NMSU wants to help rebuild agriculture in Iraq

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New Mexico State University President Michael Martin wants to join a coalition of schools that will help rebuild agriculture in Iraq. Martin has just returned from a trip to Baghdad, and said he hopes NMSU can play a lead role in the task. It’s part of Martin’s broader goal of making NMSU known and influential far beyond New Mexico’s borders. The branding campaign, which included the new logo, is geared in that direction. He has completely (and controversially) shaken up the research structure at NMSU, with the goal of improving it. Continue Reading

Politics color House committee hearing on voter ID, but a good discussion also ensues

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There were a lot of politics at play in Thursday’s House Administration Committee meeting in Las Cruces on voter identification. At the same time, some interesting points were made by proponents and opponents that revealed the complexities of the issue. The topic is tangentially related to the issue current Congressional hearings around the nation are purported to address: immigration. At the hearing, which was attended by about 100 people, Republicans made claims of widespread voter fraud and lawbreaking, while Democrats scoffed at the idea that any such problem exists. Present were the committee’s chair, Rep. Vernon Ehlers, R-Michigan; committee member Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif.; and Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., who is not a member of the committee but participated anyway. Continue Reading

Lawsuit against housing authority board member dismissed, but scandal continues

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A lawsuit Region III Housing Authority Director Vincent “Smiley” Gallegos filed against one of the Region VII board members has been dismissed, according to The Citizen. Gallegos filed the slander lawsuit against Frances Williams earlier this year after Williams alleged wrongdoing on the part of the housing authorities. The lawsuit was dismissed last week in district court in Las Cruces. But that’s not all that’s going on with the housing authority scandal. Here’s the short background: Gallegos has been embroiled in controversy related to his management of the Las Cruces-based Region VII Housing Authority and the Region III authority in Albuquerque. Continue Reading

Richardson declares disaster in eight counties

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Gov. Bill Richardson has declared a state of disaster in eight counties, including Doña Ana, which will free up funds to aid repair efforts. The order also applies to Grant, Hidalgo, Sandoval, San Miguel, Sierra, Socorro and Valencia counties. “This disaster declaration frees up necessary money to help rebuild as quickly as possible,” Richardson said. “The recent flooding has been widespread and devastating. It is imperative that we respond quickly and help these counties, cities and towns get back on their feet.” New Mexico has been deluged with heavy rain and thunderstorms during the past week, causing communities and cities to incur damage to roads, canals, and other public infrastructure. Continue Reading

City judges won’t be forced off criminal cases because of lawsuit, Robles rules

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A district judge has denied a request by the City of Las Cruces to force the two municipal judges to recuse themselves from cases the city is prosecuting. The request from the city attorney’s office came in response to a lawsuit the judges have filed against the city, and is part of a larger dispute that has put on hold dozens of drunken driving and domestic violence cases. In denying the request Tuesday, Robles said there was no evidence that the lawsuit would affect the judges’ ability to preside over cases involving the city attorney’s office. City Manager Terrence Moore said the cases will proceed before the two judges, now that the recusal issue has been resolved. The dispute began when the judges, Melissa Miller-Byrnes and James T. Locatelli, complained to city management about the handling of cases by prosecutors and police in 2004. Continue Reading

Following floods, Gov. may declare disaster

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As officials with Doña Ana County and the City of Sunland Park assess the damage from Tuesday’s flooding, Gov. Bill Richardson is considering declaring a state of disaster. That would open the way for money to help repair damage. Richardson was already set to visit Las Cruces later today, and is expected to make announcement related to the disaster then. In the meantime, the county is deploying heavy equipment and personnel to the communities hardest hit, and road crews worked throughout the night. The county remains under severe weather alert, with more storms possible this afternoon. Continue Reading

Diaz responds well on first bad-news day, and Gadsden schools to be congratulated for progress

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Sonia Diaz, the new superintendent of the Las Cruces Public Schools, handled her first bad-news day well. The school district joined most districts around the state in learning Tuesday that more schools failed to meet federally required levels of progress last school year than the prior year. 13 of the district’s 34 schools met the Adequate Yearly Progress benchmark, according to the Las Cruces Sun-News. 22 failed to meet the requirement. Last year, 21 failed. Continue Reading

Commuter rail seeing success, but jury still out

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Since the state began commuter rail service more than two weeks ago between Albuquerque and Bernalillo, there have been more than 50,000 passenger boardings, the Albuquerque Journal is reporting today. That’s a surprisingly impressive number. The state has spent an ungodly massive $400 million on the rail project and, intentionally or not, the Richardson administration misrepresented the cost to legislators during the early approval stages. That made the rail a politically hot potato, and was a large reason there were so many critics of funding for the spaceport in this year’s legislative session. Gov. Bill Richardson took some hits, but he insisted the rail would benefit the state, and pleaded for people to give it a chance. Continue Reading

BREAKING NEWS: Extreme weather prompts emergency response

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Update, 6:45 p.m. River appears safe at this time A surge of water in the Rio Grande is pushing south from northern Doña Ana County near the Village of Hatch. Doña Ana County Flood Director Paul Dugie said water flows of 900 cubic feet per second are being measured south of Hatch. All the water in the river is storm-related. Water flow from the Elephant Butte and Caballo reservoirs was shut off late yesterday. Total flow in the river at this time is about 1,850 cubic feet per second, according to Dugie’s calculations. Continue Reading

Lyons campaign says signs have come down

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The campaign of Republican Land Commissioner Pat Lyons says it has asked that its signs be taken down until Aug. 9 and property owners have complied. “The Lyons’ campaign apologizes for the oversight. So many supporters around the state have asked for signs and they’ve been delivered. The assumption was that people can do what they want on their own property,” the campaign said in an e-mail. Continue Reading

Richardson heads to South Carolina for meeting

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Gov. Bill Richardson will attend the summer meeting of the National Governors Association this weekend in Charleston, S.C. The group is a public policy organization that lobbies for federal legislation, develops policy and hosts seminars, according to thestate.com. The governors are expected to discuss a wide range of topics that include emergency preparedness, health care, energy and economic development. Politics are always part of these conferences, thestate.com reports. Richardson is one of several governors considering a run for president in 2008. Continue Reading

Lyons campaign isn’t calling for signs to be taken down; city has already removed some

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Though the City of Las Cruces has begun the process of removing Republican Land Commissioner Pat Lyons’ campaign signs, which it says violate an ordinance, the Lyons’ campaign isn’t yet calling for property owners to take them down. The campaign began handing out signs last week, and several went up on private property and in city medians and right-of-way areas. Two 4×8-foot signs were erected on private property adjacent to Roadrunner Parkway and Lohman Avenue. But the city’s ordinance prohibits the erecting of campaign signs until 90 days before an election. That would be Aug. Continue Reading

National politics headlines added to this site, and new Web site for Las Cruces makes its debut

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There are a couple of new things about which I’d like you to know. First, I’ve added a national politics headline feed to this site. Now, the top 10 politics headlines from the Associated Press, including the first paragraph of each article, are displayed below the links in the right column on this site, and they’re updated several times each day. I hope you like that. Thanks to the Albuquerque Journal for allowing such use of its headlines feeds. Continue Reading

Bill Richardson, blogmeister

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Gov. Bill Richardson has become a blogger. In an attempt to inspire and woo liberal bloggers, Richardson has been shamelessly praising and giving interviews to them in recent weeks. Now he’s become one of them. Richardson gave last weekend’s Democratic response to President Bush’s weekly radio address. His re-election campaign sent out an e-mail Saturday announcing that and providing links to his Web site, which lays out his plan “to turn the country around” and includes the text of his radio speech. Continue Reading

Garza cautions against rushing to judgment, hints that politics might be behind allegations

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Doña Ana County Magistrate Judge Carlos Garza asked late Monday that people not rush to judge him following Friday’s request for his immediate suspension, and hinted that politics might be behind the allegations against him. But, Garza said, he can’t comment on specifics or detail the allegations against him. The filing by the Judicial Standards Commission requesting his immediate, temporary suspension has been sealed by the New Mexico Supreme Court, so details aren’t known. The high court has not yet acted on the petition. Garza said he’s become accustomed to the scrutiny of “having to explain every little thing” and said the truth would come out in time. Continue Reading