Monumental Debate; Linking Terrorism and Iraq

District 6 City Councilor Rey Garduño is featured in the Albuquerque Journal article about a new war memorial that has broken ground.

If you have a subscription to the Journal, you can read the article here.

The article highlights a case that Councilor Rey Garduño and Charles Powell, president of the Albuquerque chapter of Veterans for Peace, brought before City Council months ago. The memorial is to honor fallen soldiers from the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars. Depictions in the memorial include images and photos of the attacks in Washington D.C. and New York, and the hijacked plane that went down in Pennsylvannia.

Councilor Garduño and others like Mr. Powell view the linking of Terrorism and Iraq as political smoke and mirrors to continue the deception of the public.

Bailout Vote Today

In Washington D.C., the House of Representatives will be gathering to vote on the $700 billon bailout package. Below is an article from MSNBC that highlights the priorities of the Bailout plan.


Democrats got many concessions in bailout
But GOP held fast to not tying $700 billion proposal to homeowner relief

WASHINGTON - Sold to American taxpayers for up to $700 billion: an unprecedented plan to buy distressed banks’ least desirable mortgage assets.

What started as a fairly simple three-page proposal giving the Treasury Secretary unchecked power to orchestrate a bailout of the country’s financial system ended up as a complex rescue package, with enhanced congressional oversight, some added protections for taxpayers and a slap on the wrist to highly paid, underperforming executives.

The ultimate goal of the plan remains the same: buy bad mortgage-related bets from weakened financial companies so they can raise fresh capital and resume normal lending operations to businesses, municipalities and consumers.

Click here to read the rest.

New Rules for TIDD's

The State Board of Finance has adopted some new rules regarding TIDD's. Below is an article from the New Mexico Independent

TIDD Guidelines for New Growth and development Adopted
By Benito Aragon 9/23/08 3:47 PM

The New Mexico Board of Finance last week adopted new rules for the Tax Increment Development District (TIDDs) application process as well as how future proposals will be evaluated. The Independent laid out the issues in a piece published in July.

According to a press release by New Mexico Voices for Children:

The new rules give the board more oversight and will help to ensure that
developers spend the tax money they receive in a way that benefits the
public. A
loose coalition of nonprofits that has raised concerns over the
state’s TIDD
statue, gave the new rules a fairly positive thumbs up.

Read the rest here.

Early Voting Begins October 7th

Click here to get the Bernalillo County Early Voting times and sites.

Also, below is a funny cartoon about the polls.

Governor Releases Possible Uses for EXPO

Last month, Governor Richardson held a community meeting and received ideas about redeveloping EXPO NM. Below is an article from the New Mexico Independent, where some broad themes are listed, with some of them coming from the District 6 Coalition idea proposal.

Governor to create "21st Century showcase"

By Denise Tessier 09/08/2008

As the New Mexico State Fair kicked off on Friday, the governor's office released a number of broad ideas for use of the EXPO New Mexico fairgrounds year-round, promising the state "will move forward to turn EXPO into a 21st century showcase."
The governor received written comments on EXPO's future and also heard directly from individuals, neighborhood associations and groups at a hearing he hosted in Albuquerque last month.
“After reaching out to the community and potential private partners, it is clear that there is overwhelming support to redevelop the existing property,” Gov. Bill Richardson said in a statement from his office today.
The information was sought in light of the Downs of Albuquerque's decision to move its racing operations to Moriarty. The next step will be to issue a Request for Proposals, which will give interested parties an opportunity to develop a concrete plan for EXPO.
The statement issued by the governor's office summarized these six broad themes for use of the property, which will be part of the Request for Proposals:

Keeping the State Fair at the current location and improving the existing
infrastructure. Other ideas include building apartments on site, restaurants and
an urban market.

Creating job opportunities and economic development by building
commercial, retail, workforce training facilities or even an Alternative Energy
Expo Center.

Developing a year-round family recreation center, such as a
cultural theme park or an athletic complex. Ideas included an Old Western Theme
Park, Asian Cultural Center, Deaf Culture Club or a Dubai of the Southwest.

Creating a world class equestrian center for horse shows, rodeos, dirt biking
and family-centered livestock events.

Designing a community green space including a growers market and a public garden. One idea called it a "Lean Innovation Green Business & Entertainment Center"

Building a multipurpose event center or grandstand for concerts, sporting events and conventions. One proposal suggested bringing a professional soccer team to the state

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