Pearce: Stung by role in McCain visit?

Republican insiders say U.S. Senate candidate Steve Pearce is not happy with the minor role he played in the recent visit to Albuquerque by the GOP’s new rock stars, John McCain and Sarah Palin. The blog New Mexico Politics with Joe Monahan cites an unnamed source saying Pearce is “fuming” that his Senate primary opponent, Rep. Heather Wilson, got a speaking slot during the McCain/Palin visit to the Albuquerque Convention Center on Saturday, as did Darren White, who isn’t even in Congress. Pearce’s only time in the limelight was to deliver the welcoming prayer.

“His people see it as a major slight by the McCain campaign; Marta Kramer, director of the NM McCain office; and Republican National Committee operative Jay McCleskey,” Monahan quotes his “alligator” as saying. “As the U.S. Senate nominee, Steve is the head of the Republican Party, yet they acted like he barely existed.”

Monahan attributes the perceived slight to lingering tensions between the moderate, Wilson-leaning wing of the New Mexico GOP and the more conservative element that supported Pearce. It also may not have helped, Monahan noted, that Pearce “has never been a big fan of the independent McCain and has made no secret of it.”

With seven weeks still to go before Nov. 4 and the presidential race heating up as McCain and Palin enjoy a post-convention surge, it’s within the realm of possibility there will be another visit to New Mexico by the GOP top-spot picks and that Pearce will get another shot for viz with the potential prez or his running mate.

NRC in Gallup to talk about uranium

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is taking comments about the possibility of a new form of uranium mining in western New Mexico and will hold a hearing tonight in Grants, a town that still bears the effects of uranium mining and milling operations in the past.

The Gallup Independent reports the NRC is considering in situ leach mining, which is a type of extraction used elsewhere in the United States and around the world. In the type of conventional mining done around Grants for decades, the ore is taken out of the ground and the uranium is leached out with chemicals. In situ leach mining does the reverse — pumping chemicals into the ground, then pumping out the ore-bearing slurry.

The NRC will hold an open house and public meeting to discuss its draft environmental impact statement, including plans for the mining itself along with eventual aquifer restoration and decommissioning, from 6 to 9:30 tonight at the Best Western Inn and Suites in Grants.

More information on the proposal is available at http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/public-meetings/index.cfm.

Questions surround proposed new county building’s worth


 The Albuquerque Journal asks some questions today about Bernalillo County’s proposed acquisition of a Downtown office building, specifically: Is the Cavan Building worth the $40.8 million asking price?

The county tax assessor values it at just $21.1 million, and the building sold eight years ago for $21.7 million. At least some real estate professionals think it may not really have appreciated 88 percent since then, and that the asking price might be high.

“In this market, I think they could probably acquire the property for a little bit less,” said Albuquerque City Councilor Ken Sanchez, who is both an accountant and real estate broker, as well as a former Bernalillo County Commission member and previous chairman of the county’s Board of Finance.

County Commission Chairman Alan Armijo told the paper that the price for the 15-story building at Fifth Street and Marquette Avenue Northwest is fair, despite the tax assessment being so much lower. “It would be great if I could buy my house at the assessed value,” he said. “An assessment is for tax purposes. Market value is dictated by what something is bought and sold for.”

One reason for the high asking price is that the county would be both owner and occupant, Godfrey Appraisal Services told the commissioners. A private investor might expect to pay only $30 million, the appraisers said. But the building is worth more to the county because of its location, its own parking facility and its ability to eventually get all the county employees — currently spread out in four locations — into a single building Downtown, experts told the Journal.

Bernalillo County commissioners voted 4-1 last month to authorize revenue bonds to finance the purchase. Rental income from current occupants should cover the debt for several years. The county also says it will pay less in rent as employees move into the new building, and that it might be able to sell its share of the city-county government building Downtown.

Black shoes a no-no for now

As if the students at Tohatchi High School in western New Mexico didn’t have enough on the minds already, now they have to worry about their shoes. A new dress code implemented by the school administration prohibits students from wearing black shoes, The Gallup Independent reports.

That’s been the case the past two weeks at Tohatchi High School where several students have come under fire — and in some cases were placed on in-school suspensions — for wearing black shoes. Principal Ethel Manuelito tells the newspaper she’s worried that students may adorn those black shoes with drug or gang symbols.

After parents started to complain, Manuelito says she may allow black shoes after all — providing they’re pure black, and not gussied up with marijuana leaves or other distracting visual messages.

Green polo shirts are another matter, however. Manuelito said green shirts are definitely out because that’s a gang color in nearby Window Rock, Ariz. Pink and purple may be OK, though she’s not making any promises. “We should make a decision on this within a week or so,” she told the paper.

State fair attendance down 14 percent.

The New Mexico State Fair has gotten off to slow start, with attendance on the first two days down 14 percent from the previous year, The Albuquerque Journal reported today.

Friday and Saturday drew fewer than 73,000 people, compared with 85,000 in the same two days in 2007, fair officials told the Journal. At least one official speculated that the ongoing Fiestas de Santa Fe and the University of New Mexico home football game took a toll on the state’s biggest fair.

Officials hope attendance will pick up as the fair continues. Today could be a big draw, being the first of two half-price Tuesdays — half off on the regular admission ($9 adults, $5 for 62 and over and $4 for children 12 and under) and half off the $25 midway ride cards.

The fairgrounds at Expo New Mexico are open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday through Sunday. The fair runs through Sept 21. For more information, go to www.exponm.com/fair.