O’Niell’s Pub recently opened on Central and Washington. Glowing reviews appeared in the Alibi and iQ; neither mentioned an important fact…

Like many others, we’ve been looking forward to the return of O’Niell’s for some time. O’Niell’s had the best burger in town. Unfortunately, we will not be able to enjoy the new location because it allows smoking everywhere at all hours, something your review failed to mention. We used to eat at O’Niell’s Uptown every week, until they opened it to smoking all the time, at which point it became as unbearable as the Central location.

The staff suggests we sit on the patio, but that doesn’t help if someone at the next table is smoking.

It’s too bad O’Niell won’t extend his legendary hospitality to those of us who can’t enjoy a burger and beer with smoke. A smoke-free section or hours would open his place to more of the community. mjh

Rail Runner to begin abbreviated route By: Reed Upton

The Middle Rio Grande’s commuter rail line is within weeks of beginning service, but it will have fewer stops than it will when full service begins.

On July 14th the Rail Runner will begin offering service from downtown Albuquerque to Bernalillo with stops at Alvarado Station, Paseo del Norte and US 550 in Bernalillo. Missing will be stops in downtown Bernalillo, Los Lunas and Belen.

“I would have preferred to have the whole corridor in place,” said executive director Lawrence Rael, “but construction schedules being what they are, negotiations with the Burlington Northern (railway) did not occur as quickly as we would have liked.”

Officials estimate the train will make the run from downtown Albuquerque to northern Bernalillo in 18 minutes.

When the trains initially begin running there will be no charge. Come October, a one-way trip aboard the Rail Runner will cost $2.

The News-Bulletin: Rail Runner should run in county in Septemberby Jackie Schlotfeldt News-Bulletin Staff Writer; jschlotfeldt@news-bulletin.com

Los Lunas Seeing is believing.

When the New Mexico Rail Runner visited Los Lunas two weeks ago it brought home the realization that, yes, the commuter train is definitely on its way.

Lawrence Rael of the Mid-Region Council of Governments (MRCOG) addressed Mayor Louis Huning and the Los Lunas Village Council Thursday updating them on the progress of the stations throughout the corridor and how soon the residents can expect to utilize it.

“They are planning a soft start on July 14, from Albuquerque to Bernalillo,” Rael said. “For Belen and Los Lunas, it looks like early September.”

Before the commuter rail can head south, a signaling system has to be installed from Isleta to Belen, and Rael said the system should be fully functioning by late August.

“It will yield a great deal of benefit to the area,” Rael said. “At this point, if the enthusiasm is like it is now, the train will be utilized a lot.”

While most of the stations are currently under construction, many of them are near completion Rael said. He gave this rundown:

# US 550 is 98 percent complete.
# Los Lunas will be 90 percent complete by mid-July.
# Belen is approximately 75 percent done.
# Journal Station is 98 percent there.
# Downtown Albuquerque is operational now, however, a few modifications will be made to make it comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
# Rio Bravo and Second Street will be brought on-line later because of some issues with land ownership, drainage and infrastructure.
# Isleta and Sandia Pueblos are in the approval process and will probably be the last two stations to come on-line.
Continue reading Rail Runner should run in county in September →

Anybody who knows anything about John Dimdahl can think of many avenues of attack against him. Just quote any of the many outrageous statements he has made over the years. How difficult can it be to malign someone widely known as an attack dog — even by the media and Dimdahl himself.

So, how it the world did Richardson and his crew decide to attack Dimdahl on how he got the nomination? The references to the Third World, etc, are right up there with Republicans’ nonsense about banana republics and socialism.

This campaign must be aimed at one audience in particular: pissed off Republicans against Dimdahl, of which there are surely many. But if there is anything that would get the Dimdahl-haters to vote for him it’s an attack by Bill Richardson. This guy has more money than sense. He needs to fire whoever planned this as the first ad. mjh

ABQjournal: Gov. Starts Ad Attacks On Dendahl By Jeff Jones, Journal Politics Writer

Gov. Bill Richardson’s re-election campaign on Wednesday launched its first advertising attack on Republican challenger John Dendahl— 11 days after Dendahl got into the race.

The one-minute radio bombing run questions the manner in which Dendahl replaced Santa Fe radiologist J.R. Damron as the Republican candidate for governor. …

The ad features an ominous-sounding voice saying: “A secret meeting … the order is delivered … and the political candidate quietly goes away. Is it the Third World? The Middle East? Eastern Europe? No— it’s the New Mexico Republican Party Central Committee and John Dendahl.”

“Forget about elections. Forget about the voter,” the narrator says. “That’s the way John Dendahl wants it, and that’s the way it is.”

Valle Vidal Vote
House Panel Votes to Protect Valle Vidal

A key House committee voted Wednesday to protect the Valle Vidal— 102,000 acres in New Mexico’s Carson National Forest— from gas drilling.

“This is a huge step forward in the process to protect one of New Mexico’s most precious gems,” said Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., who authored the measure. “Protecting the Valle Vidal means preserving for New Mexico and the nation a land rich in history and culture and abundant in wildlife.”

The U.S. Forest Service, which manages the Valle Vidal, has been considering whether to open 40,000 acres of the land to coal-bed methane drilling.

The Forest Service solicited public opinion on the proposal and received 54,000 responses, only nine of which supported drilling in the area, according to an analysis by the Coalition for the Valle Vidal, which opposes opening up the Valle Vidal to gas drilling.

The Valle Vidal, located in Taos and Colfax counties, is home to one of the largest elk herds in the state and has been described as an outdoorsman’s paradise.

Udall also said the Valle Vidal was home to some of America’s earliest inhabitants— including Native Americans, Spanish settlers and myriad forms of wildlife.

“I believe we have a responsibility to protect it for future generations,” he said.

The Valle Vidal tract was donated to the Forest Service in 1982 by Pennzoil Co., which never drilled in the area.

Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., who sits on the resources committee, said Wednesday he supported the protection.

Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., became a co-sponsor of the measure after it passed the committee Wednesday. She had previously declined to publicly support or oppose the legislation, saying she wanted to study the matter and hear public feedback.

Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M, has sponsored similar legislation in the Senate, but Sen. Pete Domenici, chairman of the Senate Energy Natural Resources Committee, has not yet declared a position on the Valle Vidal Protection Act.

With so many in favor of preserving and protecting Valle Vidal, read what John Dendahl thinks. mjh

mjh’s blog — Perspectives

Dendahl wrote:

There are myriad reasons familiar to nearly all of us why we should develop domestic sources of oil and natural gas. Despite dated, obstructionist hype, the needed development can — and will — go hand-in-hand with sound environmental protection.

If Ted Turner and the Audubon Society can write contracts with producers that protect their land and water, so can the U.S. Forest Service and the BLM.

Richardson needs to tell his “environmentalist” pals to take a long, enjoyable hike…

mjh’s blog — I’m not laughing with Dimdahl, I’m laughing at him

Dendahl wrote:

Laugh of the Month: Richardson remains obstinate. Despite environment-friendly natural gas production on super-enviro Ted Turner’s Vermejo Park Ranch next door, drilling for natural gas in the Valle Vidal is vigorously opposed by some special interests. Vowing to do all he can to prevent Valle Vidal drilling, Richardson recently told the opponents, “We are not going to stand for special-interest management of the public domain.” Say what?

mjh’s blog — we know 21st-century technology guarantees the land’s protection

Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski said:

But if Arctic oil development was going to harm the environment or wildlife, then I would agree opening it would not be worth the cost. But the vast majority of Alaskans, including Alaska’s Eskimos who know it best, support ANWR’s development because we know 21st-century technology guarantees the land’s protection.

Just before this happened:

More than 200,000 gallons of crude leaked from a ruptured transit line onto the tundra in Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay, making the spill discovered earlier this month the largest ever on the North Slope, according to an official estimate released Friday.

The estimated spill size of 202,000 to 267,000 gallons far surpasses the 38,000 gallons spilled in 2001, officials said. …