Senator says he was impersonated

From KRQE-TV.com - by Kim Holland - A woman who runs a program for people down on their luck said a state senator stiffed her $1,600 after she did him a favor. But the senator told News 13 he has no idea what the woman is talking about and believes someone has been impersonating him. Either way, it’s a bizarre story. Tani Gallup said she first came into contact with a man who identified himself as Sen. Phil Griego, D-San Jose, several months ago. That’s when Gallup – who runs an Albuquerque residential program for people with drug and alcohol problems or have had brushes with the law – received a phone call from the director of a halfway house in Albuquerque. Gallup said the director told her that a man named Billy Sanchez, who was on probation for fraud and tax evasion, had been recently kicked out of his halfway house and needed a place to live. The director also said Sanchez was Griego’s nephew and that the senator would be grateful if she’d accept him, Gallup said. Gallup said Griego promised her he’d pay for his nephew’s tab. Two and a half months later, Sanchez left the Casa de Amigos house unannounced. At that time, his bill was nearly $1,600, Gallup said. Griego first referred News 13 to his attorney, but when a reporter caught up with him at a recent meeting of the Legislative Finance Committee, he was outspoken. He told New 13 he doesn’t have a relative named Billy Sanchez and that someone is misusing his name. Still, Gallup said she believes she was talking to the real senator, and she’s filed a lawsuit to try and recoup her money. Meanwhile, Sanchez was recently arrested for breaking his probation and is currently sitting in prison in Los Lunas. Read more
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Law enforcement board bucks Gary King

Gary King
From Capitol Report New Mexico.com - In the past year, New Mexico attorney general Gary King has taken his lumps from critics who say he and his office has not aggressively pursued a number of political investigations. On Tuesday (Dec. 13), King found himself outvoted 7-1 by members of the board he chairs — the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy Board – on two resolutions during an often acrimonious emergency meeting that focused on charges the attorney general’s office isn’t doing its job presenting the state’s case for sanctions against law enforcement officers accused of misconduct. One of the civilian members of the board — attorney Nate Korn – delivered a blistering attack on the lawyer within the AG’s office in charge of handling those misconduct cases. Speaking in front of the board, Korn accused Matt Jackson of “inept prosecution,” that Jackson “has basically warehoused cases” while exhibiting “an abysmal lack of preparation and an abysmal lack of understanding of the rules of evidence.” Read more
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Former Richardson official, fundraiser testify at grand jury probe

From the Santa Fe New Mexican.com - by Trip Jennings - A former deputy campaign manager with former Gov. Bill Richardson's presidential campaign and an Albuquerque restaurateur and developer appeared before a federal grand jury looking into possible wrongdoing by the state's former chief executive. But neither Amanda Cooper nor Jimmy Daskalos had anything to say as they entered and left the Pete V. Domenici federal courthouse Tuesday in Albuquerque. Cooper is the stepdaughter of U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., and worked as Richardson's deputy campaign manager during his presidential run. Cooper also worked on Richardson's 2006 re-election campaign for governor. Daskalos, who has owned Yanni's, a prominent Albuquerque restaurant, with Richardson insider Nick Kapnison, was a fundraiser for the former governor. Cooper and Daskalos were the only witnesses observed entering or exiting the grand jury room Tuesday, although other individuals had been rumored to be in line to testify. Other than a small group of journalists who greeted Cooper and Daskalos, there were no signs that anything important was happening behind closed doors at the courthouse. Read more
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U.S. military drone crashes in Seychelles

From the Washington Post - One of the Air Force’s premier drones crashed Tuesday morning in the Seychelles, the Indian Ocean archipelago that serves as a base for anti-piracy operations, as well as U.S. surveillance missions over Somalia. The crash of the MQ-9 Reaper comes roughly two weeks after a U.S. drone went down in Iran. The Seychelles, where U.S. officials have worked closely with local officials to establish the drone base, is hardly enemy territory, and the drone that crashed Tuesday was operated by the Air Force, not the CIA, which operated the stealth RQ-170 that crashed in Iran. Still, Tuesday’s crash once again illustrates the fallibility of unmanned aerial vehicles. The Air Force acknowledged the crash at the Seychelles airport, and a spokesman for the service said the crash happened as the drone was landing. No one was injured. Read more
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In U.S., Fear of Big Government at Near-Record Level

From Gallup.com - WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans' concerns about the threat of big government continue to dwarf those about big business and big labor, and by an even larger margin now than in March 2009. The 64% of Americans who say big government will be the biggest threat to the country is just one percentage point shy of the record high, while the 26% who say big business is down from the 32% recorded during the recession. Relatively few name big labor as the greatest threat. Historically, Americans have always been more concerned about big government than big business or big labor in response to this trend question dating back to 1965. Concerns about big business surged to a high of 38% in 2002, after the large-scale accounting scandals at Enron and WorldCom. An all-time-high 65% of Americans named big government as the greatest threat in 1999 and 2000. Worries about big labor have declined significantly over the years, from a high of 29% in 1965 to the 8% to 11% range over the past decade and a half. Read more
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Do people have too much time on their hands?




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Jerome Block Arrested..... Again!

From capitolreportnewmexico.com -For the third time in two months, Jerome Block Jr. has been arrested. From Geoff Grammer of the Santa Fe New Mexican, who reports that the former member of the Public Regulation Commission has been booked into Santa Fe County jail:Jail records show he was booked in Tuesday at 3:12 p.m.It is unclear what his latest violation was that landed him in jail, but his previous two trips there (Oct. 14 and Nov. 14) were related to violations of the terms of his participation in the Adult Drug Court program, but not necessarily a dirty drug test.  More News New Mexico
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Campos: We should all pay our fair share


Pete Campos
From NM Politics.net - by State Senator Pete Campos - No one likes to pay taxes, but most of us accept it as necessary to provide for essential public services. What is hard to accept, and what we should not accept, are tax policies that by chance or by design allow some people and corporations to get away with not paying their fair share of taxes. Unfair tax policies not only deprive the state treasury of badly needed revenue – revenue to hire more teachers and police officers, repair roads or keep parks clean – such policies also understandably foster broad public resentment and weaken consumer confidence. Simply put, unfair tax policies are just plain un-American! Fixing many unfair tax policies may seem like an unattainable goal for most New Mexicans because the policies are set at the federal level or are supported by entrenched special interests. But the New Mexico Legislature in January will have a chance to correct one such policy: the multistate corporate tax loophole that allows huge corporations doing business in New Mexico and other states to pay absolutely no corporate income tax to New Mexico. Senator Peter Wirth of Santa Fe has said he will again sponsor legislation to make out-of-state corporations pay their fair share of New Mexico income taxes. Among western states that have a corporate income tax, only New Mexico and Oklahoma do not require out-of-state corporations doing business in the state to pay state income taxes. Read more
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Federal Funds to Build More Homes in Southern N.M.

From publicbroadcasting.net -USDA Rural Development State Director Terry Brunner traveled to Berino, New Mexico Tuesday to present over $700,000 in certificates of obligation to Tierra Del Sol Housing Corporation, Inc (TDS). The funding will be used to administer the construction of 36 new homes in Berino, New Mexico. TDS is also receiving additional funding for the repair and upgrading of five homes owned by the elderly. The third award is a loan to provide business opportunities in the southern part of the state.  More News New Mexico
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Don't Mess With West Texas or Eastern N.M.

From biggovernment.com -By Tim Thurlow -I just sent a comment to the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) regarding its proposal to list the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard (DSL) on the “endangered” list of the Endangered Species Act, and I feel great about it. Absolutely great! After I pressed the “enter” button on my computer and sent this comment to the FWS, I celebrated by eating a third of a roll of raw Christmas cookie dough instead of baking these cookies for an up-coming Christmas party. My friends at the party will understand – this was done in the name of something big!  More News New Mexico
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