Metro court architect sentenced to 366 days in prison

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Marc Schiff, a former architect who played an integral role in the stealing of $4.3 million in taxpayer money during construction of the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Courthouse, was sentenced today to a year and a day in federal prison. From the Albuquerque Journal: “Senior U.S. District Judge John Edwards Conway told Schiff, ‘I assure you, I take no pleasure in this’ but said Schiff’s submission of false invoices made it impossible for him to sentence him to probation, as his attorney Joseph Riggs had argued Schiff should be. Riggs said the government had led Schiff to believe that his extensive cooperation, which included wearing a wire, would earn him a probated sentence like that received by former Albuquerque Mayor Ken Schultz.” The judge also ordered Schiff to pay $136,000 in restitution. Schiff, once the president of one of the top architect firms in the state, had pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiracy and one felony count of mail fraud. After admitting to submitting false invoices and then passing on the stolen money to other defendants, he voluntarily gave up his architect license in 2007. Continue Reading

City sues Philippou over lingering infrastructure issues

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Almost two years ago, a spokesman for Las Cruces developer Philip Philippou said he expected that drainage improvements in the Dos Sueños subdivision would be completed in 4-6 weeks. The drainage issue was one of many problems with the controversial developer’s subdivision that journalist Vicki Nisbett revealed in an article published on this site in October 2007. And, despite the statement made at the time to Nisbett by Kirk Clifton, development administrator for Philippou’s company, the drainage improvements have still not been completed. Apparently, the City of Las Cruces has had enough. The Las Cruces Sun-News is reporting that the city has filed a lawsuit alleging that Philippou has failed to comply with building requirements in several of his subdivisions and is asking a district court judge to force Philippou to complete the work he started. Continue Reading

Pearce will try to recapture CD2 seat

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Former U.S. Rep. Steve Peace, R-N.M., announced today that he will challenge the Democrat who replaced him, Harry Teague, next year. Here is Pearce’s statement:For the past half year, I have stood by and hoped for the best for our state and country. I had hoped Harry Teague would look out for the hard working people of New Mexico.Sadly while I hoped for the best, Harry Teague embraced a reckless set of policies that directly jeopardize our economy and threatens future generations. He went to Washington and quickly voted for massive amounts of wasteful spending, loading up on pork barrel projects and radically increasing the size of government.Now Harry Teague chose to vote for the job-killing cap and trade bill. If this bill becomes law, it will devastate jobs in New Mexico and further cripple the American economy.Harry Teague’s cap and trade bill will:• Hit families with as much as $1500 a year in higher energy costs.• Destroy jobs in New Mexico’s energy sector.• Will cost New Mexico over $200 million in higher electricity bills, but lower costs in California and New York.Harry Teague put his allegiance to the liberal leadership of Nancy Pelosi ahead of the working families of New Mexico. Continue Reading

UCC filings system back up; others remain down

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Secretary of State Mary Herrera said Wednesday that she was “optimistic” that the computer systems in her office that enable database searches and Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) filings via her Web site would be back online Thursday. As of the publication of this posting, the UCC filings database is operational. But it appears to be back online using the less secure hypertext transfer protocol (http at the start of the Web address). Prior to last week’s problems that led to all systems in the secretary of state’s office going down, the searchable databases used the more secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (https at the start of the Web address). In addition, the databases for campaign contributors, candidates and political committees receiving contributions, lobbyist reports and financial information disclosure reports are still offline. Continue Reading

What you need to know about legislative scorecards

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Reading this year’s legislative scorecard put out by the Albuquerque-based Association of Commerce and Industry, you would think Doña Ana County’s legislative delegation is pretty unfriendly to business. “Don’t buy it,” the Las Cruces Sun-News’ Walt Rubel writes in a recent commentary. ACI is one of a number of groups that put out such rankings following legislative sessions. Rubel writes that, while the scorecards “may have some value to the members of those organizations in letting them know who is supportive of their pet projects, they are of little value to voters.” Why? Such scorecards “invariably favor one party over the other based on the special interest they are representing,” Rubel writes. Continue Reading

‘Quality-of-life’ tax increase proposal put on hold

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A proposal to raise the gross-receipts tax in Las Cruces to help fund “quality-of-life” initiatives such as operation and maintenance of city ball fields, creation of new bike paths and the expansion of artistic and cultural programs has been delayed, but supporters of the tax say it isn’t dead. The Las Cruces Sun-News has the scoop on organizers of the petition drive suspending their efforts until the fall. Their explanation: It’s summer, and lots of people are out of town. “Here we are with about three weeks left to turn in the petition and we probably would’ve had only needed maybe 300 more signatures,” Las Cruces resident Alice Cox was quoted by the newspaper as saying. “We would have easily made that, but we wanted many more than that. Continue Reading

Wilson to do political, elections training in Africa

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Former U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson is traveling to Africa today to “engage with government ministers and teach candidates and parliamentary staff about communications, constituent service and running elections,” according to a note posted on her Facebook page. Wilson, a potential 2010 Republican gubernatorial candidate, gave the details to the Albuquerque Journal: “While in Sudan, I will be meeting with the Speaker of the Southern Sudan Parliament, conducting training and consultations with their legislators who are involved national security and international affairs matters, training the staffs of legislators on constituent service and communications, and speaking at a women’s leadership conference sponsored by the UN Mission in Sudan and the US Agency for International Development. “I will also be meeting with the leaders of all of the political parties in Southern Sudan about preparations for elections in 2010 and making sure that election is legitimate. “In Kenya, I will be meeting with the Minister of State for Defense and members of the Kenyan Parliament involved in national security matters.” Wilson was invited to make the trip by the International Republican Institute, which is paying for the trip. The former Republican House member, who told me last week that she hasn’t decided whether she’ll run for governor next year, also talked with the Journal about the 2010 race. Continue Reading

NRCC hammers Teague over cap-and-trade vote

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That didn’t take long. Days after U.S. Rep. Harry Teague, D-N.M., voted for a controversial cap-and-trade energy bill that many in his conservative district may not like, the National Republican Congressional Committee is out with radio ads and robo calls attacking him for his vote. (Thanks to the New Mexico Independent for the links.) “Nancy Pelosi just passed her number one legislative priority… it’s a radical plan to implement a national energy tax across America,” the radio ad states. “They call it cap and trade. But make no mistake… it’s a massive new tax.” There’s a fact check on the ad that you can read here. Continue Reading

Luján praised for fighting for green job-training funds

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First, a vote by U.S. Rep. Harry Teague, D-N.M., for a controversial cap-and-trade energy bill was labeled as “the most daring of any in his caucus” in an article published in The Politico. Now, the Huffington Post is publishing a commentary that mentions U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., as one who joined a coalition that “successfully pushed to include key provisions in the bill — provisions that will bring economic opportunity to disadvantaged communities.” Specifically, the bill includes “almost $1 billion in funding for job training programs, and it ensures local access to quality jobs in green construction.” The commentary, written by Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, CEO of Green For All, states that members of the Black and Hispanic caucuses were instrumental in making that happen, and specifically mentions two — including Luján — who “participated in the discussion and fought for their communities.” The bill narrowly passed the House but is expected to have a more difficult time in the Senate. The commentary is designed to push senators. “The leadership role taken on by advocates for people of color and the working poor has never before been seen on this scale when it comes to climate and energy legislation. It was essential to getting the equity provisions into (the bill), and has helped shift the terms of the debate,” the commentary states. Continue Reading

Herrera: All systems should be online Thursday

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Secretary of State Mary Herrera said late today that the computer systems in her office that enable database searches and Uniform Commercial Code filings should be back online Thursday. Herrera wrote in an e-mail that those systems were being tested today, and her office is “optimistic that this functionality will be operational on Thursday.” Officials have been working to restore the Secretary of State’s Web site and systems in the office since last week, when unspecified problems knocked out a new campaign finance and disclosure system that has been under development. Officials haven’t specified how the problems with the new site relate to the office’s problems with its other computer systems and Web site. Parts of the Web site went back online today, but not the database and UCC systems that are necessary for the public to do all sorts of business, from accessing campaign and lobbyist information to registering trademarks and other dealings between businesses and state government. Herrera, commenting for the first time about the problems, reiterated in the e-mail what officials from her office said last week: The problems did not result in information that is stored in the office’s databases being lost. Continue Reading

Correra shared in half of identified placement fees

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$22 million and counting. That’s how much the State Investment Council (SIC) now says Marc Correra, the son of a friend of and fundraiser for Gov. Bill Richardson, shared in for helping investment companies win state contracts. The fees in which Correra shared amount to about half of all third-party marketer or “placement” fees the SIC has been able to identify, according to the Albuquerque Journal. You read that right. Half. Continue Reading

Parts of secretary of state’s Web site back online

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Parts of the Secretary of State’s Web site went back online today, but systems that enable database searches and Uniform Commercial Code filings remain down. A note on the restored Web site acknowledges that systems that are necessary for the public to do all sorts of business, from accessing campaign and lobbyist information to registering trademarks and other dealings between businesses and state government, are still down. “ATTENTION UCC & CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTING USERS!” the message states. “Please do not file your UCC filings as our system is down for maintenance at this time. Our Campaign Filing System is also down at this time. Continue Reading

Teague’s vote on cap-and-trade bill was ‘daring’

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I’ve written before about the tightrope U.S. Rep. Harry Teague, D-N.M., has walked on energy issues. As an oilman and a Democrat, he doesn’t necessarily fit the mold typically associated with either. His job requires him to work with a Democratic Congress and president whose policy views are sometimes left of his, but, at the same time, he must worry about re-election in an oil-and-gas district. In that context, Teague voted last week in favor of a controversial cap-and-trade energy bill that passed by seven votes. Now The Politico is out with an article that says, of all the junior House Democrats who voted for the bill, Teague’s vote “may have been the most daring of any in his caucus.” From the article: “An oilman, Teague represents the most conservative part of a state that often is called ‘Little Texas.’ Until he was elected last year, the oil- and gas-dependent 2nd District had not elected a Democrat for more than a quarter-century. Continue Reading

With license plate snafu, Foley’s undoing is complete

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Former House Minority Whip Dan Foley says he wasn’t aware that state law required him to return his legislative license plate when he left office almost six months ago. Right. In case you missed it, KRQE-TV in Albuquerque has the story. Foley, a Republican who represented a southeastern New Mexico district but now lives in Rio Rancho, was recently caught by a red-light camera in Albuquerque driving 11 miles over the speed limit in a silver Toyota Tundra registered to his wife. Police had to do some hunting to figure out who owned the vehicle. Continue Reading

McCain backer: Support Obama on health-care reform

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Last year, Jim Spiri traveled the country campaigning for McCain. This year, he is openly supporting Obama’s push for health-care reform. Here’s why. Jim Spiri is a conservative who traveled extensively last year to try to help GOP nominee John McCain win the presidency. Now, he’s openly supporting President Barack Obama’s attempt to reform the nation’s health-care system. Continue Reading