Over a dozen members of “(Un)occupy Albuquerque,” part of the nationwide Occupy Wall Street movement, were arrested last night at the University of New Mexico campus, after the university administration declined to renew a permit allowing the protesters to camp out at Yale Park. One by one, protesters sitting in peaceful resistance to the university’s order were arrested by the New Mexico State Police.

(Un)Occupy Albuquerque wasn’t the only “99 percent” group confronted by authorities last night.

In Oakland, Calif., police arrested over 100 “Occupiers” and used tear gas and bean bag rounds to clear the park where they were camped out near City Hall. In downtown Atlanta, Georgia, police cleared out a similar encampment and arrested about 50 people early Wednesday morning. CBSNews reports:

Organizers had instructed participants to be peaceful if arrests came, and most were. Many gathered in the center of the park, locking arms, and sang “We Shall Overcome,” until police led them out, one-by-one to waiting buses. Some were dragged out while others left on foot, handcuffed with plastic ties.

The Albquerque protesters have been at UNM for about four weeks. They have protested outside of the office of the university president, and witnessed teach-ins by professors on the history of social movements that placed the “99 percent” movement in context with similar pushes for social change.

(Un)occupy Albuquerque has distinguished itself from other “99 percent” movements by rejecting the “Occupy” moniker out of respect for New Mexico’s large Native American population.

Despite live reggae and jazz music, and vendors offering pastries and locally-grown organic farm produce, fewer than 100 visitors were on hand for talks by state Sen. Tim Keller and Public Regulation Commission (PRC) Commissioner Jason Marks.

Of 30 state and local policymakers invited to speak, only two elected officials — Keller and Marks — participated, UNM biology professor Bruce Milne told The Independent.

“I would have thought more of them would come share their ideas with the public,” Milne said. “So I’m disappointed in that. But the ones we had were awesome — factually based.”

The gathering was one of more than 7,000 climate and energy policy summits held around the world.

Keller and Marks promoted the potential economic benefits to New Mexico of a green jobs agenda.

“The economic impact of making New Mexico a carbon-neutral state would be profound,” Keller said. “If we acted to produce solar power here, there would be a $240 billion impact annually in our state. That would put us in the top 10 (state) economies in the U.S.”

“New Mexico receives enough solar energy that if we came close to developing it…we could produce more electricity than the entire U.S. uses just here in New Mexico,” Marks told an audience composed primarily of college students. “Nuclear and clean coal have financial and environmental problems. We have much stronger options (with solar) here in the Southwest.”

The U.S. electric sector is the single largest emitter of so-called greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide, Marks said.

“Three-quarters of those emissions are from coal plants,” Marks said. “It’s pretty simple. We cannot build anymore conventional coal plants.”

But conservative politicians have blocked renewable energy policies for short-term political gain, suggested Marks.
“It’s a combination of greed and selfishness,” Marks said. “Exxon-Mobile makes $45 billion in annual profits but we have people out there saying we can’t afford to go green.”

After the speeches, Milne led a campus tour showcasing UNM’s environmental sustainability initiatives.

“We have a carbon-neutral plan signed and ready to go,” Milne said.

Keller urged voters to elect candidates who support making New Mexico a carbon-neutral state.

The election takes place on Nov. 2.

For more information on the Navajo Nation Presidential Forum at UNM, contact NASIRG President Bennie Francisco at (505) 290-1939 or francd81@unm.edu or the Department of Native American Studies at  (505) 277-3917.

Atkeson earned the award for her “outstanding research expanding our understanding of the process and public perception of elections in New Mexico,” according to Common Cause.

The luncheon takes place at the UNM Continuing Education Building from noon to 2 p.m. For more information, go to www.commoncause.org/nm.

Common Cause, which has advocated for campaign finance reform, webcasting at the state Legislature, open conference committees and ethics reform, also operates a nonpartisan voter protection program, Count Every Vote New Mexico (www.counteveryvotenm.org).

The group is celebrating its 40^th anniversary this year.

Oh, and Sam Donaldson, ABC newsman and New Mexico rancher, will moderate all three debates.

Here’s the schedule:

Saturday, October 9, 3^rd Congressional District, Portales

• KENW-TV studio, ENMU campus
• Citizen deliberation and candidate debate: 1-5:30 pm
• Debate airs (statewide simulcast): 7-8 pm

Friday, October 15: 1^st Congressional District, Albuquerque

• KNME-TV, UNM campus
• Citizen deliberation and candidate debate: 3-8 pm
• Debate airs (statewide simulcast): 7-8 pm

Wednesday, October 27: 2^nd Congressional District, Las Cruces

• KRWG-TV, NMSU campus
• Citizen deliberation and candidate debate: 1:30-4:30 pm
• Debate airs (statewide simulcast): 7-8 pm

Cavernous angioma is a rare, genetic brain disease that disproportionately affects New Mexicans whose ancestors arrived from Mexico and Spain more than 200 years ago.

Approximately 1.5 million Americans have been diagnosed with cavernous angioma, most of them in New Mexico. It causes hemorrhage-prone blood vessel lesions, triggering seizures, stroke and death in children and adults.

There is no known cure.

UNM Hospital and the UNM medical school are home to several leading experts in the disease, including pediatric neurologist Leslie Morrison.

Early symptoms include severe, recurrent headaches. Many doctors are unfamiliar with the disease, complicating diagnosis.

“The new center will give hope to those affected by cavernous angioma by consolidating resources and facilitating collaboration among researchers and doctors,” Udall said Monday.

Recognition as a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-designated Center of Excellence would make the university eligible for federal funding to pursue cavernous angioma research.

Caldera is leaving the Center for American Progress, a public policy think tank headed up by President Clinton’s former chief of staff John Podesta; Caldera was the Director of the White House Military Office from January 2009 to May 2009 until a controversial flyover of New York City cost him that job.

The foundation since 2000 has awarded 1,200 scholarships totaling more than $60 million to high-achieving low-income students and has given more than $46-million in grants to nonprofit organizations with similar missions, according to a news release sent out Wednesday.

Caldera presided over the University of New Mexico for 30 months until his resignation in 2006, when he took a tenured position at the university’s law school.

“I am deeply attracted to the Foundation’s mission because it resonates with my own personal story as the son of Mexican immigrants,”” Caldera said in the news release. “”It is my life-long commitment to challenge and assist others from similar circumstances to make the most of their God-given talents through improved educational and career opportunities and mentoring.””

“We’re tremendously excited to have Louis joining us,”” the news release quoted Lawrence Kutner, Ph.D., executive director of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, as saying. “”He not only understands what we’re trying to accomplish at an intellectual level; he gets it at a gut level.””

According to a public notice, “determination” and actions may be taken in the executive session, out of public view, although they will be ratified in open session following the closed meeting.

That practice is a “big red flag,” according to NM Foundation for Open Government Executive Director Sarah Welsh.

Under the state Open Meetings Act, no decisions can be made in closed session, Welsh said.

“Under OMA, they shouldn’t be taking any sort of vote at all in executive session,” Welsh told The Independent. “It’s just a discussion.”

This is not the first time UNM directors have planned to vote in executive session. The university’s Lobo Development Corporation board did the same thing last month.

The Independent’s recent review of public meeting agendas and minutes from dozens of local, county, school and state agencies in New Mexico found that executive session rules are routinely ignored across the state.

Schmidly made headlines in 2008 over charges of nepotism.

Schmidly’s son Brian Schmidly turned down a $94,000 a year UNM job promoting energy efficiency after faculty and staff raised concerns about favoritism and nepotism. His father had created the position in June 2008 but Brian Schmidly’s hiring was not announced until the university’s fall break that year.

Violating the Open Meetings law can contribute to a culture of political secrecy and corruption, Foundation for Open Government Executive Director Sarah Welsh told The Independent. It also raises questions about the legality of decisions reached based on issues discussed during illegally convened closed sessions.

Hanging from the wall just outside the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission’s chambers is the PRC’s 2010 annual Open Meetings Act policy notice. On page seven, the policy states the rules for invoking a closed or “executive” session at public meetings — sessions during which the public is told to leave the room.

A public vote must be taken to enter executive session, and votes on matters discussed in closed sessions must occur only afterward, in public.

But on at least three occasions this year, the PRC has violated the Open Meetings law and its own policy.

Commissioner Jason Marks objected earlier this month to the appointment March 30 of Johnny Montoya as interim PRC chief of staff in executive session during Marks’s absence.

Montoya is husband to state Rep. Rhonda King, a cousin of PRC chairman David King.

“The commission doesn’t need to do more things in a way that makes the public question whether we followed the law or not,” Marks said. “I think the law is extremely clear.”

Under the state Open Meetings Act, the PRC policy acknowledges, the legal authority to close a meeting to the public and the specific reason for doing so must be stated three times: first in the public notice and meeting agenda released prior to the meeting, then again, in the motion to close the meeting, and finally, within the minutes of the meeting.

But on at least two other occasions this year alone — March 24 and April 8 — PRC meeting agendas’ public notices of closed sessions failed to list what exactly would be discussed behind closed doors.

The PRC did not respond to emails requesting comment for this story.

“It can seem nit-picky, so remember the bottom line: kicking the public out of a meeting is an extraordinary thing,” Foundation for Open Government Executive Director Sarah Welsh told The Independent. “Because it runs contrary to our fundamental values, the law allows closed meetings only in special and limited circumstances, where the public interest could actually be harmed by openness.”

Closed sessions are allowed only when limited personnel matters or the purchase or sale of real estate are to be discussed, or when government attorneys must discuss details of lawsuits with elected officials.

Even then, Welsh said, closed sessions are ripe for abuse.

“So the law requires them to give as much information as possible in advance, take a roll-call vote to close the meeting, and to state for the record that they didn’t discuss anything else while they were back there,” Welsh said. “If they start peeling back those small and limited protections, then what assurance does the public have?”

Violations widespread

The PRC is not alone in its violations of the Open Meetings Act, the Independent found.

Reviewing hundreds of public notices, meeting agendas and meeting minutes for state and local governments, the Independent discovered violations of the closed session rules by school boards, village and town councils, county commissions, and state boards and commissions across New Mexico.

Of the 17 New Mexico counties with closed sessions listed for recent county commission meetings, only two — Taos and Quay counties — complied with the law, listing both the legal authority for entering closed sessions and the specific topics to be discussed, The Independent found.

Ten counties had no website or did not post meeting agendas on their websites. Harding County’s website posts links to agendas, but those links were not functioning. Rio Arriba County’s web page for meeting agendas was empty.

The NMSU and UNM boards of regents both violated the Open Meetings law in their March 8, 2010 agendas, announcing closed sessions without describing what was to be discussed, The Independent found.

The North Central Regional Transit District, State Transportation Commission, Racing Commission, Gaming Commission, Mining Commission, and Regulation and Licensing Department all violated the Open Meeting Act’s closed sessions requirements, The Independent found.

The state Medical Board and Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Surveyors both listed case numbers rather than including the names of license holders or litigants, or the nature of lawsuits.

“These probably comply with the letter of the law, but including names would certainly help the public see at a glance which licenses are up for discussion,” Welsh noted. “Why not include the additional information?”

The Alamogordo, Carlsbad and Lordsburg school boards, the Capitan, Tucumcari, Deming and Torrance city councils, the Tularosa Village Council, and the Las Vegas City Council have all recently broken the law by issuing “empty” closed meeting notifications that do not specify what will be discussed, the Independent found.

The Alamogordo school board’s April 12, 2010 agenda lists a closed session to discuss board member evaluations.

But elected officials are not covered by the privacy protections the Open Meetings Act affords public employees, said Welsh.

Last March, the Las Vegas, NM city attorney told councilors to stop e-mailing more than one of their colleagues at a time about council business because the Open Meetings Act requires a quorum to discuss city business, and to do so only at advertised public meetings. But Las Vegas repeatedly violated the law this year in its agendas’ unspecific description of closed session discussions, The Independent found.

Las Vegas and numerous other councils and commissions routinely publish generic notices that public meetings would include closed sessions for discussions of “threatened litigation” or “limited personnel matters,” without listing them, The Independent found.

That can discourage public attendance of open meetings, said Welsh.

“The Open Meetings Act is intended to avoid unhelpful ‘boilerplate’ agendas,” Welsh said. “It becomes hard for John Q. Public to know whether the commission is actually going to descend into executive session for four hours and maybe he should show up late or stay home. Conversely, if I see they’re going to discuss my lawsuit against them, I want to be there.”

Eastern Plains Council of Governments Interim Director Richard Arguello apologized last week for failing to publish a public notice that the Council would enter executive session during its April 7 special session. Ironically, however, the Clovis News Journal reports Arguelo was less than specific when asked what exactly had been discussed during the illegal closed session.

“The purpose of Wednesday’s meeting was to discuss, ‘some personnel issues that we’ve been looking at going into,’ (Arguelo) said, adding, ‘There weren’t any decisions made (at the meeting), it was just an informative session’,” the paper reported.

In addition to eroding government transparency, votes based on discussions in an illegally convened closed session are open to legal challenge.

“It doesn’t give them any authority to act on anything,” Welsh said.

Luna County commissioners last February dismissed County manager Scott Vinson and attempted to rescind his firings of six staffers, only to have the County attorney challenge the validity of the vote because they had not listed the terminations on the meeting agenda, according to an Associated Press report.

And PRC commissioners had to reintroduce a motion and vote to appoint Johnny Montoya as interim chief of staff earlier this month — this time in public — to comply with the law.

State law requires the public receive “the greatest possible information” about what is discussed behind closed doors, Welsh said. Compliance with the law is required of every public body in the state.

“It’s the law,” Welsh said. “The guiding principle is not, ‘what is the bare minimum we have to provide to comply with the letter of the law’.”

The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team is having what is arguably its best year ever, and today is the final day of the regular season for the Lobos, when they play Texas Christian University at The Pit. And 1st Congressional District Representative, and Lobos fan, Martin Heinrich honored the 25-3 Lobos basketball team on the floor of the House of Representatives in Washington D.C. today.

Heinrich congratulated the team on winning the Mountain West Conference regular season title, which they did with an 83-81 victory over Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.

“In this truly remarkable season, the Lobos tied the school record for consecutive conference wins,” Heinrich said. “This is the second consecutive year that the Lobos won the conference championship.”

Last year, the Lobos split the regular season championship with BYU.

“The team recently cracked the nations Top 10 in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls, a feat not accomplished in more than a decade,” Heinrich said.

The Lobos are currently ranked eighth in the Associated Press poll and 10th in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll.