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Many voters in non-scientific poll favor annexation

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A number of people who voted in last week’s non-scientific poll on this site favor approval of a proposed 4,200-acre annexation on Las Cruces’ East Mesa. Of 234 voters, 90, or 38 percent, said the city council should approve the annexation without conditions, while 23, or 10 percent, said they should approve it but ask the developer to hold additional public meetings. 64 voters, or 27 percent, said the council should delay voting to allow more public input up front, and 57, or 24 percent, said they should deny the annexation application. It’s notable that, on Friday, after most votes had been cast in the poll, the attorney general said it would be illegal for the council to vote on the annexation at today’s meeting, which will likely delay the vote for about a month. Don’t forget to vote in this week’s poll, located at the top of the right column on this page. Continue Reading

Check out Richardson’s first TV commercials

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For those of you who have been waiting to hear the words “I’m Bill Richardson and I approved this message” at the end of a television commercial, here’s you chance. The first of two television ads Gov. Bill Richardson will begin airing in Iowa and New Hampshire on Monday begins by displaying the quote, “We have to undo the damage. The world is waiting.” It’s attributed to Richardson. The 60-second advertisement, titled “Life’s Work,” focuses on Richardson’s extensive experience. While a narrator talks about his various jobs, black-and-white photographs of Richardson meeting with Saddam Hussein and doing other work fill the screen. Continue Reading

Steinborn, McCamley named to ethics task force

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Las Cruces will have significant representation on the ethics task force being reconvened by Gov. Bill Richardson. Rep. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces, and Doña Ana County Commissioner Bill McCamley were both selected by the governor to serve on the 23-member task force. The appointments are big boosts for Steinborn, a freshman representative, and McCamley, who is running against U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., and is the only local government representative on the task force. Garrey Carruthers, dean of New Mexico State University’s College of Business and a former governor, will again co-chair the task force along with Suellyn Scarnecchia, dean of the University of New Mexico School of Law. Carruthers was the only member of last year’s ethics task force from Las Cruces. Continue Reading

Annexation vote dispute could end up in court

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The statute that dictates the timeline for a vote on the annexation of 4,200 acres on Las Cruces’ East Mesa is “ambiguous in certain respects,” the attorney general says. That might help explain why it’s being interpreted in different ways. Whether those varying interpretations will result in litigation is now the question in the case of the 6,000-acre project, The Vistas at Presidio. The lawyer for the developer of the project hinted in a letter to the city on Thursday that the group might take the issue to District Court if the council doesn’t vote on annexation of the 4,200 acres that aren’t in the city at Monday’s meeting. Solo Investments interprets the statute much differently than the attorney general, who says the council can’t legally vote on Monday. Continue Reading

AG says Monday vote on annexation would be illegal

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The Attorney General’s Office says the Las Cruces City Council would be in violation of a state statute if it voted Monday on the annexation of 4,200 acres on the East Mesa. The land is part of a 6,000-acre proposed development, The Vistas at Presidio. The council is scheduled to vote Monday on the master plan of the development and annexation of the land that isn’t in the city. At issue is a state statute that dictates the timeframe for a vote. Deputy City Attorney Pete Connelly has interpreted the statute to say the council has to give an up-or-down vote on the annexation within 30 days of April 12, the day the Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners provided feedback on the annexation proposal. Continue Reading

City councilor discloses relationship with developer

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At a meeting earlier this week, Las Cruces City Councilor Gil Jones disclosed a relationship he has with the man who wants to develop 6,000 acres on the East Mesa. Jones’ brother and Philip Philippou are married to sisters. Philippou is the developer behind The Vistas at Presidio, the project that’s up for master-plan approval and, in the case of 4,200 acres, annexation at Monday’s council meeting. Jones said he felt the relationship should be disclosed publicly but doesn’t believe it affects his ability to objectively review the project and does not require that he recuse himself from voting on it. “It would be easy for me, every time something came up with Philip, to dart out of the room, and there are other councilors who do that,” Jones said. Continue Reading

Richardson the first to air television ads for 2008

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Gov. Bill Richardson will be the first Democratic presidential candidate to air television ads when his face fills screens in Iowa and New Hampshire beginning Monday. Richardson’s campaign has purchased a small buy of 30-second and 60-second spots in New Hampshire and a larger buy of about $100,000 in Iowa, according to the Washington Post. The ads will focus on Richardson’s extensive résumé, his view on Iraq and why he’s running, The New Hampshire Union Leader reported. The Post reported that the buy in Iowa is coordinated to follow Richardson’s visit to the state, which ends today. He gave a speech last night and is making a series of campaign stops today. Continue Reading

Lyons urges city approval of East Mesa annexation

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New Mexico Land Commissioner Pat Lyons has written a letter to Las Cruces Mayor Bill Mattiace urging the city to approve the development of 3,200 acres of state trust land on the East Mesa. The land is part of the 6,000-acre development, called The Vistas at Presidio, that’s up for master plan approval and, in the case of 4,200 acres, annexation at Monday’s city council meeting. The development proposal has been submitted by Solo Investments and Logos Development, but more than half the land is owned by the state. The State Land Office and the developers have signed a lease agreement that will allow the developers to improve the land in preparation for future sale, but the developers will have to bid for purchase at a later date. Under the agreement, which was approved by the State Land Office at the end of December, the developers’ lease began Jan. Continue Reading

Homans changes jobs to direct spaceport construction

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New Mexico Economic Development Secretary Rick Homans will step down from that position at the end of the month to become executive director of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority. The announcement, made this afternoon by Gov. Bill Richardson, comes the same day Homans announced that, for “personal and logistical” reasons, he would not run against U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., next year, which he had been considering doing. Homans will be responsible for overseeing the construction of Spaceport America, which is on a tight timeline to become operational by late 2009 or early 2010. Homans requested the change, according to a news release, so he can focus on final design and engineering of the spaceport in preparation for groundbreaking in early 2008, the securing of a commercial spaceport license and the overseeing of a national search for a permanent executive director “who has the necessary engineering and space-related qualifications to manage the complex operations of the spaceport when it becomes operational.” The position has been vacant since Lonnie Sumpter died in February following a brief and sudden illness. The move comes two weeks after voters in Doña Ana County narrowly approved a 1/4 percent gross receipts tax increase that will provide about 25 percent of the spaceport’s funding. Continue Reading

Gonzales says Iglesias should have reported calls

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In further testimony today, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales discussed the allegation that former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias of New Mexico was fired because he refused pressure from two members of Congress to speed indictments in a public corruption probe in time to sway voters in the November 2006 election. Gonzales noted that, had his office known about the phone calls Sen. Pete Domenici and Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., placed to Iglesias in October 2006, his office might have handled differently the decisions on whether and how to fire Iglesias. But his office didn’t know about the phone calls, Gonzales said, because Iglesias didn’t tell anyone. Iglesias has admitted violating a department policy that required the reporting of such contact from members of Congress to his supervisors. Iglesias said under oath several weeks ago that he didn’t report the calls because, at the time, he considered Wilson a friend and Domenici a mentor and was protecting them. Continue Reading

Massacre reveals the need for guns in schools

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© 2007 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. A visitor to an Old West town thought it would be a great practical joke to whip out a pistol during a poker game and fire a couple of blanks at the ceiling. He died of multiple gunshot wounds from bullets fired by several players before anyone knew it was a joke. But that was a different time. The Virginia Tech massacre is the latest in a long litany of school shootings, but it was assuredly not the last. Initially, in school shootings, the only person armed is the perpetrator, while all the students and staff can do is run and hide. Continue Reading

Gonzales talked with Rove, Bush about Iglesias

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During today’s hearing, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales continued his assertion that he wasn’t intimately involved in the decision to fire former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias of New Mexico and approved Iglesias’ firing based on the recommendation of subordinates in the department. Before speaking specifically about Iglesias, Gonzales said he takes responsibility for the mishandling of the firings. There have been repeated contradictions in the explanations by the Justice Department and White House that have caused the situation to explode into a full-blown scandal. “Those eight attorneys deserved better. They deserved better from me and from the Department of Justice,” Gonzales said. Continue Reading

Gonzales testifying on U.S. attorney firings today

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U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is testifying under oath today on the firings of eight U.S. attorneys. The hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to last most of the day, in part because testimony of other Justice Department staffers contradicts what Gonzales told the panel in January. You can watch it on CSPAN 3 by clicking here. You can read Gonzales’ prepared 25-page statement on the firings by clicking here. Continue Reading

Homans won’t challenge Wilson in 2008, but other Democrats move toward becoming official candidates

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New Mexico Economic Development Secretary Rick Homans has decided he won’t challenge U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., next year, but a number of other Democrats are moving closer to becoming official candidates and battling for the right to face her. Homans, whose potential candidacy had the backing of Gov. Bill Richardson, said he has decided against running “after serious consideration.” “My reasons for not running are personal and logistical and I believe that the Democrats have a very real opportunity to win the seat in 2008 if we put up a strong candidate,” Homans said Wednesday. “I look forward to supporting that candidate and helping our party bring Heather Wilson back home to New Mexico.” He didn’t elaborate, but his decision follows a meeting last week with a representative of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Meanwhile, a number of other Democrats are seriously considering getting into the race. Former University of New Mexico President Louis Caldera was in Washington on Wednesday to talk with a number of officials about the possibility of running for the First Congressional District seat. Continue Reading

Madrid says she can aid investigation of Domenici, might also challenge state’s senior senator next year

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Former New Mexico Attorney General Patricia Madrid says she’s waiting to see what happens with a pending ethics investigation before deciding whether to run against U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., next year. She also believes the Senate Ethics Committee should interview her in the course of its investigation into the senator’s actions. Shortly after losing to U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M. last year by 861 votes out of more than 211,000, Madrid said she might run for Senate or governor in the future. Since then, Domenici and Wilson have been dogged by allegations that they had former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias fired because he refused pressure from them to speed indictments in a public corruption probe. Such indictments, which were issued last month and included former Democratic state Senate President Manny Aragon, might have aided Wilson in her re-election bid. Continue Reading