« Merry Christmas from All the George Bushes | Main | Donate to Child's Play and Get Games to Sick Kids at UNM Hospital »
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Today in Local News
On the radar screen today:
Rep. Ben Lujan (D-Nambe) won the secret vote to retain his role as NM House Speaker over challenger, Rep. Ken Martinez (D-Grants), at yesterday's closed door caucus of House Dems. Martinez will keep his Majority Leader post. Both candidates for Speaker had claimed they would have enough votes to win, and the margin between them was reportedly tight. Sheryl Williams Stapleton (D-ABQ) was re-elected as whip and Rep. John Heaton (D-Carlsbad) will again serve as caucus chair.
In a 5-4 vote, the Albuquerque City Council rejected the adoption of interim design rules for big box stores, a measure introduced by City Council President Debbie O'Malley. However, her permanent rules for big box development will be sent to the Environmental Planning Commission. Their recommendations to the Council on the proposal will be due in about four months. The decision is a loss for the folks trying to stop the "super" Wal-Mart at Osuna and Vista del Norte, but offers some hope for future improvements in the ugly big boxes springing up all over town. Voting to reject the temporary rules were Sally Mayer, Ken Sanchez, Brad Winter, Craig Loy and Don Harris. Ike Benton, Michael Cadigan and Martin Heinrich voted for approval.
The Council also approved special tax increment development districts for Mesa Del Sol. However, they delayed until January 10th any decision on the percentage of future district tax revenues the developer will be allowed borrow against to pay for infrastructure. For the financing plan to work for developer Forest City Covington, they'll have to get the city to sign off on all the details, then get the approval of Bernalillo County and the legislature. See my earlier post for more on this issue.
Albuquerque's Mayor Chavez announced a $10 million, two year plan to landscape 100 acres of land around the Big I. Five thousand dollars will come from the city's coffers and an equal amount from the state. Chavez bragged that the addition of thousands of trees, shrubs, cactuses and grasses would transform Albuquerque. "It's got a lot of 'wow' factor in it," he said. Wow, wow, wow. The new plantings, to be bid in phases, will eventually enhance the area along I-25 and I-40 from Menaul to Indian School and Edith to Universtiy.
Our current U.S. Attorney David Iglesias, a Republican who lost the Attorney General race in 1998 to Patricia Madrid, announced he'll be leaving his post two years early. It's rumored the FBI and other DC bigwigs are displeased with his handling of the state treasurer scandal and, perhaps, the brewing case related to possible corruption in the construction of the Metro and District courthouses in Albuquerque. Hey, maybe Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff can offer him a job at the sprawling agency that provides refuge for hordes of pompously incompetent operatives like Brownie.
Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley visited the campsite of about 50 tribal members who are protesting the construction of the coal-fired Desert Rock Power Plant on Navajo land in the Four Corners. See our earlier post for background on this issue.
December 19, 2006 at 12:08 PM in Candidates & Races, Democratic Party, Environment, Local Politics, Native Americans | Permalink
Comments
Adios Iglesias! Good riddance.
Posted by: CC | Dec 20, 2006 9:37:04 AM
Thank goodness the Dem Caucus kept Lujan! Looks like the so-called "Progressives" have a lot more work to do! Truly shows that their opinions are still the minority... those of us who want New Mexico to grow still rule. Also happy that so-called big box store rules went down in flames. Yippee Feliz Navidad to us natives that have lived here all our lives with no stores and no development who are loving the fact that we are starting to get somewhere on the national map. Hopefully we can get about 10 or 11 more bridges across the river and develop out to the Rio Puerco with malls and entertainment!
Posted by: | Dec 20, 2006 10:50:29 AM
I hate to tell the anonymous poster above but Rep. Lujan is very liberal and progressive so I don't know what they're talking about. In fact, most progressives I know strongly support Rep. Lujan.
As for big boxes, it shows the low esteem Alb residents have of themselves and their city if they think the only way they can attract development is to allow ugly, poorly sited big boxes everywhere. Every cool and upcoming community puts design rules on them, as well as most development.
As for the 11 more bridges, think again. There are already blocks and blocks of empty rental houses on the West Side purchased as "investments" by out of staters. With the housing market tanking big time, there'll be no need for more housing, ugly malls and what the commenter calls "entertainment" for some time to come.
Albuquerque is at a crossroads. We can choose to be an anesthetically pleasing, vibrant, well planned community that will attract good paying jobs and well educated people or we can continue down the path of ugliness, stupidity and short sightedness like the above commenter advises.
Posted by: JLC | Dec 20, 2006 12:02:05 PM
Stupidity that puts us highly ranked in any money publication... as for the real estate market tanking - where are you getting your news??? New start construction up, new local jobs up, can't wait for spring and summer in NM! The only people sulking are those relatively new transplants who moved here thinking nothing would change and they would have the convenience of a large city along with the quiet of a small town underestimating that the locals (traditional Dems) want more and have always wanted more. The only crossroads Albuquerque is at is whether or not we want obstructionist leaders like O'Malley, Cadigan & Griego that want building moratoriums and deny inevitable growth or visionaries that see that we need infrastructure like yesterday and have been waiting on these obstructionists hand and foot! Sorry silvery minnow and weed lovers, but 2007 hopefully brings us new roads, new homes, new schools, more industry, more jobs & more entertainment... hopefully a $400 million stadium instead of these small hopes of $25 - $30 million!
PS - Half of these tree hugging hippies like O'Malley and Cadigan have homes in what used to be the Bosque... so it was okay for them to destroy it for their huge house, huge private schools & neighborhood starbucks but not okay for us to carve into it for necessary bridges?? Hypocrites as usual!
Posted by: | Dec 21, 2006 8:50:03 AM
I've been a "traditional Democrat" all my life and I know Republican talking points when I see them. The last person's comments are full of them. Talking about "tree huggers" and "hippies" shows where this individual is coming from. It is the silly labeling that you hear every day on right wing talk radio.
Sensible planning, well thought out development and holding developers to minimum standards are what every successful city does that hopes to attract good paying jobs and create livable, sustainable neighborhoods. Thinking about the consequences of how a city develops on future water, land and air quality is just plain old common sense.
There is a difference between cancer and healthy growth both in biology and city development. Smart and wise forces know the difference. Those who value only the profits of campaign donors prefer to be blinded to that.
I also think it's funny that the commenter is obviously a supporter of Mayor Chavez yet criticizes environmental thinking as obstructionism. Ironically, Chavez has recently been on a push to convince people he's green, even if he's really in the pockets of wealthy campaign contributors.
There is a difference between ugly, random, poorly planned, badly executed change and change that will benefit the community for decades to come. There are many more values than profit at any cost or growth at any cost. Thoughtful politicians and voters know that. Those stuck in the corrupt cronyism of the old New Mexico machine politics refuse to see that we are changing not only in size and population but the quality of people running for office who aren't stuck in the old family system of bribery and kickbacks.
Posted by: Old Dem | Dec 21, 2006 9:47:04 AM
I've lived in nm for most of my life and one of our biggest problems is the old school democratic machine here. It had its place in the past but now is the time to get rid of the clan system and all the bribery and corruption and appointing your cousin for jobs they don't qualify for. The good news is that there are up and coming democrats who agree and many are coming up from the hispanic community itself. We have to support them if things are to change for the positive.
Posted by: | Dec 21, 2006 10:50:09 AM
