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Domenici resists pressure to support Udall-sponsored provision that would mandate renewable energy use

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Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., is calling for expansion of domestic oil and gas production and increased use of alternative energy but is resisting pressure to support a House-approved bill requiring electric companies to derive 15 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2020. Domenici’s stance pits him against U.S. Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., who secured a major victory recently when the House accepted his proposal to require that utility companies incrementally increase their use of renewable energy from 2.75 percent in 2010 to 15 percent by 2020. As the ranking GOP member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Domenici’s stance is important to any debate on the establishment of what’s called a Renewable Energy Standard. He was instrumental in blocking such a standard from being included in an energy bill passed by the Senate in June. The Sierra Club began a media campaign this week that includes billboards and radio and television advertisements. Continue Reading

Richardson making significant gains in Nevada

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Gov. Bill Richardson continues to climb in polls in Nevada and has the potential to pass John Edwards and Barack Obama in that state in the coming months. The new Research 2000 poll, released today, has Hillary Clinton at 33 percent, Obama at 19 percent, Edwards at 15 percent, Richardson at 11 percent and Al Gore, who isn’t in the race, at 8 percent. No other candidate was above the margin of error of 5 percent in the poll, which surveyed 400 likely Democratic caucus-goers between Tuesday and Thursday. For Richardson, that’s a nine-point gain since the group’s last poll was conducted in March. Clinton has gained one point since March, Obama has fallen one point and Edwards has climbed four points. Continue Reading

The 20-hour-a-day run for president

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© 2007 Michael Swickard, Ph.D. Ask any astronaut, even teacher astronaut Barbara Morgan on Space Shuttle Endeavour, what question he or she gets the most. Is it about the cosmos or dangers or what launch feels like? No. According to many astronauts, they’re most often asked how they use the biffy in space. Strange, but true. Continue Reading

Richardson aide quits after felony charges surface

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A day after Bill Richardson announced that he would expand his campaign in Nevada to fill the vacuum left by the retreating John Edwards, one of the governor’s top organizers in that state resigned today when the campaign learned he was a wanted man and had worked for a brothel. “We did not know about all of this,” Richardson’s spokesman in Nevada, Josh McNeil, told the Associated Press. “We accepted his resignation today.” Kristian Forland, until today, was the campaign’s eastern Nevada field director, the news service reported. He is wanted in Los Angeles for failing to appear in court on four felony counts of writing bad checks. He was also arrested twice – last month and last year – on bad-check charges in Las Vegas. Continue Reading

Will Vigil, Garcia situations be investigated?

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I’ve written a lot about the controversies surrounding state Rep. Richard Vigil, D-Ribera, and Sen. Mary Jane Garcia, D-Doña Ana. Vigil’s wife and others are facing felony charges in part for spending capital outlay money Vigil secured on an annual, invitation only party – one that took place late at night and included an expensive band – under the guise of a staff training event for the school program his wife used to run. The money was also spent on other plush items for the program, including a 42-inch plasma screen television – a TV that was picked up from Sears, according to the receipt, by Vigil, and has since vanished. Garcia’s Las Cruces bar was recently cited for serving an intoxicated person. Weeks later – before the department that handles administration of liquor licenses had begun the process of taking action against the bar – Garcia called, in her capacity as a senator, a meeting in Las Cruces, attended by dozens of representatives of the liquor industry and a handful of legislators. Continue Reading

Richardson unveils economic plan

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Gov. Bill Richardson announced the economic plan he would seek to enact if elected president, a radical shift that would change the way Washington does business. The most radical proposals would be a constitutional amendment that requires a balanced federal budget and the end of congressional earmarks – money set aside for projects in lawmakers’ districts that are often slipped into unrelated, controversial bills to secure votes. Earmarks and unlimited spending are at the core of the nation’s political system, so these proposals would be hard to sell in the nation’s capitol. Richardson claims ending the earmark program will save at least $40 billion over five years. He also wants to cut “corporate welfare,” which he said would have saved $92 billion in 2006. Continue Reading

Listen to podcast of The Morning Show

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After a several-week sabbatical, I returned to my biweekly, hour-long appearance on The Morning Show with Alan Riehl today. Topics we discussed included Gov. Bill Richardson’s ‘choice’ gaffe and its impact, and the controversy surrounding the recent citation issued to state Sen. Mary Jane Garcia’s bar and the actions that followed. Since they cut out the commercials, the podcast of the show is about 41 minutes long. You can listen to it by clicking here. Continue Reading

Richardson climbs, Edwards falls in Florida

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Gov. Bill Richardson is climbing and John Edwards is falling in the newest Florida poll. In the new poll by Strategic Vision, conducted Friday-Sunday and released today, Hillary Clinton leads with 40 percent in Florida, Barack Obama has 20 percent, Edwards has 16 percent and Richardson has 9 percent. The larger poll of 1,200 likely voters, which quizzed Democrats and Republicans, has a margin of error of 3 percent. The margin of error for the questions asked only of Democrats isn’t included. No other candidate has more than 3 percent in the new poll, and 10 percent remain undecided. Continue Reading

State won’t produce, distribute marijuana

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Fearing it could result in the federal prosecution of state employees, the Richardson Administration said on Wednesday that it won’t comply with the portion of the new medical marijuana law that requires the state to oversee the drug’s production and distribution. “The Department of Health will not subject its employees to potential federal prosecution, and therefore will not distribute or produce medical marijuana,” Dr. Alfredo Vigil, the department’s secretary, told the Associated Press. The department will continue certifying patients to possess marijuana under the terms of the new bill. At least two dozen have been approved since the law took effect July 1, the news service reported. But Attorney General Gary King warned last week that state employees could face federal charges for producing and distributing the drug, and he can’t defend them in criminal cases. Continue Reading

Cruzado-Salas replaces Flores at NMSU

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The dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at New Mexico State University will take over as its executive vice president and provost on Sept. 1. Waded Cruzado-Salas was named to the job on Wednesday by university President Michael Martin. “It’s clear that any of the finalists could serve us well, but I’m convinced Dr. Cruzado-Salas is exactly the right person for this team at this time in NMSU history,” Martin said in a news release. Cruzado-Salas was among three finalists Martin interviewed in recent weeks. Continue Reading

Guv claims he’s ‘Karl Rove’s worst nightmare’

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Bill Richardson’s campaign is claiming that the governor is “Karl Rove’s worst nightmare in 2008.” In an letter sent by e-mail today to campaign supporters, Dave Contarino, Richardson’s campaign manager, wrote that Rove’s resignation “may signal the end of an era where politicians start wars based on deceptions, and don’t mind sacrificing our civil rights to protect a political advantage. So maybe this is a turning point.” Then the fear tactic. “Or maybe this is just the day Karl Rove officially starts working to defeat Democrats in 2008,” Contarino wrote. And the answer. “Bill Richardson is Karl Rove’s worst nightmare in 2008 – a candidate that can not only win Democrats over, but can also bring in legions of new voters and solidify a Democratic majority for years to come,” he wrote. Continue Reading

Just another example that Washington is too partisan

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Need another example that Washington has become too partisan? Here it is: Last week, U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., sent a letter to constituents using taxpayer dollars, not campaign funds, attacking “liberal lawmakers” and “the new congressional leadership” for approval of an increase in funding for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. The House Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards publishes regulations on what is appropriate and what is not appropriate in taxpayer-funded mailings from members of the House to their constituents. In reading through it, a couple of provisions caught my attention. Members must “avoid excessive use of party labels,” with a general guideline of two per page for each party. Continue Reading

Wilson doesn’t plan to return cash from indicted CEO

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U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., has no plans to return campaign contributions from a major Republican donor indicted last week on 23 counts of bankruptcy and mail fraud, money laundering, obstruction of justice and perjury, according to The Hill. Alan Fabian, CEO of the Centre for Management and Technology in Baltimore, was indicted for making $32 million in false purchases of computer equipment to pay for his “lavish spending habits,” the article states. Two GOP presidential candidates – Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani – are returning contributions he made this year. Seven vulnerable House Republicans may be pressured to do the same to avoid criticism from Democrats, The Hill wrote. Wilson is among those seven. Continue Reading

Edwards shifts focus, moves staff out of Nevada

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John Edwards’ presidential campaign is moving staffers out of Nevada to focus on the other early primary states, a major shift in strategy that could benefit Gov. Bill Richardson. Edwards, according to the Associated Press, is moving some staffers from Nevada to Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. The move comes as he and Richardson are fighting for third place in New Hampshire and Barack Obama is gaining on him for second place in Iowa. Edwards is consistently in third in national polls. The most recent Nevada poll, conducted in late June, had Hillary Clinton at 39 percent, Obama at 17 percent, Edwards at 12 percent and Richardson at 7 percent. Continue Reading

Diaz decision expected within six weeks

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Former Las Cruces Public Schools Superintendent Sonia Diaz’s arbitration talks with the district ended Thursday with the arbitrator saying he’ll issue a decision within six weeks. Diaz is appealing the school board’s decision to fire her last year following a board investigation into a host of allegations involving her treatment of employees. She appealed to the board, which denied her request in January, leading to the arbitration. It won’t end with her getting her job back, but could result in a monetary settlement. Diaz is now the associate superintendent of curriculum and instruction for the Baltimore County schools, one of the largest districts in the nation. Continue Reading