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Monda's headlines
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Mayoral field
grows to 6
By Eric Maddy
The SCORE
The field for the 2008 Rio Rancho mayoral race grew by at least two overnight, making an even half-dozen candidates who have expressed interest in the two-year term.
Former U.S. Navy veteran Tim Crum and retired U.S. Air Force veteran Bill White both let it be known they will file for the race on Tuesday, joining State Rep. Tom Swisstack, small business owners John McKinney and Kimberly Ritter and call center supervisor Steve Meyer in the race. Another former mayor, Jim Owen has repeatedly said he is yet to decide if he will run again.
The large field makes it appear more likely there will be a runoff election. For the first time, candidates for mayor and city council must get 50.1 percent of the votes outright in the March 4 general election to be declared the winner. Otherwise, a runoff election between the top two finishers will be scheduled within 35 days.
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By Eric Maddy The battle is joined. Rosemary Owen, the wife of former Mayor Jim Owen, has picked up a candidate packet from the city clerk and will oppose current Mayor Mike Williams in the District 1 city council race, her husband said Friday. Click here for more of this story.
Friday's headlines
Ex-mayor's wife
enters race for
District 1
The SCORE
Williams announced his plans to seek election in District 1 on Wednesday.
Thursday's headlines
Richardson
to continue
his run
Governor finishes a distant 4th in Iowa caucuses
By Eric Maddy
The SCORE
Despite finishing a distant fourth in Thursday’s Iowa caucus, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson vowed to continue his longshot presidential campaign.
By Despite finishing a distant fourth in Thursday’s Iowa caucus, New Mexico Gov. vowed to continue his longshot presidential campaign.
"We made it to the final four," Richardson said on his web site. "My staff and volunteers worked their hearts out to get us here. Now we are going to take the fight to New Hampshire."
"It has been an honor to meet with Iowans and be a part of this extraordinary process," Richardson said. "Thank you, Iowa. Now we go on to New Hampshire."
Though pre-caucus polls showed Richardson at 7 percent, actual results had Richardson at 2.11 percent, well behind Illinois Sen Barak Obama (37.58 percent), former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards (29.75 percent) and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton (29.47 percent). Senators Joe Biden and Chris Dodd received less than 1 percent of the vote and told The Associated Press they would be getting out of the race.
After watching the results at a rally in Des Moines, Richardson boarded a plane for New Hampshire. The New Hampshire primary is Tuesday.
On the Republican side, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee won with 34 percent. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was second at 25 percent, followed by former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson and current Arizona Sen. John McCain at 13 percent and Texas congressman Ron Paul at 10 percent.
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani was sixth with 4 percent.
The Iowa Democratic Party reported a record turnout of at least 227,000 caucus attendees compared to 124,000 in 2004. The state’s Republican Party projected that 120,000 people took part compared to 87,000 in the last contested GOP caucuses in 2000. (President George W. Bush was unopposed in 2004).
New Mexico Democrats will participate in their own caucus vote on Feb. 5, so called “Super Tuesday” because 24 states have their primaries on that day. New Mexico Republicans will have a traditional presidential primary election as part of the state's primary for other offices on June 3. There will be a whole lot of bull near City Hall later this month - and it has nothing to do with politicians. In fact, there will be a lot of cattle, horses and other livestock across the street at the Santa Ana Star Center at the first New Mexico Stampede, a three-night rodeo sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. In addition to bull riding, contestants will compete in bareback bronc riding, saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling, team roping, tie-down roping and women’s barrel racing. More than 300 of the world’s top cowboys and cowgirls are expected to compete, including many who just finished in the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas in mid-December. Among those who have already confirmed for the event is 20-year-old Taos Muncy, a native of Corona, N.M., who won both the collegiate and NFR saddle bronc titles in 2007. Hall of Fame rodeo clown Lecile Harris, a four-time PRCA clown of the year, will be joined by the circuit’s top bullfighter in 2006, Travis Adams of Gary, Texas. Stock for the event is being provided by Scotty Lovelace of Classic Pro Rodeo, the 2003 PRCA Stock Contractor of the Year. He produces more than 20 rodeos a year, including the “Wild, Wild West Pro Rodeo” in Silver City. Among his top animals is “Wise Guy,” the 2006 NFR champion bareback horse. Proceeds benefit local charities in three ways: • Profit from Thursday night's ticket sales go to the UNM Children’s Hospital. • Half of the rodeo program sales and advertising goes to the Galloping Grace Youth Ranch of Rio Rancho. Cowboys will also visit local elementary schools with their “Cowboys and Kids” assembly program designed to foster and encourage high ethical and moral traits in young Americans. New Mexico’s first pro rodeo of the year will be Jan. 24-25 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $13 for general admission, $19 for reserved seats and $29 for box seats. Tickets are available at the at the Santa Ana Star Center box office, Santa Ana Star Casino Rewards Desk, or www.GetTix.net. Thursday's performance is "Family Night," where patrons can get a free ticket with the purchase of three others. Primary sponsors are local Dodge dealers and the New Mexico Rodeo Council.
New columnist
to contribute to
The SCORE
John Barlit, who has worked on enviromental issues in New Mexico for more than 30 years, will contribute a column to The SCORzr.
"Clean Air Exchange." which debuts today, will cover a wide range of issues, including the environment and the politics that goes with it.
Bartlit is a member of New Mexico Clean Air and Water and is the acting chair of the Community Environmental Working Group, whose mission is "Striving for continuous environmental improvements at Intel." The CEWG meets monthly in Rio Rancho.
Click here to read Bartlit's first column.
Officials cut ribbon at skateboard park
Story, photos to come.
Wednesday's headline
Pro rodeo
coming to
Rio Rancho
By Eric Maddy
The SCORE
• Friday has been designated “Tough Enough to Wear Pink” night, benefiting the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer research.
For information on sponsorship opportunities, contact Joseph Mullings at 463-5124. For information on program advertisements, contact Max Wade at 991-1885. For additional rodeo information, contact Dustin Murray at (405) 323-3976.
School board
sets boundaries
for high schools
By Eric Maddy
The SCORE
The Rio Rancho school board has chosen to use
Meeting Monday night, the board unanimously chose Option 1 to draw the line between Rio Rancho High and the new
The board adopted the proposal 3-0, as board members Don Schlichte and Divysh Patel were absent. Board president Linda Cour said that Schlichte had told her that he preferred the first option as well.
Option 1 was the preferred choice of most of the 60-member committee that began studying possible options in early November and of members of the public who commented at public meetings or in written communication to the district. All four public speakers at the meeting also said they wanted Option 1.
More to come on this story.
FRIDAY'S HEADLINES
Guv's health plan DOA?
GOP rep also critical
of
By Eric Maddy
The SCORE
Gov. Bill Richardson’s health insurance plan will be “dead on arrival” when the state Legislature convenes Jan. 15, a veteran legislator predicted Friday.
Speaking to the San-Bern Republican Federation of Republican Women, Rep. Larry Larranaga, R-Bernalillo, also questioned the ethics of the
Larranaga pointed to the scandal that led to the resignation and subsequent trial for bribery of state treasurer Robert Vigil, and recent questions about who paid for a trip
“We passed ethics reform legislation last year, and it seems to apply to everyone except the governor,” Larranaga told the gathering at Chamisa Hills Country Club. “I don’t know how this guy escapes some of those situations. It’s almost a pay for play situation in everything that happens in state government.”
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THURSDAY'S HEADLINES
Bucks,
trucks
& ducks
Council tackles several issues
in last meeting of '07
By Eric Maddy
The SCORE
Bucks, trucks and ducks.
The Rio Rancho City Council dealt with all of these issues and more Wednesday night and more, meeting for nearly four hours to decide several controversial issues in its last meeting of the year.
Here is brief summary of the major issues decided by the Governing Body:
• Taxes: The council agreed to place on the March 4 municipal election a quarter-cent gross receipts tax proposal to fund higher education.
• Commercial vehicles: The council adopted an amended resolution that will allow some commercial vehicles to park in residential areas as long as there is some form of “visual abatement” to hide the vehicles from view.
But while big-rig truckers celebrated the new legislation, all six councilors and development director Rob Anderson said it doesn’t necessarily mean 18-wheelers will be permitted to park in residential neighborhoods.
The council technically passed two amendments on the commercial vehicle ordinance. The first was actually a substitute ordinance, submitted to the council shortly before it met two weeks ago, that incorporated changes recommended by the Planning and Zoning board. The lateness of that substitute prompted Councilor Delma Petrulo to ask for a postponement of two weeks.
The second amendment, made by Councilor Larry Naranjo, amendment states: “One commercial vehicle/equipment not meeting the requirements of subsection (1) above may be parked on residential property if such is parked beyond the profile of the home, with lawfully permitted physical blinding to provide visual abatement from the street and the properties adjacent to the subject property.”
That subsection defines commercial vehicle/equipment as “any vehicle and/or equipment which has a gross vehicle weight rating that exceeds 10,000 pounds that is used or designated for a commercial or industrial function. This term includes any vehicle/equipment that is not a noncommercial or a recreational vehicle.”
But it will apparently be up to the development department to determine just what a "lawfully permitted physical blinding" means.
• Water pollution: The community forum section at the start of the meeting was dominated by discussion of recent media reports involving the pollution at the Chamisa Hills Country Club that resulted in the death of several birds in the past two years. Representatives of the New Mexico Environment Department and a committee studying the issue for 18 months urged the governing body to get involved in the process, but councilors took the unique step of asking questions of the NMED’s Jon Goldstein during the period normally reserved for uninterrupted public input only.
The council also began to tackle the controversial $70 million Special Assessment District 7 in Unit 17, and approved a 10-year franchise agreement with Cable One.
Because of the large crowd, speakers were limited to two minutes instead of the usual three. An overflow room adjacent to the council chambers had about 30 members of the public watching the proceedings on a big-screen television.
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WEDNESDAY'S HEADLINES
P&Z deadlocked on
proposed ordinance
Proposed changes to the rules governing special use zoning in Rio Rancho will move on to the Governing Body with no recommendation from its Planning and Zoning Board.
The board deadlocked 3-3 Tuesday night on the proposal brought forth by city staff in light of the controversial rezoning proposal at
Ironically D’Arco, a former mayor who is now chairman of the P&Z Board, voted in favor of the changes along with commissioners P.J. Perry and John Paulson. Commissioners David Heil, Mark Werkmeister and Todd Rastorter were against the proposal.
Unlike other meetings, the P&Z chairman votes on all issues.
At-large member Karl Wiese was absent from the meeting due to his work commitments as chief of police at Jemez Pueblo. Contacted after the meeting, Wiese said his “gut feeling” would have been to vote against the proposal.
Click here for more of this story.
TUESDAY'S HEADLINES
Papponi enters race
for House District 60
Former Jemez Valley School District superintendent Paula Papponi announced her candidacy for District 60 in the New Mexico House of Representatives on Monday.
Papponi, a Republican, is seeking
Should Swisstack be elected mayor in the March 4 municipal election, he would be required to give up his House seat under section 8.02 (A) of the city charter, which reads, “Except as authorized by state law, no elected officer of the City shall hold any other elected public office during the term for which the member was elected.”
Under state law, any vacancy in the House District 60 seat would be filled by a vote of the
That scenario would give Papponi, the only announced candidate, a four-month head start on a district the GOP is likely considering a good opportunity to gain. According to the latest statistics from the Secretary of State's office, Republicans outnumber Democrats in District 60 7,946-7,269, with 3,022 independents and 742 registered to other political parties. By percentage, the district is 42 percent Republican, 38 percent Democrat, 16 percent independent and 4 percent in other parties.
Click here for more of this story.
Legislators to discuss
health care on Monday
The debate over what will likely be the biggest legislative issue in the coming session – health care in general and Gov. Bill Richardson’s “Health Solutions New Mexico” plan in particular – begins in earnest on Monday.
Legislators will be briefed at a 9:30 a.m. meeting in Room 307 in the
But just who will be presenting what is unclear, according to two legislators who represent
Click here for more of this story.
Northern Blvd. project draws little response
Only three members of the public attending a meeting presenting plans of widening Northern Boulevard for a two-mile stretch from where it currently narrows to two lanes to an area just past the Unser Boulevard intersection.
City officials and representatives of the design team working on the project outnumbered the public by a 4-to-1 ratio at the meeting, the first step in making
More to come on this story.
MONDAY'S HEADLINES
New features debut
The SCORE is happy to announce the addition of two new features in our continuing effort to provide a variety of information and perspectives to our readers.
Sunday marked the debut of “All in the Family,” a
A second feature designed to help readers find solutions problems made its debut in The SCORE on Saturday. "Asked & Answered," presented by Leonard Tire and Auto Repair an on-going column that will attempt to answer your questions and/or point you to appropriate resources and information.
Click here for more of this story.
Boundary options
clear committee
A 60-member committee responsible for recommending where the boundaries will be drawn between
RRPS government liaison Theresa Saez said both options will be presented to the board at its Dec. 17 meeting.
Both use
Click here to read more about the committee's work and to see a map of both options.
Retirement complex
OK'd by commission
The Sandoval County Commission gave its approval for a retirement center to be built as part of the La Plazuela Master Plan that already includes the county's judicial complex and health commons, and will soon house a new administration building and transpiration center.
Click here to read past stories detailing this project.
Final exams scheduled
for Mid-High, RRHS
Rio Rancho Mid-High and
Click here for more of this story.
Monday night’s headlines
By Eric Maddy
The Score
Voters may get to decide next year if they want to increase city gross receipts taxes by a quarter-cent to help fund a
Ordinance 95 and Resolution 107, which would place the proposal on the March 4 city election ballot, on the agenda for Wednesday night’s Governing Body meeting. By procedure, an ordinance requires a second reading and a 10-day waiting period before it becomes law.
The tax increase is just one of several items likely to pack the council chambers for the 6 p.m. meeting. Also on the agenda is Ordinance 91 that would place restrictions on commercial vehicles, especially long-haul trucks, from parking in residential neighborhoods; first action on Special Assessment District 7; and the 10-year extension of Cable One’s contract.
More to come on this story
Lighting ordinance withdrawn from P&Z Agenda
Rio Rancho’s planning and zoning board will get to avoid another controversial piece of legislation for awhile.
Two weeks ago the board considered the ordinance regarding the parking of commercial vehicles while tabling a proposed outdoor lighting ordinance. But according to a meeting agenda posted on the city’s web site, the lighting ordinance has been withdrawn per the recommendation of city staff.
Board chairman Pat D’Arco confirmed his copy of the agenda also shows the lighting ordinance as being withdrawn, but he wasn’t sure why.
More to come on this story.
Only three members of the public attending a meeting presenting plans of widening Northern Boulevard for a two-mile stretch from where it currently narrows to two lanes to an area just past the Unser Boulevard intersection.
City officials and representatives of the design team working on the project outnumbered the public by a 4-to-1 ratio at the meeting, the first step in making
More to come on this story.
Science Expo awards announced
Hundreds of students and parents packed the Rio Rancho High School Performing Arts Center to learn the results of the annual Fall Expo.
More to come on this story.