Culture
'Body of War' hits Albuquerque
A film shown in Albuquerque, a new tell-all book and morning TV show interview all converged this week to cast light on the run up to the Iraq war -- a struggle that still rages five years after the 2003 invasion at a cost of thousands of lives.
'Building Green Economies' a border issue
For the first time in its history, the 26th Border Governor's Conference has been combined with a Green Technology Expo that opens today at the "Building Green Economies" conference being hosted by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Ten border governors, including New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, were among those scheduled to attend the invitation-only conference. The Green Tech Expo today and Friday is open to the public at no charge.
An official conference press release said Schwarzenegger's decision to hold the conference at Universal Studios, to incorporate the Green Tech Expo and to give the conference its overall environmental theme "is resonant of his desire to raise awareness among the general public that cross-border issues are about much more than illegal immigration."
'Net neutrality' lost?
The world has sped up. Much of this has to do with the Internet, but a looming issue threatens the way it works now. Internet service providers have started floating ideas about charging content providers differing rates in order to connect their products to consumers. So, if you want someone to be able to access your data-heavy content, get ready to pay more.
'Post-racial' triumph hits home
My son Gabriel didn’t care one bit about politics—until the day he first caught sight of a tall brown brother named Barack Obama. “Mom, he looks just like me!” Gabriel said excitedly as he watched him on TV. “And he’s running for president?”
A group pays for pro-Obama ads in N.M. to target Hispanics
PowerPAC ads running in two languages
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A Mother's Story
In reading the journals he left behind, Desiree Woodland learned that her young adult son, Ryan, felt he might have fared better had he been born 100 years earlier, living on a farm. In the two years since Ryan’s suicide, the Albuquerque schoolteacher has dedicated countless hours helping create a therapeutic residential farm in New Mexico where those who suffer mental illness, as Ryan did, might find respite and learn the skills needed to cope.
A simple click for hunger
I've come to take it for granted, because I visit every time I get on the Internet. But today, I paused a second, struck by the fact that an Internet phenomena called The Hunger Site is celebrating nine years of existence.
Hunger is literally all around us -- especially in New Mexico, which, as Roadrunner Food Bank reports, has the second-highest percentage of hungry people in the nation (16.7 percent). It can be overwhelming and make one feel inadequate as far as being able to help.
A trickster named age
I thought I was losing my mind. I get a kick out of acting, you see, but beginning about three years ago with a role in "Laughter on the 23rd Floor" at Albuquerque’s Adobe Theater, I struggled to learn lines. I was getting older, I knew, and everybody knows we drop brain cells as we age. So I auditioned for smaller roles. Having just a scene or two was easier, yet I found committing even those few lines to memory tough going. A small voice whispered that maybe I was tricking myself - falling victim to the fear of declining gray matter - but the common knowledge that eventually we all lose it was louder...
A vigilant vegetarian suddenly ponders food safety
Being mindful of one's food is probably a learned trait. For myself, I find that I take much of my food for granted, like most Americans probably. I have a pretty simple, routine vegetarian diet that I don't give a whole lot of thought to. So it was odd to be stopped dead in my tracks at lunch yesterday, gazing down in consternation at my leafy green salad covered in tomatoes. Could I trust the restaurant owners to know if the tomatoes were safe?
A warrior's guide to insanity
“The Warrior’s Guide to Insanity” is six chapters long. The language in it isn’t pretty. But it is Andrew Brandi's ode to the aftereffects of war. And even though the emotions that spilled out onto the pages came out of the New Mexican's painful experiences in Vietnam, his story -- and writing -- are gaining notice as thousands of American warriors are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. His writings have been incorporated into treatment sessions for soldiers coming back from battle zones. And a brigadier general is considering incorporating Brandi’s book into a broad military treatment. KUNM reporter Jim Williams talks with Brandi, who lives in the Cerrillos hills south of Santa Fe , and the soldiers now mining his Vietnam experiences to learn how to deal with life after combat, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other maladies that they are susceptible to. Listen here.
ABQ helps Unser Crossing with money for roads and other improvements
The Albuquerque City Council voted unanimously last night in favor of a compromise plan to incentivize the Unser Crossing shopping center at the intersection of West Central and Unser. Councilor Ken Sanchez had previously proposed extending the West Central Metropolitan Redevelopment Area (MRA) to the intersection. This would have allowed the developer the benefits of an MRA designation, including the elimination of impact fees on new development as well as access to other public subsidies.
As previously described by the Independent, there is extensive support by area residents for the project, which was voiced at a City Council meeting in April. But a number of councilors objected to the extension, saying that MRA’s are intended for blighted areas and that extending this particular MRA would set a poor precedent since the area in question is not blighted. Instead, it’s located in an undeveloped area on the edge of the current West Central MRA. The compromise plan provides $1.8 million in public funds for infrastructure improvements at the site and on surrounding roads.
Ad watch: Obama, Britney & Paris
John McCain’s new TV ad calls Democratic opponent Barack Obama “the biggest celebrity in the world” and compares him with scandal-plagued stars Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.
Here’s the 30-second spot, which is airing in New Mexico, other battleground states and on national cable:
Affordable housing in NM hard to find
The average wage of New Mexico’s renters is increasingly lagging behind the “housing wage,” according to a new report. At the same time, other reports give the state poor marks on housing affordability.
Citing two recent reports, the New Mexico Business Weekly reported last Friday that:
According to “Out of Reach 2007-2008,” a report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the “housing wage” for New Mexico is $12.66—the hourly rate a family must earn, working 40 hours a week and 52 weeks a year, to afford a two-bedroom home. That is a 23 percent increase since 2000. The average renter in the state earns $10.86 an hour, a gap of $1.80.
The other report, the “2008 Colorado College State of the Rockies Report Card,” gave a grade of “D” to two-thirds of New Mexico counties for the affordability of their housing. Housing that demands more than 30 percent of a family’s income is considered unaffordable.
The article also cites a 2007 state housing report that “identified a deficit of 30,000 affordable units in New Mexico” and noted that about a third of Albuquerque’s residents are renters.
Al Qaeda goes viral
In 2004, one of the most important documents in the history of Islamist terrorism began to appear on jihadist Internet forums. Serialized in Arabic over 40 installments, "The Global Islamic Resistance Call" caused a sensation within radical Islamic circles. Throughout its 1,600 pages, the book implicitly criticized Osama bin Laden while offering practical advice for aspiring jihadists preparing for a post-bin Laden version of Al Qaeda. As a barometer of its influence, one important jihadist website quickly called it "the book that needs no introduction."
Albuquerque a good place to get rich
Albuquerque stars in yet another TV series, guv announces
Gov. Richardson's office announced Thursday that "Easy Money," yet another television series, will be filmed in New Mexico.
According to the governor's press release:
Easy Money, a comedic drama, is scheduled to air on the CW Network this fall.
Laurie Metcalf, Jeff Hephner, Jay Ferguson, and New Mexico local Gary Farmer ... will star. Producers are Andy Schneider and Diane Frolov (The Sopranos, Northern Exposure). Co-executive producer is Brandon Hill (Love Lies Bleeding), with Alyson Evans (Rescue Me) line-producing. Alik Sakharov (Rome, The Sopranos) will direct.<
American fashion victim
By Denise Tessier 06/10/2008 | 1 CommentNow that much of the primary election dust has settled, we can pause to take a look at another American event that captured quite a bit of attention at home and abroad over the past fortnight: Dunkin’ Donuts’ decision to yank a coffee advertisement because popular and perky chef Rachel Ray wore a "terrorist scarf."
An inconvenient crisis
By Denise Tessier 08/08/2008 | 1 Comment
Quite a buzz is being generated about a new movie Reuters says "may be to the U.S. economy what 'An Inconvenient Truth' was to the environment."
"I.O.U.S.A.: Live with Warren Buffett, Pete Peterson & Dave Walker" can accurately be described as a "movie event" because it's only airing one night across the nation and at only one theater in New Mexico: Aug. 21 at the Cottonwood 16 in Albuquerque.
APS growth due primarily to "shifting" population
By Marjorie Childress 05/15/2008
Albuquerque Public Schools announced in a press release yesterday, with the headline “Flat Enrollment, Crowded Schools, Tough Economic Times Challenges for District,” that the district is facing a $20 million shortfall in the coming school year. The press release also noted that:
“Though district enrollment has seen little growth over the past several years, crowded schools have required APS to build additional schools. One of the district’s challenges this coming school year is to figure out how to fund operational costs for nine new schools without an increase in student enrollment.”
Bingaman: $2 billion for Indian country
By Marjorie Childress 07/17/2008
Senator Jeff Bingaman attached a significant chunk of change for Indian Country to the HIV/Aids Bill that the Senate passed yesterday.
The bill, which gives $48 billion in foreign aid over the next five years for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria treatment and prevention, triples the amount of previous U.S. aid authorized in 2003. The New York Times describes it as the most "ambitious foreign public health program ever developed by the United States."
Bingaman's amendment authorizes $2 billion for Indian communities: $1 billion to be used specifically to settle Indian water rights claims; $750 million for law enforcement; and the remaining $250 million for health care.
