Winter is always a treat in New Mexico, especially with a highly prolific El Nino season. Powder was in abundance and the smell of pinon burning punctuated the night. But, the sweetness of spring is always on the horizon. With longer and warmer days it’s difficult not to daydream of escaping into the mountains for […]
Opinion
Posted inColumnists, Commentary
The Opinions of Political Candidates
Possibly my favorite thing about writing this column is interacting with readers. That goes for the critical comments as well as the positive. I try to reply as my day job and bourbon consumption allow. (Here’s a tip: if you want to criticize me, please make it conversational. Screeds that just focus on calling me […]
Posted inColumnists, New Mexico, Opinion
It’s time for FEMA to let New Mexicans to take over fire recovery process
Commentary by Pat Davis, City Desk Pat Davis is a former Albuquerque City Councilor. He is the publisher of City Desk ABQ and owner/publisher of a group of newspapers in Central New Mexico. A few weeks from now, the penitentes will begin planning their pilgrimages to Chimayó, and family elders will start wiping off the […]
Posted inColumnists, Commentary
Feds, State Fund Wildland Fire Management, Firefighters and Smokey Bear
Drought maps colored in cheerful red, orange and gold are anything but cheerful in their meaning. They confirm what ranchers already know, that it’s painfully dry here. Devastating wildfires in West Texas add an exclamation point. If there’s any good news it’s that Congress and the Legislature are more attuned to the reality of fire. […]
Posted inColumnists, Commentary
Cheers For Title IX and Women’s Sports
For me, one of the most exciting sports events in New Mexico is about to get underway – the high school basketball tournament! Prep basketball has long been a community event across New Mexico, from Dulce to Eunice to Belen to Taos to neighborhoods in Albuquerque. I grew up in Hobbs, where boy’s basketball was […]
Posted inOpinion, Westside
Former Dem. Manny Gonzales III couldn’t win GOP support for US Senate. A month later, he’s already running for a different GOP office.
Commentary by Pat Davis, City Desk The website mannyforsenate.com still promotes Manny Gonzales III’s one-month campaign as a Republican candidate for US Senate in Washington D.C. The campaign Facebook page he used last month to announce his failure to qualify for that race still bears the URL ending in “MannyforABQ,” an apparent holdover from his […]
Posted inColumnists, Commentary
Lawmakers help small hospitals but medical malpractice lurks
New Mexico’s strained rural hospitals finally got some love this year. Two bills sitting onthe governor’s desk could go far in relieving financial pressure on the state’s smallest hospitals. But medical malpractice insurance, the subject of two compromises in recent years, isstill a threat. In New Mexico, where 26 of 33 counties meet the definitions […]
Posted inColumnists, Commentary
A better way to govern
One of the most important bills this legislative session has tiptoed through the House with scant publicity and no controversy. House Bill 232, to create the Infrastructure Planning and Development Division within the Department of Finance and Administration, sounds a dry and bureaucratic, but it could transform the state’s dysfunctional capital outlay system. Communities need […]
Posted inColumnists, Commentary
Plenty of bills would have improved public health
There is no question it is difficult to follow bills and bill action in the Legislature. For frequent users, the Secretary of State website (nmlegis.gov) is very friendly and does a timely job of updating bill status throughout the session. For first-time users it is easy to learn. According to the Legislative Council librarian, there […]
Posted inColumnists, Commentary
Family leave bills are not quite ready
Trades, especially the construction trades, have been saying for years that they need more workers. Community colleges and unions are doing their best to make that happen, but funding is up and down. A bill that easily passed the House last week would stabilize funding for apprentice and training programs in the state. It lines […]