Democracy for New Mexico

PRC Lecture Series to Focus on Renewable Energies, Clean Technologies and the Regulatory Environment

From Jason Marks, NM Public Regulation Commission:
Santa Fe—New Mexico Public Regulation Commission Chairman Ben R. Lujan and Vice Chairman Jason Marks are hosting a series of lectures, which will concentrate on renewable energies and clean technologies. The first lecture will focus on large-scale solar thermal power plants and New Mexico’s regulatory environment.

“Renewable energies are our future. These clean, renewable energy technologies have the potential to positively affect our state’s economy, while protecting and preserving our environment,” said Chairman Lujan.

Dr. Arnold Leitner CEO and President of SkyFuel, LLC will discuss technologies related to large-scale solar thermal power, which are based on Compact Linear Fresnel Reflectors or CLFR’s. CLFR’s are a solar technology developed by Australia’s Solar Heat and Power and have excellent operational and environmental potential. Dr. Ben Luce coordinator and spokesperson for Coalition for Clean Affordable Energy (CCAE) and a member of New Mexico Solar Energy Association will also provide a brief overview of Concentrating Solar Power technologies and energy storage.

The inaugural lecture will be held at 2-4 PM, Monday, July 17, 2006 at Apodoca Hall on the 2nd floor of the PERA building, 1120 Paseo de Peralta, Santa Fe. For more information please contact the PRC at 505-827-4533. The public is encouraged to attend.

Dana Goldberg Comedy Event & Silent Auction Benefit

(Click on image for larger version.) Don't miss Dana Goldberg
Saturday, July 15, 7:30 PM
Silent Auction proceeds to go to
Equality New Mexico
and All Faiths Receiving Home

Silent Auction Begins at 6:30 - Doors open at 7:00
Special Guest the incomparable jazz vocalist
Cathryn McGill

UNM Continuing Education Auditorium
1634 University Blvd., NE
Tickets on sale NOW at www.danagoldberg.com and
First Community Bank
(Nob Hill Location Only)
Tickets $15 advance $20 at the door!

ABQ CodePINK's Saturdays in the Park Continue

(Click on image above for larger version.)

The Downtown Growers' Market every Saturday morning from 7:00 to 11:00 AM provides the perfect setting for us to prominade very pinkly. The market is in Albuquerque at Robinson Park on Central between 8th and 9th. It has wonderful produce, artisans, pastries, coffee and music. And, importantly, it has lovely shade. We can stroll and shop and then sit under the big trees -- and attract attention. We can collect signatures for The Voters' Pledge and The Declaration of Peace. Free parking is available in a lot just north of the park. Bring a folding chair and wear your pink.

Peace,
Rebecca Wilson
Albuquerque Coordinator
CODEPINK Women for Peace
Albuquerque, NM
505.463.7172
abqcodepink@mac.com
www.albuquerquecodepink.info

CODEPINK is a women-initiated grassroots peace and social justice movement working to end the war in Iraq, stop new wars, and redirect our resources into healthcare, education and other life-affirming activities. CODEPINK rejects the Bush administration's fear-based politics that justify violence, and instead calls for policies based on compassion, kindness and a commitment to international law. With an emphasis on joy and humor, CODEPINK women and men seek to activate, amplify and inspire a community of peacemakers through creative campaigns and a commitment to non-violence.

Federal Election Assistance Commission to Hold Public Meeting in Santa Fe

Press release from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission:

EAC to Hold Public Meeting in Santa Fe. Topics Include Voting System Certification, Ballot Design & Polling Place Signage

WHAT: Public Meeting - Commissioners will discuss the approval of an interim voting system certification process, effective ballot design and effective polling place signage.

WHO: EAC commissioners, election officials and usability design specialists.

WHERE: Hilton Santa Fe Historic Plaza - Mesa C., 100 Sandoval Street, Santa Fe, NM 87501, (505) 988-2811

WHEN: Thursday, July 13, 2006 (9:30 AM - 12:30 PM, MDT)

To learn more about the EAC, please visit www.eac.gov.

Contact: Bryan Whitener (202) 566-3100
bwhitener@eac.gov

NM Forum to Focus on Right to Vote Counting Accuracy

From Verified Voting NM and United Voters NM:
“Your Right To Have Your Vote Counted Accurately” is the theme of an upcoming  public forum sponsored by a coalition of election reform activists in New Mexico. The event will feature commentary by leading national advocates also concerned with strengthening accuracy in vote counting, auditing and recounting.

The forum will be held Sunday July 9, 2-4 PM, at the Unitarian-Universalist Congregation of Santa Fe, Barcelona at Galisteo. It is open to the public and co-sponsored by the Congregation’s Forum and by Verified Voting NM and United Voters of New Mexico. Click for flyer.

The event coincides with the opening in Santa Fe of the summer conference of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), who generally are the chief election officials in their jurisdictions. “The tremendous amount of money – up to $50,000 apiece – being raised by the NASS from the voting machine manufacturers seems to put our electoral system at risk,” said Terry Riley of United Voters of New Mexico. 

“This event highlights the oncoming November election and the critical problems caused by untrustworthy voting machines and administrative actions that deter voters from casting their ballots,” said Pat Leahan, member of the VVNM steering committee.

Topics to be discussed are: The U.S. November Election – Train Wreck in the Making?; Problems Ahead for New Mexico’s Conversion to All Paper Ballots; and the Role of Secretaries of State in Ensuring Verifiable and Verified Elections.

Among the scheduled speakers are: Warren Stewart, director of legislative issues and policy of VoteTrustUSA and Heleni Thayre of Unitarian-Universalists for Verified Voting, Boston.   

VerifiedVotingNM  and  UnitedVotersNM
329 Sena St., Santa Fe NM 87505,  988-3718
PO Box 218, Corrales NM 87048,  898-1237 
A coalition of organizations and individuals concerned with strengthening accuracy in vote counting, auditing and recounting

For more info contact: Robert Stearns, 988-3718 or Terry Riley, 899-6275

Welcome the EmergeNM Class of 2006-07

EmergeNewMexico Advisory Committee & Board Members invite you to welcome  the EmergeNEWMEXICO CLASS OF 2006-2007!!

July 8, 2006, 6-8:30 PM Reception
At the home of Randi McGinn, ABQ, NM

RSVP to emergenm@yahoo.com for directions and details. Questions can be directed to Julie at 505.920.6002.

EmergeNewMexico has selected 25 incredible women for it's first NM class.  Please join us in congratulating them and learning more about these future - and current - candidates for elected officials.

Advisory Board
Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish
Attorney General Patricia Madrid
Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron
Senator Dede Feldman
Senator Linda M. Lopez
Senator Cynthia Nava
Representative Mimi Stewart
Representative Danice Picraux
Representative Gail Chasey

Board of Directors
Agnes Maldonado (co-chair)
Giovanna Rossi (co-chair)
Sarita Nair (Treasurer)
Julianna Koob (Secretary)
Samantha Adams
Shannon Bacon
Heather Brewer
Sonya Carrasco-Trujillo
Cristy J. Carbon-Gaul
Jennifer Chavez
Anathea Chino
Frances Crockett
Michelle Hernandez
Ruth Kovnat
Randilynn Lord
Susan Loubet
Randi McGinn
Ambrosia Ortiz
Rose Peters
Stephine Poston
Joella Redmon
Aliesha Ruiz
Kim Zamarin

www.emergenm.org
Julianna Koob
505.920.6002

Petroglyph National Monument Features Evening with Famed Photographer David Muench

An Evening with David Muench
Date: Saturday, July 1, 2006
Time: 6:30 - 7:30 PM
Location: Petroglyph National Monument Visitor Center
Contact: Ed Dunn, 505-899-0205 ext. 347

David Muench has been a freelance landscape photographer for over 35 years and has been the primary photographer for over 40 books depicting the wonders of nature. In 1975, he was commissioned to provide photographs for 33 large murals on the Lewis and Clark Expedition, along with 350 smaller pictures, for the permanent exhibition at the Jefferson Expansion Memorial in St. Louis. A resident of New Mexico, he and his wife and author, Ruth Rudner, have most recently produced a book called Our National Parks, which will be on sale in the bookstore.

You are invited to visit with David and ask questions about his photographic and travel experiences in some of the world’s most remote and beautiful regions.

Location: Petroglyph National Monument’s Las Imágenes Visitor Center located at 4735 Unser Blvd. NW at Western Trail. Our gates will open at 6:00. Come early and browse the monument’s Western National Parks Association book store. This program is free and open to the public. No advanced registration is required.

Petroglyph National Monument website.

ACTION ALERT: Join Common Cause at NM Ethics Task Force Meeting This Week

If you care about ethics and honesty in politics and government, now is the time to act. From Matt Brix at Common Cause NM:

It's that time again, folks. The monthly meeting of the governor's ethics and campaign reform task force will take place over two days this week. The open and extended meeting times will offer plenty of time for public input, so please take the time to join me if you can on Wednesday, June 28, 9:00 AM-5:30 PM and Thursday, June 29, 9:00 AM-5:30 PM. The meeting site both days will be Room 322 at the Roundhouse in Santa Fe.

The two-day meeting will be split into four half-day discussions. So, if you're not able to make it to both days of the task force meetings, here's what the schedule will look like (please note that I will lead the campaign finance discussion on the afternoon of June 28).

Day 1 Wednesday, June 28

Conduct of Government Officials (9:15 AM-12:00 PM)
Discussion Group Leader: Hilary Tompkins
Discussion Facilitator: Dean Suellyn Scarnecchia

Campaign Finance (1:30 PM-5:30 PM)
Discussion Group Leader: Matt Brix
Discussion Facilitator: Governor Garrey Carruthers
Expert witness will be Todd Lang of the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission.

Day 2: Thursday, June 29

Legislative Compensation (9:15 AM-12:00 PM)
Discussion Group Leader: Governor Garrey Carruthers
Discussion Facilitator: Dean Suellyn Scarnecchia

Prevention and Enforcement (1:30 PM-5:30 PM)
Discussion Group Leader: Jim Noel
Discussion Facilitator: Dean Suellyn Scarnecchia

Remember folks, the task force meeting is this Wednesday and Thursday, June 28 and June 29 in Room 322 of the New Mexico Roundhouse in Santa Fe. If you can attend one of the four sessions, I would strongly recommend attending Wednesday afternoon's discussion on campaign finance reform!

Thank you, I look forward to seeing you at the ethics task force meeting on June 28 and June 29!

Sincerely,
Matt Brix
Executive Director, Common Cause New Mexico
Common Cause NM

Breaking: Cindy Sheehan to Lead Protests in Taos, Los Alamos

UPDATE: Cindy Sheehan had to cancel her New Mexico events because she was invited to travel to Jordan to meet with Iraqi parliament members and peace activists. She'll be rescheduling a visit here for sometime in September.

WELCOME CINDY SHEEHAN TO TAOS
A Day of Action: Saturday, August 5th

3 PM: Cindy protests at Rumsfeld’s home

6 PM: Speak Out by Cindy at KTAO’s Solar Center - The
Patty Mac and Dr. Dave’s Concert for Peace. Scheduled
Musicians include: David and the Infidels & Tabularrasa

7 PM: Speech at the TCA: a Crawford
House fundraiser - $10, students free

Events are cosponsored by the Action Coalition of Taos and Veterans for Peace. For more information call 505-766-1932. Click for a flyer (pdf) and pass it on.

It's also being reported that Cindy will appear in Los Alamos on Sunday, August 6th, in connection with the event to memorialize the Hiroshima atomic bomb anniversary that's being organized by the Los Alamos Study Group and others. More info to come.

National Wilderness Historian Brings Message to Doña Ana County

Organ Mountains

From the NM Wilderness Alliance:
After three decades, the nation’s leading expert on the American wilderness movement, Doug Scott, is returning to southern New Mexico. Following a stint as a seasonal park ranger at Carlsbad Caverns National Park in the mid-1960s, Scott began a lifelong career working to protect some of the country’s last wild lands. Author of The Enduring Wilderness, which the late Christopher Reeve called, "A must for ordinary citizens who care about saving our wilderness heritage for future genertations," Scott has been involved in the passage of every major piece of wilderness legislation in the last 30 years.

“People in the Las Cruces area are doing all the right things to protect a piece of their treasured wild public land,” says Scott, noting bipartisan city and county resolutions that overwhelmingly support strong wilderness protection.

"I am looking forward to spending time with the broad-based coalition that is working together to protect the Organ Mountains, Broad Canyon, and other special places. It's a model of a community uniting to preserve all that is special on its nearby federal lands, and I hope to help in any way I can."

Doug Scott will be in Las Cruces June 21-24:

Thursday, June 22, 7:00 PM
Doug addresses Progressive Voters Alliance Meeting
Munson Senior Center,  975 S. Mesquite Las Cruces, NM

Friday, June 23, 6:30 PM
Campfire Conversation with Doug Scott
Scenic Happy Trails Inn (1857 Paisano Mesilla, NM 88005 505/635-9459)

Saturday, June 24, 2:00 PM
Honor our Heritage: Protect Wilderness in Dona Ana County
NMWA's Downtown Office (275 Downtown Mall, Las Cruces & Water) in the SWEC Center
Beat the Heat With Air Conditioning, Refreshments, and Prizes. Make history--and help protect our heritage.

Contact Nathan Small at the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance
(nathansmall@nmwild.org, 505-463-2031) for more info. and to reserve your spot at both events.

To learn more about our efforts to protect wilderness in Doña Ana County , please visit www.DonaAnaWild.org

To make a contribution directly toward the Doña Ana Wild Campaign, go to: https://secure.ga1.org/05/donaanawild