Ellins details plans to improve county elections

By |

The new Doña Ana County elections supervisor told commissioners Tuesday that some staff reorganization, better training of poll workers and a county poll worker manual will help improve elections. Ellins revealed some details of the work of the elections task force at Tuesday’s meeting. He said many of the problems with past elections in the county were due to errors by poll workers. The county is short qualified poll workers and people to train poll workers for the Nov. 7 General Election. Continue Reading

Now the governor has a MySpace site

By |

Bill Richardson has done a lot in his life. He’s been an ambassador, a United States secretary of energy, a professional baseball player, a governor, an author, and a blogger. There are only two things he needs to do to complete his résumé: run for president, and get his own MySpace site. The second is already done. That’s right. Continue Reading

District Judge Larry Ramirez (resigned)

By |

Ramirez resigned from the bench in June during a Judicial Standards Commission investigation into allegations that he engaged in an ongoing pattern of sexual harassment and making inappropriate comments in the courtroom. Though he resigned, the commission is proceeding with its case. Because the state Supreme Court has sealed the file, details are secret, but it’s likely the commission is asking the court to fine Ramirez or bar him from ever again holding judicial office. Ramirez had been placed on judicial probation by the high court in November after admitting to improperly involving himself in is son’s alcohol-citation case and inappropriately refusing to let a defense attorney make an objection for the record. In addition, an investigation by the Administrative Office of the Courts found in 2004 that Ramirez engaged in sexual harassment and forced him to undergo counseling and training. Continue Reading

Magistrate Judge Susana Chaparro (resigned)

By |

Chaparro resigned in March and agreed weeks later to never again seek judicial office as part of a stipulated agreement with the commission. In exchange, the commission dropped seven outstanding cases against Chaparro, including a probe into her alleged harassment of a magistrate court interpreter who employed her sister, but took her sister off drunken-driving cases while she dealt with her own drunken-driving case. Chaparro had been disciplined in 2002 for improperly issuing an arrest warrant for a court interpreter who ignored an order she gave – an interpreter who beat Chaparro’s sister for the interpreter contract. Chaparro was also hit with a two-week suspension in 2005 for improperly involving herself in her son’s traffic case. Key articles:• June 2: Richardson appoints magistrate• March 22: Judge Chaparro quits Continue Reading

Magistrate Judge Reuben Galvan (resigned)

By |

Galvan resigned in May 2005 while battling charges that he raped and solicited a bribe from a woman in August 2004. After two hung juries, prosecutors dropped the charges. In a statement he gave to police during the rape investigation, Galvan admitted to actions that may violate the Code of Judicial Conduct. While drinking and flirting in a bar, he discussed with the woman a pending battery case against her husband, though she was the alleged victim and believed he was the judge. He took the woman for a ride in his Porsche, though he told police he had too much to drink before driving. Continue Reading

Magistrate Judge Carlos Garza (disciplined)

By |

Garza is currently serving a 90-day suspension with pay while the commission investigates serious allegations against him. The details aren’t known because the high court sealed the file.In addition, the commission has asked the high court to suspend Garza without pay, force him to undergo urine and hair tests for illegal drugs, and explain why he should not be held in contempt for refusing the commission’s previous demand for the tests, which were sought because of allegations that Garza is using drugs. The high court has scheduled a public hearing on matters involving Garza for 9 a.m. on Sept. 20 in Santa Fe. Garza, who is running unopposed for re-election this year, is already on judicial probation after admitting in May to improperly involving himself in a drunken driving case against a woman with whom he had a personal relationship. Continue Reading

Municipal Judge Melissa Miller-Byrnes (disciplined)

By |

Miller-Byrnes was issued a formal reprimand in 2004 after falsely stating during a radio interview that no complaints had been filed against her with the commission. She was also disciplined in January for calling a city prosecutor a “smart ass” during a 2004 interview with a newspaper reporter. That comment was part of a dispute between the municipal judges and city attorney’s office that exploded in 2004 when the city’s two judges wrote a letter to the Las Cruces Sun-News alleging incompetence by police and prosecutors. After the letter and Miller-Byrnes’ separate comment about the prosecutor were published, the city attorney’s office filed a complaint with the commission, which asked the high court to discipline the judges. The court dismissed the complaint related to the letter, but chastised Miller-Byrnes for the “smart ass” comment. Continue Reading

Municipal Judge James T. Locatelli (cautioned)

By |

Locatelli has never been disciplined by the high court, but was issued a cautionary letter by the commission in 2004 after pornographic e-mails were found on his city-owned computer at the court. Such letters are normally confidential, but Locatelli made his public when he applied for a district judgeship last year. Locatelli was the author, along with Miller-Byrnes, of the letter to the Sun-News complaining about city police and prosecutors. Key articles:• June 20: Judge Locatelli defends lawsuit against city Continue Reading

19 of the 20 highest-paid public employees in the county work for NMSU

By |

I thought it might be interesting to take a look at the top 20 salaries at New Mexico State University. With the exception of Las Cruces Public Schools Superintendent Sonia Diaz, the 20 highest-paid public employees in Doña Ana County all work for NMSU. Diaz is currently paid an annual salary of $160,000. Here are the top 20 salaries at NMSU for the 2006-2007 fiscal year (which began July 1), based on information the university provided in response to a records request: 1 – Michael Martin, university president: $293,840.98 2 – Reggie Theus, men’s basketball head coach: $275,000 3 – William Flores, executive vice president and provost: $220,913.78 4 – Hal Mumme, head football coach: $207,923.66 5 – McKinley Boston, athletics director: $190,000 6 – Vimal Chaitanya, vice president for research, graduate studies and international programs: $177,000 7 – Jennifer Taylor, senior vice president for business, finance and human resources: $175,000 8 – Ben Woods, senior vice president for planning, physical resources and university relations: $166,171.43 9 – Stephen Hottman, senior director for technology, Physical Science Laboratory: $165,080.20 10 – Michael Hites, chief information officer, information and technology services: $163,174.93 11 – Waded Cruzado-Salas, dean, College of Arts and Sciences: $161,525.12 12 – Robert Moulton, dean, College of Education: $158,068.13 13 – Garrey E. Carruthers, College of Business Administration and Economics dean and vice president for economic development: $155,000 14 – Steven Castillo, dean, College of Engineering: $153,166.78 15 – Lowell Catlett, dean, College of Agriculture and Home Economics: $151,708.92 16 – Jeffrey Brandon, dean, College of Health and Social Services: $151,525.01 17 – Robert Widenhofer, assistant football coach: $149,873.90 18 – Thomas Burton, mechanical engineering department head: $146,300 19 – Jay Jordan, dean and director of the Physical Science Laboratory: $145,600 20 – Abbas Ghassemi, WERC executive director: $145,440.75 Continue Reading

t/Space doesn’t get NASA contract, but state could still benefit from space station project

By |

A company in which the state was considering investing $20 million was unsuccessful in its bid for a lucrative NASA contract, but that doesn’t mean the news is all bad for Spaceport America and New Mexico. t/Space was not selected as one of two finalists Friday to receive NASA funding for its attempt to develop a vehicle that could eventually be used to transport crew and cargo to the International Space Station. (Click here to view NASA’s home page for the project.) Picked instead were the El-Segundo, Calif.-based SpaceX and Rocketplane-Kistler of Oklahoma City. SpaceX will receive $278 million from NASA, according to Space.com, and Rocketplane-Kistler will receive $207 million. Both companies will be expected to conduct three flights before 2010 to prove they can deliver pressurized and unpressurized cargo to the space station, according to Space.com. Continue Reading

Lyons joins Richardson and Madrid in the hot seat over questionable campaign contributions

By |

State Land Commissioner Patrick Lyons is under fire for intervening in a lawsuit in 2004 for a landowner who gave him campaign contributions before, during and after the court battle. Lyons said the contributions had nothing to do with his action, but that darned appearance of impropriety that has plagued Gov. Bill Richardson and Attorney General Patricia Madrid, both Democrats, now finds its way to the doorstep of Republican Lyons, though the donations are smaller than some of those that have haunted the two Democrats. According to a weekend article in the Santa Fe New Mexican, Lyons took $250 from Mike Machenbier of the Four Daughters Ranch in Valencia County in 2004, during a court battle with the Isleta Pueblo over access to a road. Then, between October 2005 and June 2006, he accepted several contributions totaling $4,225. Lyon’s opponent in this year’s election, Democrat Jim Baca, called it an “ethical lapse” by Lyons. Continue Reading

A firsthand account of the devastation in Hatch

By |

Gov. Bill Richardson will formally ask President Bush today to declare Hatch a federal disaster area and free up emergency money to help the town recover from Tuesday’s flooding. His request is sorely needed. I spent Sunday afternoon in Hatch, and it’s devastated. State and federal officials toured Hatch Friday afternoon to assess the damage. According to the governor’s office, some 402 homes have been affected in the town, which has a population of about 1,600. Continue Reading

Jury still out on new elections supervisor

By |

Many are optimistic that Lynn Ellins is the right person to run Doña Ana County’s election in November, but most believe it’s too soon to tell. Of 79 voters in last week’s poll, 33, or 42 percent, said it’s too soon to say. 29, or 37 percent, said Ellins is the right choice. 17, or 22 percent, said he is not the right choice. You can read more about Ellins by clicking here. Continue Reading

Wisconsin Republicans attack Richardson as he visits state to support Democratic governor

By |

Gov. Bill Richardson is in Wisconsin today trying to help the re-election campaign of the state’s governor. The administration of Democrat Jim Doyle has recently been plagued by scandal. According to the Washington Post, jurors convicted a member of Doyle’s administration of fraud on June 12 after an official was accused of “directing a contract to a company that donated money to Doyle’s campaign.” “Doyle disavows any knowledge of the scandal and has attempted to distance himself from the corruption charges by firing the employee,” the Post article states. “However, in a state that prides itself on clean government, Doyle’s hopes for another four years as governor have been damaged. How seriously remains to be seen, but with approval ratings hovering around 40 percent, chances for recovery do not look promising.” The Post says the governor’s race in the state is a statistical dead heat. Continue Reading