RODELLA RECOMMENDED FOR REMOVAL

The state Judicial Standards Commission on Tuesday recommended the state Supreme Court remove Rio Arriba County Magistrate Tommy Rodella for alleged misconduct in three cases

You can read my story HERE. You can read the entire petition for removal HERE.

And links to old stories about Rodella can be found on this post from last August.

OPEN ROAD/Languid Pose

Photographer, screenwriter, educator and former manager of The Germs (!) Nicole Panter is showing a collection of photos at Counter Culture on Baca Street starting May 1.

The show is called OPEN ROAD/Languid Pose. Of the Languid Pose photos, Nicole writes:
"The 20” x 30” large prints are an exploration of technological translations. The original prints were Polaroid SX-70s taken in 1977. In 2008, using a digital photo scanner in a drugstore, I transferred the images to disc and then, via email, ordered the large prints from Costco. These images are printed in an edition limited to 20 each.

The flaws in the prints were accumulated during the different stages of translation from medium to medium and are part of the history of the evolution of the images. "

As someone just recently turned on to the joys of the digital photo machines at Sam's Club, I'm intrigued with this process.

Of the smaller OPEN ROAD photos, Nicole says they were shot:

"in locations off the interstate on my regular trajectory between Santa Fe, NM and Twentynine Palms, CA. In an increasingly franchised American landscape, I am interested in preserving and archiving images of the handmade, the homemade, the Mom and Pop, the unusual, the sadly vanishing icon."

Nicole says she's one of 25 misfits who "spontaneously combusted into what would become known as the Los Angeles punk rock scene." She's appeared in a couple of my favorite videos of the 1980s, The Decline of Western Civilization (the documentary of the L.A. punk-rock scene in which she's interviewed about Darby Crash and The Germs) and The Pee Wee Herman Show, a stage show taped for HBO that served as the precursor to Pee Wee's Playhouse.

Nicole currently teaches screenwriting at the California Institute of the Arts (Cal Arts) and The College of Santa Fe, splitting her time between Santa Fe and Twentynine Palms, California.

Go check out those photos!

IT'S OFFICIAL

This news release came out when I was at lunch:

SENATOR JEFF BINGAMAN ENDORSES BARACK OBAMA

Chicago, IL – Today, United States Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) endorsed Barack
Obama for president, citing his ability to rise above the issues that divide us
and end the war in Iraq, bring universal health care, and make America energy
independent.

Senator Bingaman said, “Today, I am announcing my support for Barack Obama for president and declaring my intention to vote for him at the Democratic convention.

“Our nation faces a daunting number of critical challenges: reasserting America’s leadership in the world, meeting our needs for energy independence, addressing global warming, making healthcare accessible and affordable, positioning our economy to effectively compete globally, and extricating ourselves from the war in Iraq, to name a few.

“To make progress, we must rise above the partisanship and the issues that divide us to find common ground. We must move the country in a dramatically new direction.

“I strongly believe Barack Obama is best positioned to lead the nation in that new direction.”

Senator Obama said, “I’m grateful today to have Senator Bingaman’s support. Senator Bingaman has been speaking out in the United States Senate on some of the most pressing issues of our time – saving our environment, fighting global warming, and making America energy independent. Senator Bingaman has been an important advocate in the energy debate, and has served the people of New Mexico for decades, giving voice to the issues that matter to families across the state. We are proud to have his support as we fight to bring about real change for families in New Mexico and across the country.”

YOU READ IT HERE FIRST

U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, one of four remaining New Mexico superdelegates not to endorse a presidential candidate, is expected to endorse Sen. Barack Obama today.

That's all I can say right not. Awaiting official word. Watch this space!

R.I.P. ART SANCHEZ

I was very saddened this morning to learn of the death of former Santa Fe City Councilor Art Sanchez. See Doug Mattson's obituary HERE.

I first met Art back in 1984 when he first ran for council and I was working for the Santa Fe Reporter. On the surface he seemed like a fairly typical Santa Fe politican -- a retired bureaucrat with time on his hands. But after talking to Art for more than 30 seconds you realized he was a man with specific plans. The main plank of the Sanchez platform was that the city should buy the local water company from Public Service Company of New Mexico.

Shortly after his election, I got hired to cover City Hall for The Journal North, my first job in daily journalism. Sanchez was very helpful to me during the next few years. Not only was he friendly and helpful, always letting me know what really was going on, but the straight-talking Sanchez frequently provided colorful, off-the-cuff quotes. This made my job more fun and helped establish his image as a gruff-but loveable curmudgeon.

Once elected, Sanchez worked hard to keep that promise about buying the water company. He pushed a special election for buying the water company in 1985. But the referendum went down in flames, partly because of the unpopularity of the city administration at the time. That defeat didn't stop Sanchez. Nearly 10 years later, Sanchez led another charge to buy the utility and this time he was successful.

Sanchez got mad at me after the water election of '85. As the votes from the city's east-side were coming in, heavily against the referendum, Sanchez grumbled that the "fat cats" on the east side didn't care about people's water bills. I quoted him in the paper and Sanchez said I got him in trouble. But that never stopped him from talking openly with me.

During the mid-80s -- a time of intense development activity in Santa Fe and an era in which the real estate industry seemed to dominate the City Council -- Sanchez allied himself with his old friend Councilor Carlos Gallegos. Together, they did something many at the time considered radical and anti-business: They asked tough questions, they demanded real answers and if they weren't satisfied, they weren't afraid to vote "no." Most the time back then Sanchez and Gallegos were in the minority on these votes, earning them the nickname "The Gang of Two."

Shortly after Sanchez's election, the city, which used to elect all councilors at large, went to a district system. As it turned out, Sanchez and Gallegos, who both were up for re-election in 1988, lived in the west-side District 3. The two old friends and political allies had to run against each other.

It was an extremely civil election. (By this time I was working for The New Mexican.) I remember after one candidate forum going out for drinks with Sanchez, Gallegos (who drank coffee) and a third District 3 candidate Felipe Cabeza de Vaca. (Neither Art nor Carlos seemed to mind that Felipe had referred to them as "Artless" Sanchez and "Careless" Gallegos during the forum.)

Gallegos won that election. Sanchez sat out the next four years, but won another term in 1992 when Galelgos retired. During this next term, he achieved his goal of leading the city to purchase the water company. Sanchez served until 2000, when he was defeated by Miguel Chavez.

Rest in peace, Art. Your courage, your stubborness, your knowledge and your humor will be missed.