State schools help pay two secretaries and a deputy

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The state has released the details of how it plans to pay two of its new secretaries and a deputy secretary with the help of state universities. Higher Education Secretary Reed Dasenbrock will be paid a total of $257,250 – the same amount he was paid as provost at the University of New Mexico, according to the Albuquerque Journal. The university will pay almost $100,000 of the cost for the higher education department. UNM will also pay $60,000 of the $175,000 annual salary for new Health Secretary Alfredo Vigil, the tribune reported. And New Mexico State University will pay the entire $220,000 salary for Deputy Higher Education Secretary Bill Flores, who left his job as the school’s provost and executive vice president earlier this year to take the state job. Continue Reading

Hannan begins advertising in Las Cruces

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Jim Hannan, one of three Democrats fighting for the right to take on GOP Sen. Pete Domenici next year, has begun advertising his campaign in Las Cruces. The small, simple ad, which ran in today’s edition of Pulse, a weekly entertainment publication of the Las Cruces Sun-News, introduces Hannan as a candidate and states that he will work to protect social security, end the Iraq war, slow global warming and provide health care for all. You can view the ad by clicking here. It’s his first attempt at buying publicity outside Albuquerque and Santa Fe. It will be interesting to see how much it helps his campaign. Continue Reading

Pearce discloses funding requests; senators won’t

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I’ve been writing in the last week about New Mexico’s members of Congress being asked to release lists of requests for local project funding they made for possible inclusion in the budget currently being debated in Washington. I have already written that Democratic Rep. Tom Udall and Republican Rep. Heather Wilson have released their lists. As promised, Republican Rep. Steve Pearce released his list late Tuesday. You can view it by clicking here. He actually went beyond what the other representatives did by not only releasing his list of requests but detailing the status of each, which is impressive. Continue Reading

Domenici wants new, reduced U.S. mission in Iraq

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U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici has decided to support a redeployment of many American troops from Iraq by March 2008 as part of a new, reduced mission in that war-torn country. The GOP senator from New Mexico announced today that he has decided to cosponsor legislation that would call for the implementation of many of the Iraq Study Group recommendations. The move represents a major shift for Domenici, who up until now has supported President Bush in backing a controversial troop surge and opposing a timetable for withdrawal. “I am calling for a new strategy that will move our troops out of combat operations,” Domenici said. “This should result in a significant reduction in combat missions for U.S. troops and place more of a burden where it belongs – on the Iraqis.” The move is certain to upset Bush allies, but will also bolster Domenici’s re-election bid. Continue Reading

Domenici to change policy stance on Iraq war

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U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., plans to announce later this morning “a change in his policy on the war in Iraq,” according to a news release from his office. The change isn’t specified, but will be announced at a news conference at 11 a.m. in Albuquerque. In April, Domenici voted against a Democrat-sponsored bill to set troop-withdrawal deadlines, saying it was “irresponsible” because Congress would be “deserting our commitments to our military leaders and telling them that none of it matters, the war is over and your mission is done.” At the same time, Domenici said he understood “the deep national unrest over the course of the war. I do not support an open-ended commitment in Iraq.” He called for the Iraqi government to step up but said, in the meantime, Congress needed to support the troops. Withdrawal deadlines were never imposed, as Democrats backed down during the standoff with President Bush. Continue Reading

Agency’s actions create appearance of impropriety

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That darned appearance of impropriety is rearing its head once again in Santa Fe, and the only question that can be asked of the state personnel office is, what are you hiding? Its administrators might not be hiding anything. But they sure aren’t going out of their way to avoid the appearance of a cover-up. You might recall the release in May of an audit by the Legislative Finance Committee that found that the personnel office deviated from hiring practices for several months in 2005 and 2006, practiced nepotism and violated the state procurement code and travel rules. You might also recall Gov. Bill Richardson, Mr. I-want-to-clean-up-state-government, accusing the LFC of “nitpicking” and saying that the audit identified only “three minor problems” and was designed to “embarrass” him and his staff. Continue Reading

Lehrman seeks help to continue Senate campaign

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Leland Lehrman, one of three Democrats vying for the right to take on U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., next year, may be considering dropping out of the race or abandoning other activist work. In a letter e-mailed Wednesday to supporters and posted on his online newsletter, Lehrman, also the publisher of an alternative newspaper, wrote that he has received more than $400 in contributions to his Senate campaign, but he needs more to be able to continue the campaign and other work. His publications are also funded in part through contributions. The resident of Lamy characterized his campaign in the letter as “designed to hold the executive branch accountable through impeachment proceedings and a new 9/11 investigation,” but he also pushes a number of other liberal causes. “The most significant obstacle to increasing the pace of positive change remains resource availability. Continue Reading

It’s time to take the next step in our independence

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As we celebrate Independence Day, we should be thankful for those who took up arms to win us the right more than two centuries ago to openly debate and have a voice in determining what’s best for our future, and those who have continued to fight, when necessary, to protect our independence. We must also realize the struggle for independence is a constant battle we haven’t yet won. According to dictionary.com, to be independent means to be free from the control and influence of others. America, to be truly independent, should be a nation whose course is determined by its citizenry. Government at the local, state and federal level is influenced too heavily by corporations that have profit margins, not the good of America’s citizens, at heart. Continue Reading

Metro Court architect voluntarily gives up license

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Marc E. Schiff, the architect who has admitted to playing an integral role in the Bernalillo County Metro Court scandal, has voluntarily agreed to give up his license. The New Mexico Board of Examiners for Architects has agreed to accept Schiff’s voluntary surrender of his license to be an architect in New Mexico at the request of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, according to a news release from the board. Schiff has agreed to not practice or refer to himself as an architect until after he serves as a witness in federal criminal cases against former Senate President Manny Aragon and three others charged in what prosecutors call a complex scheme to bilk taxpayers out of $4.2 million. Schiff, the former president of the architect firm that designed the courthouse, has pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiracy and one felony count of mail fraud. The conspiracy charge carries a maximum prison sentence of five years and a $250,000 fine. Continue Reading

Lawmakers ask guv to help save historic theater

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Two state lawmakers say Gov. Bill Richardson has pledged to help them find $500,000 in state money save the historic Fountain Theatre from an uncertain future. The owner of the 102-year-old theater put it up for sale last month. The Mesilla Valley Film Society, which operates the historic theater as a venue for alternative films, was given a chance to buy the facility if it can come up with $525,000 before July 17. Though the group is holding a number of fundraisers, it’s a long shot. State Reps. Continue Reading

New Richardson book to be released in October

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A new book by Gov. Bill Richardson will be released in October. Obviously designed to be a boost to his presidential campaign, the book will be titled “Leading by Example: How We Can Inspire an Energy and Security Revolution.” If you’re interested, you can preorder it by clicking here. Its scheduled release date is Oct. 26. The book, according to the publisher, will essentially lay out Richardson’s energy plan. Continue Reading

Polls show Richardson dropping in Iowa, N.H.

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Three new polls out today will disappoint supporters of Gov. Bill Richardson’s presidential campaign. The polls, conducted by American Research Group, have Richardson at 6 percent in New Hampshire, 5 percent in Iowa and 1 percent in South Carolina. For Richardson, that’s a drop since the group’s May polls from 9 percent in New Hampshire and 8 percent in Iowa. He’s never been above 1 percent in South Carolina. Two other recent polls conducted by other companies have placed Richardson at 9 percent in New Hampshire, but another recent poll had him falling to 6 percent in Iowa after climbing to about 10 percent in a number of polls in May. Continue Reading

Homans leaving spaceport job for private sector

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Rick Homans is leaving his position as executive director of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority to take a job in the private sector. The announcement comes two months after Homans left his job as secretary of the Economic Development Department to oversee construction of Spaceport America. Homans said the newest change was unexpected, but said he was presented with a unique opportunity that will be good for him and the state. The company Homans is joining, he said, focuses on environmental technology and has decided to base its United States headquarters in New Mexico in part because he has agreed to take a top management position. The new job starts Aug. Continue Reading

Wilson releases list of funding requests

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I wrote last week about U.S. Rep. Tom Udall publishing a list of his requests for local project funding on his Web site, and the importance of that because a lack of scrutiny has historically led to some wasteful spending by Congress and the president. Because they haven’t published similar lists on their Web sites, I requested last week the lists of requests made by U.S. Reps. Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce. Wilson’s office faxed me her requests this weekend. You can check them out by clicking here. Continue Reading

Richardson is climbing, but not fast enough

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Gov. Bill Richardson is not a top-tier presidential candidate, at least yet. There are lots of positive signs for the governor’s campaign – he raised $7 million in the second quarter of 2007, he’s roughly tied with John Edwards in New Hampshire, his support has been growing in Iowa – but there are signs that he isn’t yet on par with Edwards, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. The newest national poll of the Democratic primary race, released today by Rasmussen Reports, has Clinton at 39 percent, Obama at 26 percent, Edwards at 13 percent and Richardson at 5 percent. The newest poll of New Hampshire Democrats, also released today by Rasmussen Reports, has Clinton at 38 percent in that important primary state, Obama at 21 percent, Edwards at 10 percent and Richardson at 9 percent. The national poll of 769 likely Democratic primary voters, conducted June 25-28, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent. Continue Reading