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Columns

  • Gov. Martinez makes most influential list

    New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez has been named to Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world. That’s a big deal as far as I’m concerned.
    But it hasn’t seemed to mean much to others in the news business. Other than short reports saying it happened, the only opinion I have noticed was in Joe Monahan’s blog last Friday. Obviously I don’t get around to reading all blogs but I expected to see much more by four days after our governor’s honor.
    Most of you won’t be reading this for another four days so maybe the news business will have noticed by then. Obviously Time magazine isn’t the last word on who is important in this world but I saw part of an interview with the editor who put the list together.
    He said the staff working on the project tried to spread the recognition among as many new people as possible each year. Obviously, the president of the United States is going to be included every year, but not most of the rest of the Top 100.
    Others chosen in the “Leaders” category were Joe Biden, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, the only other governor chosen this year. The influential Christie has been picked before.

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  • Is a credit report 'freeze' a wise idea?

    Although the odds of having your identity stolen remain quite low, anyone who’s ever had their bank or credit card account compromised knows what a pain it can be to unravel the mess. Sometimes enterprising hackers just need your Social Security number, address and date of birth to start opening new accounts in your name.
    Many victims don’t realize anything’s wrong until they apply for a new account and find their credit has been trashed or they start getting calls from collection agencies regarding unfamiliar accounts. More and more people have begun blocking access to information in their credit reports, even if there hasn’t yet been any fraudulent activity, by instituting a “security freeze.”
    A credit security freeze is where you instruct the three major credit bureaus to disallow new creditors from viewing your credit report and score. Because most businesses won’t lend without first checking your report, a freeze can deter identity thieves.
    Before going to the trouble and expense of doing a credit freeze, however, learn how the process works and be aware of several possible inconveniences:

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  • Battle rages between natural gas and coal

    There’s so much competition among United States energy-producing industries, the speaker says, that the natural gas industry is trying to kill the coal industry.
    The speaker is Myron Ebell, director of the Center of Energy and Environment at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. As the name suggestions, this libertarian-leaning organization advocates for unfettered free markets. His topic is overly burdensome regulations. Today he’s focusing on issues that affect New Mexico directly.
    Because of natural gas fracking (hydraulic fracturing, the process by which natural gas is extracted from underground rock), U.S. energy production is way up, and the U.S. can expect to be a net energy producer, he says. The price of natural gas is low, so the gas people started the war on coal, and, he says, this has helped the Obama Administration cover up the cost effects of environmental regulations. He cites a 2011 survey by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in which the Environmental Protection Agency is blamed most, of all regulators, for interfering with business. About half of all complaints are against this one agency, according to this survey.

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  • Law enforcement, then and now

    Sheriff Frank Bojorquez, who held forth in Sierra County after 1916, was a good man with his fists and his gun, but nobody can remember him using either.
    “Frank always spoke slowly and gave everyone a long time to understand what he had to say,” according to those who knew him. One memorable act was his arrest of two Germans involved in a plot to blow up Elephant Butte dam during World War I.
    Archeologist Karl Laumbach, who’s spent years documenting the life of Bojorquez, told the lawman’s story during the annual meeting of the Historical Society of New Mexico last weekend in Las Cruces.
    Inundated with news from Boston, where police and the FBI emerged from their manhunt as heroes, it was an interesting time to reflect on law enforcement then and now. Usually in such comparisons, we like to say it was a simpler time, but it wasn’t. Economic downturns were severe, hardship was widespread, and criminals – who were often as young as the Tsarnaev brothers – were ruthless.

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  • Maps organize knowledge of N.M.

    Map geeks live in Albuquerque’s North Valley. Their home is a modest suite in an even more modest one-story brown stucco office building on North Fourth Street. Even the sign for the Public Lands Interpretive Association is modest. Fourth Street is commonly thought to be the route of El Camino Real, or Chihuahua Trail, that connected Mexico with Ohkay Owingeh pueblo, north of Española. An Albuquerque planning document corrects that “misperception,” reporting that El Camino Real had two routes through the North Valley, neither of them Fourth Street.
    Maps organize knowledge, which is a great human achievement. Getting things right—eventually—is what maps are for, after all, urban mythology to the contrary.
    The Web site, publiclands.org, is thorough, almost daunting. The products are resolutely paper.

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  • Seeking justice for black fighter

    Did you know New Mexico once hosted a heavyweight championship fight? It was in Las Vegas, N.M. The colorful fight fell off my radar screen during our state’s centennial last year. But then-heavyweight champ Jack Johnson still is in the news so let’s talk about him now.
    The fight was on July 4, 1912, just short of six months after New Mexico finally became a state on January 6. It was difficult for Johnson to find a fighting venue because he was the first black heavyweight champion. Most states wouldn’t allow an interracial fight. Most of his fights were held in Mexico, some in Canada and Europe and one in Australia.
    The fight was known for being stopped in the ninth round by the local sheriff because Johnson’s opponent, fireman Jim Flynn, was fighting extremely dirty and the referee couldn’t handle the situation.
    Johnson made it even tougher on himself because of his preference for white women. He had three wives, all white and many white girlfriends. His detractors constantly looked for a Great White Hope to take the championship away from Johnson.

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  • Saving Earth is no small feat

    Since its inception in 1970, the Earth Day phenomenon has led to enormous growth in understanding of the consequences we face if we do not take care of our natural resources. It has led to more action to protect our planet’s land, water, air, wildlife and us as human beings.
    Environmental concerns are becoming a primary focus. Everyone has a vested interest in preserving the earth, so why not celebrate a day to honor all that we’re doing for our planet at ground level.
    When I’ve asked the New Mexico farmers and ranchers I know about Earth Day, the humble and honest reply I usually get is: “Every day is Earth Day.” Where asphalt and pavement turns to gravel and dirt, you will find rural men and women rising early, greeting the day and working the Earth.
    Their office space is outdoors in the sun, wind, rain and sometimes snow. They are doing hard work that needs to be done to feed a hungry world. To eat and live it means that someone tills the soil, plants the fields, fertilizes, feeds, prunes, irrigates, picks, packs and ships. Before 1970 especially, some did these things without thought about the consequences their hasty actions might cause. Today things are very different.

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  • Before renting, do your homework

    Maybe you’re a college student looking to rent your first apartment, or a downsizing homeowner reentering the rental market for the first time in decades. Whatever your situation, there are many precautions you should take before renting any property. The last thing you want is to be saddled with a 12-month lease you can’t afford or to be stuck in a neighborhood you’ve come to detest.
    As one who’s been there, let me share a few tips for renting a home:
    Before you even start looking, know how much you can afford to spend. Housing is the biggest monthly expense for most people, so if you miscalculate what rent is affordable, your budget will suffer from the get-go.
    Besides rent, don’t forget such additional expenses as a security deposit, utilities, cable/satellite, Internet access, renters insurance, parking and laundry facilities and one-time, move-in expenses like window treatments, appliances, or rugs.
    Scope out the neighborhood and determine how safe you feel walking around, especially if you’ll be parking on the street.
    Come back to see if the neighborhood’s character changes at night, or on the weekend.
    Also, note the proximity to parks, schools, grocery stores, public transportation and busy commuter routes.
    Thoroughly inspect each potential rental:

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  • America on the rocks

    Roll out the barrel! We’ll have a barrel of fun!
    As a child, I remember watching my parents dance to the Beer Barrel Polka. Before I learned my multiplication table or could even spell the word “beer,” I knew the words to a fun-filled drinking song. Another favorite was the classic Latino flavored “Tequila” by The Champs. People could sip a nice cold mixed drink to the beat of Danny Flores’ raspy saxophone. And the lyrics were easy to remember, even if you were drunk. There were only three words — tequila, tequila, tequila.
     Yeah, drinking is great fun. It was a hoot watching Dudley Moore trip through the movies Arthur and 10. And how could you not fall in love with Peter O’Toole as he stumbled through My Favorite Year? Or Jimmy Stewart in Harvey?
     Lee Marvin even won an Academy Award for his woozy performance as Kid Shellen. It should have been Kid Shellacked.
     The film industry has always raised a glass to toast the entertainment value of alcohol. Come on, admit it! Even the most stolid among you would have enjoyed a good toga party at Animal House.
     In real life however, the humor can sometimes be a bit harder to grasp.

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  • Believing TV weather hype

    Are biblical prophesies about the end of the world coming to pass or will global warming predictions beat them to it? We’ve been hearing both in the wake of recent natural disasters.
    But it may not be as bad as it seems. Some weather watchers blame the hysteria on the Weather Channel and various weather Web sites pumping up minor disturbances with dire predictions. Last year, the Weather Channel began giving names to snowstorms.
    Sometimes the storms barely materialized. Remember back around the time Congress was about to vote on sequestration, a major storm was predicted for Washington D.C.? It was termed Snowquestration. Jim Cantore, the Weather Channel’s disaster master was sent to town. His biggest chore was not hanging on to light poles to keep from blowing away. It was trying to explain why only a half-inch of snow fell.
    We see the same situation on Albuquerque television. We wake up, flip on the TV and see some cub reporter stationed at Sedillo Hill in Tijeras Canyon, east of Albuquerque, waiting for the first snowflake to fall.
    Occasionally, one of them will make a wry comment about being sent out to cover a non-event at an ungodly hour. They are being honest, but it probably won’t grease their way to an anchor position in the studio.

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