Most who vote in non-scientific poll say NMSU Foundation should have to release donor list

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The majority of those who voted in last week’s non-scientific poll on this site say the New Mexico State University Foundation should not be allowed to keep its donor list secret. Of 149 voters, 95, or 64 percent, said the foundation should not be allowed to keep the list secret, while 49, or 33 percent, said it should be allowed to keep it secret, and 5, or 3 percent, said they are undecided. Don’t forget to vote in this week’s poll, located at the top of the right column on this page. Continue Reading

Media follows as Richardson walks in another’s shoes

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Though the event was billed by his campaign as being closed to the media, a reporter with the Las Vegas Sun apparently got to accompany Gov. Bill Richardson on Thursday on his journey with the Walk a Day in My Shoes campaign. So did a reporter for the Associated Press and another for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Photographers and at least one TV cameraman were also along. Richardson spent a few hours with a single father who is a social worker in Las Vegas, both at his home and work. The Sun article included an interesting observation. Continue Reading

On proposed drilling moratorium, Pearce plans to back whatever position the Interior Department takes

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U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., hasn’t taken a position on a proposed moratorium on drilling on the Otero Mesa because he wants to see what the experts in the Interior Department think about the idea. Pearce plans to wait for the Interior Department to take a position and support it, spokesman Brian Phillips said. “There’s all this political rigmarole, but why don’t we let the experts tell us what they need,” Phillips said. The proposed delay in leasing land for oil and gas drilling has the support of three of New Mexico’s elected officials in Washington – Democratic Sen. Jeff Bingaman and Rep. Tom Udall and Republican Sen. Pete Domenici – who have written letters to the Interior Department asking that the Bureau of Land Management put its planned drilling program on hold to allow completion of a water study. A 2006 federal study estimated that there could be 57 million acre-feet of groundwater – 15 million of them potable – under the Otero Mesa, which is recharged by surface water runoff that some fear could be polluted by drilling. Continue Reading

17 months before election, Steinborn holds fundraiser

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In yet another sign that we’re in a state of perpetual election cycles, state Rep. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces, is holding a fundraiser on Saturday. He’s up for re-election in November 2008. The event is billed on the invitation as a “special reception” sponsored by a number of people, including former state Rep. J. Paul Taylor, Doña Ana County Commissioner Karen Perez and Don Kurtz, one of the organizers of the Quality Growth Alliance. The invitation requests a $50-per-person donation to “talk with Jeff” and “enjoy good food and wine.” It will be held at a home on the west side of Las Cruces, outside Steinborn’s district, which includes parts of the north side of Las Cruces and runs along the west side of Interstate 25 to Radium Springs. In his first six months in office, Steinborn has been an active representative who was one of about 10 elected officials who helped work out a compromise on reform of the state’s housing authority system during this year’s session. Continue Reading

Listen to discussion on ethics reform

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Thursday afternoon I hosted the third New Mexico Blog Radio show and spoke with Matt Brix, a policy analyst who serves on the governor’s task force on ethics reform. We had a good discussion about what’s been happening and how the current effort to reach out to lawmakers will be different than last year’s. You can listen to or download the 30-minute podcast by clicking here. Continue Reading

Immigration plan shelved after compromise fails

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Members of the U.S. Senate failed to overcome deep divisions over how to reform the nation’s immigration system, and the proposal was shelved Thursday night with no timeline to bring it back to the forefront. After a first test vote on the bill failed 33-63 earlier Thursday, a second vote to end debate and schedule a final vote received only 45 favorable votes. It needed 60. U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., part of a bipartisan group that proposed the plan, voted against ending debate and scheduling a final vote on the bill. “Democrats are refusing to allow votes on amendments to the legislation on the Senate floor,” Domenici said. Continue Reading

Richardson gains ground against GOP frontrunners

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New polls show Gov. Bill Richardson has gained ground in head-to-head competition against the two GOP frontrunners for their party’s presidential nomination, but that’s not entirely due to an increase in his popularity. Richardson’s gains are partially due to “soft support for the leading GOP candidates,” according to the Rasmussen Reports article that accompanies its newest survey results. In the survey, Richardson trails Rudy Giuliani 43 percent to 39 percent. He trails John McCain 43 percent to 38 percent. In April, he trailed Giuliani 51 to 34 percent. Continue Reading

State Democratic Party may get new director

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The new chair of the Democratic Party of New Mexico has decided to seek applicants for the position of executive director. The current director, Matt Farrauto, can reapply, but others can also seek the job. Party Chair Brian Colón announced the job posting in an e-mail Wednesday evening. The job description and more information can be found here. Farrauto has been executive director for 18 months and was communications director for 18 months before that, but it’s not unusual for a new party chair to bring in a new director. Continue Reading

Immigration overhaul proposal on life support

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A proposal to reform the nation’s immigration system is on life support after it failed to pass an important test vote earlier today. That came after the Senate, by one vote, opted shortly after midnight to add an amendment that would eliminate the nation’s guest-worker program after five years. You might recall that, days ago, the Senate approved an amendment by Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., to cut the guest worker program in half, from 400,000 to 200,000. Bingaman’s successful proposal followed the Senate’s vote against a proposed amendment from Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D, to eliminate the guest-worker program altogether. The new amendment approved this morning came from Dorgan. Continue Reading

King says lawmakers’ trip to Netherlands is OK

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The state’s new law limiting gifts to public officials doesn’t prohibit two lawmakers from traveling to the Netherlands on a lobbyist’s dime to learn about a uranium enrichment plant similar to one being constructed in Southeast New Mexico, the attorney general says. The new act, which takes effect next Friday, prohibits public officials and candidates for state and local offices from accepting gifts with a value of more than $100 during legislative sessions and $250 the rest of the year. It also prohibits lobbyists from giving gifts whose combined value total more than $1,000 to any official or candidate each year. Reps. William Gray of Artesia and Shirley Tyler of Lovington, both Republicans, asked Attorney General Gary King for an opinion on whether the trip would be prohibited under the new law. Continue Reading

Alan Riehl to host The Morning Show

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I just got back from spending about an hour on the radio with the new host of The Morning Show on KSNM-AM 570. Alan Riehl seems to be an intelligent, friendly person. Today was his first day on the air after Michael Swickard and Radio Las Cruces, the station’s parent company, parted ways on Tuesday. He’s still learning the setup, and there were a few kinks, but I think he’ll fill in nicely. Riehl, 43, was born and raised in El Paso but came to Las Cruces in 1999. Continue Reading

Listen to discussion on ethics reform later today

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At 4:30 p.m. today, I’ll be hosting the third New Mexico Blog Radio show. Matt Brix, a policy analyst who serves on the governor’s task force on ethics reform, will be the guest. Brix and I will be discussing ethics in state government and some proposals for reform. If you haven’t experienced it before, blog talk radio is like conventional talk radio, only it’s on the Internet. You visit a Web site and listen through your computer. Continue Reading

Denish, Rawson help launch Spanish network

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Angela Kurz, a photographer who runs the site CrucesLive.com, took these photos Tuesday at the launching of the Spanish-language V-me network at KRWG-TV’s studio in Las Cruces. V-me is the nation’s only Spanish-language public television network. The first photo is of Lt. Gov. Diane Denish. The second is of state Sen. Leonard Lee Rawson of Las Cruces. Kurz, a German immigrant, has an interesting take on Spanish-language television and other materials and government programs that aren’t in English. Continue Reading

Univision to hold presidential debates in Spanish; Richardson will participate, urges others to attend

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The nation’s largest Spanish-language network has invited presidential candidates from both parties to attend debates conducted in Spanish, and Gov. Bill Richardson is the first to accept. Univision plans to hold the Democratic and Republican candidate debates on two Sundays in September. They would be held in Miami and would likely focus on immigration, the Los Angeles Times is reporting. The Democratic debate is scheduled for Sept. 9 at the University of Miami. Continue Reading