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

City says Lyons’ campaign signs must come down

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Property owners in Las Cruces who put up campaign signs for Republican Land Commissioner Pat Lyons last week are in violation of an ordinance and will have to take them down, the city says. At issue is a city ordinance that prohibits the erecting of campaign signs until 90 days before an election. That would be Aug. 9 for the November general election. Doña Ana County, Sunland Park and Hatch also allow signs 90 days before elections. Continue Reading

BREAKING NEWS: High court asked to suspend Magistrate Judge Carlos Garza

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The New Mexico Supreme Court has been asked to immediately suspend Doña Ana County Magistrate Judge Carlos Garza without pay. The reason for the request from the Judicial Standards Commission isn’t known because the high court has sealed the file. The request was made by the commission on Friday, according to a clerk in the Supreme Court clerk’s office. Commission Director Jim Noel said he could not comment because the petition has been sealed. This is the second petition for discipline of Garza in recent months. Continue Reading

Here’s ‘the most egregious example of pork barrel legislation:’ a private party at taxpayers’ expense

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Las Vegas sure has had its share of scandal lately. The sleepy town in the northern part of the state recently dealt with Manny Aragon’s departure from Highlands University. The area is also the home of former state treasurer Robert Vigil, who is awaiting his second federal corruption trial. Vigil’s brother and sister-in-law are the subjects of the current scandal. The former West Las Vegas school district’s bilingual education director, Roberta Vigil, threw quite a bash last year, thanks to a $71,250 legislative appropriation passed with the help of her husband, Rep. Richard Vigil, D-Ribera. Continue Reading

Poll: Land commissioner race will be close

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It’s a close race for land commissioner this year, at least according to the results of last week’s poll on this site. Of 92 voters in the poll, 49, or 53 percent, said Democratic challenger Jim Baca will beat Republican incumbent Pat Lyons. 43, or 47 percent, said Lyons will hold on to the seat. Be sure to vote in this week’s poll, located at the top of the right column on this page. Continue Reading

Task force names ethics commission a priority

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The creation of a full-time state commission to investigate allegations of misconduct by public officials is one of five priorities set this week by the governor’s task force on ethics reform, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican. In addition, the committee will concentrate on compensating legislators, restricting campaign contributions and gifts to public officials, and the public financing of campaigns. The commission would have subpoena power and would be similar to the Judicial Standards Commission, which is charged with investigating allegations of misconduct against judges and petitioning the Supreme Court for discipline when it deems necessary. The ethics commission would report to the legislature, which would have the power to remove office holders, if necessary. If the proposal moves forward, the legislature and governor will likely be asked to approve the placing on the ballot of a constitutional amendment similar to the one that created the Judicial Standards Commission, giving voters the final decision on the ethics commission. Continue Reading

District court reorganizes to better serve families

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The 3rd Judicial District Court in Doña Ana County is in the process of reorganizing to better serve families. The plan is to create what’s called a unified family court. Currently, there are two judicial positions assigned to the children’s court, which handles criminal matters against juveniles, abuse and neglect issues, custody cases and similar issues. There are also two judicial positions assigned to domestic relations, which handles divorce cases, domestic violence hearings, restraining order requests and other issues. That means many families have separate court proceedings before different judges at the same time. Continue Reading

Republicans pick Neumann to run for judgeship

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The Republicans have picked Rita Nuñez-Neumann to run in November for a newly created children’s court judge position in Las Cruces. Neumann, 62, was not selected by Thursday’s nominating commission to be considered for the governor’s appointment to the position. The appointee will serve until the end of the year, when the candidate who is elected in November takes office. If the appointee is also elected in November, there will be no change. The committee sent the names of Democrats Fernando Macias, 54, and Bernadette Sedillo, 40, to Richardson. Continue Reading