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Eye On Albuquerque

  • First You Laugh, Then You Cry

    "There is more logic in humor than in anything else. Because, you see, humor is truth." Victor Borge

    Saturday Night Live has received widespread acclaim for their recent skit called "China Cold Open, China would like their money back." (Google that it if you have not seen it.) [...]
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    Posted: December 03, 2009, 8:56am EST

  • A New Beginning

    Today the City of Albuquerque will experience something that we have something we haven't had in 8 long years... a new beginning. Marty will be handing over the keys to the city and taking many of his merry band of minions with him.

    We've been critical of some of [...]
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    Posted: December 01, 2009, 12:01am EST

  • Give Thanks for Energy

    by Marita Noon

    During a recent trip, a flight attendant asked me where I was going. She smiled and asked, “Vacation?” “No,” I said, “I’m giving a speech.” She wondered about my topic. "Energy," I replied. "Great, I used to be a nutritionist," She responded. I told her that [...]
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    Posted: November 26, 2009, 12:55am EST

  • The Blue Barrier of Fear

    It's been a very bad couple of days for Chavez' old chief now Berry's new chief. Tuesday, Sergeant... uh, Chief Schultz received the bad news that his five years of serving as Albuquerque's top has earned him the dubious distinction of overseeing the metro area's rise to number eight on' [...]
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    Posted: November 25, 2009, 8:17pm EST

  • Ghosts of Mayors Past

    On election night we were thrilled when The Almighty Alcalde went down to defeat and the city chose a new mayor in R.J. Berry. We believed that the new administration would bring with it a whole new crop of leaders who would - that the very least - open up [...]
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    Posted: November 18, 2009, 2:02pm EST

  • Days of Diego

    A little over a week ago, The Albuquerque Journal did a front page story on AFD union boss Diego Arencón (Subscription). According to the Journal, Arencón pulls down $81,000 a year as a Firefighter First Class.
    The increased salary was negotiated as part of union agreements adopted in 2008 [...]
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    Posted: November 16, 2009, 7:05pm EST

  • Sheriff Shuffle: Callaway Hatch Act

    The race to replace outgoing Sheriff Darren White is heating up and with over 30 applicants, candidates are pulling out all of the stops. The truth is that whichever candidate lands the selection will be miles ahead of the other contestants in the upcoming 2010 election.

    One of the [...]
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    Posted: November 12, 2009, 10:15am EST

  • Golden Parchutes - Welcome Back Lawrence!

    Many of our readers have been buzzing about a transfer of former APOA President Lawrence Torres from the HR department back to APD. We've had our Eyes do a little digging and all of the rumors have been confirmed. On November 4th Lawrence Torres became a member of the Albuquerque' [...]
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    Posted: November 10, 2009, 2:12pm EST

  • Congressman Teague Has A Split Personality On Energy

    Marita K. Noon

    If there is one thing T. Boone Pickens knows how to do, it is make money. When T. Boone gets behind something, financial gain is the incentive. There is nothing wrong with making money, but his motives cannot be viewed as purely altruistic. When the price [...]
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    Posted: November 06, 2009, 10:49am EST

  • Eye Told You: Back in the Saddle

    There's a lot going on during the final days of the Chavez Administration as all of Marty's Minions are working to save their as, uh... career posteriors. Outgoing CAO, Ed Adams is furiously squirreling away favored unclassified employees in classified positions.

    Back in October we told you that The [...]
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    Posted: November 05, 2009, 4:58pm EST

  • Eye Poll: Time to Go

    We rarely see this kind of landslide in an Eye Poll. Last week, Eye readers sent a loud and clear message that it's time for Chief Schultz to go.

    In our unscientific, poll a whopping 78% of readers said "yes, absolutely" when asked if APD needs a new chief.' [...]
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    Posted: November 03, 2009, 9:42pm EST

  • Unclassified

    The state calls them "exempt." The city calls them "unclassified." No matter what they're called they're employees who are beholden to the elected executive official that hired them. These employees can be hired and fired by the governor or mayor for just about any reason.

    According to the Albuquerque [...]
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    Posted: October 27, 2009, 5:37pm EDT

  • Climate Change is Obama’s Iraq

    by Marita Noon

    This year, amidst reports of cooling temperature, the climate change debate had apparently cooled as well. Then the Waxman/Markey Bill, pushing cap and trade as the solution for global warming, was introduced. Now, with President Obama addressing the UN and calling for extreme measures to prevent [...]
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    Posted: October 27, 2009, 12:30am EDT

  • Eye Poll: Corruption

    Corruption comes in all sizes. Sometimes it's big (see the State Investment Council and Manny Aragon). Sometimes it's small. Eye readers overwhelmingly said that corruption was the major issue in the city's October 6th election. An overwhelming 49% of readers said corruption was the major election issue, 21% said crime,' [...]
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    Posted: October 26, 2009, 8:12pm EDT

  • Marty's Freebie Firearm Deal

    The Albuquerque Police Department under Chief Ray Schultz and soon-to-be former Mayor Martin Chavez has decided change the department issued weapon from the Glock 9mm to a Smith and Wesson 9mm. The move has upset a number of officers who view the Smith and Wesson as an inferior weapon.

    [...]
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    Posted: October 22, 2009, 5:39pm EDT

  • Entrapment

    It's a favorite trick of outgoing politicians - give one last payoff to those who have supported your administration. The Albuquerque Journal reported Wednesday that the Chavez payoffs have begun as the Once Almighty Alcalde takes a stab at paying off his people and a shot at the man who' [...]
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    Posted: October 21, 2009, 9:08pm EDT

  • The Sheriff Shuffle

    The pending resignation of Sheriff Darren White in order to take the Public Safety post with the city has created a bit of a diemma for the Bernalillo County Commission - which is charged with appointing someone to fill out the term. According to our Eyes, state law requires an [...]
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    Posted: October 21, 2009, 11:56am EDT

  • Partying Like it's 1999

    Budget shortfalls are everywhere. Unless you've been out of the country or in a coma for the past year, you know that every level of government is scrambling to find a way conserve resources as tax revenue dwindles. Sometimes our elected officials talk about reducing spending - meanwhile others are' [...]
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    Posted: October 20, 2009, 6:59pm EDT

  • 1Out Of 2

    Tuesday, Mayor-elect Berry filled two of his top positions - Darren White, Public Safety Director and David Campbell, Chief Administrative Officer.

    Sheriff White is a solid pick for Public Safety Director. He was one of APD's own, headed up the New Mexico Department of Public Safety, and is' [...]
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    Posted: October 14, 2009, 12:53pm EDT

  • Berry Resigns House Seat

    Mayor-elect R.J. Berry has decided that a divided official cannot function. The Albuquerque Journal is reporting that Berry had made the decision to step down from his District 20 seat in the New Mexico Legislature.
    "It has been my great honor and privilege to represent my district in the Legislature" [...]
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    Posted: October 12, 2009, 5:35pm EDT

  • Back to IA

    Common sense - or what passes as common sense - seems to have broken out on The 5th Floor. Our Eyes tell us that Chief Schultz has sent the Reserve-Gate "investigation" back to IA for investigation.

    Seems that the finding that no one involved at anytime did anything wrong [...]
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    Posted: October 11, 2009, 9:32pm EDT

  • It's All a Mistake!

    The Internal Affairs investigation into Reserve-gate was finished yesterday and - you guessed it - no one anywhere did anything at anytime that could be considered in any way wrong. We know that it comes as a shock that the Internal Affairs Division - that reports directly to Chief Schultz [...]
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    Posted: October 09, 2009, 11:34am EDT

  • Rumors

    The dust had barely settled before the first rumors about the new Berry administration began flying. The first one - spread by none other than Joey Sigala, Segalla, Sagala - is that Ray Schultz is staying.

    First of all, the sun is barely up the day after the Berry [...]
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    Posted: October 07, 2009, 10:09am EDT

  • The Outcome

    The unofficial results are in and like many of you we're pleased with the results. R.J. Berry will make a good mayor for our fair city and what's more, he earned our trust during his campaign. Richard Romero should also be proud of the campaign he ran. He's an honorable' [...]
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    Posted: October 07, 2009, 11:54pm EDT

  • Eye Predicts

    It's been a crazy month for Albuquerque political junkies. Now that the polls are closed we'll put our prognostication skills to the test.

    Bond Issues, Quarter Cent and Propositions
    As usual all of the bond issues will pass with ease. There simply wasn't any organized opposition to any of' [...]
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    Posted: October 06, 2009, 7:00pm EDT

  • Promises, Packing and Dancing with the Devil

    The mood on the 11th and 5th floors has been a cross between desperation and depression. The Almighty Alcalde has been busy promising the Chief's job to any commander who will drag their officers to the polls and vote for him. Yes... that means that Marty is repaying Chief Schultz' [...]
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    Posted: October 06, 2009, 12:58pm EDT

  • Final Election Thoughts

    To say that this year's city election has been a surprise is an understatement of gargantuan proportions. Fresh off a huge November victory, Democrats rushed to run for one of the most powerful positions in the state. Michael Cadigan, Debbie O'Malley, Richard Romero, and Donna Rowe all announced their candidacies [...]
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    Posted: October 06, 2009, 12:01am EDT

  • Election Predictions

    Politics is one of the great American spectator sports. Not unlike other sports, everyone has an opinion and everyone has a prediction.

    We've been busy polling issues, Marty's scandals, and candidates for months now. But with the election speeding our way, we thought it'd be fun to get your' [...]
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    Posted: October 03, 2009, 5:57pm EDT

  • Cozy Relationship Canceled

    Dealer-gate seems to be getting somewhat more intriguing. It turns out that the 4th Street used car and illegal recreational pharmaceuticals dealer and APD have a history. According to our Eyes, the dealership was contracted by the department to provide vehicles to the SID and IMPACT units. Yesterday, that cozy [...]
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    Posted: October 01, 2009, 10:32am EDT

  • Has-Beens and Desperation

    Marty in the Middle's desperation is showing. The Almighty Alcalde was humbled by the 2nd (and maybe even 3rd) place showing in Sunday's Albuquerque Journal poll and now he's pulling out all of the stops.

    Prior to the release of the Sanderoff poll, Marty had been aiming all of' [...]
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    Posted: October 01, 2009, 10:21pm EDT

  • Misinformation

    The Ahrensfield/Olivas story has been all over the place today. First it was a burned FBI drug investigation. Then it was an investigation into the APOA. Now, it's back to being an investigation of a used car dealer who's moonlighting as a drug dealer.

    Before we go forward, all [...]
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    Posted: September 30, 2009, 3:01pm EDT

  • Red Herring?

    Last night we told you about the chaos over at APD. The 5th Floor has found itself in the middle of yet another scandal and has suspended former APOA President Ron Olivas and officer Brad Ahrensfield over the affair.

    APD mouthpiece John Walsh refused to tell KOB TV reporter [...]
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    Posted: September 30, 2009, 11:39am EDT

  • Burned

    KOB TV reporter Jeremy Jojola has been poking around APD recently. What's got the TV reporter asking questions – and a bit miffed – is information he received that APD has placed officers Ron Olivas and Brad Ahrensfield on administrative leave pending an investigation. The problem is APD won't say' [...]
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    Posted: September 29, 2009, 9:58pm EDT

  • Crossing the Line

    Councilor Ken Sanchez is well known for being a major supporter of The Almighty Alcalde. Today that support may have gone too far. Councilor Ken Sanchez has sent an email out to Bernalillo County and city employees attacking Richard Romero.

    From: Ken Sanchez [mailto:info@martychavez.com]
    Sent: Monday, September 28, 2009 [...]
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    Posted: September 28, 2009, 4:39pm EDT

  • Marty in the Middle

    Last week's Eye Poll started out with R.J. Berry holding a significant lead over the incumbent Alcalde. By the end of the week, Marty moved to within one vote of the leader. In our unscientific Eye Poll Berry and Chavez both sat at 39% with Berry holding a 1 vote [...]
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    Posted: September 28, 2009, 11:43pm EDT

  • Bode Back on the Radar

    Last February, Bode Aviation filed suit against the City of Albuquerque and Mayor Martin Chavez. The suit alleges misuse of public funds, safety issues created by city actions, and well... extortion. In addition, Bode alleges that the city has failed to recognize their right to extend their lease. You can [...]
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    Posted: September 23, 2009, 7:24pm EDT

  • Phone Slime

    Since last week's KNME debate, two different "polls" have been spewing slime all over those unfortunate enough to pick up the phone. It's not like these things are really polls. They're not even push polls. They're autodial phone messages masquerading as a poll by asking the poor unfortunate souls who [...]
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    Posted: September 22, 2009, 10:55pm EDT

  • Eye Poll: Not Safer

    Apparently, the only person in Albuquerque that feels safe is Chief Sergeant Schultz who seems to know nothing about the paper work he signs and even less about how dangerous Albuquerque has become. In our unscientific Eye Poll, 71% of readers don't feel as safe as they did just four' [...]
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    Posted: September 20, 2009, 3:16pm EDT

  • KNME Forum - Tonight!

    KNME Channel 5, KUNM, The Alibi, and The New Mexico Independent are hosting a mayoral forum at the National Hispanic Cultural Center this very evening. The forum starts at 7:00 pm and will be streamed live on knme.org and will be aired on Channel 5 on Friday at 7:00 [...]
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    Posted: September 16, 2009, 10:27am EDT

  • Politics As Usual - Marty Misleading... Again

    We've been amused to hear some of The Almighty Alcalde's recent radio ads defending some of his core positions and of course, claiming that his opponents are "desperate." As usual, claiming the other guy is desperate is a sign of your own desperation. As usual, defending long held and widely [...]
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    Posted: September 15, 2009, 10:56am EDT

  • Harris Landslide

    We've long been lamenting the lack of competition in this year's council race. Frankly, the only race that's close is the District 5 race between incumbent Michael Cadigan and challenger Dan Lewis. So it comes as no surprise that Councilor Harris took his October opponent David Barbour in a landslide' [...]
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    Posted: September 15, 2009, 10:50am EDT

  • Slumber and Change

    Eight years ago the slumbering giant that is the people of the United States was rudely awakened to the reality of Fascio-Islamic terrorism. Sure... there had been a number of indications that there was an organized group of nut cases out there who wanted nothing more than to destroy everything [...]
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    Posted: September 11, 2009, 12:01am EDT

  • Impact Tax - Tonight

    The much deferred debate over Impact Taxes is once again on the city council agenda tonight. In short, the proposed ordinance O-09-69 would temporarily drop impact taxes on so called "green path" development and reduce them by 50% for all other development.

    The arguments against the moratorium generally [...]
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    Posted: September 09, 2009, 9:26am EDT

  • Rampart APD Style

    Almost a decade ago, the Los Angeles Police Department was rocked by yet another scandal. This one involved the Rampart Division's CRASH (Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums) program. CRASH was an anti-gang initiative created by Chief Darryl Gates in the 1970s.
    CRASH officers were required to get to know gang' [...]
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    Posted: September 08, 2009, 9:17pm EDT

  • Payoff?

    In the land of Pay to Play, the pay is done by the taxpayers and the play by elected officials. The game is to cover each others, uh... backside and pick up some cash along the way. Wednesday, The Almighty Alcalde and the Queen of Root Beer Floats - Kari [...]
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    Posted: September 03, 2009, 4:17pm EDT

  • Not Over Yet

    Friday, The 5th Floor continued its campaign to shift the blame. The David Young debacle has the brass worried that the apparent multiple civil rights violations and repeated fraud will spur another law enforcement agency to take a long hard look at the department.

    We told you that Sergeant, [...]
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    Posted: August 29, 2009, 6:42pm EDT

  • Taking Cover

    The Wanna Be Cop scandal has claimed it's first victim... sort of. Tuesday in the dead of night, Lt. Rob Smith was quietly reassigned to the Valley Command. The move was intended to keep the "reassignment" quiet and was an effort not to embarrass the lieutenant.

    Our Eyes tell [...]
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    Posted: August 26, 2009, 3:47pm EDT

  • Sweet Deal

    Tonight the Bernalillo County Commission will take up - as it does every two years - County Manager Thaddeus Lucero's employment contract. After a review of the contract, we have to admit that it's a swweeeet deal.

    The county manager basically runs the day to day county administration with [...]
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    Posted: August 25, 2009, 4:18pm EDT

  • Target Kirby: The End?

    We've long believed that former Officer Ben Kirby was APD's patsy in the Daskalos paddy wagon affair. Yesterday, the former officer plead no contest to interfering with a public official (krqe.com). [hat tip: Eye Reader] Kirby was initially charged with 3 felonies - assisting escape, tampering with public records' [...]
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    Posted: August 25, 2009, 8:03am EDT

  • Incompetence or Corruption?

    So which is it? Chief Schultz would have you believe that no one knew that reserve officer David Young was out there making illegal arrests, yet the Journal reported Monday that Lieutenant Rob Smith recommended him for the "Civilian of the Month" award back in June (ABQ Journal - [...]
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    Posted: August 25, 2009, 1:30am EDT

  • Eye Poll: Cook

    Last week's Eye Poll was rolling along when councilor Mayer shook up her race by leaving it. At the time the incumbent held a comfortable lead over both of her opponents - a lead that evaporated following her withdrawal. In the end, Michal Cook cooked up a solid lead over' [...]
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    Posted: August 25, 2009, 12:16am EDT

  • Quota - Good News, Bad News

    First the good news... Fewer people are out on the streets driving drunk. According to our Eyes behind the badge, either because people are getting the message or because of the economic downturn it's getting increasingly difficult to find drivers who've loaded up and started up - which means we're [...]
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    Posted: August 23, 2009, 8:34pm EDT

  • Playin' Ball

    If you're a police officer with the Albuquerque Police Department and you happen to find yourself at Isotopes park this evening, take a gander at the mayor's luxury suite. Besides spying the dictator of the 11th floor Martin "Hugo" Chavez, you'll see members of the Executive Board of APOA.
    [...]
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    Posted: August 22, 2009, 12:37pm EDT

  • What They Knew

    Shortly after the Journal's Wednesday story "Wanna Be Cop" (ABQ Journal - Subscription) hit the stands our Eyes started weighing in. The first comment was "there's no @#%@!# way that they didn't know."

    At issue is reserve officer and APD civilian employee David Young. Young is a civilian' [...]
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    Posted: August 19, 2009, 9:45pm EDT

  • Couldn't Have Said It Better...

    Every now and again we get a post in the comments section that really sums up what we believe most (certainly not all) people are feeling. The following post is one such comment that was and is attached to our Town Hall Hoax post and is a response to the [...]
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    Posted: August 19, 2009, 8:28pm EDT

  • Toulouse Out of Distirct 5 Race - Endorses Lewis

    District 5 Candidate Jeremy Toulouse dropped out of the race for the District 5 council seat Tuesday evening. In a surprise move, the former candidate endorsed his Republican rival Dan Lewis.
    I entered this race for west side city councilor because I believe our families and community have been in [...]
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    Posted: August 19, 2009, 11:41pm EDT

  • Town Hall Hoax

    There's an old saying... "It's better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and prove everyone right." Martin "Hunky" Heinrich has announced that he'll have a "Town Hall" this coming Saturday, August 22nd starting at 3:00pm.

    Now before you start picturing scenes from other town halls' [...]
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    Posted: August 19, 2009, 10:38pm EDT

  • Mayer Out

    The topsy turvy world of politics continues to amaze us. We just got confirmation from our Eyes that as 770KKOB reported earlier today, Councilor Sally Mayer is dropping out of the race for District 7 council. The departure leaves an almost unobstructed path for Michael Cook to take the District [...]
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    Posted: August 17, 2009, 5:27pm EDT

  • Impact Tax

    The imposition of an Impact Tax began July 1, 2005. The tax was part of the Planned Growth Strategy - a scheme primarily designed to promote in-fill development on Albuquerque's Eastside rather than promote growth in the city as a whole.

    Impact Taxes - or Impact Fees as they' [...]
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    Posted: August 17, 2009, 1:14am EDT

  • Eye Poll: Benton Blowout

    In what can only be termed a blowout, City Council Commissar Isaac Benton scored a decisive victory over County Commissioner Alan Armijo. In our unscientific poll Councilor Isaac Benton received 65% of Eye readers support while Alan Armijo ran 30 points behind with 35% (view it here).

    What [...]
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    Posted: August 16, 2009, 9:22pm EDT

  • Gotcha! Green Gone

    There are no fewer than 19 deadlines in a typical Albuquerque City Council race. Each deadline has its own set of requirements and may or may not apply to every candidate in a specific race. One of the more arcane - and perhaps ridiculous - requirements is a candidate's Declaration [...]
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    Posted: August 12, 2009, 2:03pm EDT

  • The Alcalde Files: A Sense of Entitlement

    Plagued by scandal but blessed with a forgetful constituency, The Almighty Alcalde seems to have found ways to fill his pockets - at least until he gets caught. Of course, Marty's punishment is generally a slap on the wrist rather than an indictment. The 2002 ABQPAC scandal was one such [...]
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    Posted: August 11, 2009, 9:13pm EDT

  • Eye Poll: Cadigan Clobbered

    Councilor Cadigan got his keister clobbered by almost 40 points in this week's Eye Poll. Of course, the news about District Court Judge Ted Baca's decision excoriating the councilor's conduct regarding the Westside Equestrian Center and the Taylor Ranch Neighborhood Association broke about mid-week.

    However, Lewis started out with [...]
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    Posted: August 09, 2009, 5:18pm EDT

  • Game Changer

    June 17th, 2005 then city council candidate Don Harris received a gift. It was discovered that incumbent Councilor Tina Cummins had lied not once but twice on her Albuquerque Journal questionnaire. Specifically, Councilor Cummins had denied ever being accused of driving while intoxicated. The truth was she had been accused, [...]
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    Posted: August 07, 2009, 1:29pm EDT

  • Yet Another Airport Scandal?

    We've got to hand it to KOB... They've been on their game of late. Wednesday, Eyewitness News reported that the new tower at the Double Eagle II Airport was not only years behind schedule but cost over 4 times the amount that of a similar tower in Denton, TX ([...]
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    Posted: August 05, 2009, 11:23am EDT

  • Once, Twice, Three Times the Security

    Back in 2003 the City Council passed an ordinance with the explicit purpose of reducing false alarms. As you would expect, the legislation created a system of fines for businesses and homeowners whose alarms habitually went off in error.
    (B) An alarm user shall pay a service fee of $150.00 [...]
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    Posted: August 05, 2009, 11:46pm EDT

  • Eye Poll: Marty's Biggest Scandal

    We've been taking quite a bit of flack for not publishing the results of our early summer Eye Poll. One poster claimed that we were "pissed-off" by the results. Actually, concerned is the word we'd use but in either case, we hadn't posted the results due to some rather pressing' [...]
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    Posted: August 04, 2009, 4:38pm EDT

  • The Alcalde Files: Bad Observation

    After occupying the city's mayoral throne for almost 12 years, one would expect a few scandals and Marty's unprecedented reign is no exception. In fact, The Almighty Alcalde's tenure is replete with scandals but Marty has always managed to cover his scandals much like he covers the signs of gang [...]
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    Posted: August 04, 2009, 10:34pm EDT

  • Taking Leave out of Administrative Leave

    Administrative leave has always been an annoying. A city employee is accused of wrong-doing or even criminal behavior and we tax payers get to pay them for doing nothing. Officer Levi Chavez is the most famous admin leaver. After his wife's untimely demise, Chavez was placed on administrative leave. As [...]
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    Posted: August 03, 2009, 8:30pm EDT

  • Eye Poll: Berry

    As summer begins to wane and the election season begins, Eye readers have chosen who they would like to be the next mayor of Albuquerque. In our unscientific poll, Richard "RJ" Berry took the honors with a solid 45% of the vote. The Almighty Alcalde came in 2nd at 28% [...]
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    Posted: August 02, 2009, 8:59pm EDT

  • More Cash for Clunkers

    Friday, the U.S. House of Representatives rushed to restore funding to the Cash for Clunkers program. The wildly successful program has started a stampede to car dealerships where people could dump their 1984 or newer vehicle in favor a brand new more fuel efficient model.

    Apparently, the program was [...]
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    Posted: August 01, 2009, 7:05pm EDT

  • Eye Poll: No Government Takeover of Healthcare

    Eye readers spoke loud and clear last week - no way to government run healthcare. A stunning 76% of Eye readers rejected the Obama/Pelosi/Ried takeover of your insurance, your doctor, your life. 20% were for the ill-advised plan, 3% didn't know and 1% didn't care.

    Make no mistake, this [...]
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    Posted: July 28, 2009, 8:12pm EDT

  • Shrewd Move

    Wednesday night's "Heart of the Heights" mayoral forum ended in a two-fer for The Almighty Alcalde - he dodged questions from a hundred constituents and managed to get a little payback from former loyalist Councilor Sally Mayer.

    The story in a nutshell is that The Mayer invited the mayor' [...]
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    Posted: July 24, 2009, 3:48pm EDT

  • Making Heh

    Our Eyes tell us that Sergeant Paul Heh presented the APOA with a formal request for union credit card statements going back to December 2008. There have been a number of rumors of inappropriate use of union funds through APOA issued credit cards and Sergeant Heh seems to be determined [...]
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    Posted: July 24, 2009, 3:09pm EDT

  • Mayoral Question and Answer

    There's a little mini-mayoral forum going on this evening over at the Sheraton Uptown. Councilor Mayer's "Heart of the Heights" meeting is rumored to feature all three candidates - although since Mayor Chavez hasn't announced... oh yeah, he did. We'll we wouldn't be too sure that the current occupant of' [...]
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    Posted: July 22, 2009, 4:21pm EDT

  • How the Hell DO You Spell Sagala, Sigala, Segalla?!

    An i, an e, two lls, an a... So far we've seen no less than three spellings of the current APOA President's last name on the web, in print, and in The Almighty Alcalde's propaganda emails. The first spelling was of course ours - "Segalla."
    [...]
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    Posted: July 21, 2009, 2:45pm EDT

  • Shocker!!!! APOA Endorses The Almighty Alcalde!!!

    Yeah... we know. You're still catching your breath after this startling turn of events. The public consummation of APOA President Joey Sagala's back room deal with the devil took place today a little before noon. 770's Peter St. Cyr has some pretty good coverage over on his blog (read/hear it' [...]
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    Posted: July 20, 2009, 3:23pm EDT

  • Common Sense & Healthcare

    We've been watching with a fair amount of alarm as Obamacare works its way through the House and Senate. The mantra from Democrats is that since something needs to be done we should get the government to do it.

    To be fair, these guys have been campaigning on government' [...]
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    Posted: July 20, 2009, 11:06pm EDT

  • Term Limits

    We were wondering when term limits would become an issue in the race for mayor. We've long argued that term limits for the executive branch are not only advisable but necessary. Last year, the Almighty Alcalde challenged himself in court in order to overturn his term limit (read our take' [...]
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    Posted: July 18, 2009, 11:39pm EDT

  • Brasher Withdraws

    The wait is over for District 9 Councilor Don Harris. The former councilor and current county commissioner Michael Brasher, has officially withdrawn from the district 9 race. In an email sent to your humble Eye, the commissioner states his intention to stay in his current position (read it here). [...]
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    Posted: July 17, 2009, 4:30pm EDT

  • Livin' the Dream - Paid to Not Work

    Back in January we told you about the impact that the downturn in the economy has had on the city's building inspectors. Actually, the inspectors were probably not complaining as they were being paid to not work (read it here).

    Apparently city pay for nothing has spread to [...]
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    Posted: July 13, 2009, 4:16pm EDT

  • AFSCME Endorsement Furor Eerily Familiar

    The New Mexico Independent has been doing some pretty good reporting on the controversy brewing in halls of AFSCME Local 624. For the first time the union that represents the city's blue collar workers has endorsed The Almighty Alcalde.

    Historically the union has shunned mayor-for-life Chavez in favor of' [...]
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    Posted: July 09, 2009, 2:08pm EDT

  • A COG in the Government Works

    The Mid-Region Council of Governments... a quasi governmental agency made up of indirectly elected officials. The members are actually elected officials from regional governments like the City of Albuquerque, The Village of Los Ranchos, Bernalillo County, etc.

    MRCOG was the brain child of the New Mexico Legislature and its [...]
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    Posted: July 08, 2009, 9:48pm EDT

  • Abating the Abaters

    The City of Albuquerque has an aggressive policy designed to get rid of substandard properties and unruly businesses. The idea is to use city resources and departments to basically harass a business or property owner until they either clean up their act, close their doors, or sell the property. The [...]
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    Posted: July 06, 2009, 5:20pm EDT

  • Independence

    233 years ago a group of farmers, lawyers, plantation owners, doctors, and businessmen risked their fortunes and their lives in order to dissolve the ties that bound them to a tyrant. Theirs was a quest for freedom - for liberty - and it started with a declaration of their independence.
    [...]
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    Posted: July 03, 2009, 8:14pm EDT

  • Common Sense Breaks Out at MRCOG

    While Marty pines away for his personal choo-choo, it looks like common sense has broken out over at the Mid-Region Council of Governments (MRCOG). The Albuquerque Journal (subscription) is reporting that the group's Metropolitan Transportation Board has directed MRCOG to apply for a federal TIGER grant - a part [...]
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    Posted: July 02, 2009, 10:52pm EDT

  • 21 Pages

    The Constitution of the United States is one of the most important documents in human history. Its 7 articles and 27 amendments created our government, its checks and balances, and even restricts the powers of the government it created. The entire document, including all 27 amendments is about 21 pages [...]
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    Posted: June 30, 2009, 9:37pm EDT

  • Toulouse In

    Looks like the District 5 race is starting to heat up. The once open seat on Albuquerque's Westside still has a crowd vying to fill it with incumbent Cadigan the odds-on favorite.

    According to our Eyes, Democrat Jeremy Toulouse has turned in enough signatures to get on the October [...]
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    Posted: June 30, 2009, 6:33am EDT

  • Poor Resolution

    Nationalized Health Care... the apple of Obama's eye and the last element required to give the government control over just about every aspect of our lives - from the food we eat to the medications we take. There are a lot of good arguments against this bad idea not the' [...]
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    Posted: June 29, 2009, 5:00pm EDT

  • Letters to the Eye: Let APD Do Its Job

    There's been a lot of talk about immigrant gangs since the Denny's invasion and murder. Notice that we don't refer to the incident as a "tragedy." What happened to Stephanie Anderson was abhorrent and unacceptable in our society. Referring to an invasion and murder as a "tragedy" implies inevitability akin' [...]
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    Posted: June 28, 2009, 1:07pm EDT

  • Coming Home...

    After a vocationally enforced hiatus (yes, we have a real job), we're back in the saddle or rather on the keyboard. There's a lot going on both nationally and locally. On the national scene Congress is trying to tax our energy and destroy our health care system. Locally, The Almighty's [...]
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    Posted: June 26, 2009, 2:21pm EDT

  • Qualified

    We received word today from our Eyes downtown, that commissioner and city council hopeful, Michael Brasher has collected enough signatures to make it on to the October city ballot. The news is more than likely less than welcome for the current District 9 incumbent, Don Harris.

    Councilor Harris' first' [...]
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    Posted: June 12, 2009, 10:08pm EDT

  • Eye Told You: County Bondage

    It only took four months, but there it was on the front page of the Albuquerque Journal - "What to Do with the Debt?" It's a story we told you about back in February (read it here). In August of 2008, the county commission at the urging of County' [...]
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    Posted: June 01, 2009, 8:55pm EDT

  • Letter to The Eye: Outrage

    As you know from time to time we post letters from readers and even pull comments out of the comment section from time to time. This week we received a Letter to The Eye from Sergeant Paul Heh.

    The sergeant has been the topic of a number posts both [...]
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    Posted: May 30, 2009, 12:13pm EDT

  • If Only...

    It's the type of story that makes "good" news. Readers and viewers can't seem to get enough of the "Baby Angel" story.

    Thursday, the local media was all a twitter about the latest development - Tiffany Toribio had tried to turn herself in at a Coronado Mall substation. With [...]
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    Posted: May 28, 2009, 6:07pm EDT

  • Un-be-lievable!

    The Albuquerque Journal reported Tuesday that (as we've been telling you) The Almighty Alcalde is back on track to build his choo choo. Like a child whose mind is set on a shiny new toy, Chavez is desperately trying to find an argument that will convince the public and the' [...]
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    Posted: May 27, 2009, 11:54pm EDT

  • APOA OPM

    Other People's Money... government at all levels gets tons of it. They use it for any number of things some of which are shall we say... questionable. But there are other organizations that receive your money some of them voluntary contributions, others come in the form of dues. These non-governmental' [...]
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    Posted: May 25, 2009, 5:53pm EDT

  • Eye Poll: Keep Your Arena

    Not surprisingly, Eye readers overwhelmingly rejected the idea of a downtown arena in our most recent Eye Poll. It's a project that would certainly pay tribute to the mayor of Albuquerque but would do it's citizens little good and shackle them with an almost unending drain on their tax dollars.
    [...]
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    Posted: May 17, 2009, 9:49pm EDT

  • Still on the Payroll

    Before we get started here we've got to make it clear that we are all for the concept of innocence until proven guilty. That being said, we're also for the equal application of justice. Thursday's Albuquerque Journal picked up on a part of a story that we told you about' [...]
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    Posted: May 14, 2009, 8:43pm EDT

  • The Trolley that Won't Go Away

    After almost 12 years of the Chavez administration, one thing we've all gotten used to is the Almighty Alcalde's increasing inability to get along with the council. He's also displayed a disturbing single-mindedness that reeks of ego.

    There are countless examples of Marty's increasing desire to build a legacy [...]
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    Posted: May 14, 2009, 10:34pm EDT
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