NewMexicoMatters.com

Coll takes aim at State Tilte Insurance Price Fixing

Link:
Suit calls for reform, refund .

A former Santa Fe legislator contends in a class-action lawsuit filed Wednesday that New Mexicans pay too much for title insurance. If Max Coll wins in court, thousands of New Mexicans who had to buy title insurance to get mortgage financing in recent years could get some money back. The title-insurance industry can put the squeeze on all home buyers because they all have to buy title insurance and they can't shop around for a better price, said the former state representative, a Democrat .

Max Coll showing he's still packing the heat.

Heath Haussamen Speaker Lujan slipped $75 Mill into funding bill and Dem candidate for house DQ'd

Southern New Mexico politics comes alive in Housamen's Wednesday and Thursday posts.

Yesterday, Haussamen reported that Wanda Valentine, the only Dem to file to run against embattled R, Dan Foley, was disqualified for failing to sign the declaration of candidacy she submitted on the filing day last week.

This is a setback for Democrats hoping to take advantage of GOP infighting in Otero County, where Foley is already facing a priamary challenge from fellow Republican, Steven J. Gavi.

Link: Heath Haussamen on New Mexico Politics.

It was Speaker of the House Ben Lujan who slipped a $75 million appropriation into the capital outlay bill in this year's legislative session when no one was looking. The money, which Gov. Bill Richardson later vetoed, was designated for the state's share of future water rights settlements with American Indian tribes. Several sources confirmed Lujan's name for me Wednesday. Lujan apparently made the admission during a meeting with more than a dozen legislators and Richardson just before the governor made massive cuts in spending bills. Sources tell me the governor asked who put the funding in the bill and why, since the state engineer had said previously that the money wasn't needed this year.

Wow.

Proof Gov's head getting too big

You got to hand it to Joe Monahan, he gets all the juicy scoops. Wednesday morning's post had this tasty morcel:

"They have fully absorbed his personality. The good and the bad is well-known. On the down side, they are critical of him for being pompous and sometimes a bully, but they approve of him because they see him as getting things done and moving the state forward," explained an insider who has seen the numbers (wow!).

The poll was apparently conducted a few weeks ago. It is important because it is not a "push" poll designed to deliver certain results, nor an automatic phone poll like the USA Survey that you see quoted on the Net and on the tube. This is the real deal, the real numbers the top strategists must have to keep and maintain their grip on power and run effective multi-million dollar campaigns.

This photo appeared in the Valencia News Bulletin and was taken by Jackie Schlotfeldt at a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Rail Runner commuter station in Belen Tuesday afternoon.

Seriously, that looks more like a party hat than a hard hat.

Study shows 13% of legislators elected in 2004 belonged to minority group

A new study released by the Center for Money in State Politics says that of the 6399 legislators elected in 48 states, 824 winners belonged to a minority group.

• 502 African Americans
• 199 Latinos
• 66 Asian Pacific Americans
• 49 Native Americans
• 5 African American / Latino
• 2 Asian Pacific American / Latino
• 1 Latino / Native American

The study, titled "Money and Diversity," available here in pdf format, looks into amounts of money raised by white and non-whites candidates and also those states where minority candidates we most successful. Other interesting findings include party affiliation of minority and non-minority candidates.

Abramoff sentenced to five years, 10 months

Link: Abramoff sentenced to five years, 10 months.

Former GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff was sentenced to 70 months in prison today for fraud stemming from his attempted acquisition of a Florida casino boat chain in 2000. Abramoff appeared before U.S. District Judge Paul C. Huck in Miami to receive the first of two expected federal sentences. He faces another sentencing later in Washington for bribing public officials.

Headlines for Wednesday March 29th, 2006

http://www.joemonahan.com/ Big Bill: Poised For a Win, But Not A Blow-Out? We Have New, Exclusive Poll Numbers, Plus: My New Mexico Bottom Lines For This Spring Wednesday

State Slow to Improve Indian Education
The report by the Legislative Finance Committee said the task of improving Indian education is too great compared to the money and personnel dedicated to implementing the act.
[http://www.abqjournal.com/news/state/445899nm03-29-06.htm]

NMHU Settles Bias Lawsuit
[http://www.abqjournal.com/news/state/445898nm03-29-06.htm]

LANL Sued Over Firing
A former Los Alamos National Laboratory employee says he was fired after less than a year on the job for raising concerns about toxic chemical storage and inadequate safety procedures.
In one case, a procedural lapse "probably contributed to permanent medical injury," according to a lawsuit filed initially in state District Court and recently transferred to federal court.
[http://www.abqjournal.com/north/445821north_news03-29-06.htm]

Water-Use Agreements Changing
A surprise, massive revamping of the way Santa Fe County handles water service agreements resulted in the tabling of several agreements at the County Commission's Tuesday meeting, including a large contract to supply Rancho Viejo with 110 acre-feet per year.
Commissioners voted 5-0 to adopt a policy that transfers control of the county utility's water supply to an administrative process under the direction of water resources director Stephen Wust.
[http://www.abqjournal.com/north/445824north_news03-29-06.htm]

Charge $31.36 For 4 Minutes; PRC To Study Opticom Telephone
SANTA FE— State regulators want Public Regulation Commission staff to study the operations of Opticom, also known as One Call Communications, because of a complaint about excessive phone charges
[http://www.abqjournal.com/biz/445717business03-29-06.htm]

Gallegos case moves forward
A review of thousands of pages of documents in the felony records-tampering case against former Municipal Judge Frances Gallegos should be completed by the end of this week, Taos District Attorney Donald Gallegos said.
[http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/41515.html]

Wanted: More poll workers
Do you want to see the inner workings of elections? You’ve got a prime opportunity this summer because poll workers for the June primary election are in short supply in Santa Fe County, the county clerk reported Tuesday.
[http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/41519.html]

Hardship application of resident rejected
Liliana Connelly-Ferrari will have to find other ways to house her caregiver while she recovers from pelvic surgery.
[http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/41518.html]

Commission might ban cell-phone towers
The Rio Arriba County Commission will consider a temporary ban on cellphone towers at its Thursday meeting, Commissioner Elias Coriz said Tuesday .
A recent cell-phone tower erected on private land in Chimayó has prompted Coriz and Chimayó residents to address the issue.
[http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/41517.html]

New issues raised in Wal-Mart lawsuit
Santa Fe's mayor and City Council got bad legal advice before last year's vote to allow a planned Wal-Mart Supercenter, opponents argue in court documents filed Tuesday.
[http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/41514.html]

Governor intends to renew border emergency declaration
SANTA FE (AP) - Gov. Bill Richardson said Tuesday he plans to extend an emergency declaration for the border area this summer to keep state money flowing to help with border security.
[http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/41500.html]

Shirley avoids warrant; Navajo president misses subpoenaed meeting because
of family emergency
WINDOW ROCK - After more than an hour in executive session, the Human Services Committee emerged Monday to announce it had decided not to seek a bench warrant on Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr.
[http://www.gallupindependent.com//2006/mar/032806shwrnt.html]

Sheriff Lt. Martínez retiring after 23-year career
Admitting he will always bleed brown Taos County sheriff's Lt. Eddie Martínez has announced he is retiring after 23 years of service to Taos County as a law enforcement officer.
[http://www.taosnews.com//db/Daily.php3]

Growth a problem for school boundaries
There are no easy answers when determining school attendance zones in Las
Cruces.
Mar 29, 2006, 12:00 am
[http://www.lcsun-news.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060329/NEWS01/603290330/1...]

Sheriff's Office identifies man fatally burned in ditch
WATERFLOW -- San Juan County Sheriff's Office deputies have identified a man who was fatally burned while cleaning a ditch Monday evening near Hogback, according to a press release.
Mar 29, 2006, 12:00 am
[http://www.daily-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060329/NEWS01/603290303/...]

Technorati Tags: New Mexico, Politics

Kate Nash: There's gold in them thar studies and consultants

Link: The Albuquerque Tribune: Columnists.

SANTA FE - Question: Does New Mexico have what it takes to attract the National Football League?

Answer: No.

No stadium. No huge population base. No locals willing to invest millions to buy a team and bring it here. Oh, and no team considering moving here.

Perhaps you were looking for another answer? I'll give it to you for $200,000. That's only half of what the state plans to spend on a consultant who will study the feasibility of attracting a team.

The state has up to $500,000 earmarked for the study, should it really need to spend a half-million of your taxpayer dollars studying what it might take to one day attract a team to the state, or the region anyway.

"Shift in Public Opinion on the War" - NYTimes covers CD 1 Battle between Patsy and Heather

Link: In an Election Year, a Shift in Public Opinion on the War - New York Times.

Here in New Mexico, Dollie Shoun, 67, said she had gone from being an ardent supporter of the war and the president to a fierce critic of both."There has been too many deaths, and it is time for them to come back home," Ms. Shoun said. Speaking of Mr. Bush, she added: "I was very much for him, but I don't trust him at this point in time."Polls have found that support for the war and expectations about its outcome have reached their lowest level since the invasion. A Pew Research Center poll this week found that 66 percent of respondents said the United States was losing ground in preventing a civil war in Iraq, a jump of 18 percent since January.

Groundswell of Protests Back Illegal Immigrants - New York Times

Link: Groundswell of Protests Back Illegal Immigrants - New York Times.

When members of the Senate Judiciary Committee meet today to wrestle with the fate of more than 11 million illegal immigrants living in the United States, they can expect to do so against a backdrop of thousands of demonstrators, including clergy members wearing handcuffs and immigrant leaders in T-shirts that declare, "We Are America."

Vague Law and Hard Lobbying Add Up to Billions for Big Oil - New York Times

Link: Vague Law and Hard Lobbying Add Up to Billions for Big Oil - New York Times.

But last month, the Bush administration confirmed that it expected the government to waive about $7 billion in royalties over the next five years, even though the industry incentive was expressly conceived of for times when energy prices were low. And that number could quadruple to more than $28 billion if a lawsuit filed last week challenging one of the program's remaining restrictions proves successful.