Wilson to speak to GOP group
on Wednesday
Republican congresswoman Heather Wilson is scheduled to speak at a luncheon on Wednesday in Sandoval County.
Wilson, who is running against Congressman Steve Pearce
for the U.S. Senate, will address members of the Sandoval County
Republican Party at 11:45 a.m. at Capo's Bottega, 1015 U.S. 550 in
Bernalillo, party chairman Richard Gibbs said. The public is invited.
Pearce
and Wilson, a five-term congresswoman who represents River's Edge in
Rio Rancho, Bernalillo and Placitas, are seeking the Republican
nomination to replace Pete Domenici, who is retiring after 36 years in the Senate due to an incurable brain disease.
Wilson,
an Air Force Academy graduate and Rhodes Scholar, is the only woman
veteran serving in the Congress and would become the first woman in New
Mexico history to serve in the Senate.
Before being elected to
the Congress, she was New Mexico’s Cabinet Secretary for Children,
Youth and Families and was a small business owner. She served on the
National Security Council Staff at the White House during the fall of
the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Warsaw Pact.
To RSVP, call Gibbs at 281-8057.
The Palenick
lawsuit:
A closer look
ANALYSIS
By Eric Maddy
The SCORE
The verdict in Jim
Palenick’s lawsuit claiming he was illegally fired by the City of Rio
Rancho would seem to be based on a few documents totaling less than 50
sheets of paper.
But in reality the case may hinge on one sentence from his work agreement with the city.
Click here for more of this story.
Sunday's headlines
Champion enjoys
performing for
home audience
By Eric Maddy
The SCORE
It's
not often you can say "New Mexico" and "World Champion" in the same
sentence, but fans attending the final round of the New Mexico Stampede
got to witness just that Saturday night.
Taos Muncy, a
native of Corona, N.M., made his first appearance in his home state
since winning the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas in December.
It
capped quite a year for the 20-year-old Muncy, who also won the College
National Finals, putting him in rarified air, indeed. He's only the
third cowboy to accomplish the feat, matching Matt Austin and Ty Murray, who now does a celebrity bull riding show on cable TV after taking rodeo to new heights in his Hall of Fame career.
Click here for more of this story.
Scorpions drop
3rd straight game
AMARILLO, Texas – If 3 and 5 aren’t New Mexico Scorpions head coach Randy Murphy’s favorite numbers, you can hardly blame him.
Consider
the Scorpions three-game losing streak on a three-game road trip, which
ended Saturday with a 7-2 loss to the Amarillo Gorillas:
• On Tuesday, New Mexico gave up five goals in the second period in losing at Arizona 9-4.
•
On Friday, New Mexico gave up five straight goals over the final two
periods at Odessa, blowing a 3-1 lead and instead falling 6-3 to the
Jackalopes.
• On Saturday, the Scorpions gave up five goals in
the final period after rallying to tie the game in the second period
from a two-goal deficit. A contributing factor in the defeat was those
numbers again - Amarillo went 3-for-5 on its power play during the
game.
By Eric Maddy
The SCORE
On a clear, crisp night in Rio Rancho, the stars were shining brightly inside, too.
Three-time world champion bareback rider Will Lowe and rodeo's newest $2 million man, saddle bronc rider Rod Hay, each won their performance at the New Mexico Stampede.
Click here for more of this story and Friday's results.
Scorpions drop
2nd straight
road game
ODESSA, Texas - There's an old saying about being nice to people on your way up the ladder because they will probably still be there on your way back down.
The New Mexico Scorpions have been none to kind to Odessa recently, beating them twice during at home during an eight-game winning streak. But the Jackalopes extracted a measure of revenge Friday night, beating New Mexico 6-3 to hand the Scorpions their second straight road defeat.
Click here for more of this story.
Ex-manager claims
Open Meetings violation makes termination illegal
By Eric Maddy
The SCORE
Contending
he was unlawfully fired, former Rio Rancho City Manager Jim Palenick is
suing the city for more than $130,000 in back pay, benefits and damages.
Palenick’s
local attorney, Dan Faber of Albuquerque, said the suit was filed last
week in the 13th Judicial District Court and has been assigned to Judge
George Eichwald.
Click here for more of this story.
Council passes
controversial
measures
By Eric Maddy
The SCORE
There
weren’t 1,200 people trying to jam into City Hall on Wednesday night
like there were for the last city council meeting two weeks ago, but
the Rio Rancho Governing Body dealt with several potentially
controversial issues that may create a strong public reaction just the
same.
The field
is final
No write-in candidates
file with city clerk's office
By Eric Maddy
The SCORE
City Clerk Roman Montoya said Wednesday no candidates filed write-in declarations of candidacy for the March 4 city election, meaning 17 names will be on the ballot.
The field will consist of seven candidates for mayor and 10 candidates for three city council positions: three in District 1, two in District 4 and and five in District 6.
The deadline to submit a declaration of candidacy as a write-in was 5 p.m. Monday.
More to come on this story.
Swisstack
responds to
Owen's
statements
Candidates accuse
each other of
'misrepresentation'
By Eric Maddy
The SCORE
The
opening salvos of the 2008 mayoral campaign have been fired, with two
ex-mayors who are seeking the job again accusing each other
“misrepresentation” in campaign literature and statements to the media.
Jim Owen , who served as mayor of Rio Rancho from 2002-2006, on Monday questioned campaign literature stating former mayor Tom Swisstack “secured over $3 billion in new investment as mayor,” calling it an “intentional misrepresentation."
Swisstack
fired back in a printed statement Tuesday morning, saying, “I was not
surprised at the wild charges and disturbed tone in Mr. Owen’s
assertions about me and what I have stood for in over 19 years of
public service. Anyone who has dealt with Mr. Owen knows this side of
his personality. I am, however, surprised that he is unable to
acknowledge simple historical fact in the assertions he makes."
Click here for more of this story.
Plan to allow
more signs
tabled by
P&Z Board
By Eric Maddy
The SCORE
A
Planning and Zoning Board agenda item calling for an increase in the
number of political signs allowed in public right-of-ways was postponed
until at least Feb. 12, basically rendering any change inconsequential
for the coming municipal election.
City councilor Larry Naranjo said
he requested that the Development Services Department look at
increasing the number of signs allowed for city-wide issues and
candidates.
Currently the city sign ordinance allows candidates and issues 25 signs in public right-of-ways. That means a city council candidate seeking to represent one of six districts can put out the same number of signs as a candidate for mayor or an issue where all voters have a say, such as the upcoming proposal for a quarter-cent gross receipts tax increase to support the University of New Mexico's plans to develop a campus in Rio Rancho.
Naranjo said he made the request after a constituent told him the $12 million Sportsplex North bond issue might have passed if more people had been made aware of the issue. Naranjo said he was not attempting to push the proposed change through in time for the March 4 election to help a specific candidate or issue.
More to come on this story.
Scorps' streak PRESCOTT VALLEY, Ariz. — Just like the old TV show, Eight Was Enough for the New Mexico Scorpions.
ends at eight
The
Arizona Sundogs scored five goals in the second period and went on to
defeat New Mexico 9-4 Tuesday night in a Central Hockey League game,
stopping the Scorpions eight-game winning streak and preventing New
Mexico from narrowing the gap in the Southwest Division standings.
More to come on this story.