I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
A lot of the old topics I’ve written about became new again this week. So, if you don’t mind, I’d like to convert this week’s missive from a leisurely exploration of one topic into a brisk recap of many.
Late last year, I wrote about how some on the right have managed to whip up fear that the Obama administration will bring back the Fairness Doctrine and somehow force conservative talk radio stations to provide an equal amount of liberal programming or be taken off the air. And they’ve managed to turn this into a marquee issue, despite the fact that: A. That’s not what the Fairness Doctrine ever did and: B. Few elected officials or policymakers have expressed any interest in reviving the Fairness Doctrine in any form.
On May 11, Brian Jennings, the loudest Chicken Little of the Fairness Doctrine revival movement, will come to Albuquerque to speak about his concerns. KKOB-AM, the station whose talkers continue to fan the Fairness Doctrine revival flames locally, is sponsoring Jennings’ appearance and promoting it incessantly. I saw a clip of Jennings giving his spiel on a talk show recently and I think I’ll skip it.
During the last legislative session I wrote about state Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones, a Republican from Albuquerque who bucked legislative leadership to webcast the committees on which she sat.
This week, Arnold announced that she was considering a run for governor or Congress, confirming the rumors that swirled all around the Roundhouse during the session. She also sang the praises of Albuquerque GOP mayoral hopeful — and fellow state lawmaker — R.J. Berry a few weeks ago when he couldn’t make it to the AFSCME debate. Busy lady!
Speaking of the governor’s race, over the past week we all heard more talk about actor, Pecos resident and possible New Mexico gubernatorial candidate Val Kilmer, who (thankfully!) has not been seen much lately. Kilmer made the news a few days about when a blog bearing his name first appeared to be written by him. It wasn’t.
A few weeks before that, word that Kilmer put his $33 million New Mexico ranch up for sale also made the national news and had local reporters back to reading the gubernatorial tea leaves, again.
(C’mon Val, don’t be a hater. We don’t want you to leave. We just don’t think you’d be the greatest governor.)
Last month I wrote about things appeared to be getting easier for the nearly 300 New Mexicans who’ve managed to obtain state Department of Health approval for the use of medical marijuana. The state recently approved the first licensed medical marijuana dispensary in New Mexico and federal officials have said they don’t plan to raid medical marijuana patients or dispensers in the 13 states where medical marijuana is legal.
This week, the state’s Medical Cannabis Program made headlines as state Health Department Secretary Alfredo Vigil rejected an advisory board’s recommendation that it approve a number of additional conditions for medical marijuana treatment, ultimately accepting only one of the eight recommended by the board. Applications for several more dispensaries throughout the state are pending.
Back in December, I wrote about the crucial role of nonprofits in acting as a safety net for many in our society, especially in these days of service cutbacks and job layoffs. Yesterday, First Lady Michelle Obama announced the Obama administration’s plans to create a $50 million “social innovation” fund to aid nonprofit agencies working in the areas of education, health and economic mobility, among others. The fund, which would require Congressional approval, would reward only the agencies who achieve the very best results. Seems like a good step toward maximizing the power of ordinary people to directly help others in need.
And finally, the New Mexico Rail Runner Express ridership numbers are in for its first few months of service to Santa Fe, and guess what? Ridership is still high.
Just as high as when I wrote about it those first few days in December when service to Santa Fe first began. And though people along the route no longer stand in their backyards and wave at you like they did those first few weeks, it’s still a great experience to ride the Rail Runner all the way to Santa Fe.
