Richardson gains in Ohio, still below margin of error

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It seems like I’ve been writing a lot lately about Gov. Bill Richardson climbing, albeit slowly, in a number of Democratic presidential nominee polls across the nation. There’s another. The newest Quinnipiac University poll has Richardson at two percent in Ohio, which puts him tied for fifth place in the poll that includes Al Gore, who isn’t running for president. That’s a climb in the eight weeks since the school’s last poll put Richardson at 1 percent in March. Interestingly, the newest poll found support for Richardson at 4 percent among men and less than 1 percent among women. Continue Reading

Newspaper looks at growth’s impact on schools

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As part of its continuing series on growth, the Las Cruces Sun-News today examined the impact on schools and the difficulties the Las Cruces Public Schools is having keeping up. A couple of interesting points: In a second article, the newspaper reported that New Mexico State University is prepared for growth and, with its current infrastructure, can handle 15 percent growth. That’s quite a contrast to LCPS, which is struggling to keep up. Also interesting is the fact that the school district has been largely kept out of the loop on development. Its officials didn’t know about the current and controversial East Mesa development under consideration by the Las Cruces City Council, The Vistas at Presidio, until recently. Continue Reading

On trip to Las Cruces, Lyons defends land lease

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New Mexico Land Commissioner Pat Lyons is in Las Cruces today to defend his decision to lease land on the East Mesa to a developer who has been very friendly with him in the past. Lyons explained the deal and chastised those who have criticized him this morning on The Morning Show with Michael Swickard. “They’re trying to connect some dots here that just doesn’t make sense to me,” Lyons said. Lyons and developer Philip Philippou have come under fire in recent weeks because Philippou gave $20,500 last year to a political action committee that gave most of it to Lyons’ re-election campaign. Then Lyons bypassed his own process for seeking bids to lease 3,200 acres of land on Las Cruces’ East Mesa by giving the contract to Philippou in December, before the announced time to submit proposals had ended. Continue Reading

Publication examines Domenici’s re-election bid

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Congressional Quarterly has a new article examining the fact that, despite the problems dogging U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., Democrats have been, thus far, unable to find a top-tier opponent to take him on next year. In an article published Tuesday, the publication examined the fact that Domenici is the topic of an ethics investigation and has seen his poll numbers drop, but Republicans don’t seem concerned. Domenici is easily raising a great deal of money and Democrats have, thus far, been unable to find a known candidate to run against him. Domenici has drawn challenges from lesser-known Democrats Jim Hannan and Leland Lehrman. The article quoted Matt Farrauto, executive director of the state Democratic Party, as saying that, at last month’s party meeting in Las Cruces, the talk was about taking on Domenici. Continue Reading

Lyons flew on developer’s plane to Aggie NCAA game

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New Mexico Land Commissioner Pat Lyons flew in March on a plane either owned or chartered by Las Cruces developer Philip Philippou to a college basketball game in Spokane, Wash. The New Mexico State University Aggies were playing in the NCAA tournament for the first time in several years, and Lyons was one of a number of people who flew to the game on Philippou’s plane and on a second plane owned by the university. Philippou currently has an agreement to develop 3,200 acres of land controlled by Lyons on Las Cruces’ East Mesa. Both men have come under fire in recent weeks because Philippou gave more than $20,000 last year to a political action committee that gave most of it to Lyons’ re-election campaign. Then Lyons bypassed his own process for seeking bids to lease the land by giving the contract to Philippou in December, before the announced time to submit proposals had ended. Continue Reading

Auditor says NMSU should have notified him of probe

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State Auditor Hector Balderas says New Mexico State University violated a state statute by failing to inform his office of alleged misuse of funds and equipment by employees of the facilities department. In a letter sent Friday to NMSU President Michael Martin, Balderas wrote that he learned of the probe through the media even though the state’s administrative code and a statute require that state agencies immediately notify the auditor’s office of “any possible criminal statute violation in connection with its financial affairs.” According to Balderas, notification to his office must include the estimated dollar amount involved and a description of the violation that includes the names of those involved and the action taken or planned. That’s so the auditor can determine whether a special audit is warranted, the letter states. “NMSU’s failure to notify me regarding these alleged improprieties is noncompliance with both the regulation and statute cited above,” Balderas wrote in the letter. “The NMSU audit report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007 must include an audit finding regarding this noncompliance.” Balderas instructed Martin to provide him with information about the probe as soon as it is available, and wrote that, in the future, “NMSU should inform me in writing immediately upon discovery of any possible criminal violation at the university.” Investigators from the university police, sheriff’s department and FBI have worked with auditors to scrutinize hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenditures and have narrowed their investigation to focus on allegations that a few employees used university equipment, funds and resources for a number of construction projects at their homes. Continue Reading

Ethics task force to make plan, take input next week

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The governor’s Task Force on Ethics Reform plans an all-day meeting on May 22 that includes the opportunity for public input. The meeting begins at 9 a.m. in room 307 at the Roundhouse in Santa Fe. Much of the morning will be spent reviewing the recommendations made by last year’s task force and the developments in this year’s regular and special legislative sessions. The task force will then form a plan for its time that will include a meeting schedule and goals. The governor has asked the task force to consider why there is resistance to ethics reform in the Legislature, come up with new recommendations and also advise him on whether he should call a special session for ethics reform later this year. Continue Reading

AG looking into Lyons’ contract with developer

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At the request of state Rep. Nate Cote, D-Las Cruces, the attorney general’s office is scrutinizing the land commissioner’s agreement to lease thousands of acres on the city’s East Mesa to developer Philip Philippou. Cote has recently sent two letters to Attorney General Gary King requesting that his office look into a number of issues related to Pat Lyons’ December 2006 agreement to lease 3,200 acres to Philippou. Philippou is to develop the land for the state, which will then sell it to the highest bidder, with Philippou’s plan being that he will purchase the land. The relationship between Philippou and Lyons has been under scrutiny for several reasons. Philippou gave more than $20,000 last year to a political action committee that gave most of it to Lyons’ re-election campaign. Continue Reading

Article looks at growth’s impact on infrastructure

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As part of its continuing series on growth and development, the Las Cruces Sun-News today examined the impact on roads and other infrastructure. There was nothing surprising in the article, but it was still important to point out the difficulties in extending city services as the city grows. The two biggest challenges are roads and sewer. As a result, many people on the city’s fringes, particularly on the East Mesa, live on dirt roads that are difficult to traverse after rain storms, and they have septic tanks. In general, developers are responsible for initial infrastructure costs when they apply for city development approval. Continue Reading

Deputy U.S. attorney general quits over controversy

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Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty is resigning, making him the highest-ranking Bush Administration employee to leave over the U.S. attorney controversy. It was McNulty whose comments really caused the situation surrounding last year’s firing of eight U.S. attorneys, including David Iglesias of New Mexico, to explode when he testified under oath in February that at least one was ousted to make way for a Karl Rove protégé. You can read more about his resignation by clicking here. Continue Reading

Guv connects with young, innovative Google crowd

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Gov. Bill Richardson made an impression on employees of Google during a visit to the Internet giant’s facility on Monday. He’s the third presidential candidate to speak to the employees. Richardson used familiar phrases including – you guessed it – “I’m not a rock star,” to get laughs out of the group, according to KGO-TV in San Francisco. He told the group he doesn’t have “gobbles of money – or Googles of money.” He showed his new, funny commercials, but also spoke seriously about Iraq and energy independence. He said the country needs to raise fuel efficiency standards to 40 mpg in four years and 50 mpg in 10 years. Continue Reading

Grisham says she hasn’t picked an office to seek

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Michelle Lujan Grisham said she doesn’t yet know what office she’ll try to win, but says we’ll know in the next six to eight weeks. The governor announced today that the health secretary is leaving her job to run for office. “What do you think I should run for? Is there an office in Las Cruces that I should add to the list?” she asked when I asked what office she would seek. Grisham said she is “absolutely” considering running against U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M. next year, or for Albuquerque mayor in 2009. Continue Reading

Richardson to campaign in six states in six days

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Gov. Bill Richardson will be all over the nation this week as he raises money and gives speeches. He is in San Francisco and Palo Alto, Calif., today to raise money, and also met this afternoon with employees of Google in Mountain View, Calif. On Tuesday, he’ll attend a fundraiser in Portland, Ore., and on Wednesday, he’ll raise money in Washington, D.C. On Thursday, he’ll give a speech about energy policy to the New America Foundation in the nation’s capital before heading to Shreveport, La., for a fundraiser. On Friday, Richardson will raise money in Omaha, Neb., and give a speech to the Young Democrats of America convention. On Saturday, he returns to what has been his favorite state lately – Iowa – and will spend the day at a number of house parties and other functions. Continue Reading

State health secretary leaving job to run for office

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Michelle Lujan Grisham is leaving her job as health secretary is pursue an “opportunity involving elected office,” according to a news release from the governor’s office. The Democrat lives in Albuquerque, so it’s fair to guess that she might be jumping into the race against U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M. A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said Grisham “is deciding that.” “She’s got a lot of different options,” said spokeswoman Deborah Busemeyer. “I think she’s leaving all of her options open.” Since there are no statewide offices open in 2008, it’s hard to believe a cabinet secretary would be dropping such a prestigious job for a run at any office other than U.S. representative or senator. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., is also up for re-election next year, and the Democratic Party has had a hard time finding any known candidate to challenge him. Replacing Grisham on June 11 will be Dr. Alfredo Vigil, CEO for El Centro Family Health, a non-profit primary care organization in Northern New Mexico, according to the news release. Continue Reading