(Photo by Rich Brown)

Marc Schiff, Part II

Indicted courthouse architect has ties to Albuquerque's future firefighter academy, a project one city councilor calls a "money pit."

By Barbara Armijo 05/13/2008

Albuquerque City Councilor Michael Cadigan sees some eerie similarities between cost-overruns at the new Fire Department training academy under construction and the city's budget-bloating balloon park and museum.

Commentary

Gas tax politics

Contact Rio Rancho, N.M.-based artist Keith Lewis at Bat2u@cs.com.

By Keith Lewis 05/10/2008

Investigation procrastination?

Attorney General Gary King's investigation into one of New Mexico's most serious affordable housing scandals ever isn't going anywhere fast.

By Heath Haussamen 05/07/2008

Sixteen months have come and gone since Attorney General Gary King declared an investigation into the scandal that toppled most of New Mexico's affordable housing system a top priority. Now some are beginning to wonder. There's been some action. But no resolution. And so we wait.

Dire revenue picture

By Gerry Bradley 05/02/2008

Progressives have given the Richardson administration a free pass when it comes to tax policy. Leading progressive causes such as health care reform and funding public education depend on a healthy revenue stream, but that revenue stream will not be there in the next several years. The reason is barely noticed policy decisions taken by the Richardson administration, not the economic slowdown that has taken hold in New Mexico this year.

The true cost of your food

New Mexico's agricultural laborers are excluded by law from basic health protections, Kim Posich writes.

By Kim Posich 04/27/2008

Few people realize that an important section of New Mexico’s economy thrives on the backs of people who live in stark poverty – workers who labor under harsh conditions in dangerous jobs but who, while being paid a pittance, are excluded from the most important health protections that other workers get by law.

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The federal farm bill confuses left and right

The politics surrounding the U.S. farm bill this year has left many scratching their heads.

By Gwyneth Doland 05/13/2008

All the recent wrasslin’ over the farm bill has had at least one curious result: It’s put left-leaning reform activists in the novel position of agreeing with President Bush. Both want Congress to do more to change the farm subsidy structure. As the San Francisco Chronicle reported on May4:
It is the rarest of moments: President Bush and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are on a collision course over a giant farm bill, but it is Bush who is broadly aligned with liberal Bay Area activists pushing for reform, while the San Francisco Democrat is protecting billions of dollars in subsidies to the richest farmers.

Shortchanging our infrastructure

Will we be seeing less of this? Construction continues along I-25 for the Rail Runner extension to Santa Fe. But if funding doesn't keep pace with the state's needs, many future projects could come to a screeching halt. (Photo by Denise Avila)

By Joel Gay 05/13/2008

Six months after a state task force identified various ways to help pay for New Mexico's roads, including tax and fee increases, state politicians and lawmakers still haven't made a decision how to fund roads and other transit projects. Meanwhile, the state's list of needed infrastructure is expected to grow longer with potentially dire consequences for the state's economy. And Lt. Gov. Diane Denish says potential solutions likely won't come until after this year's elections.

Otero County Sheriff Department forced to change policies

By Barbara Armijo 05/12/2008

A landmark settlement with the Otero County Sheriff’s Department and some Chaparral, N.M., families last month could change the way other border-town law enforcement agencies do business.

Don't call her a moderate

Can a middle-of-the-road record propel Heather Wilson, shown here meeting with the Doña Ana County sheriff in March, to victory in the GOP U.S. Senate primary? (Photo by Heath Haussamen)

By Heath Haussamen 05/12/2008

What does it mean to be a common-sense conservative -- the phrase Heather Wilson uses to describe herself? Wilson says conservative principles guide her but she is focused on problem solving. Her primary opponent, Steve Pearce, would call herself something else -- liberal.

Navajos fight uranium mining

By John Arnold 05/12/2008

A Navajo community group has fought for 14 years to keep uranium mining from returning to northwest New Mexico. Today, the group's lawyers appear before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in what they hope is the beginning of the end of their battle.

Count one more superdelegate for Barack Obama

New Mexico Democratic superdelegate Laurie Weahkee announced today she's backing Barack Obama.

By David Alire Garcia 05/09/2008

Laurie Weahkee, the recently elected Democratic Party of New Mexico superdelegate, has decided to throw her influential vote to the presidential candidacy of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama. In a wide-ranging interview with NMI, the long-time Native American activist says that last Tuesday's primary results in North Carolina and Indiana sealed the deal for her. She says she's eager for the party to unite around Obama and begin to focus on presumptive Republican Party presidential nominee Sen. John McCain.

Newest open space celebrated

Sen. Sue Wilson Beffort, right, with Albuquerque Open Space Director Matt Schmader at Milne Open Space celebration. (Photo by Becky Schnelker)

By Denise Tessier 05/09/2008

The recent purchase of 420 acres adds to the Gutierrez Canyon Open Space, a preserve that is easily accessible from north state Highway 14 in Cedar Crest, known to area residents and tourists alike as the Turquoise Trail. The acquisition burnishes Albuquerque's reputation as a leader in land preservation.

It won't be cheap

By Trip Jennings 05/09/2008

New Mexico would need more than $800 million over five years to expand health insurance to a large portion of the state's uninsured population, lawmakers learned this week. The figure isn't a budget request, but a projection. But it gives state lawmakers a better sense of how much Gov. Bill Richardson's plan to expand health coverage would cost.

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Online finance reporting problems linger

By Heath Haussamen 05/13/2008 15:30

Another election cycle, another secretary of state, another $70,000 spent, and New Mexicans still won’t have easy access to any information about how much money state legislative and Public Regulation Commission candidates are raising and spending until, at best, a little more than a week before the June 3 primary.

That’s because, though finance reports were due Monday and most candidates filed them online, the secretary of state’s arcane system hasn’t improved much under the administration of Mary Herrera, who took office in January 2007.

Chavez sticks with Clinton

By Joel Gay 05/13/2008 13:15

As the Democratic presidential race winds down and Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign appears to be over, some superdelegates are switching sides and lining up behind Sen. Barack Obama, but Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez isn't among them.

At the end of an interview with the New Mexico Independent about a climate change conference in Albuquerque, the three-term Duke City mayor said he has no intention of jumping off the Clinton ship.

"I am firmly committed to Clinton," he said when asked whether he might defect.

Judges "express surprise" at mining plan

By John Arnold 05/13/2008 11:30

Here's a brief update on the uranium mining story we published yesterday. A panel of federal judges "expressed surprise" at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's decision to allow a mining company to extract uranium from an aquifer that supplies drinking water to thousands of Navajos in northwestern New Mexico, the Associated Press is reporting:

TODAY'S TOP STORIES

By Gwyneth Doland 05/13/2008 11:04

Here's a round up of top stories around New Mexico.

The Albuquerque Journal has a story about the two candidates who have triggered the "millionaire's amendment.".

Meanwhile blogger Joe Monahan mulls over the fact that while Senate candidate Pearce has been airing statewide TV ads hammering foes Heather Wilson and Tom Udall.

KOB.com has a story about Albuquerque City Councilors who are upset about the cost of the new fire academy.

Sen. Robinson's money scrum

By Matthew Reichbach 05/13/2008 11:00

State Sen. Shannon Robinson is the volunteer coach of the UNM rugby team. The team is not officially part of the UNM Athletic Department.

And the UNM rugby club has received more than $450,000 in the past three years, according to the Sunday Albuquerque Journal.

This isn't the first time Robinson's propensity for pushing state funds to the UNM Rugby club have been noticed. Earlier this year, Clearly New Mexico's Parnelli Gonzales wrote about it. Gonzales cited Albuquerque Journal articles here and here from January of this year on a similar subject.

By Matthew Reichbach 05/13/2008 06:00

Sen. Pete Domenici will not be endorsing either Republican candidate in the hotly contested Republican primary for his Senate seat.

The Albuquerque Journal reported Saturday that Domenici, who is retiring because of health reasons, would not endorse either Heather Wilson or Steve Pearce for the Republican nomination. Both are running for the opportunity to take on Tom Udall, the only Democrat in the race, in November's general election.

Blogger Joe Monahan noted in his Monday blog post that the story appeared on the print version of the Journal but did not appear online.

Flight cancelled

By Denise Tessier 05/12/2008 17:48

It looks like New Mexico no longer has a "bird in the hand" as far as flights to Mexico. While the state has a couple of prospects for winged transport to Mexico "in the bush", the only airline flying directly out of Albuquerque -- Frontier Airlines -- is discontinuing its Saturday flights to Puerto Vallarta, effective June 14.

Steve Snyder, director of corporate communications for Frontier Airlines in Denver, today confirmed to the New Mexico Independendent that the Puerto Vallarta flights, which started in December, will end next month -- permanently.

Medical marijuana a go?

By John Arnold 05/12/2008 15:54

Could this year's presidential election ease worries that have hindered New Mexico's medical marijuana program?

New Mexico enacted a medical marijuana law last year. But the state Health Department has yet to implement the law's provisions for a state-licensed production and distribution system because state officials have been concerned that state employees might face federal prosecution.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported today that the next president could put an end to such worries. Democratic front runner Barack Obama, in particular, "has become an increasingly firm advocate of ending federal intervention and letting states make their own rules when it comes to medical marijuana," the paper said:

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