give regents a chance to set up a fair process for picking NMSU’s next president New Mexico State University Regent Javier Gonzales says Gov. Bill Richardson and his staff had no involvement in the resignation of Interim President Waded Cruzado. And Gonzales and Lt. Gov. Diane Denish both said in interviews that the NMSU community should give the Board of Regents a chance to put in place a process for selecting a new president that is fair to all who want to apply, including Cruzado. Gonzales’ comments followed news that, as the regents restart the search process, Cruzado is moving back to the executive provost and vice president job she held before being named interim president last year. It’s a move three influential state legislators who support Cruzado quickly condemned and said had the governor’s fingerprints all over it. Not so, Gonzales said. Continue Reading

Guv says he didn’t know about payments to Correra

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Bill Richardson’s office says the governor wasn’t aware of any fees investment companies doing business with the state paid to Marc Correra — or anyone else for that matter. “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,” Richardson spokesman Gilbert Gallegos wrote in an e-mail. “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.” Earlier this week, I wrote that a couple of scandals might intersect in the instance of Correra. He shared in more than $11 million in finders’ fees as a third-party marketer for financial companies that won business with the State Investment Council (SIC) and another $4.2 million in fees that came from contracts with the Educational Retirement Board (ERB). That may include as much as $2 million he earned from a controversial investment deal in which the state lost $90 million — a deal that is the subject of the pay-to-play lawsuit brought by Frank Foy on behalf of the state. Continue Reading

Regents chairman says Cruzado is not being ‘dumped’

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Blake Curtis, chairman of the New Mexico State University Board of Regents, says Interim President Waded Cruzado isn’t being “dumped.” Instead, she’s being moved back to her previous position as executive vice president and provost in order to ensure “the integrity of the search” for a new president, he said in an interview. “Her job performance has been wonderful,” Curtis said. “She’s done a super job … and she’s been very responsive.” Some legislators say they believe the regents and Richardson administration are forcing Cruzado out. Senate President Pro Tem Tim Jennings said earlier today that Cruzado is being “dumped.” “Anything but being dumped,” Curtis said in response. “She’ll be moving back to the second-most prestigious position in the university.” The move comes as the university ramps up its search for a new president. Continue Reading

Waded Cruzado out as NMSU interim president

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Some legislators see administration’s fingerprints on the situation, say a vote of no confidence in the NMSU regents is possible The resignation of New Mexico State University Interim President Waded Cruzado is in the works, a move that has angered some powerful state legislators who believe the Board of Regents and the Richardson administration are forcing the change. Cruzado is going to return to the job she previously held, executive vice president and provost, a number of sources with direct knowledge of the situation confirmed. Three powerful legislators — Senate Finance Committee Chairman John Arthur Smith, President Pro Tem Tim Jennings and Finance Committee member Mary Kay Papen — are all upset by the move, saying they believe the Richardson administration is behind it. “I’m a fan of hers,” Smith said of Cruzado. “I think she’s tried to do what is right, and I will certainly lead a charge in the New Mexico Legislature on a vote of no confidence on the entire board of regents and whoever else is involved.” Cruzado and most members of the NMSU regents could not immediately be reached for comment. Continue Reading

It’s simple: Don’t use government e-mail to campaign

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Note to public officials throughout the state: It’s not appropriate to use government e-mail addresses for campaign purposes. Every time I start thinking that goes without saying, someone proves me wrong. This time it’s Clovis Mayor Gayla Brumfield, who, according to the Clovis News Journal, asked a secretary to forward an e-mail to city commissioners inviting them to a fundraiser she is hosting on Friday for Lt. Gov. Diane Denish’s 2010 gubernatorial campaign. It’s also not appropriate, by the way, to ask your government employees to do such political work for you. The mayor was quoted by the newspaper as saying she “didn’t know” she couldn’t use government e-mail for campaign purposes. Continue Reading

Auditor: AG may be illegally seeking info about probes

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Balderas says subpoena may be a fishing expedition to determine what auditor’s probes have revealed about King, the AG’s office or other agencies with which King has a conflict State Auditor Hector Balderas says Attorney General Gary King may be illegally using a subpoena for documents as a way to find out what Balderas has discovered in the course of investigations involving King, the AG’s office or other agencies with which King has a conflict. While Balderas isn’t saying exactly what his office is investigating that might involve King or King’s office, he said he believes a broad subpoena issued by King’s office for state auditor records “is being used as a backdoor” for information about the auditor’s probes. He called that “illegal misuse of the subpoena” and said it threatens the auditor’s ability to investigate. “I’m very concerned that a subpoena would be used to disrupt or usurp independent, constitutional authority to protect taxpayers,” Balderas said. “The law is set up in a way that there are two, independent watchdogs.” Balderas’ words are the latest in a fight between the two statewide elected officials and their offices over the subpoena. Continue Reading

Report: Mexican Cartel might use deadly force in U.S.

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The head of a Mexican cartel has instructed associates to use deadly force on this side of the border if necessary, which could lead to violence aimed at American law-enforcement agents, the Los Angeles Times is reporting. The order that smugglers should “use their weapons to defend their loads at all costs” came from Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who heads the Sinaloa Cartel and who the Times identifies as Mexico’s most-wanted fugitive. It’s a shift from the previous position of avoiding confrontations in the United States with law enforcement officers or rival drug traffickers. And that’s what has me confused. The Mexican Army is currently trying to take down the cartels. Continue Reading