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| N.M. Sen. Mark Boitano |
N.M. Senator Mark Boitano Announces Retirement
N.M.-Texas Border Drug Smugglers Getting Younger
Agents said some of the illegal immigrants carry 50 pounds of drugs for several days, travel in groups of two to five, and evade capture by heading quickly to mountain canyons along the Texas-New Mexico border. The area includes a cavernous maze where the stone ground makes it harder to follow tracks and rocky terrain blocks smugglers from view. More News New Mexico
Hall Draws New District Boundaries
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| Judge James Hall |
The latest map ordered by retired State District Judge James Hall meets a deadline set by the state Supreme Court for revamping a redistricting plan he developed last month but that was overturned by the justices.
Redistricting is necessary to adjust the boundaries of political districts for population changes during the past decade. The goal is equalize district populations as much as possible to meet the legal doctrine of one-person, one vote. Read full story here: News New Mexico
Andy Nunez: Roundhouse Cowboy
Santa Fe Reporter - On Jan. 17, the opening day of New Mexico’s 2012 legislative session, longtime state House of Representatives Speaker Ben Luján, D-Santa Fe, stood before a hushed chamber. Luján, a diminutive man in his 70s who for years had controlled much of what happened at the capitol, had just announced that he had lung cancer and planned to retire from politics. The 2012 session would be his last. It was the end of an era.
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| Andy Nunez |
While many House members wept openly during Luján’s emotional speech, one politician sat quietly in his assigned seat in the back row of the chamber. A year ago, Andy Nuñez, an outspoken, drawling rancher from southern New Mexico who wears a large cowboy hat and can often be seen with a childlike smirk on his face, was the most vocal backer of a southern coalition united to replace Luján as speaker.
Now, Luján’s poor health overshadowed any intraparty turmoil in the Roundhouse. But it couldn’t halt a political shift already underway across the state. Luján’s coming retirement marks the declining dominance of northern Democrats in state politics; conservatives from agricultural, oil-and-gas-dominated southern New Mexico are positioning themselves for greater influence. As a former Democrat turned independent and the champion of an effort to repeal the state law allowing foreign nationals to obtain driver’s licenses, Nuñez has become the unlikely poster child for a rising right. Read full story here: News New Mexico
Wilson’s poll has her leading Sowards by 71 points
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| Heather Wilson |
Fossil fuel’s triple “A” rating
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| Marita Noon |
With rising gas prices bringing energy into the debate, and President Obama setting his energy priorities out in his budget, it is important to be aware of some energy realities. Otherwise you may think fossil fuels are “evil,” when, in fact, they provide us with the freedom to come and go, to be and do.
Abundant
With gas prices in the news, reporters are interviewing people in gas stations and getting their thoughts on the situation. One had a man proclaiming that oil is a precious resource. He stated that we needed the price to go up so people used less of it. I agree that oil is precious—as in valuable and important, but not as in scarce or rare.
Decades ago, it was thought that we were about to run out of oil. True, production in America did decline. But new privately developed technologies have both found more oil and natural gas and allowed us to use it more efficiently. Read rest of the column here: News New Mexico
Gutierrez seeks DNC post, not running for re-election
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| Joni Guitterez |
NMPolitics - The Democrat from Mesilla joins a growing list of lawmakers who are retiring from public office this year or running for other positions instead of seeking re-election. N.M. Democratic National Committeewoman Mary Gail Gwaltney announced Friday evening that she’s stepping down from that post; State Rep. Joni Gutierrez said she will seek to replace Gwaltney rather than running for re-election this year.Both women made their announcements at a Democratic Party fundraiser in Las Cruces News New Mexico
Permit Requirement Bothers Occupiers
Our Eddie Garcia was at Yale Park as the demonstration and arrests unfolded. UNM officials told him that none of this would have happened if the group would have gotten a permit. Four people were arrested for trespassing as UNM police moved in to Yale Park to kick everyone out. The University actually shut down the park to force demonstrators onto the sidewalk. “I don't think anyone has ever heard of a beautiful Sunday afternoon at 2 o'clock closing down a public park. That's when it should be most open and most available to the public,” said protester Jeffrey Haas. Read full story here: News New Mexico
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