Culture
The 1960s rears its ugly head ... again
Steve Pearce is defending his ad that links Tom Udall to 1960s protestors and on Wednesday he advanced that attack, repeatedly saying his Democratic rival sides with "extremists" on environmental issues, according to the Albuquerque Journal.
It appears that the cultural wars over the 1960s are still being fought -- in New Mexico, no less. I wonder sometimes how significant fighting over things that happened nearly 40 years ago are to everyday Americans. But it's a theme we've seen over and over again. Below is a long excerpt from the Albuquerque Journal story by Jeff Jones. It includes a glimpse into Pearce's own personal history, his view of that time and how he came to decide on the ad. After reading it, tell us what you think.
The science of green little men
Half a world away, the University of Melbourne in Australia announced this week it is bestowing its first doctorate degree in ufology to a man whose research took him to the three places in the world most key in the history of the subject. The No. 1 spot listed? You guessed it: Roswell, N.M.
In a press release, the university announced:
Martin Plowman, from the School of Culture and Communication, investigated hundreds of UFO sightings and interviewed dozens of ufologists as part of his PhD thesis.
Mr. Plowman will become Dr. Plowman next Saturday (August 9) when he is conferred with a Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Melbourne.
As part of his research Mr. Plowman visited key sites in the history of ufology, including Roswell, New Mexico; crop circle hotspots in Wiltshire, England; and the Valley of Elqui in the Chilean Andes, and examined the links between UFO sightings and religion, politics, national security and popular culture.
Historic Santa Fe Indian School in ruins
The turn-of-the-century buildings at the Santa Fe Indian School have been a part of the drive along Santa Fe's Cerrillos Road for the duration of the lifetime of virtually everyone alive in Santa Fe today.
So it's easy to relate to the shock described by those who witnessed their demolition without warning over several days last week. I felt it just seeing the pictures, several of which were posted by George Johnson on his blog, The Santa Fe Review, under the apt title "Indian Ruins."
TODAY'S TOP STORIES: Lawmakers seek new oil and gas projections.
New natural gas and oil revenue projections are being sought by state Senate leaders, according to the Albuquerque Journal. Prices for natural gas and crude oil have fallen since last month on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
A new war memorial is being contested by some veterans. The $300,000 monument makes connection between the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the events of Sept. 11. KOAT reports that some veterans are taking offense to the connection.
Santa Fe County public-information officer Stephen Ulibarri has sent a memo to county staff informing them that they do not have to talk to media. He warned that amid economic hard times, the media will be focusing more and more on government malfeasancea, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican.
NYT: A musical journey in Santa Fe, from classical to mariachi.
The Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival is highlighted in the New York Times music section today. It's by the same writer who reviewed the Santa Fe Opera's presentation of Handel's "Radamisto."
It's always interesting to read how a place is described from far away. In this case, Santa Fe is a "...pleasant city of adobe charm and aggressive tourism." The Lensic is an "...elaborately decorated vaudeville house from 1931" while St. Francis Auditorium is an "...attractive and acoustically vibrant hall" from the Pueblo revival period of Santa Fe architecture. Describing the chamber music and the summer festival hours meant to ensure one's ability to also catch any opera performances as well, the article captures the classical music environment that's alive and well in New Mexico.
TODAY'S TOP STORIES: Red-light cameras in Santa Fe and Las Cruces?
Drivers in Santa Fe and Las Cruces could soon find themselves policed by traffic cameras, as they are already in Albuquerque and El Paso, according to The New Mexican and The Las Cruces Sun-News.
The falling price of natural gas and higher costs for drilling and environmental protect could cause some "slowing pains" for the New Mexico gas industry, The Farmington Daily News reported today.
The electric utility in Gallup can't seem to get everyone to pay up, including the U.S. Department of Health, The Gallup Independent said today.
Dairy farmers and ranchers in Curry County are not happy about a proposed nuisance ordinance, and they want the county to hold off action until the bill can be "tweaked" to help out the agriculture industry, The Clovis News Journal reported today.
New Mexico Tech has agreed to release documents regarding its plans for an Air Force testing range on its land outside Socorro, The Albuquerque Journal reported today.
Local fighter gets Richardson's support
When Carlos Condit stepped into the ring for a mixed martial arts bout Sunday night in Las Vegas, Nev., he had a high-profile fan in the crowd. Gov. Bill Richardson was in attendance, along with his soon-to-be chief of staff, Brian Condit.
Brian Condit, recently named as the successor to James Jimenez as Richardson's chief of staff, is Carlos' father.
The deeper anthrax mystery goes unsolved
Ottilie Lundgren died at the age of 94 the day before Thanksgiving 2001. Maybe you remember her name. Maybe not. Six years on, Ottilie Lundgren is a historical footnote for most of the world. Had she died of natural causes, chances are Ottilie Lundgren's passing would not have attracted much notice beyond an obituary in the local paper in Connecticut and tearful remembrances by friends and family of a life well lived. But Ottilie Lundgren met a particularly grim demise as one of five Americans to die of inhalational anthrax in the 75 days following the 9/11 attacks.
First tomatoes, then jalapenos. Now cilantro lovers may need to fret.
First tomatos, then jalapenos, and now maybe cilantro. What on earth are fresh salsa lovers to do?
A California company has issued a voluntary recall on packaged cilantro, some of which was distributed in New Mexico. NewStar Fresh Foods of Salinas, CA, was distributed under the names NewStar, Ready Set Serve and Cross Valley Farms. The Cilantro hasn't been linked to illnesses, but the bacteria was detected in routine testing conducted by the Michigan Department of Agriculture.
TODAY'S TOP STORIES: Lordsburg joins the race to host a racino.
The Las Cruces Sun-News reports that the state's last horseracing track and casino could be headed to southern New Mexico to be built in Lordsburg.
KOB-TV, Channel 4 reports that the people who patrol the bosque and ditch banks say they want to carry guns. The Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District is looking to turn its officers into armed certified police officers.
In Farmington several hotels are being accused of overcharging guests during the National High School Finals Rodeo and may have skirted policies of their franchises, according to the Farmington Times. Some hotel guests were charged hundreds more than what they were told they would pay when making reservations months before the rodeo.
N.M. History 101
Former Lt. Gov. Roberto Mondragon and educator Georgia Roybal have worked for 17 years to get a textbook of New Mexico history published and distributed in schools statewide. It will become a reality this fall. Mondragon’s and Roybal’s nonprofit group, Semos Unlimited, is rejuvenated and back to the task of completing the textbook. It will be published as a pilot project at the Atrisco Heritage Academy (AHA) high school this fall.
Ad watch: Obama, Britney & Paris
John McCain’s new TV ad calls Democratic opponent Barack Obama “the biggest celebrity in the world” and compares him with scandal-plagued stars Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.
Here’s the 30-second spot, which is airing in New Mexico, other battleground states and on national cable:
Southern NM developer stands to make millions from controversial lease
You know those controversial leases the State Land Office has been routinely entering into over the past few years? Well, planning work under one was recently completed by Las Cruces developer Philip Philippou and the land is now up for sale. When you crunch the numbers based on the minimum acceptable bids for the parcels, Philippou stands to make several million dollars. The original appraised value of the land was $8,000 per acre, or $1,968,000 given the total of 246 acres up for sale. If the land office receives bids for each of the 13 parcels offered that Philippou did work on, the minimum required bid amounts will total $17,180,000, or $15.2 million over the original appraisal. Philippou will get a majo cut of that.
Deadly denial: Sick nuclear weapons workers fight for compensation.
American workers who built the nation's nuclear weapons are still fighting a cold war, and you can read all about it in Deadly Denial, a comprehensive series rolled out last week by the Rocky Mountain News.
Deadly Denial paints a grim picture of "tens of thousands" of sick nuclear weapons workers from across the country who've applied for compensation under a program put in place in 2000. But most have never seen a dime, says the Rocky Mountain News.
"Heroes from the Cold War who risked their lives to build nuclear weapon," is how Gov. Bill Richardson characterizes the workers. And regarding the lack of compensation, he told the Rocky Mountain News, "The bureaucracy has placed so many barriers, it's almost criminal that workers and their families are not being compensated."
McCain's troubles with Hispanics
Is there a disconnect between Republican presidential candidate John McCain and Hispanic voters? An article in The Politico suggests that, despite McCain’s efforts to reach Hispanics in New Mexico and other states, he has a big problem.
According to the article, one top GOP strategist who is now McCain’s pollster has long said that Republicans need 40 percent of the Hispanic vote to win. President Bush reached that goal in winning re-election in 2004. But recent polls, including one released last week by the Pew Hispanic Center, show McCain falling far short of that goal. The Pew poll finds that only 23 percent of Hispanics intend to vote for McCain.
McCain has run two Spanish-language radio ads and one English-language TV ad targeting Hispanics in New Mexico and other states, but polls suggest he isn’t gaining much ground despite those efforts.
A warrior's guide to insanity
“The Warrior’s Guide to Insanity” is six chapters long. The language in it isn’t pretty. But it is Andrew Brandi's ode to the aftereffects of war. And even though the emotions that spilled out onto the pages came out of the New Mexican's painful experiences in Vietnam, his story -- and writing -- are gaining notice as thousands of American warriors are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. His writings have been incorporated into treatment sessions for soldiers coming back from battle zones. And a brigadier general is considering incorporating Brandi’s book into a broad military treatment. KUNM reporter Jim Williams talks with Brandi, who lives in the Cerrillos hills south of Santa Fe , and the soldiers now mining his Vietnam experiences to learn how to deal with life after combat, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other maladies that they are susceptible to. Listen here.
Richardson in Denver: Hispanics will decide next president
On the heels of John McCain’s visit, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson swept into Denver Friday to stump for Barack Obama at the 60th annual American GI Forum’s National Conference at the Grand Hyatt downtown.
Richardson told the enthusiastic crowd that Obama understands the importance of diversity and, as president, will look out for the country’s veterans.
Mexico Notebook: Here, they make house calls
Three days away from finishing language school in southern Mexico, our daughter came down with severe stomach pain, just as she had been marveling about how lucky she had been to avoid illness for six weeks immersed in her host culture. Unsure of what to do, I called the doctor she had seen three days earlier and explained the situation. I was sure I understood his reply, even though my Spanish is not the best. I just couldn't believe what I was hearing. He was asking for directions to our hotel.
Reports: NM, West are in for a gloomy century with global climate change
Trout streams in New Mexico and elsewhere in the Rocky Mountains could lose half their fish, Colorado's ski season could shorten or disappear and Nevada could dry up — all are gloomy predictions for the western United States if nothing is done to curb global warming, according to a spate of new reports.
A decade ago, such reports were a rarity. Now, when even the Bush administration agrees that human sources are causing global temperatures to rise, climate change studies are coming out often enough as to become background noise in the worldwide conversation about greenhouse gas reduction.
TODAY'S TOP STORIES: Ruidoso gets nine inches of rain thanks to Dolly
The remnants of Hurricane Dolly have caused the Rio Ruidoso to overflow its banks, creating the worst flooding the town of Ruidoso has seen in 50 years. Fire Chief Tom Gavin says the public needs to stay away from the river, or they may find their lives in jeopardy. The Ruidoso News has video footage and pictures, plus reports that two people are missing.
A new international railroad crossing on the border with Mexico is being pursued by New Mexico officials, reports the Albuquerque Journal. This would create a bypass around the town of Juarez, allowing that city to remove the railroad tracks from their downtown area.
The Navajo Nation Council has banned smoking in shared public places, including outdoor events like rodeos and fairs. The measure was approved Friday at the end of its summer session, and President Joe Shirley Jr. now has 10 days to decide whether to sign or veto the decision.