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.
The governor’s office has until Thursday to formally respond to my request that it release information about the 59 political appointees Gov. Bill Richardson plans to lay off next month, but it’s beginning to sound like the information may not be released.
Jeremy Jojola of KOB-TV in Albuquerque reported Monday evening on an interesting e-mail exchange he had with Richardson spokesman Gilbert Gallegos about his request for that information.
The bottom line: Gallegos told Jojola that “there is no centralized list” of those being laid off and that it’s “not necessary, nor is it appropriate or dignified, to identify individuals who are losing their jobs.”
Sarah Welsh, executive director of the N.M. Foundation for Open Government, disagreed:
“It’s a budget issue, most New Mexicans know we are in a huge budget crisis now, and this is one of the ways they are approaching it, and so people have an interest,” she told Jojola. “They have a right to know what positions are being cut.”
Jojola posted his entire e-mail exchange with Gallegos on his own Web site.
Here’s Jojola’s full report:
The governor’s office hasn’t formally denied Jojola’s request, or mine. I filed my request Dec. 2. On Dec. 7, I received a letter from the governor’s office notifying me that a response would be forthcoming within 15 days of the receipt of my request, as is required by the state’s Inspection of Public Records Act. That means the office has until Thursday to respond.
