Tea Party movement loses steam

Organizers plan more intimate July 4th events

By David Weigel 7/3/09

With no great fanfare and little national media coverage, the people who organized the April 15 Tea Parties are gearing up for a new day of protests against government spending and higher taxes. Hundreds of rallies will take place, at least one in every state, in public places and in parks rented out for the occasions.

Commentary

Star spangled spectacle of hypocrisy hits GOP

By Arthur Alpert 7/3/09

Let us cheer poor Gov. Mark Sanford’s discovery that his frailty is “human.” As for knowing that the Lord wants him to remain governor, well, Sanford would seem at least one blue corn tortilla short of a combo plate. So let’s give him time to reorder.

New Mexico News Feed

Palin resigning
7/3/09 1:00 PM
Quay County Sun
Palin resigning
7/3/09 1:00 PM
Portales News Tribune
Palin resigning
7/3/09 12:59 PM
Clovis News Journal
Q&A: Adam Kokesh’s Congressional R3VOLution
7/3/09 10:53 AM
SFReeper.com
Key parts of SOS site still not working
7/3/09 9:10 AM
Green Chile Chatter
What’s off the Record?
7/3/09 8:00 AM
Mario Burgos
GOP’s 2010 hopes all depend on corruption
7/3/09 7:32 AM
New Mexico FBIHOP
Freedom for all and for all time
7/3/09 7:30 AM
Heath Haussamen on New Mexico Politics
Romero hits Chavez on term limits
7/3/09 6:59 AM
New Mexico FBIHOP
UCC filings system back up; others remain down
7/2/09 11:18 PM
Heath Haussamen on New Mexico Politics
In the Silver City area (July 3)
7/2/09 9:37 PM
Silver City Sun-News
Teague opens office
7/2/09 8:10 PM
Alamogordo Daily News
Politicians using Facebook to get feedback
7/2/09 6:38 PM
New Mexico FBIHOP

More from our news feed »

More Commentary

Celebrate free speech this holiday weekend

By Tracy Dingmann 7/2/09

Neda’s death comes just in time to reinforce the importance of being free to speak your mind in America — and to serve as a vivid reminder of what happens in countries where you are not.

Sickness consumes how we pay for health care

By V.B. Price 7/1/09

Health care in England and France are considered basic human rights. In the United States, health care is considered a pot of gold for some and the thin edge of the wedge to bankruptcy for many others.

With license plate snafu, Dan Foley’s undoing is complete

By Heath Haussamen 6/30/09

Former New Mexico House Minority Whip Dan Foley says he wasn’t aware that state law required him to return his legislative license plate when he left office almost six months ago. Right.

Congressman Lujan is out of step with northern N.M. on illegal immigration

By Brigette Russell 6/30/09

The other day, when it seemed like everyone else was getting dewey-eyed over the death of a pop star they’d spent the past decade or so mocking as a freak, I was, as usual, perusing the fine print in the “How They Voted” section of the Santa Fe New Mexican to see what our illustrious members of Congress had been up to.

Remembering Richardson’s struggle as death penalty repeal set to take effect

By Trip Jennings 6/29/09

What I will remember for a long time is the press conference where Gov. Bill Richardson signed the abolition bill into law last March. The governor gave some of us in the media who attended the ceremony an unexpected glimpse into his private struggles over the rightness of his decision.

CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT MEDIA

Top News

Mr. Rivera goes to Washington

By David Alire Garcia 7/2/09

Ray Rivera is an Albuquerque native who recently turned 30. Following two years on Barack Obama’s grueling but ultimately triumphant presidential campaign, Rivera promptly moved to Washington, D.C., and is now arguably New Mexico’s highest ranking presidential appointee.

N.M. educators hope to pressure lawmakers

By Trip Jennings 7/2/09

Members of the American Federation of Teachers New Mexico are orchestrating a statewide petition drive in hopes of pressuring state lawmakers to overturn a measure that has tens of thousands of public employees paying more into their pensions.

ABQ blue collar workers balk at Chavez union endorsement

By Marjorie Childress 7/1/09

A leader of the city’s blue collar workers say his members weren’t asked who they wanted to endorse for mayor before their parent union gave the endorsement to incumbent Mayor Martin Chavez in late May. But AFSCME’s political director disputes that, and says the local was involved in the endorsement decision.

McCain backer: Get behind Obama on health care reform

By Heath Haussamen 6/30/09

Jim Spiri is a conservative who traveled extensively last year to try to help GOP nominee John McCain win the presidency. Now, because of his son’s 2001 death, he’s openly supporting President Barack Obama’s attempt to reform the nation’s health care system.

N.M. Secretary of State’s computer systems knocked out

By Heath Haussamen and Trip Jennings 6/26/09

A week after the the secretary of state’s office quietly launched its new campaign finance and disclosure database on its Web site, officials now say problems have knocked out all of the office’s systems, and they don’t know whether the database can be salvaged. It’s the latest chapter in the state’s long-delayed efforts to give the public a searchable database of reports filed by public officials.

Feds investigating Aldus in ERB probe, subpoenas show

By Trip Jennings and Heath Haussamen 6/26/09

Texas-based Aldus Equity, New Mexico’s former investment adviser, appears to have drawn the interest of federal prosecutors, according to two federal subpoenas that have been made public. The subpoenas were released by the Educational Retirement Board Thursday afternoon.

Berry, GOP blame Denny’s murder on immigration rules

By Marjorie Childress 6/26/09

Albuquerque mayoral candidate Richard “R.J.” Berry and the state Republican Party said this week that police policies regarding immigrants are partly to blame for a violent robbery on the west side that left one person dead. Mayor Martin Chavez’s office responded that Berry and the state GOP are “endorsing racial profiling.”

New Mexicans react to federal tobacco bill

By Anthony Fleg 6/25/09

Forty-five years after the 1964 release of the Surgeon’s General Report on Smoking and Health that linked smoking to lung cancer, this week’s signing of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act marks another milestone in the time line of commercial tobacco in the United States.

Duelling Madoff lawsuits compete for first try at recovering lost money

By Trip Jennings 6/25/09

Two lawsuits -– one filed by whistleblower Frank Foy, the other by the National Education Association of New Mexico -– seek to recover damages from Texas-based Austin Capital Management, on allegations that they lost money due to fraud. Now the question is whose lawsuit should get first dibs on trying to recover that money.

ABQ’s American Cement air quality hearing — to be continued

By Gwyneth Doland 6/24/09

A public hearing ran so late Tuesday night that another hearing will be scheduled to hear testimony from residents about a request from a cement plant located in Albuquerque’s North Valley to extend its hours of operation.

Indicted attorney accused of tampering with documents in housing authority case

By Heath Haussamen 6/24/09

David N. Hernandez, an Albuquerque attorney and former head of the State Bar of New Mexico, is accused of destroying, changing, fabricating or hiding two invoices and a promissory note with the intention of preventing the apprehension, prosecution or conviction of him or someone else.

State teachers’ union seeks to recover millions lost to Madoff

By Trip Jennings 6/24/09

The National Education Association of New Mexico, a major teachers’ union in the state, wants a Texas-based investment firm to pony up to $75 million for the losses New Mexico taxpayers’ experienced thanks to the spectacular fraud perpetrated by Bernie Madoff, according to a lawsuit that was unsealed Tuesday.

Fight over ABQ cement plant comes to a head

By Gwyneth Doland 6/23/09

Tonight the city of Albuquerque has scheduled a public information hearing to hear concerns about whether a cement company should be allowed to expand its hours of operation to 24 hours a day. Residents of the North Valley neighborhood surrounding the American Cement plant complain about cement dust blanketing their yards and trees, but representatives for the company say they’ve made significant improvements since buying the plant last year.

N.M. charter schools trail traditional public schools, study says

By Trip Jennings 6/23/09

Only six of New Mexico’s 73 charter schools outperformed their traditional public school counterparts on standardized test scores, a new study shows. The study conducted by Stanford researchers also found that New Mexico was one of six states where charter school students’ academic gains were lower on average than those of their non-charter public school counterparts.

Allen Weh: Governor must be ‘role model for integrity’

By Heath Haussamen 6/22/09

Potential 2010 Republican gubernatorial candidate Allen Weh says his campaign centers on a “common sense” approach to growing the economy and rooting out public corruption.

ABQ zoo’s ‘nuisance’ crocodiles see mayor as savior — or not?

By David Alire Garcia 6/20/09

The city’s Rio Grande Zoo will soon have two new poster boys. But the more than four year lapse between acquisition of two enormous saltwater crocodiles and the temporary public viewing set to begin next month raises questions.