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.
In a packed room with tight security Wednesday, San Miguel County commissioners approved actor Val Kilmer’s application to run a guest ranch on his Pecos River Ranch.
The county planning and zoning commission had approved his application in March but commissioners tabled the matter in March after Kilmer’s neighbor Abran Tapia appealed the approval, citing Kilmer’s “racist” comments in magazine interviews and his refusal to allow neighbors to fish on his property.
Commissioners asked Kilmer to appear before them to explain his comments about violence and alcoholism in northern New Mexico. The ACLU had offered to represent Kilmer.
Tapia opposed the permit in part because local Hispanics cannot afford Kilmer’s guest ranch rates, which range up to $500 a day.
In an October 2003 Rolling Stone article, Kilmer described San Miguel County as “homicide capital of the Southwest” and claimed 80 percent of residents “are drunk.” In a 2005 Esquire article, Kilmer said men who fight in U.S. wars are “borderline criminal or poor.”
Kilmer flatly denied critizing soldiers or war veterans. Kilmer said his comments about New Mexico were taken out of context and emphasized his work to improve the state’s wildlife habitat and film industry. He has has lived in northern New Mexico for more than 20 years, and has raised his children there, he said.
“I can only ask that you view my apology as a stepping stone toward repairing this misunderstanding between us so that we can go forward, working together toward a common interest in promoting and protecting our beloved New Mexico,” Kilmer was quoted by the Associated Press as telling commissioners.
State senator Phil Griego reportedly reacted to the magazine articles by inviting Kilmer, who last year suggested he may run for governor, to leave New Mexico if he is unhappy here.
