If you live in the Albuquerque area, you will have the opportunity to meet with Congresswoman Heather Wilson [(202) 225-6316 ] this week when she is back home. Meet the Congresswoman for coffee at the following locations and tell her that you do not want to see the Arctic Refuge included in the Budget Bill.

March 22nd–
9 am Coffee at Perennials, 6001 San Mateo Albuquerque, NM 87109
Phone: 505-888-5800

March 23–
2 pm Johndi’s BBQ, Southwest Corner of Griegos and Rio Grande
Phone: 505-345-3354

March 24th–
10 am Coffee at Krispy Creme in Paradise Hills, 3709 Ellison NW Albuquerque, NM 87114
Phone: 505-890-7300

[from nmwild.org]

ABQjournal: Growth in One-Story Nob Hill Seems Tied to Taller Buildings – but Not Too Tall By Richard Metcalf, Journal Staff Writer

A citizens advisory committee has come up with a two-tiered approach to limit building height in the Central Avenue corridor:

# Up to 39 feet in Nob Hill’s “historic core” bounded by Girard on the west and Carlisle on the east, which is the shopping and entertainment district.

# Up to 54 feet in what is being called “emerging” or eastern Nob Hill, bounded by Carlisle on the west and Washington on the east.

As a rule of thumb in a mixed-used building, first-floor commercial space will have about 14- or 15-foot ceilings. The upper residential floors will each take up about 10 feet. Thus 54 feet would likely be five stories.

“The idea was to start with the lowest height in the historic core and gradually increase the height as you go east,” said Signe Rich, chair of the commercial and transition character committee.

Factors in determining a new commercial building’s height would include topography and proximity to houses. “It really needs to be a block-by-block analysis,” Rich said.

Heinrich agreed.

“Height is a tricky thing,” he said. “What’s appropriate in one place is not appropriate in another.” …

The current Nob Hill Sector Development Plan, adopted in 1987, has a general height restriction of 26 feet that applies to both commercial and residential buildings.

The current plan, however, has a provision to allow taller commercial buildings by using a pyramid concept.

From the property lines and the middle of adjacent streets, “angle planes” are tilted toward the middle of a proposed commercial building’s lot, thus forming an invisible pyramid. The tip of the pyramid is the allowable height. …

As the new sector plan is developed, Nob Hill is being combined with the Highland area, whose Central Avenue corridor extends from Washington east to San Mateo. …

The committee recommended two limits on the height of new commercial buildings in Highland: 54 feet in the area closer to Washington; and 67 feet in the area closer to San Mateo.

ABQjournal: Wilson Record a Maverick Streak, Not GOP Buckin’ By Michael Coleman, Of the Journal

[Congressional Quarterly]’s study shows that [Rep. Heather Wilson,] the Albuquerque Republican, who frequently describes herself as independent, has voted with House Republican leadership the vast majority of the time over the past five years.

Wilson’s also a pretty reliable vote for President Bush, the magazine found.

In 2001, Wilson voted with House Republican leadership 94 percent of the time, according to CQ. The following year, in 2002, that number dropped to 90 percent. In 2003, the number edged up to 91 percent, then dropped to 79 percent in 2004 and then 82 percent last year, in 2005.

CQ also found that Wilson doesn’t buck the president quite as much as she and her campaign handlers might like us to believe. Starting in 2001, CQ found that Wilson voted in support of Bush’s stated positions on issues 88 percent of the time. In 2002, she supported the president 90 percent of the time, in 2003 her support level was 89 percent, in 2004 it was 88 percent. Only in the last year, 2005, did Wilson put some serious distance between herself and Bush, voting on his side of issues just 70 percent of the time. …

The mostly moderate [mjh: and mostly Democratic] 1st Congressional District voters will be the ultimate judges of whether Wilson reflects their views this fall, when she squares off against her Democratic challenger, New Mexico Attorney General Patricia Madrid.

ABQjournal: Letters to the Editor

Wilson a Rebel With GOP’s OK

I FOUND IT quite amusing that you depict Rep. Heather Wilson as a moderate, both in an editorial and in the editorial cartoon. … I don’t think you can find a single instance of where one of her votes against the party line was a vote in the majority. Wilson is allowed to show her independence only when it won’t affect the outcome of the partisan charged vote. It’s time for a change and some honest and representative government.
HENRY ROSOFF
Albuquerque

Rep. a Liberal in GOP Clothing

I HAVE BEEN a Republican in good standing since World War II. I am 81 years old and have been a contributor to the Republican Party. Rep. Heather Wilson’s voting record has troubled me, and I accepted it as what she felt was right. After seeing the article in the Journal, I understand why Wilson is a moderate— good name for a liberal— and not a Republican.

In the upcoming election, I will not vote for Wilson nor will I vote against her. I just hope she is able to gather some left-leaning liberals to fill in the gap. I am disappointed with her and the fact she claims to be a Republican when she is actually a liberal.
GENO A. TERAMO
Albuquerque

[mjh: WTF and LOL!]

ABQjournal: Bird Causes Backyard Bonanza By Julie Medina, Journal Staff Writer

The bird was first seen on Pueblo Solano NW in the North Valley on Dec. 1.

Bratton said she was lucky and saw it when she was taking her daughter to horseback riding lessons.

“I remember telling my daughter, wouldn’t it be fun if it came to our feeder,” Bratton said.

On Feb. 21, her wish came true. Bratton saw the same bird, with the protruding lower bill, eating at her feeder.

On March 12th, the Albuquerque Journal, having exhausted everyone’s interest in Calvary Chapel many times over, discovered the yellow grosbeak in Albuquerque, 3+ months after the Trib and 2.5 weeks after a couple of local bloggers. But, hey, more people are interested in a far-from-rare televangelist than a bird, right? mjh

PS: Knowing that one of my 3 regular readers works for the Journal, I always worry this may be the last straw. But that camel’s got back, baby! At least, I never refer to it as the “Urinal.”

I despise the routine use of helicopters by the police. That the cops would troll the skies, pissing away money, looking for something to justify their noise riles me.

Sure, we need copters to haul victims to a hospital. We may need them in certain emergencies. We DO NOT need them patrolling routinely.

If it were just one copter, maybe it would bother me less. But BCSD has more than one, APD has more than one, more than one news station has one. And then there are myriad Feds.

I’ve been awakened in the middle of the night by a copter shining its light into my bedroom. I’ve stood in its spotlight while walking the dog. It doesn’t make me feel a whit safer. mjh

ABQjournal: Copter Spared In Vetoes By Carolyn Carlson, Journal Staff Writer

The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department will get $865,000 for a new helicopter to replace the one shot down, allegedly by a Paradise Hills man in August.

Sheriff Darren White said Friday that acquiring a new helicopter was the department’s top priority during the recent legislative session. He said the money allocated along with insurance money from the downed aircraft and some money thrown in from the county will be enough to buy a new one.

He anticipated it will cost about $2 million to replace the helicopter and its on-board technology.

“We are very pleased. That money will go a long way to putting another chopper in the air,” White said. “This also brings a bit of healing to the department.”

White said it would take about a year before the new helicopter was in operation.

“There are some unique characteristics we will need because of our high altitude and warm temperatures,” White said. “No matter who wins the bid we will probably be on a waiting list to have it built.”

The $2 million price tag includes a $250,000 infrared camera used to track people and cars at night, White said. [mjh: You can run but you can’t hide.]

While we all know much about the inner workings of Calvary, how many people know an Evangelical Christian became mayor of Rio Rancho last week, with the participation of less than 20% of the voters?

I don’t care about anyone’s faith until they push themselves on me. But that’s a tenet of evangelism, isn’t it? That I’m going to Hell and they have a duty to change that?

As an aside, I can’t find a website for Jackson’s campaign or advocacy group. Does he eschew the Web? That’s even weirder than opposing Darwin. mjh

Rio Rancho Observer Online
Jackson upsets Owen’s re-election bid
By TOM TREWEEK/OBSERVER STAFF REPORTER

Jackson’s 2,817 votes topped the 2,527 earned by incumbent Mayor Jim Owen, with District 1 councilor Mike Williams receiving 1,291. Those results, are unofficial until Friday when votes will be canvassed.

ABQjournal: Months of Campaigning End Today By Joshua Akers, Journal Staff Writer

Mayoral candidate Kevin Jackson’s campaign is deep in the red. The candidate reported about $17,600 in campaign donations and expenditures of nearly $37,000. [mjh: That’s about $13 per vote.]

According to the report, Jackson has loaned himself about $18,000 for campaign expenses in the past month.

“We didn’t raise the money we thought we would,” Jackson said on the eve of the election. “We believe in this campaign, and we put in our own money to push the campaign forward.”

ABQjournal: Jackson Rio Rancho’s Next Mayor By Joshua Akers, Journal Staff Writer

Political newcomer Kevin Jackson is Rio Rancho’s next mayor …

It was a low turnout, with a little over 14 percent of the city’s registered voters casting ballots in the race for mayor. …

Jackson is president and founder of the New Mexico Family Council. Its purpose, he has said, is to strengthen families in New Mexico by improving marriages and helping families make good decisions.

The Albuquerque Tribune: Local
Rio Rancho leader says he can detach advocacy
By Megan Arredondo, Tribune Reporter

Joe Monahan, a political analyst who covers New Mexico politics on his blog site, said Rio Rancho is a more conservative town than Albuquerque.

Socially conservative voters tend to turn out in smaller, municipal elections, he said.

“In typical elections, the demographics will tilt older and more conservative,” Monahan said.

With that kind of voter turnout, a grass-roots campaign tends to seal the deal, he said. Tuesday’s election saw 6,635 voters cast ballots out of 35,000 registered voters.

The Albuquerque Tribune: Local
Rio Rancho Elections: The race up the hill
By Megan Arredondo, Tribune Reporter

Getting around: Jackson would like a mass transit system, preferably a bus system. Not everybody has a car, particularly the elderly, he says.

A bus system would reduce traffic and pollution, he says. [mjh: OK, we’re cool.]

ABQjournal: Rio Rancho Turnout Among Lowest in N.M. By Joshua Akers, Journal Staff Writer

Rio Rancho voters are some of the most apathetic in New Mexico when it comes to municipal elections— if you go by the numbers.

With only 18.2 percent of registered voters bothering to go to vote in Tuesday’s election, the city had one of the state’s lowest turnouts. …

“The big story in Rio Rancho is 82 percent of the people didn’t bother to go to the polls,” Sanderoff said. “Apathy, a lack of any sense their vote would make a difference— skepticism, cynicism, apathy are all at play.”

TURNOUT STATEWIDE

Here was the turnout in some of New Mexico municipalities that held elections on Tuesday:
BERNALILLO: 27.4 percent
BLOOMFIELD: 20 percent
BOSQUE FARMS: 36 percent
CORRALES: 35.7 percent
DEMING: 32 percent
ESPAÑOLA: 21 percent
LAS VEGAS: 33 percent
LOS RANCHOS: 10.2 percent
RATON: 22 percent
RIO RANCHO: 18.2 percent
ROSWELL: 26 percent
SANTA FE: 30.4 percent
TAOS: 39.2 percent

[mjh: Is this really a democracy anymore?]

Graffiti alá commode. The only more fitting place for this artist is inside the museum.

I assume “gank” (or is it “gauk”?) is slang for “clueless,” as in, “that punk is so gank he’s an idiot.” This little pissant has urinated all over the neighborhood; I’m sure the other dawgs are impressed.

Yes, I appreciate the irony of a blogger castigating anyone for self-centeredness. And, in fact, I have seen grafitti I regarded as great public art. Not to equate them, but I’d love to see more murals (and less advertising) in public places.

I also appreciate the potential impact of a single utterance or gesture. Brevity may be the soul of wit.

But a signature calls for something before it, something worthy of claim. You might point me to John Hancock, but his signature became iconic because of what it was attached to, much as gank’s mighty work fits its place. One Kilroy was enough, thank you.

Of course, the graffitist is just a child overwhelmed with the chemicals of adult-becoming, a little werewolf who will, perhaps, do worse before the prickly fog of adolescence subsides in a decade. mjh