Check out this site’s comments policy

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I’ve received many e-mails, phone calls and submitted comments lately questioning why some comments are published and others are not on this site. Unlike some bloggers, I do moderate comments. In general, comments must be constructive, not degrading, and they must not be libelous or spread rumor. Public discussion is an essential element of democracy, and allowing people to comment on what’s happening is an important part of this site. But, I’m learning, if the discussion isn’t moderated, it would quickly degrade into something that is completely counterproductive. Continue Reading

No word on whether Martinez will challenge Lujan

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Many have been wondering for months whether there would be a serious challenge to Ben Lujan’s position as speaker of the House. The answer: There isn’t yet an answer. In addition to the more liberal wing of the Democratic Party that might support current Majority Floor Leader Ken Martinez or another candidate over Lujan, there are the Democrats who want reform. Should Martinez opt to challenge Lujan, several sources tell me, the vote would be about 50-50. Martinez is not yet saying whether he’ll challenge Lujan. Continue Reading

Congressional race results expected today

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The final results in the 1st Congressional District race between Republican incumbent Heather Wilson and Democratic challenger Patricia Madrid are expected later today. Officially, Wilson has a 1,182-vote lead with about 1,500 ballots left to count. Unofficially, the Republican Party claims its tally of what’s left has Wilson ahead by more votes than there are outstanding ballots, making her lead insurmountable. According to the Albuquerque Journal, Republicans claim their count has Wilson up by 896 votes with no more than 500 ballots remaining to be tallied. Bernalillo County Elections Administrator Jaime Diaz told the Journal that an estimated 200 of those have been disqualified. Continue Reading

Share your view on the LCPS controversy

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I want to invite readers to write in with their thoughts on what should come of the situation in the Las Cruces Public Schools. But I want to caution you – my e-mail inbox and comments submitted on my blog have been full of profanities and libel all week. If that’s your intention, don’t bother. I’m looking for insightful pieces that convey thoughts on how the school district should proceed from here, with the goal of healing and improving our schools. Length isn’t an issue. Continue Reading

Richardson asks Bush to intervene in case that highlights complexities of immigration problem

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Gov. Bill Richardson is asking President Bush to allow a Mexican woman in the United States illegally to stay because her 7-year-old son is an American citizen. The situation is a perfect example of the complexities of the immigration debate. Richardson, according to the Associated Press, sent a letter to Bush urging him to consider allowing Elvira Arellano to stay because of her son. The boy successfully lobbied Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies earlier this week to approve a resolution calling for the United States to suspend the deportation of his mother and other illegal immigrant parents of U.S. citizens. The family has been staying at a Chicago church since August in an attempt to prevent deportation, the news service reported. Continue Reading

Probe into Diaz includes dozens of interviews

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The investigation of Las Cruces Public Schools Superintendent Sonia Diaz is more widespread than originally indicated by the school board. Board Member Leonel Briseño said on Nov. 8 that the board had charged its attorney with investigating specific allegations brought forth by staff members. He said at the time he expected the investigation to wrap up by Tuesday’s meeting. But it didn’t, and that’s part of why the board on Tuesday rescheduled its meeting for this coming Monday. Continue Reading

School board announces Feb. 6 election

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The Las Cruces Public Schools Board of Education has released its proclamation of the Feb. 6, 2007 election. District 4 board Member John Schwebke and District 5 Member Sharon Wooden are both up for re-election. With all the controversy and turmoil swirling around the school district, this should be an interesting one. Click here to read the election proclamation. Continue Reading

State government Web sites, networks are down

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The entire New Mexico state government network of Web sites has been offline since Wednesday afternoon because a construction worker in accidentally cut a fiber optic cable. All sites, including the state home page and sites for the governor’s office, secretary of state and the attorney general have been offline since then. Public information officers with several agencies confirmed for me the cause. In addition to the Web sites, internal networks and Internet and e-mail have been affected in state government offices, and many employees are having difficulties working. Workers are repairing the line as we speak. Continue Reading

Madrid gains ground, but it won’t likely be enough

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As the counting of ballots drags on in Bernalillo County, Democrat Patricia Madrid is gaining on U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., but it’s increasingly looking like it’s too little, too late. About 20 percent of more than 3,700 provisional ballots were disqualified Wednesday but, later in the day, 616 in-lieu-of ballots went to Madrid, compared to 293 for Wilson. Wilson now has a 1,164-vote lead, according to the Associated Press. Left to count are 1,494 provisional ballots, 71 in-lieu-of ballots and about 420 “in suspense” ballots. Those 420 ballots will almost all likely be tossed out, Bernalillo County Clerk Mary Herrera told the Albuquerque Journal. Continue Reading

Maintenance scheduled for today

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Update, 10:35 p.m. The times for the 10-minute outages have now been reset for 1:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. *** Blogger, the company that hosts this site, tells me my site will be down for maintenance for about 10 minutes at 10:30 a.m. and again at 2 p.m. today. Sorry for that, but it’s out of my hands. At least neither outage is scheduled to last long. Continue Reading

Domenici plans to run again in 2008

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Since voters made him a member of the minority party in the Senate last week, speculation has been rampant that Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., might not run for re-election in 2008. A correspondent on NBC’s Chris Matthews Show even said on Sunday that the senator is one of several who won’t seek re-election. That led to a domino effect of speculation and chatter about who would run for Domenici’s seat. Blogger Joe Monahan has spent days writing about his assertion that U.S. reps. Steve Pearce and Heather Wilson might go head-to-head in a Republican primary for the right to replace Domenici. Continue Reading

Misquez won’t apply for magistrate position

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Ralph Misquez says he won’t apply to be Doña Ana County’s next magistrate judge. Several people have encouraged him to apply, but Democrat Misquez said he won’t. He is still recovering from a four-year campaign for sheriff that ended with a defeat in last week’s election. “It took a toll,” Misquez said. “I’m not ready.” Misquez didn’t discount the possibility of applying for a magistrate position in the future. Continue Reading

Check out ABC-7 interview with Sonia Diaz

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Jayme Rubenstein, a reporter with ABC-7 in El Paso, interviewed Las Cruces Public Schools Superintendent Sonia Diaz hours before she was placed on administrative leave on Nov. 7. Rubenstein asked some tough questions and gave Diaz ample time to respond. During the interview, Diaz addressed much of the controversy now swirling around the district. The interview is available online and is 15 minutes long. Continue Reading

Richardson’s grassroots network preparing for ’08

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If activity on the Bill Richardson for President Yahoo! Group is any indication, the New Mexico governor’s presidential campaign is gaining traction. The group currently has 123 members from across the nation. Though a few blogs promoting a Richardson 2008 run already existed, its members have started additional blogs in several states since he was overwhelmingly re-elected governor last week. Such blogs now exist in Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Mexico, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Washington. Continue Reading

The race to replace Carlos Garza has begun

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Though Gov. Bill Richardson hasn’t yet asked for applications, the race to replace former Magistrate Judge Carlos Garza has begun. Garza was removed from the bench last week by the New Mexico Supreme Court after the Judicial Standards Commission found that he had used illegal drugs and improperly involved himself the court issues of a woman with whom he had a personal relationship. Several sources tell me that retired Las Cruces Police Department sergeant Joel Cano is actively seeking the job. Cano would have been the undersheriff for Democrat Ralph Misquez, had Misquez been successful in his bid to unseat Republican Sheriff Todd Garrison last week. Speaking of Misquez, many Democrats would like to see him apply for the job. Continue Reading