Las Cruces gets new city clerk

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Las Cruces has a new city clerk, and one of her first tasks will be running the municipal election later this year. Esther Martinez, the deputy city clerk who has been running the show for the past five months, was promoted last week, City Manager Terrence Moore announced in his weekly report to city councilors on Friday. She officially begins as permanent clerk a week from today. Moore wrote that Martinez’s immediate challenge will be filling the deputy clerk job she’s leaving. Following that, she’ll have to prepare for the November election, in which the mayor’s seat, three council positions and one judgeship are up for grabs. Continue Reading

Documents appear to contradict Gonzales’ claim of limited involvement in U.S. attorney firings

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Support for U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales continued to be stripped away over the weekend as documents released Friday evening show that he was more involved in the firings of eight U.S. attorneys than he previously admitted. It was another in a long series of contradictions, withheld facts and backtracking by the Department of Justice that have caused the situation to explode into full-blown scandal, but is, to date, the first contradictory statement made by the attorney general himself. Gonzales said during a March 13 news conference, in explaining that he had only a limited role in the firings, that he “never saw documents (related to the firing of the attorneys.) We never had a discussion about where things stood.” But documents reveal that he attended an hour-long meeting on Nov. 27, 2006, days before the firings, at which he approved the department’s plan for executing the firings. The department quickly tried to spin the situation by saying there’s no evidence Gonzales discussed who was being fired, but only that he talked about how it would be done. Continue Reading

Majority who vote in poll don’t support spaceport tax

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A majority of those who voted in last week’s non-scientific poll on this site said they don’t support a 1/4 percent gross receipts tax increase to help fund Spaceport America. Of 170 voters, 93, or 55 percent, said they don’t support the tax, while 77, or 45 percent, said they do support it. The election is April 3. Don’t forget to vote in this week’s poll, located at the top of the right column on this page. Continue Reading

Check out this site’s ethical guidelines

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The Internet is rife with blogs and other Web sites that spread rumor and lack standards. With that in mind, I’ve been working for awhile on a set of ethical guidelines for this site designed to help you understand how I approach the work I do and let you know that this site has integrity. I posted the ethical guidelines today. They cover a wide range of topics related to editorial content, advertising, unnamed sources and other issues. Check them out by clicking here. Continue Reading

Senate votes to adjourn again, awaits House action

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The New Mexico Senate voted again today to adjourn sine die in defiance of the governor. It’s the second time in a week the Senate has voted to end the session and reject Gov. Bill Richardson’s call for a special session. The move places the ball back in the House’s court, as that chamber’s membership must now decide whether to adjourn sine die and end the session or force the Senate to meet a third time. The Senate didn’t approve the feed bill before adjourning today, so House members would be working without per diem, as they did during the first week of the special session, if they continue. If they keep working, the Senate must return by Wednesday, but could vote to adjourn again. Continue Reading

Virgin Galactic lease deal to be announced Monday

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Officials from the state and Virgin Galactic will announce Monday that they have reached an agreement on the framework of a lease of the Spaceport America facility to be constructed northeast of Las Cruces. The announcement will be made at 3:30 p.m. at the university club in the Stan Fulton Center on the New Mexico State University campus. Officials from the state and Virgin will be present. New Mexico Economic Development Secretary Rick Homans said Thursday night that negotiations were underway and a deal on a memorandum of understanding that would set the terms of a lease could be reached within days. Apparently, the deal has been reached. Continue Reading

Senate scheduled to convene at 10 a.m. Saturday

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The New Mexico Senate is scheduled to meet at 10 a.m. Saturday to decide whether to consider the proposals on the agenda for the special session or again adjourn sine die. I’ll have an update on Saturday, so check back then. The Senate is notorious for not starting on time, so the body won’t likely convene until 10:30 a.m. or later. The parties are scheduled to convene in separate caucuses at 9 a.m., and I’m told that’s when Democrats will decide whether to stay and work or again vote to end the session. It should be interesting. Continue Reading

Richardson signs bill raising minimum wage to $7.50

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In January, the state’s minimum wage will rise to $6.50 per hour. A year after that, it will be $7.50. During a brief appearance in Santa Fe between presidential campaign trips, Gov. Bill Richardson signed a bill today that raises the minimum wage. Senate Bill 324, sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem Ben Altamirano, D-Silver City, does not allow automatic cost-of-living increases and exempts agricultural workers. It prevents cities and counties that haven’t already raised their minimum wages above the state’s from doing so until 2010. Continue Reading

Senate calling the shots after a session of wise moves

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For four years, Republicans and a number of Democrats in the New Mexico Senate fumed as Gov. Bill Richardson used his veto pen as a weapon. They steamed as Richardson took stances and made moves they believed were geared more toward building his résumé than serving the citizens of New Mexico. They fought proposed sharp increases in the state’s budget they believed wouldn’t be sustainable. And they lost. Repeatedly, Richardson outmaneuvered them, aided by a House Democratic caucus that, most of the time, went along with the governor’s demands. Continue Reading

State says it’s close to inking deal with Virgin Galactic

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The state is close to inking a deal that would officially make Virgin Galactic the anchor tenant at Spaceport America, a top official says. “Could be days. Could be a couple of weeks,” said New Mexico Economic Development Secretary Rick Homans. “I am hoping days. I will know more by this weekend.” Homans said what should be finalized in the coming days is a memorandum of understanding that would set the terms for a lease. Continue Reading

County tax is key element of spaceport funding plan

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This is the first in a series of articles examining the issues surrounding the April 3 election on whether to raise the gross receipts tax 1/4 percent in Doña Ana County to help fund Spaceport America. When staffers for Gov. Bill Richardson first pitched the proposal to create a commuter rail to the Legislature, they underestimated the cost by almost $300 million. So when the governor asked for $114.5 million during the 2006 legislative session to help fund Spaceport America, many lawmakers balked. Some publicly questioned how they could trust the administration’s assertion that the spaceport would cost $225 million or less. Ultimately, three conditions were placed on $100 million granted by the Legislature. Continue Reading

Domenici’s approval rating takes a hit in new poll

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A new poll shows that the U.S. attorney scandal has dented the popularity of U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M. The SurveyUSA poll, released Wednesday, finds approval of the job Domenici is doing at 57 percent and disapproval at 35 percent – the lowest totals since at least May 2005. The survey, which has a margin of error of four percent, was conducted March 12. The previous poll, conducted Feb. 12, found Domenici’s approval rating at 64 percent, with disapproval at 27 percent. In between the polls, former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias accused Domenici and Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., of trying to pressure him to speed indictments in a public corruption probe in time to sway voters in the November 2006 election. Continue Reading

Edwards: Wife’s cancer relapse won’t slow 2008 run

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Cancer has returned and spread to the bone of Elizabeth Edwards, wife of Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, but it won’t affect his campaign, he said today. At a news conference in Chapel Hill, N.C., the couple announced the development moments ago. Elizabeth Edwards was diagnosed with breast cancer about the same day Edwards and John Kerry lost the 2004 presidential race, and they waited for news that her recovery was complete before he began his second presidential run this year. But there’s always a chance cancer will return. “The campaign goes on strongly,” John Edwards said during the news conference. Continue Reading

House works all night, passes most proposals

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The House ended up working through the night and passed all items on Gov. Bill Richardson’s agenda except one that would place limits on campaign contributions. The session ended shortly before 7:30 a.m. after a contentious night that included attacks by Republicans against Richardson and House Democrats and long debates by exhausted lawmakers on controversial bills. Most House Democrats who were present went along with approval of the governor’s agenda and Speaker of the House Ben Lujan’s goal that they pass it in one meeting so everyone could go back home. But not all sounded happy about it. “We usually get a break at least by four or five (a.m.). Continue Reading

Despite GOP protests, House works through the night

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The House appears to be on track to work through the night, and a GOP motion to adjourn sine die and end the session was defeated by Democrats. House Republicans are working every procedural angle they can find to try to stop or stall the session, and a bipartisan group of members who are on the floor have described the scene to me as a huge mess. I’m not clear at this early hour (It’s almost 4 a.m. now and I’m in Las Cruces, not Santa Fe) what the exact vote was on the motion to adjourn sine die, but all Democrats voted against ending the session and all Republicans voted for it. Among those voting against the motion was Rep. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, who was absent much of Wednesday but made the trip to Santa Fe and is now working alongside other House members. The vote came early this morning after a call of the House by Republicans and a number of excusals by Speaker of the House Ben Lujan. Continue Reading