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City staffers are giving informative presentations

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As I’m watching the meeting of the Las Cruces City Council tonight, I’m impressed by the thoroughness of the presentations by city staffers on various aspects of The Vistas at Presidio proposal. They have been well-prepared and are spending a great deal of time addressing the concerns shared by residents and others about the proposal in recent weeks. In addition, counselors are asking a number of thoughtful questions and are cordial with each other. No one is trying to rush the meeting. All this is happening before public input in an attempt to answer many questions and cut down on the time needed for such input. Continue Reading

Council decision won’t be impacted by AG probe

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Officials from the City of Las Cruces said tonight that an ongoing probe by the attorney general’s office of the relationship and agreement between Land Commissioner Pat Lyons and the developer of The Vistas at Presidio has no bearing on whether they approve the development plans. At the request of state Rep. Nate Cote and Sen. Mary Jane Garcia, the attorney general’s office is looking into questions surrounding Lyons’ agreement to lease the 6,000 acres on the East Mesa to Philip Philippou. Some questions surround the legality of the agreement; others are about the relationship between Lyons and Philippou, who has contributed a significant amount of money to Lyons. Mayor Bill Mattiace said he spoke today with Attorney General Gary King, who said “he really believes (the investigation) is not germane to the issues at hand.” That’s because, Assistant City Manager Robert Garza said, if the city annexes and master plans the land, those actions are in effect regardless of who owns the land. Were King’s investigation to result in any action that changed or voided the agreement between Lyons and Philippou, the master plan and annexation would remain in place and any future developer who takes control of the land would also be bound by such decisions. Continue Reading

Jones will be allowed to vote on development tonight

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Las Cruces City Councilor Gil Jones will be allowed to vote tonight on annexation and master plan approval of The Vistas at Presidio. Jones has disclosed in the past that his brother and the developer of the 6,000-acre project, Philip Philippou, are married to sisters, but said he doesn’t believe such a link should require him to abstain from voting. Councilor Ken Miyagishima asked near the start of tonight’s meeting that Mayor Bill Mattiace hold a vote of the council to determine whether Jones would be allowed to vote on the development later tonight. City Attorney Fermin Rubio said councilors can only stop one of their peers from voting, according to the city charter, if they have a direct or indirect financial interest in an item on the agenda. When Jones said he has no personal financial interest, Mattiace said he wouldn’t call for a vote of the council, and would leave it up to Jones to decide whether to vote or abstain. Continue Reading

Did commission violate the Open Meetings Act?

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Doña Ana County’s lead attorney says the commission didn’t violate the New Mexico Open Meetings Act last week by holding a closed session with only five hours of notice. Though I’m admittedly not a trained attorney, I don’t think I agree. The county commission gave notice at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday that it was going to meet at 2:30 p.m. the same day in closed session to discuss a pending lawsuit alleging that staffers at the county detention center were illegally strip-searching inmates. The county’s ordinance on compliance with the Open Meetings Act requires 3-hour notice for emergency meetings and 48-hour notice for special meetings. An emergency meeting can be called “only under unforeseen circumstances which demand immediate action to protect the health, safety, and property of citizens or to protect the public body from substantial financial loss.” County Attorney John Caldwell says closed sessions aren’t regular, special or emergency meetings – they’re simply closed sessions – and he referred to a provision in the act that states that closed sessions “shall not be held until public notice, appropriate under the circumstances,” is given to the public. Continue Reading

Richardson formally announces presidential bid

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Gov. Bill Richardson formally announced today in Los Angeles that he’s running for president. His wife Barbara made what has been, since he announced on Jan. 21 that he was preparing a run for president, a rare appearance at his side. You can read about it from the Associated Press by clicking here. If video of it shows up on the Internet later today, I’ll provide a link. Continue Reading

Richardson in double digits in Iowa and N.H., but dispute with soldier’s mother may threaten climb

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Gov. Bill Richardson, who reached 10 percent in a New Hampshire poll last week, is now at 10 percent in Iowa, but his campaign is also facing what could become its first major controversy. Richardson has often told, on the campaign trail, a story about meeting the mother of a New Mexico soldier killed in Iraq. The mother says Richardson’s version of their encounter is a lie, but the governor’s campaign isn’t backing down. The newest poll, released Sunday by the Des Moines Register, has Richardson becoming a player in Iowa at 10 percent. John Edwards leads the Democratic candidates there with 29 percent, while Barack Obama is in second with 23 percent and Hillary Clinton is in third with 21 percent. Continue Reading

Las Cruces City Council to vote tonight on East Mesa development; meeting will be long, could get testy

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The Las Cruces City Council is set to vote tonight on The Vistas at Presidio, a 6,000-acre development on the East Mesa that could double or triple the city’s population and has been the subject of controversy for weeks. It’s going to be a marathon meeting. The meeting, which begins at 5 p.m. at City Hall, will be televised on Comcast Cable channel 20. Check out the meeting agenda by clicking here. It could go into the early hours of Wednesday. Continue Reading

Bingaman gets high marks in non-scientific poll

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A majority of those who voted in last week’s non-scientific poll on this site approve of the job Jeff Bingaman is doing as a U.S. senator. Of 177 voters, 121, or 68 percent, said they approve, while 48, or 27 percent, disapprove, and eight, or 5 percent, aren’t sure. Don’t forget to vote in this week’s poll, located at the top of the right column on this page. Continue Reading

Will Richardson let the public see his tax returns?

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Of the six frontrunners for the Democratic and Republican party nominations for president, only Barack Obama is agreeing to release his tax returns to the public, ABC News is reporting. Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Edwards and Republicans Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney aren’t releasing them, at least yet, the news station reported. “It’s very unusual,” Mary Boyle of the good government group Common Cause told ABC News. “For the past almost 35 years, it has been tradition most certainly in the White House as well as almost every presidential candidate to disclose their tax returns – and for some reason we’re not seeing it this year.” Obama said it was important to release his tax returns. “I think it’s critical that people know who their candidates are, what our sources of income are, whether we have any potential conflicts,” Obama told ABC News on Monday. Continue Reading

Rutherford helped firm get Doña Ana County contract

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Former state Senator and Bernalillo County Commissioner Tom Rutherford helped Design Collaborative Southwest secure its 2003 contract to design the new, $20-million Doña Ana County Government Center. The commission sought proposals for the project in February of that year, and DCSW was one of four firms to bid. A county committee ranked DCSW the lowest of the firms, and recommended that the other three be considered by the commission. What happened in the month between the committee’s meeting and the commission’s vote on May 13, 2003 to hire DCSW isn’t clear, but what’s certain is that Rutherford was involved. The state auditor has said the commission’s selection of DCSW was a violation of the procurement code that may have been intentional. Continue Reading

Officials recover UP Aerospace rocket payload

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Some 20 days after an UP Aerospace rocket successfully reached space from Spaceport America, officials recovered its payload earlier today. “The payload has been found safe and sound,” Eric Knight, co-founder of the company, told the Associated Press. An announcement on the company’s Web site says the payload is in good condition. The rocket landed in the rocky, steep San Andres Mountains on White Sands Missile Range, an area not accessible even with four-wheel-drive vehicles, and its exact location was unknown, so it took some time to pinpoint. The rocket carried the ashes of 202 people in to space last month. Continue Reading

Article examines Richardson’s L.A. announcement

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Kate Nash of the Albuquerque Tribune takes a look today at why analysts think Los Angeles is the perfect place for Gov. Bill Richardson to formally announce his presidential run. The governor is going to do that Monday as he moves from the exploratory committee phase to an official campaign. I’ll give you a clue: It has to do with the money and name recognition that California can bring and New Mexico can’t. Check out the article by clicking here. Continue Reading

Former U.S. Attorney Kelly might take on Domenici

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I’ve written a lot lately about the Democratic Party’s inability to find a well-known candidate to take on U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici next year. The Albuquerque Tribune has the goods on one candidate who might jump into the race. John Kelly, who was the state’s U.S. attorney under former President Clinton, said he’s considering the race. “I do feel obligated to consider it and I am going to look seriously at it,” he told the Tribune. That could make things interesting. Continue Reading

In moving from re-election bid to presidential run, Richardson may have skirted campaign finance law

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The Politico has an interesting article today calling into question Gov. Bill Richardson’s use of money he raised for his gubernatorial re-election campaign as he prepared and began his run for president. In an analysis of Richardson’s state finance report filed this week, the publication reported that even after Richardson won re-election, he “continued using his gubernatorial campaign committee to fund what became the infrastructure of his next campaign.” From Dec. 2 of last year to May 7, the gubernatorial campaign paid nearly $360,000 to staffers and consultants now working on his presidential campaign. The Politico reported that the move appears to be legal and is becoming common in presidential races, but that, in Richardson’s case, it may also skirt the intent of campaign finance law. That’s because of two facts: It’s illegal for Richardson to transfer the funds left over from his state run to his federal campaign. Continue Reading

Senators, Bush reach deal on immigration proposal

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The Bush Administration and a bipartisan group of senators including Pete Domenici, R-N.M., announced today a compromise on immigration reform they’ll try to sell to skeptical lawmakers next week. The new plan includes the building of the border fence approved last year, and requires that a number of security measures be in place before reform of the system begins. It’s sure to be controversial and a tough sell, but Domenici, in a news release, said its’ the “best chance” to fix a broken system. “The status quo is unacceptable and part of the reason this issue has divided the country. We cannot tolerate the situation as it stands,” Domenici said. Continue Reading