Trever works his magic bringing together (1) sanctioned paintball assaults on wildlife, (2) the painted ponies art project and (3) Abq’s mishandling of a visiting art exhibit. Cute, clever. That elk died from its wounds. Ha-ha! mjh
Monthly Archives: April 2005
Paintball IS a Crime
ABQjournal: Paintballers May Play Tag the Elk By Jeff Jones, Journal Staff Writer
The New Mexico Game and Fish Department is considering springtime paintball “disruption hunts” to spook elk out of greening meadows, where they’re chomping grass cattle ranchers intend for cows.
The elk-cow conflicts have led to the killing of elk in the past. Game and Fish figures paintball sniping — which apparently would be a first for public wildlife management in the United States — might deter elk from the greener pastures without any elk deaths.
Elk-zapping probably would be a big hit with paintballers, said Jerry Gibson, general manager of Albuquerque’s Hinkle Family Fun Center. The center has two paintball fields where gung-ho players blast away at fellow humans with the gel-enclosed spheres of bright, water-soluble paint.
So, we’re going to let crazies run through the meadows terrorizing deer so that ranchers can have the grass for their cows. Nice. Public land, public wildlife, personal profit = corporate welfare. Hey, I’ll bet ATVs and chainsaws would help! Let’s get drunk first!
In a not entirely unrelated matter, my wife and I were SHOT IN THE BACKS by a carfull of fun-loving paint-ballers. Those aren’t “markers,” they’re god-damn guns. Check out one of my wounds. We thought we were dying. The shooter laughed his head off. The sport of kings. mjh
Come Visit, Move Elsewhere
ABQjournal: ABQ 2nd in Sprawl in Rockies StudyBy Jim Ludwick, Journal Staff Writer
The Albuquerque area ranks second in the Rocky Mountains for its urban sprawl, according to a new study from Colorado College.
Only Pueblo, Colo., has more sprawl than Albuquerque, the study says. Colorado Springs, where the college is based, falls just behind Albuquerque.
The report was released this week at the State of the Rockies Conference on the campus of Colorado College.
Researchers used census data and computer mapping to study residential housing density, as well as changes in metropolitan areas from the 1970s to the 1990s. The study compared the 11 largest cities in an area including Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.
ABQjournal: SF Ranks Third for Regional Small-City Sprawl By John T. Huddy, Journal Staff Writer
Santa Fe has the third-worst urban sprawl among 10 small metropolitan cities in the Rocky Mountain Region of states, according to the 2005 Colorado College State of the Rockies Report Card.
The report evaluates sprawl, pollution and socioeconomic issues in the Rocky Mountain region’s eight states — Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico and Wyoming.
Outranking Santa Fe as the worst for sprawl is Grand Junction, Colo., No. 1 on the list, and Flagstaff, Ariz., which is second.
Letting You Down
I’ve been remote, I know. Each day you come back, wondering, ‘where is he?’ ‘He could be hurt!’ ‘Why isn’t he blogging!’ Sorry — my real life overwhelmed my virtual life. It started with cross-country skiing last Friday. Then an old friend came to town. We three ate well. In addition to Mer’s homemade strawberry pie and pots du creme, there was the peanut butter pie at the Range. And fillet mignon. And burritos from Golden Pride (the new huge one on east Central). And we hiked the Ojito again. Then I had two classes to prep and teach. So, here I am days later, finally showing up with my shoes in my hands, sorry I worried you but glad you waited up. mjh
QOTD
From News Hounds: We watch FOX so you don’t have to.
Fox News Channel ad introduces new motto
A sexy female voice-over says “We’re always live” ….
FNC shows re-runs from 11pm ET to 5am ET weekdays.
Maybe I misunderstood and she’s saying “We’re always lies.” Yeah, that must be it – they’re replacing their ridiculous old motto with a more accurate new one.
Anti-Gay Protest Starts at UNM
ABQjournal: Around Northern New Mexico
Anti-Gay Protest Starts at UNM
An anti-gay church group has apparently rescheduled its planned Santa Fe protest, and they plan to kick off their New Mexico activities at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.
Members of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., recently announced they would picket eight Santa Fe churches that expressed support for a 21-year-old gay man who was severely beaten in February. The group had planned to picket outside the churches on April 17 and outside City Hall on April 18, but the group has postponed its Santa Fe visit by a week.
According to its Web site, the group will be picketing at UNM on Central and Stanford shortly before noon on April 23. The Santa Fe protests are scheduled for the afternoon of April 23 and for April 24.
37th, 49th, whatever
ABQjournal: N.M. Ranks 37th in U.S. in Per-Pupil Spending By Gabriela C. Guzman
New Mexico ranks 37th in the nation for per-pupil education spending, according to a report recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau.
On average, the state spent $6,870 per student for the 2002-2003 academic school year, which is a 3.8 percent increase over the $6,606 spent during the previous academic year. …
In New Mexico, all revenue sources for public education are distributed equally among the districts. This system has garnered local and national accolades for fairly funding education for all children. …
New Mexico, for example, should be compared to a state like West Virginia: The two states’ populations, the amount of revenue generated from property tax and the number of school-age children mirror each other.
However, West Virginia spent $8,218 per pupil in the 2002-2003 academic school year? $1,300 per pupil more than New Mexico.
New Mexico ranks in the top 10 for federal spending (fourth) and state funding (ninth) on education, according to the census report. But when it comes to local resources, the state plummets to 49th.