Items by Coco la Boca

• Newport Suffragist

  —Cocoposts

  Newport - not so new. Old houses and old roads and old fences and old mansions. We toured "Marble House" - a Vanderbuilt mansion in which Alva Vanderbilt staged a "Votes For Women" campaign in 1909. In 1910 she attempted... [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 6:30am EST
  by Coco la Boca

• Dancing Queen at King's Funeral

  —Cocoposts

  That was not my cell phone ringing in the middle of Governor King's funeral, for the record. Even the person sitting to my right thought it was mine. She mentioned it accusatorily as we waited for the traffic to clear... [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2009, 7:04am EST
  by Coco la Boca

• Kennedy - 46 Years

  —Cocoposts

  The 1967 Look Magazines - a four-part series by William Manchester that preceded his book Death of a President are totally absorbing - especially the old ads for Pall Malls and the 1967 Plymouth Fury. I've been too busy reading...' [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2009, 5:39am EST
  by Coco la Boca

• Clinton and the Moriarty Pintos

  —Cocoposts

  At Governor Bruce King's funeral today. He arrived at the head of the family procession into a full gym at Moriarty High School - Home of the Pintos (not Mustangs.) The big crowd of King lovers was rich with politicians... [...]
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  Posted: November 21, 2009, 4:11pm EST
  by Coco la Boca

• Cassandra Yazzie-Hotchkiss

  —Cocoposts

  Sad news from the Durango Herald: Family and friends this week are mourning the death of Cassandra Yazzie-Hotchkiss, a 30-year-old Fort Lewis College graduate and Native American activist killed Monday in a car accident. Yazzie-Hotchkiss graduated from FLC in May... [...]
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  Posted: November 20, 2009, 7:55am EST
  by Coco la Boca

• Campaign to Inspire

  —Cocoposts

  A detour in recent reading veered away from the regimented non-fiction book diet. American Wife, a novel by Curtis Sittenfeld modeled on the life Laura Bush is reviewed here in the NYTimes by Joyce Carol Oates who does a better... [...]
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  Posted: November 20, 2009, 7:00am EST
  by Coco la Boca

• Chavez Cashes In

  —Cocoposts

  The Albuquerque Journal reports our lame duck Mayor got a back injury in 2004 while pretending to be MacGyver - jumping a fence during a bosque fire. Now he has filed for workers' compensation and is getting a pay-off. It...' [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 6:56am EST
  by Coco la Boca

• Water and Community at Quail Ranch

  —Cocoposts

  The Albuquerque Journal reports yet again on the stalled "progress" with west side development. These repetitious articles attempt to present this is a bad thing. You see, Quail Ranch is being "hurt" by water issues. The "massive Quail Ranch community"... [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 6:00am EST
  by Coco la Boca

• Mary Jane and The Alvarado

  —Cocoposts

  Just finished devouring Mary Colter: Architect of the Southwest, by Arnold Berke with color photographs by Alexander Vertikoff. It is a beautiful book. If it can be faulted it may be that this beauty nearly outweighs the substance. Clearly this... [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 11:35am EST
  by Coco la Boca

• Moon Water

  —Cocoposts

  Are we really gonna believe a guy waving a five gallon plastic bucket? We found lots of these! Who told him to bring the prop? Peter Gleick writes in the San Francisco Chronicle: Why do we care? Obviously, this water... [...]
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  Posted: November 14, 2009, 6:29am EST
  by Coco la Boca

• Cowboy King

  —Cocoposts

  Kate Nash wrote about how Governor King rode a horse to the Roundhouse and I remembered this great biography cover photo on him riding in a parade. He died last night - just rode off to heaven from his Stanley... [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 10:37am EST
  by Coco la Boca

• Il Divo

  —Cocoposts

  Just watched the film about a notorious Italian politician - Giulio Andreotti. It may be appropriate to call him Italy's Richard Daley but we've already established that I see Daley's ghost in all public corruption. And in the grocery store....' [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 11:48am EST
  by Coco la Boca

• CO County Hearts Fracking

  —Cocoposts

  Durango Herald reports that the three member County Commission of Garfield, Colorado has decided they don't want the feds to regulate hydraulic fracturing. The concern about regulating the practice is being trumped up by the oil and gas industry. I'm... [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 9:50am EST
  by Coco la Boca

• Random Motor

  —Cocoposts

  Between the frustratingly few showings of my for-sale home, for which I scurry to tidy and exit for the coco and goat movies, I inhabit my house thoroughly - reading and packing and reading AND READING. Shh! Among the other... [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 7:12am EST
  by Coco la Boca

• Men Who Stare at Mules

  —Cocoposts

  The "goat movie," as people buying tickets referred to it, was great. Goats, Clooney and it was filmed in New Mexico. What is not to love? White Sands National Monument is a Middle Eastern desert again. Just like in the... [...]
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  Posted: November 11, 2009, 8:09am EST
  by Coco la Boca

• Reading versus Blogging

  —Cocoposts

  It's hard to do both. A good book can eclipse everything - bathing, cooking, blogging. The most recent addition to my retirement reading list* is The Death of a President by William Manchester. I was intrigued about it after reading... [...]
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  Posted: November 07, 2009, 11:13am EST
  by Coco la Boca

• Halliburton Fracking Loophole

  —Cocoposts

  This New York Times editorial notes Cheney's gift to Halliburton in the 2005 energy bill - free-for-all-fracking - and what it is doing to water supplies. There's a bill in Congress to study the risks, which are poo-pooed by the... [...]
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  Posted: November 03, 2009, 8:16am EST
  by Coco la Boca

• Shirley Does Daley

  —Cocoposts

  Joe Shirley Jr. is channeling Mayor Richard J. Daley. Although to be fair, since reading the aforementioned 600 page biography my head feels thick, my face feels jowly and everyone sounds like Daley. I think I saw him in Smith's...' [...]
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  Posted: November 03, 2009, 6:29am EST
  by Coco la Boca

• Chamber's Discount Drug Card

  —Cocoposts

  If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is - like the news in the Journal of the discount prescription drug card generously offered by the Chamber of Commerce. What's in it for them? A dollar a card... [...]
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  Posted: November 02, 2009, 9:45am EST
  by Coco la Boca

• American Pharaoh

  —Cocoposts

  Just finished reading American Pharaoh, Mayor Richard J. Daley: His Battle for Chicago and the Nation, by Adam Cohen and Elizabeth Taylor. This is not just a biography. Because of his position as boss and builder of Chicago for so... [...]
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  Posted: November 02, 2009, 8:40am EST
  by Coco la Boca

• Bold Berlusconi

  —Cocoposts

  The Italian PM says he won't resign even if convicted of any of the multiple charges of crookedness against him. Of course he doesn't really say it, he lets a new book say it for him. From the New York... [...]
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  Posted: October 31, 2009, 7:46am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Udall Nukes

  —Cocoposts

  Colorado's US Senator Mark Udall says we really need nukes, the natural gas industry says natural gas is really clean, and the radio says martians have really landed in New Jersey. From the Durango Herald: "For some, news that a..." [...]
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  Posted: October 30, 2009, 8:01am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• After Chanel

  —Cocoposts

  Loved Devin O'Leary's Alibi review of the new Coco movie, Coco Before Chanel, especially the subtitle: Fashion icon biopic looks fabulous but hangs kinda funny Here's a bit: Eventually trading her French sugar daddy for a handsome young Englishman (Alessandro...' [...]
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  Posted: October 29, 2009, 7:52am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Ernie Pyle's View

  —Cocoposts

  Descriptions of the Pyle's Albuquerque home include how Ernie got building fever when he was there in 1941 and converted the garage and constructed a 280' long picket fence. The home had been built the previous year while he was...' [...]
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  Posted: October 29, 2009, 7:41am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Great Grace

  —Cocoposts

  California Pianist Grace Fong performed Sunday in a solo recital for Chamber Music Albuquerque at the Simms Center. She spoke to the appreciative audience frequently, telling us about herself and describing each of the pieces she played: Prokofiev's first piano... [...]
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  Posted: October 27, 2009, 8:12am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Old Stockyard Driveway

  —Cocoposts

  At lunch I pretend to listen to foodie stories about the restaurant business then, trapped in my car after lunch, my friend pretends to listen to my placey stories about this or that subdivision, what was there before and what... [...]
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  Posted: October 27, 2009, 6:43am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• The Unforeseen

  —Cocoposts

  I walked alone in that desert of unremitting purpose, feeling the despair of one who could no longer remember another valley where bodies and events took place and form not always foreseen by human, and the humans themselves followed ways... [...]
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  Posted: October 25, 2009, 5:33am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Amelia Grounded

  —Cocoposts

  I was going to see the movie Amelia today until I read this review in the New York Times: The actors don’t make a persuasive fit, despite all their long stares and infernal smiling. (The movie is a more effective... [...]
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  Posted: October 23, 2009, 7:06am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Silence of the River

  —Cocoposts

  Whitelodge water releases from Vallecito lake are shown on this Bureau of Reclamation website. Releases were 500 cfs in August then, inexplicably, 47 cfs October 20th. The silence woke me from a sound sleep. The Pine River has many thirsty... [...]
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  Posted: October 22, 2009, 8:24am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Commemorative Overload

  —Cocoposts

  Tour of the New Mexico State Fairgrounds* last week with Albuquerque's Historical Society. I wasn't leading the tour officially, of course, but who could shut me up? I should have my name on that tack room! That wouldn't be out... [...]
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  Posted: October 22, 2009, 7:00am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Blagojevich's Buddy

  —Cocoposts

  The Chicago Tribune says the ex-Governor's friend, Alonzo Monk, pleaded guilty. Now he's the ex-Governor's ex-friend - the mild looking guy fourth from the right in this line up of those indicated last April. Public corruption proves to be an... [...]
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  Posted: October 21, 2009, 8:41am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Prince of Providence

  —Cocoposts

  Just finished The Prince of Providence: The True Story of Buddy Cianci, America's Most Notorious Mayor, Some Wiseguys and the Feds. It was written by Mike Stanton, an investigative reporter at The Providence Journal who is still busy investigating public... [...]
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  Posted: October 18, 2009, 7:44am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Pomegranate Cocktail Saturday

  —Cocoposts

  Prolific pomegranates next door - neighborly offered and full of busting ripe fruit that makes a gorgeous fluorescent pink cocktail. Minding the spiders that inhabit the tops of each pomegranate - adding a little seasonal touch - the seeds get... [...]
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  Posted: October 17, 2009, 4:32pm EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Rio Chama Wobbles

  —Cocoposts

  Say that fast a few times after five or six cocktails. Albuquerque Journal Mark Oswald raises the question about why Gerald Peter's Rio Chama didn't get fingered in the Fierro vehicular homicide case - to which we give a big...' [...]
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  Posted: October 17, 2009, 6:41am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Frack Attack

  —Cocoposts

  These choice bits from an excellent Denver Post story about oil and gas production contaminating wells in Western Colorado - quoting a man, Ned Prather, who gulped benzene from his poisoned well. Prather hasn't talked publicly until now about his...' [...]
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  Posted: October 16, 2009, 6:57am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Solar Stink

  —Cocoposts

  From Dan McKay in the Albuquerque Journal comes an update on the company Solar Array Ventures Inc. The Austin solar company sold out their hometown for Albuquerque based on a bunch of give-aways and now they're stalled with investors. Bernalillo...' [...]
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  Posted: October 15, 2009, 7:10am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Gathering Rotten Tomatoes

  —Cocoposts

  Frost got 'em but I'm not throwing them just yet. Metaphorically of course. My optimism springs eternal that Berry will be a berry good mayor. His choices of Dave and Darren are neither surprising nor especially inspiring, although I'm relieved...' [...]
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  Posted: October 14, 2009, 8:39am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Wrong is Right

  —Cocoposts

  Winter in the early 1980's at the Holiday Inn Alamogordo restaurant - being loud and throwing dinner rolls. We were on a break from NMSU headed to Ruidoso to ski and were alone in the dining room except for an... [...]
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  Posted: October 14, 2009, 8:18am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Big Corn

  —Cocoposts

  The health risks of sugar and its links to obesity are the subject of this San Francisco Chronicle story. Enjoying my croissant stuffed with almond paste and a double spoon of the sweet stuff in my espresso, I note overuse... [...]
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  Posted: October 11, 2009, 9:05am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Drink to Desert Rock

  —Cocoposts

  The Durango Telegraph's Will Sands snarks about the stalled status of proposed Desert Rock power plant, and media specialist Frank Maisano - says he owes him a drink. As you know by now, Frank is the face, voice and personality... [...]
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  Posted: October 08, 2009, 12:48pm EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Mayor as Fiscal Conservative

  —Cocoposts

  The Albuquerque Journal supposes how things will change with a new Mayor in town. It could mean a City Hall that's more receptive to incentives for West Side growth, certain budget cuts and restructuring the system of development impact fees,... [...]
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  Posted: October 08, 2009, 8:43am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Chandler's Times

  —Cocoposts

  Inventing LA: The Chandlers and Their Times is a very watchable documentary online at PBS. Harry Chandler was the figure behind the real estate and water schemes depicted in the movie Chinatown. Here's a bit about it from an old... [...]
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  Posted: October 07, 2009, 1:12pm EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Term Limit Him

  —Cocoposts

  Durango Herald covers the race for Albuquerque Mayor. (I can't get away.) The AP story calls it a close fight and reminds us that this would be a 4th term for Chavez, how he got to run again in spite...' [...]
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  Posted: October 05, 2009, 4:46pm EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Carrying Chavez Water

  —Cocoposts

  A leader in water conservation? Mayor Chavez? Come on. Not so much. For one thing, he doesn't ever attend the Albuquerque Bernalillo Water Utility Authority meetings. He chairs the U.S. Conference of Mayors' Water Council and talks a good game... [...]
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  Posted: October 03, 2009, 12:32pm EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Not Me

  —Cocoposts

  Thursday, 12:45 a.m. An intoxicated woman was sitting at the end of a bar, refusing to leave in the 600 block of Main Avenue. (From the Durango Herald police blotter) With the heat of the election and the onset of... [...]
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  Posted: October 02, 2009, 7:08am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Chavez Toast

  —Cocoposts

  I got a Chavez for Mayor robocall asking why Richard Romero is so angry and bitter. I yelled back, with anger and bitterness, at the answering machine.* Have you been living under a rock? The Albuquerque Journal poll results are... [...]
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  Posted: September 28, 2009, 7:57am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Sheep Trailing

  —Cocoposts

  Bayfield Colorado's Heritage Days event Saturday featured 2200 sheep. From the Durango Herald: (Local rancher) Brown said the festival is a reminder to the community of how things used to be. Ranchers and their herds have been trekking down from... [...]
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  Posted: September 27, 2009, 8:34am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Mayor SunCal

  —Cocoposts

  From the Albuquerque Journal we get some news about campaigners' connections in the race for Mayor, which appears to be heating up considerably - from all the yard signs I see. (Xenophobes for Berry!) Here Dan McKay makes readers play:...' [...]
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  Posted: September 26, 2009, 9:02am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Perugia Kitchen

  —Cocoposts

  How I Became a Foodie. Her kitchen outside of Perugia was old, old, old. But not her. She still danced through her hillside groves and vineyards and to distant deserts leaving traces of her wild rich life in the rental... [...]
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  Posted: September 26, 2009, 8:21am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• The Way We Die Now

  —Cocoposts

  My new favorite author, Timothy Egan*, has a great opinion piece in the New York Times: Nobody was more frustrated than John Kitzhaber as the health care debate got hijacked over the summer by shouters and misinformation specialists. And no... [...]
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  Posted: September 24, 2009, 9:22am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Live Blogging Retirement

  —Cocoposts

  There are killer cocktails made with Belle de Brillet pear cognac and Hanger One vodka infused with raspberries. Such a cocktail can make TV a little more bearable in the time it takes to finish one. I persist in the... [...]
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  Posted: September 24, 2009, 9:15am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• He's Not The King

  —Cocoposts

  Bode Tapes are available for your listening pleasure. The conversations are about an airport contract held up for over two years as retribution for not kissing Mayor Marty's ass. The Mayor's contention was that there were problems with the contract.... [...]
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  Posted: September 23, 2009, 7:31am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Rat Jello Shots

  —Cocoposts

  Science Daily reports about the danger of adolescent drinking. A study funded by the institutes-all-about-drug-and-alcohol-abuse says you might want to get high all the time when you grow up.* Young test rats were fed alcohol in jello shots. Age of... [...]
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  Posted: September 22, 2009, 6:29am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Happy Fall!

  —Cocoposts

  This is the substantial pile of necessary stuff for a week away from home. Not including the dog. I can't believe I still forgot things. UPDATE: For contrast is travel guy Rick Steves who brags in the Chicago Tribune that...' [...]
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  Posted: September 21, 2009, 8:28am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Horseback at Whitelodge 1962

  —Cocoposts

  My sister and her friend. She's the one on the white horse. She was 12. [...]
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  Posted: September 20, 2009, 12:35pm EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Crazy Red Dog

  —Cocoposts

  I've noticed that all the things I needed to be doing in off-hours before retirement have expanded to fill that 8 to 5 space. And I'm still not doing them. I've also noticed many other, even less profound, things. Like...' [...]
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  Posted: September 20, 2009, 10:09am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Missing my Sister

  —Cocoposts

  My beloved sister died ten years ago today. [...]
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  Posted: September 16, 2009, 1:52pm EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Now With More Mice!

  —Cocoposts

  Real Estate speculators told them about my mousetraps. It's a conspiracy to freak me out. The Whitelodge's shop, where the washer and dryer are housed, is their territory: Turds Are Us. Hanta Virus Central. Rodent Riviera. A few weeks ago... [...]
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  Posted: September 16, 2009, 8:55am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• El Paso Impact Fees

  —Cocoposts

  David Crowder in the online El Paso Newspaper has gotten an earful about impact fees from local developers and gets all misty about how communities used to share costs in the good old days. In these tough economic times, there... [...]
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  Posted: September 16, 2009, 6:55am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Patrick Swayze RIP

  —Cocoposts

  Yes, I had a big ol' crush on him after seeing him at the Arabian Nationals in Albuquerque one year. Who wouldn't? He was a horse lover and dancer, afterall. [...]
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  Posted: September 14, 2009, 6:58pm EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• SunCalism Sucks

  —Cocoposts

  A neighbor in Albuquerque, who is on government disability, has a "Socialism Sucks" bumper sticker. I want to get a similar one made for the next tax increment district legislation proposed to benefit SunCal. This proud display of obstinate ignorance... [...]
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  Posted: September 14, 2009, 10:11am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Remote Beyond Compare

  —Cocoposts

  Listened to John Kessell speak last night in Santa Fe. He is Director of the Vargas Project at the University of New Mexico and a scholar of New Mexico colonial history. Remote Beyond Compare is the title of one of... [...]
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  Posted: September 10, 2009, 8:35am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Supreme Court Foul

  —Cocoposts

  Our Supreme Court is rushing to a decision on striking down the longstanding rule against corporate campaign contributions. The New York Times editorial says: If corporations are allowed to spend from their own treasuries on elections — rather than through... [...]
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  Posted: September 08, 2009, 7:33am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Julie and Julia

  —Cocoposts

  Saw the movie and loved it. I dug out mom's copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking from the book boxes. Reading bits of it, interspersed with Child's My Life in France, is damn delightful. It inspired me to... [...]
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  Posted: September 04, 2009, 7:03am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Texas Trash Treasure

  —Cocoposts

  San Francisco Chronicle Slide Show of recycled materials in Huntsville Texas building is inspiring. Dan Phillps with his company Phoenix Commotion collects salvage for use in constructing affordable housing. I think mobile homes are a blight on the planet. Attractive,... [...]
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  Posted: September 04, 2009, 6:06am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Health Care Crock

  —Cocoposts

  The Albuquerque Journal guest column Wednesday by Dr. Barry Kracow* is entitled, Reforming Health Care Takes Smart Shoppers. It is a rambling indictment of a public option in health care legislation in the snarky tone of an AM radio listener.... [...]
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  Posted: September 03, 2009, 8:19am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Retirement Rocks

  —Cocoposts

  Interesting info-rich New York Times piece about retirement and the wounding realization of so many Americans who have trusted their 401k accounts and will have to delay retirement. (I have a public employee's retirement account, but I'm not gloating.) What... [...]
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  Posted: September 03, 2009, 7:11am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Acequia Bulldozing

  —Cocoposts

  This happens all the time in Albuquerque's valley. The Santa Fe New Mexican reports on a builder that destroyed the archeological value of a pre-1851 irrigation channel in constructing a retaining wall. The difference in this case is that it... [...]
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  Posted: September 02, 2009, 7:07am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Packing Stress

  —Cocoposts

  Oh yeah, retirement is relaxing. So far. Not. With no certainty about whether or not I'm actually going to move, I'm packing. The house is for sale but my expectations are modest. Not only that, I'm pretty ambivalent about going...' [...]
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  Posted: September 01, 2009, 7:08am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Zeitoun on the Anniversary of Katrina

  —Cocoposts

  In the first methodical reading I've done since college 25 years ago I just finished Zeitoun by Dave Eggers. (Thanks Inky!) It is an account of a man who stayed and witnessed the descent of New Orleans after Katrina. Coincidentally...' [...]
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  Posted: August 28, 2009, 7:49am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Flying Mice

  —Cocoposts

  I left the radio off and woke to sounds of the night. I left the radio on the night before and woke to the news of Senator Kennedy's death. I would prefer the quiet. The absence of sad news. A... [...]
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  Posted: August 27, 2009, 9:47am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• No Peak Oil

  —Cocoposts

  There ya go. This op-ed in the New York Times pronounces No Such Thing because energy consultant Michael Lynch says so. Only harebrained Chicken Littles believe in peak oil and shame on them making the price go up. Then he... [...]
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  Posted: August 25, 2009, 7:05am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Whitelodge Retreat

  —Cocoposts

  Re-familiarizing myself with old music, books, pens and pencils for awhile. [...]
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  Posted: August 23, 2009, 8:05am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Walking in Circles 25 Years

  —Cocoposts

  New York Times reports that people tend to walk in circles when lost. This is apt metaphor for so many things. National news coverage of any complicated legislative issue, for example. But other things too. Scientists in Germany reported Thursday... [...]
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  Posted: August 21, 2009, 6:41am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Pat's Push - Nevada Pipedream Vote

  —Cocoposts

  The Southern Nevada Water Authority, upon which our own ABCWUA was proudly modeled, is being pushed into a vote on a massive pipeline project tonight. John Fleck sent around this link to Chance of Rain in which Emily Green posts... [...]
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  Posted: August 20, 2009, 7:05am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Desal for Marin

  —Cocoposts

  The Marin Municipal Water District board will decide tonight whether to approve the Bay Area's first desalination plant. The San Francisco Chronicle story contains a hint of civic pride about this being the first of many. Barer mention that it... [...]
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  Posted: August 19, 2009, 5:35am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Impact Fees, "Sprall" and a Snootful of PGS

  —Cocoposts

  The Albuquerque City Council deferred action on the idea of reducing impact fees last night. Several of the Councilors seem to think that if we build more we can save the economy. And that eliminating or reducing impact fees will... [...]
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  Posted: August 18, 2009, 7:01am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Last Monday

  —Cocoposts

  Here's a final opportunity to dread the beginning of another work week but I'm really looking forward to it. I think I'm going to miss Mondays after retirement. Not really. Sort of. Everyone asks what I'll do now. I told...' [...]
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  Posted: August 17, 2009, 5:54am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• It's August. They're Coming For You

  —Cocoposts

  This great title from a New York Times bit on the house guest and a book, Host or Hostage - A Guide for Surviving House Guests, by Darlene Dennis. Harrowing houseguests come in many varieties, from Clueless (often in their... [...]
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  Posted: August 14, 2009, 6:52am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Trampling Land Use Politics

  —Cocoposts

  Attorneys for the non-profits respond to the Albuquerque Journal about the recent ruling on campaign finance law and Attorney General Gary King's demand that the organizations register as PACs for "political" mailings. It is a clear explanation and I particularly... [...]
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  Posted: August 13, 2009, 6:55am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• The Omnivore's Delusion

  —Cocoposts

  It was only a matter of time - a take-down of Michael Pollan in The American Enterprise Institute magazine. A Missouri family farmer derides the critics of industrial agriculture as "agri-intellectuals" who don't know crap about farming. He was stuck...' [...]
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  Posted: August 12, 2009, 6:48am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Louis Legacy

  —Cocoposts

  Former Mayor of Albuquerque Louis Saavedra died recently. One of Monahan’s old gators said Saavedra was “reclusive and secretive.” I think we’re just incapable of judging how a mayor can operate effectively out of the limelight after witnessing the reign... [...]
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  Posted: August 11, 2009, 7:08am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Monday List - Moving

  —Cocoposts

  After this Monday, only one more working Monday. My stress about retirement is tedious on those who will still be working. Most really can't sympathize with this particular life change. But they can sympathize with selling a house, building a...' [...]
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  Posted: August 10, 2009, 7:31am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Smoke, Drink, Disconnect the Doorbell

  —Cocoposts

  New York Times notes a new book by Anthony Flint about Jane Jacobs and her work against schemes of Robert Moses. Yet Mr. Flint, a former reporter for The Boston Globe, makes an interesting case for his book’s relevance. He... [...]
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  Posted: August 06, 2009, 6:51am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Airport Scorn

  —Cocoposts

  The Albuquerque Journal reports on a dust-up - a little something about an airport. Audits are sooo boring. Greek Mafia Bakas has everything in control. Move along. Nothing to see here. An independent audit that questioned the city's tracking of... [...]
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  Posted: August 06, 2009, 6:45am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Town Hells and Public Input Beatings

  —Cocoposts

  Like most people, bureaucrats are easily intimidated by angry mobs. Joan Walsh noted something interesting about Republicans hijacking health care reform meetings in Salon: Tuesday night Rachel Maddow made a comparison I'd been thinking about: between the current "Town Hells"...' [...]
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  Posted: August 05, 2009, 7:20am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Sprawl Fueled Sprawl

  —Cocoposts

  The Mayor of Rio Rancho is happy about anticipated construction of a big-ass new shiny hospital - not so much because of anyone's health but because growth is good. And construction means growth - which is good. Construction is a... [...]
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  Posted: August 04, 2009, 6:33am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Two More Mondays - Dolce Roma

  —Cocoposts

  Retirement looms. I'm in denial - watching old movies and ignoring my to-do list. With good movies, details remain fresh. I get two three of Fellini's best mixed up - La Dolce Vida, 8 1/2 and Roma. Like Tony Hillerman... [...]
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  Posted: August 03, 2009, 7:08am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Grief Porn

  —Cocoposts

  Leslie Linthicum takes credit for inventing the term. From the Albuquerque Journal. Earlier this summer, I coined the term "grief porn" to describe the obsessive, self-pleasuring nature of the reactions of a particular group of bystanders to a particularly horrible... [...]
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  Posted: July 30, 2009, 5:58am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• SunCal Staffing

  —Cocoposts

  Some California Alamedans have been battling SunCal plans for the redevelopment of Alameda Point. In the blog Action Alameda a letter writer says local government is owned by SunCal. And he accuses city staff of being SunCal employees. (Photo from... [...]
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  Posted: July 30, 2009, 5:32am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Taser Tucumcari

  —Cocoposts

  The news is heavy with crazy these days. Take this from the Clovis News Journal, please. Tucumcari Police Chief Roger Hatcher has been cleared of any wrongdoing and reinstated, according to a press release issued late this morning. Hatcher was... [...]
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  Posted: July 29, 2009, 6:23am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Bits of SunCal Optimism

  —Cocoposts

  Clearly New Mexico reminds us that SunCal hasn't gone away but says there may be reason for optimism. Maybe. Optimism is like a foreign language to me. I need a translator and have to read gestures and facial expressions to...' [...]
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  Posted: July 28, 2009, 6:54am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Mayoral Entitlement - Aviation Edition

  —Cocoposts

  The money line from a New Mexico Independent story. Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez refused to renew Bode’s airport lease in retaliation for Bode declining to provide free or discounted air travel for the mayor. An explanation from the Dr. Sanity... [...]
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  Posted: July 27, 2009, 6:21am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Three More Mondays

  —Cocoposts

  Letting go of convictions about my work and easing into retirement are aided by liberal use of profanity. With varied intonation I can capture nearly everything I need to say about anything these days with, f*ck this or f*ck that.... [...]
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  Posted: July 27, 2009, 4:14am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Garden State Garden Variety Corruption

  —Cocoposts

  How it works, or doesn't, is evident from New Jersey news. Since 2001 they've gotten guilty pleas and convictions from 130 public officials and another 44 people were just arrested including the mayors of Hoboken, Ridgefield and Secaucus, Jersey City's...' [...]
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  Posted: July 24, 2009, 7:04am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Abbey's Apartments

  —Cocoposts

  Author Edward Abbey lived in dozens of places in and around Albuquerque according to James M. Cahalan's biography - Edward Abbey, A Life. He would claim that he lived in twenty places in thirty-one months in Albuquerque during 1948-51. I... [...]
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  Posted: July 22, 2009, 6:59am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Vast Criminal Enterprise

  —Cocoposts

  From Salon - John R. Talbott, former investment banker with Goldman Sachs and the author of "The 86 Biggest Lies on Wall Street," "Contagion," "Obamanomics," and "The Coming Crash in the Housing Market." "So what did banks do that was..." [...]
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  Posted: July 22, 2009, 6:56am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Menaul School Charm

  —Cocoposts

  Enjoyed a tour of the Menaul School campus, hosted by the Albuquerque Historical Society and led by school President Lindsey Gilbert. The occasion was the unveiling of a historic marker for Old Brick. The entire property is on the National... [...]
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  Posted: July 21, 2009, 7:27am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Death Midwifery

  —Cocoposts

  New York Times describes the home funeral - intimate alternative to the funeral home. Advocates say the number of home funerals, where everything from caring for the dead to the visiting hours to the building of the coffin is done... [...]
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  Posted: July 21, 2009, 6:13am EDT
  by Coco la Boca

• Four More Mondays - Chinatown

  —Cocoposts

  Retirement feels a bit like I'm splitting up with someone I've had a love-hate relationship with for twenty-five years. There are similarities - especially in the untidy mix of resentment, relief, grief, excitement and uncertainty. My boss helpfully reminds me... [...]
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  Posted: July 20, 2009, 6:30am EDT
  by Coco la Boca