Federal examples of e-mail as a legal form of writing

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Since state Rep. Joseph Cervantes told me last week he believes federal law does state that e-mails are legal forms of writing, I’ve come across a few examples that seem to back him up. Cervantes’ comments came in the context of me writing about New Mexico State University’s assertion that e-mail is generally not a valid way to request documents under the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act, which states that requests, to trigger the requirements in the act, must be written. My frustration with that assertion by NMSU is part of a larger complaint I have with the university’s skirting of government transparency laws, which you can read about by clicking here. Cervantes, an attorney who has worked closely with government transparency laws in his legislative role, disagreed with NMSU last week, telling me “there’s lots of federal law that says it is a writing.” I’ve come across some examples. The federal Rules of Evidence state that “‘writings’ and ‘recordings’ consist of letters, words or numbers, or their equivalent, set down by handwriting, typewriting, printing, photostating, photography, magnetic impulse, mechanical or electronic recording, or other form of data compilation.” Surely, that includes e-mails. Continue Reading

Pearce doesn’t vote to oppose long-term base in Iraq

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The U.S. House of Representatives easily approved last week a resolution that would make clear that the United States will not establish a military base in Iraq for the “permanent” stationing of troops there or attempt to control Iraq’s oil. Those are hot-button topics among liberals since the White House has recently indicated that President Bush may intend to keep a military presence in Iraq similar to its presence in South Korea, where American troops have been stationed for more than 50 years. Still, House Resolution 2929 was uncontroversial enough that it was approved on a vote of 399-24. The resolution states that the United States’ policy is “not to establish any military installation or base for the purpose of providing for the permanent stationing of United States Armed Forces in Iraq and not to exercise United States control of the oil resources of Iraq.” It also states that no funds made available by Congress shall be used to establish a permanent base in Iraq or control that nation’s oil. U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., joined with 23 other representatives to vote against the resolution. Continue Reading

Officers frustrated with children’s court judges

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The two newest district judges in Doña Ana County are facing criticism from law-enforcement officials who believe they’re being too lax with juveniles, the Las Cruces Sun-News is reporting this morning. Children’s Court Judges Fernando Macias and Lisa Schultz defended their decisions as appropriate. The number of juveniles housed at the county detention center has recently fallen to half of its historical average of about 20. District Attorney Susana Martinez told the newspaper she was “shocked” to learn that, “particularly with the level of repeat offenders and violent crimes the county has been experiencing lately.” Macias told the newspaper that, where juveniles are concerned, “detention is for those that haven’t necessarily been convicted of a crime, it’s for those that are awaiting their adjudicatory process.” He said the lower population in the detention center is partly because “the number of cases that are coming into the delinquency court are a little bit low.” He also said the court’s aim is to try to rehabilitate juvenile offenders, and some are placed “in other kinds of settings” such as treatment facilities. Schultz said she doesn’t have a “cookie-cutter approach” to deciding whether juveniles should be kept in the detention center or sent to other programs. She said the juvenile probation office, district attorney and police are doing a good job. Continue Reading

Non-scientific poll: Special interest groups have too much influence over state government in N.M.

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The vast majority of those who voted in last week’s non-scientific poll on this site said special interest groups have too much influence over state government in New Mexico. Of 138 voters, 116, or 84 percent, said special interest groups do have too much influence, while 22, or 16 percent, said they do not. Don’t forget to vote in this week’s poll, located at the top of the right column on this page. Continue Reading

Richardson within striking distance of Obama in Iowa

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A new poll released Thursday has Gov. Bill Richardson at 11 percent and within striking distance of the third-place Barack Obama in Iowa, the state that hold’s the nation’s first presidential nominating contest on Jan. 14. Eleven percent is the highest Richardson has climbed in any independent poll of likely Iowa Democratic primary voters, though a poll conducted for his campaign a month ago had his support at 13 percent. The news that Richardson is within striking distance of the third-place candidate in Iowa comes as Richardson has recently passed John Edwards to become the third-place candidate in the newest poll in New Hampshire. The two states are the most critical to race and are the focus of Richardson’s campaign. Continue Reading

Is NMSU violating government transparency laws?

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That’s the question I’ve asked the attorney general to consider. The New Mexico State University Board of Regents stepped into a gray area in May by using money from private donors to boost the financial compensation for President Michael Martin and then-men’s basketball coach Reggie Theus. Since then, a number of actions raise questions about the integrity of university leaders and the decisions they are making. Theus received a $100,000-per-year pay increase from the private sector. The new contract, university officials announced at the time, included a buyout clause of almost $1 million if Theus didn’t stay for another two years. Continue Reading

Accident kills 3, shakes commercial space industry

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Three workers were killed and three others were badly injured Thursday afternoon in California while working on a commercial spacecraft Virgin Galactic eventually plans to use to launch paying customers from Spaceport America in Southern New Mexico. The deaths have shaken the fledgling and tight-knit commercial space industry. Rick Homans, executive director of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority, cancelled a planned news conference scheduled for this afternoon in Las Cruces at which the selection of an architect to design Virgin Galactic’s facility at Spaceport America was to be announced. Officials from the company were scheduled to attend and update the public on the secretive SpaceShip Two program. The accident occurred Thursday afternoon during testing of a propellant flow system for SpaceShip Two. Continue Reading

Task force considers lobbyist disclosure proposals

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The state Task Force on Ethics Reform is considering a number of proposals designed to increase transparency in state government. In chairing the subcommittee proposing changes related to transparency, state Rep. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces, has an opportunity to make an impact. The subcommittee made several recommendations to the task force at Monday’s meeting in Socorro: • Improving the campaign finance reporting system on the Secretary of State’s Web site. • Requiring lobbyists to wear badges that identify them and disclose their client lists. • Requiring lobbyists to disclose how much they’re being paid by their clients. Continue Reading

U.S. attorney controversy flares up again

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The controversy surrounding the firings of several former U.S. attorneys, including David Iglesias of New Mexico, has flared up again this week with a possible perjury probe against Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and a subpoena for White House Political Director Karl Rove. Gonzales’ job once again appears in jeopardy after he testified before a Congressional panel on Wednesday. Four Democratic senators wrote the U.S. solicitor general today asking for the appointment of an independent council to investigate the truthfulness of Gonzales’ sworn testimony about the U.S. attorney controversy and President Bush’s warrantless domestic spying program, the Associated Press is reporting. Gonzales’ previous testimony in the U.S. attorney controversy contradicted that of employees who work below him. And the FBI director became today the newest official to contradict testimony Gonzales gave Wednesday about the spying program. Continue Reading

Here’s Richardson video from CNN/YouTube debate

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Remember me writing on Tuesday that I thought Gov. Bill Richardson’s answer on a question about Darfur at Monday’s CNN/YouTube debate was perhaps his strongest yet in any debate? Well, here’s the video, provided by the Richardson campaign. Here’s Richardson answering a question about Iraq. And a question about the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Obviously, the campaign put up video of Richardson’s three strongest answers. Continue Reading

Three in running to replace Flores at NMSU

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Three finalists have been selected for the position of executive vice president and provost at New Mexico State University. The successful applicant will replace Bill Flores, who recently left the job to become deputy secretary of higher education for the state. Flores has a unique working situation – one that’s under review by the state attorney general. He technically remains on staff at NMSU as an assistant to the provost assigned to work with the higher education department. The university is paying his entire $220,000 annual salary for the state. Continue Reading

Denish to co-teach NMSU course this fall

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Lt. Gov. Diane Denish will co-teach a course at New Mexico State University this fall on women leaders in public service and the journalists who cover them. The course, “Women, Politics and the Media,” will be co-taught by Mary Benanti, a former reporter, editor and public relations professional. The weekly course, which will meet Tuesday evenings beginning Aug. 28, will explore the role of women in politics and media coverage of them. “As more young people consider public service, it’s important that they understand the political arena and the significance of 24/7 media coverage in shaping the debate,” Denish said in a news release. Continue Reading

Health-care system is in need of reform

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By Richard Magee, Vicki Simons and Cathilia Flores In his July 21 column “We can make our health care worse,” Michael Swickard gets at least two things right: • We can make our health care worse – something we have been doing quite effectively for quite some time, resulting in more than 47 million Americans being without health insurance at a cost that is projected to reach 17.7 percent of gross domestic product by 2012. That’s up from 14.1 percent in 2001. In the other industrialized nations, everyone is covered, and the costs as a percentage of gross domestic product, on average, are less than half that of the United States. Yet the United States ranks very low on a variety of health measures and is rated 35th in the world by the World Health Organization, raising the obvious question: How can our health-care system simultaneously be so expensive and so ineffective? Among industrialized nations, only South Africa shares with us the distinction of not having universal access to medical care. Continue Reading

Richardson isn’t gaining ground in Florida

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A new poll finds that Gov. Bill Richardson isn’t gaining any ground in Florida, the X-factor in the Democratic presidential primary. The newest Rasmussen Reports poll has Hillary Clinton at 46 percent, Barack Obama at 15 percent and John Edwards at 13 percent in that state. Richardson and the four other candidates in the race split 4 percent in the poll, and 21 percent were undecided. Florida moved up its primary earlier this year to Jan. 29 – the same day as South Carolina – in opposition to the wishes of the Democratic National Committee. Continue Reading