Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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Just 80 feet from the road to Sandia Crest. In view of a picnic table and a popular hiking trail. And in the path of a family pet named Cub. Last weekend, Cub stepped into a metal leg-hold trap. Luckily, Cub’s owner and a friend were hiking with the dog and were able to pry open the jaws of the trap before they caused any serious damage to the animal’s leg. Critics are already blaming Cub’s owner, saying John Ussery should have followed the law and had his dog on a leash. Absolutely. But that misses the point that Usser...
For four years, Francisco Melgar-Cabrera has escaped American justice. And Stephanie Anderson has been dead. The first half of that equation needs to change, because the second part can't. Melgar-Cabrera, a suspect in the June 20, 2009, fatal robbery of the Denny's on Coors NW in Albuquerque, remains on the lam in El Salvador. In the years since the breakfast-crowd shooting: - Melgar-Cabrera's brother has almost completed his four-year sentence for aiding in his escape and is set to be deported and rejoin his fugitive...
The death penalty trial of Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell has reignited the national debate about abortion, specifically late-term abortions. Abortion is never totally out of the arena of public debate, but the gruesome allegations of necks being cut to kill babies who were born alive at Gosnell's squalid inner city abortion clinic have shocked a nation where abortion has become an everyday event. Gosnell, 72, is charged with killing four viable babies as well as a 41-year-old patient who died after allegedly...
According to the Oxford Dictionaries it means "dumb." Urban dictionary says it means "idiot." Wiktionary says it's "a stupid person." Yet Albuquerque attorney and mayoral candidate Pete Dinelli uses pendejo to describe all registered Democrats who have crossed party lines — to vote for a candidate who has a background they respect, who accurately represents their views on an issue, who has done their homework to earn their vote. Dinelli, who is running in a nonpartisan city election, says he wants to end "petty partisan p...
Consider it a perfect storm of supply not meeting demand. Not only does Medicare reimburse doctors about 45 percent of what commercial insurance pays, but an estimated 78 million baby boomers — Americans born between 1946 and 1964 — will be joining the Medicare rolls in the next 20 years. And if a recent survey is any indication, they will have one heck of a time finding a doctor. A check with doctors in the Oregon Medical Association three years ago, before the Affordable Care Act was a reality, showed 79 percent ranked Med...
Shame on the Department of Veterans Affairs for drawing a cloud of suspicion over what should be an honored organization that serves our military men and women. And kudos to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals for restoring a fiscal measure of confidence in the judiciary. The VA is under investigation for possibly squandering $9 million on exorbitant human-resources training conferences last year and violating ethics rules by taking booze, concert tickets and spa treatments from vendors. Contrast that with the Tenth Circuit...
Shame on the Department of Veterans Affairs for drawing a cloud of suspicion over what should be an honored organization that serves our military men and women. And kudos to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals for restoring a fiscal measure of confidence in the judiciary. The VA is under investigation for possibly squandering $9 million on exorbitant human-resources training conferences last year and violating ethics rules by taking booze, concert tickets and spa treatments from vendors. Contrast that with the Tenth Circuit...
Here's one case where bipartisanship ruled in Washington, but with a very negative outcome. For three decades Social Security's payroll tax collections had been producing large surpluses — had is the operative word — taking in more money than needed for administrative costs and benefit payments, mainly to retirees and disabled adults. But rather than holding on to that money for the expected day that expenses would exceed income, Republicans and Democrats in Congress have been tapping the surplus — in exchange for IOUs — to...
Here's one case where bipartisanship ruled in Washington, but with a very negative outcome. For three decades Social Security's payroll tax collections had been producing large surpluses — had is the operative word — taking in more money than needed for administrative costs and benefit payments, mainly to retirees and disabled adults. But rather than holding on to that money for the expected day that expenses would exceed income, Republicans and Democrats in Congress have been tapping the surplus — in exchange for IOUs — to...
If you needed further proof that New Mexico is a hotbed for scientific research, here it is. This week six researchers with New Mexico ties will be among 96 U.S. researchers to receive the 2011 Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor awarded by the U.S. government to scientists and engineers in the early stages of their research careers. Among the six is 29-year-old Francis McCubbin, a geochemist and a senior research scientist whose work at the University of New Mexico's Institute of...
If you needed further proof that New Mexico is a hotbed for scientific research, here it is. This week six researchers with New Mexico ties will be among 96 U.S. researchers to receive the 2011 Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor awarded by the U.S. government to scientists and engineers in the early stages of their research careers. Among the six is 29-year-old Francis McCubbin, a geochemist and a senior research scientist whose work at the University of New Mexico's Institute of...
At first blush, it might sound like a good idea to unload the state's supercomputer, Encanto, as a symbol of Gov. Bill Richardson-era excess, a la the state jet. After all, it supposedly can't pay its bills, and its once lofty ranking of third-fastest in the world has slipped out of the top 100. But just as Gov. Susana Martinez found an experienced broker with the right connections to get the best possible deal for the jet — $2.5 million six years after it had been purchased for $5.5 million, and saving the state almost $...
What would you say if your employer was handing over your personal information — name, home address, home phone number, Social Security number and work experience — to a special interest group you didn't belong to so it could send you political mail? Welcome to the ranks of nonunion teachers employed by Albuquerque Public Schools. The district's collective bargaining agreement with the Albuquerque Teachers Federation requires — not allows, but requires — APS to provide that information to the union, whether teachers belong...
What would you say if your employer was handing over your personal information — name, home address, home phone number, Social Security number and work experience — to a special interest group you didn't belong to so it could send you political mail? Welcome to the ranks of nonunion teachers employed by Albuquerque Public Schools. The district's collective bargaining agreement with the Albuquerque Teachers Federation requires — not allows, but requires — APS to provide that information to the union, whether teachers belong...
What's fair for the goose is fair for the gander — unless of course it's New Mexico politics. New Mexico State Fair Commissioner Charlotte Rode, who voted against awarding a racino lease to the Downs of Albuquerque and who doesn't believe a racino is the best use for Expo New Mexico, has fired off a request to State Auditor Hector Balderas for an investigation into the 25-year lease deal. Rode, a Republican and a Gov. Susana Martinez appointee to the commission, accuses the Governor's Office of manipulating the deal through p...
"Transparency is an essential feature of the relationship between the people and their government." — N.M. Supreme Court Justice Patricio Serna, in an opinion written for the court Last week the state's highest court made an important — and unanimous — decision limiting who can claim, and what can be kept from the public under the guise of "executive privilege." It is welcome guidance, especially considering the previous gubernatorial administration's expansive view of that secrecy tool. Under then-Gov. Bill Richa...
New initiatives are opening up job opportunities for U.S. veterans. The state Department of Veterans Services is working with the New Mexico Aviation/Aerospace Association to help veterans retiring or returning from Afghanistan find jobs in New Mexico's aviation and aerospace industries. The association will help the state build a database of local companies that want to hire veterans. The state would then work to connect former military personnel with prospective employers, help those who need more skills to pursue training...
The White House is a busy place, what with compiling that "kill list" for terrorists and developing a cyberweapons strategy against Iran. So is the Justice Department, what with flirting with being held in contempt of Congress over withheld information on the bungled Fast and Furious weapons operation. So President Barack Obama and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder should clear a little time on their BlackBerry schedules and consider having an independent special counsel investigate recent national security leaks. It is...
New Mexico's wildfire season already is living up to its billing as another one to dread. Picture an inferno larger than the largest city in New Mexico. At more than 266 square miles — 80 square miles larger than Albuquerque — you have the Whitewater-Baldy Fire in the Gila National Forest. It is the largest fire in recorded New Mexico history and, at least last week, was the largest fire burning in the U.S. About 1,200 firefighters from around the state are battling the behemoth that formed when two lightning-started fir...
New Mexico's wildfire season already is living up to its billing as another one to dread. Picture an inferno larger than the largest city in New Mexico. At more than 266 square miles — 80 square miles larger than Albuquerque — you have the Whitewater-Baldy Fire in the Gila National Forest. It is the largest fire in recorded New Mexico history and, at least last week, was the largest fire burning in the U.S. About 1,200 firefighters from around the state are battling the behemoth that formed when two lightning-started fir...
Some Albuquerque Public Schools board members seem to have taken leave of their civic sense with their support of a proposal to ban elected officials or candidates from speaking at high school graduations. Board member David Peercy said if the full board approves the proposal this week, it would even deny graduates the unlikely opportunity of hearing President Obama. Peercy graciously offered to explain the policy to the president. That would be some conversation. Maybe it could be taped and played to the graduates, instead...
In the view of Albuquerque Public Schools Superintendent Winston Brooks, investigators for the state Public Education Department swooped down on an Albuquerque elementary school earlier this month, dragged teachers out of class and generally caused chaos at the school. There wasn't enough advance notice to get substitute teachers in classrooms while teachers were called away and grilled about alleged testing improprieties last year, he says. Sierra Vista's principals were attending a meeting off campus, leaving district...
What does it take to get fired by the FAA, the agency in charge of making sure the skies are safe for the flying public? Apparently putting airplanes on near collision courses isn't enough. On Feb. 29, shortly after starting his 7 p.m. shift at the FAA radar facility at Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport in Mississippi, controller Robert Beck put an Air Force C-130 transport jet on a converging course with a twin-engine turboprop. Beck had only those two planes to handle. Luckily, the controller Beck had relieved noticed...
Education Secretary-designate Hanna Skandera is once again the target of criticism, this time by Hispanics who are rightly concerned about the large achievement gap in New Mexico between Anglo and minority students, which has remained static for years. Gov. Susana Martinez appointed Skandera shortly after the 2010 election to reform the state's education system with a goal of lifting New Mexico out of its also long-standing position at or near the bottom of national rankings for student achievement. Skandera has proposed an...
Education Secretary-designate Hanna Skandera is once again the target of criticism, this time by Hispanics who are rightly concerned about the large achievement gap in New Mexico between Anglo and minority students, which has remained static for years. Gov. Susana Martinez appointed Skandera shortly after the 2010 election to reform the state's education system with a goal of lifting New Mexico out of its also long-standing position at or near the bottom of national rankings for student achievement. Skandera has proposed an...
