Let the great DWI debate begin! Today’s all-caps front-page headline in the Albuquerque Journal pretty much says it all — “GOV. WANTS MANDATORY JAIL TIME FOR DWI.”

The story by the Journal’s intrepid crime reporter T.J. Wilham makes clear that the governor is proposing a mandatory three-day jail sentence — plus a $2,500 fine — for all first-time drunk driving offenders. But is the tough proposal the solution to New Mexico’s chronic problem?

Gov. Bill Richardson proposed a package of anti-drunk driving initiatives at yesterday’s press conference at the UNM law school, and all of them emphasize the punishment side of the equation. Wilham also spoke with state Sen. Dede Feldman, D-Albuquerque, who seemed to suggest that current penalties may be tough enough and that what the state really needs is more treatment programs.

Two quotes from the story caught my eye. This one from Richardson: “We have a policy toward DWI, and that is to throw the kitchen sink at it.” No ambiguity there. And this one from Laura Dean-Mooney, the national president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, who also attended yesterday’s announcement with the governor:

One day we will have a nation without drunk driving (and) New Mexico will be a leader in that vision.

My question: Will that fine day arrive before we invest massively in public transportation so bar patrons won’t drive home after getting liquored up — or before some innovator of the future develops the first self-driving car? I’m inclined to think it won’t, but I digress.

In other news, Elizabeth Martin is back to work at the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission after embezzling $18K back in 1984 and stealing another $69K in 2003, so reports the Associated Press.  She pleaded guilty in both cases. Sandy Jones, the chairman of the PRC, had placed Martin on leave after complaints over a law that stipulates that known felons cannot work as “a deputy or assistant” without a pardon. But Jones has since determined that Martin’s case isn’t covered by that law. Martin’s salary at the PRC is set at $72K.

And lastly, according to a story in today’s Las Cruces Sun-News, the Obama Administrating is retiring the “war on drugs” catchphrase, as “this administration’s drug strategy will not be a war because a war limits what can be done.” Obama’s drug policy adviser wants to move away from “force,” and look to treatment centers, education, drug courts, and more cooperation with law enforcement. Not on the administration’s to-do list, however, is the legalization of any drugs.

NMI’s Danielle Bauer contributed to this post.