Happy 100th, Nuevo Mexico

So I've been bad about blogging lately. Really bad. But I have been busy, and now you'll know why.

As part of our coverage of the state's 100th birthday, I wrote a nine-storie series on the Centennial. I went from PeNasco to Cedar Crest to Isleta Pueblo and back to Santa Fe to talk to folks who have lived a good chunk of the state's 100 years. Regular folks. Not politicians, not people who have really been in the news much at all. They all had fascinating stories to tell. Don't ask me which one was my favorite, but here are the four I liked best, in no particular order.

In PeNasco, I talked to Patty Sahd, a 97 year old woman who saw her town change from her perch inside her family store.

In Cedar Crest, I talked to Mary Roeschke, who worked at Los Alamos during its most interesting time.

At Isleta, I talked with the daughter of Miguel Trujillo, who is credited with getting the right to vote for Native Americans in the state.

And in Santa Fe, Ray Aranda of Aranda's Plumbing had some fascinating tales about the City Different back in the day.

I've also enjoyed reading other papers' coverage of the events. I heard the Journal sold out of its Centennial special edition, and heck, anything that makes a newspaper sell out these days is good news to me.

Share links to your favorite Centennial coverage, too.

State questions tribal gaming revenues

It's been a good while since I've written about tribal casinos and revenue sharing, but there's been an interesting development in that arena. The chairman of the state's Gaming Control Board, David Norvell, said many of the 14 gaming tribes in New Mexico aren't paying their proper share, accounting for underpayments of between $13 and $20 million.

At issue is how the tribes account for free play, and how they incorporate it into the formula that determines how much revenue they share with the state. In short, the state says the tribes are paying less than they owe.

The issue has the potential to drag on and involve costly arbitration. It will be interesting to see how the new administration deals with an issue that first surfaced during former Gov. Gary Johnson's term.

When I was writing the story, I called all 14 gaming pueblo governments for comment, but only Pojoaque responded. If anyone reading this is or knows a tribal official, please encourage them to call me, as I would like to add more of their perspective for my next piece.

New electronics company headed to NM border

Take that, Texas! Gov. Susana Martinez announced this morning that an electronic manufacturing company will move its El Paso office to Santa Teresa. TE Connectivity will move to New Mexico after discussions over the summer.

"As we work to encourage economic growth in and attract new businesses to our state, I’m pleased that TE Connectivity has decided to expand in Santa Teresa," Martinez said in a statement.

"Continuing to foster a friendlier environment that encourages growth and investment will send a signal that New Mexico is open for business. This announcement is an important development and I am committed to further encouraging growth and expansion as we work to turn New Mexico’s economy around," she said.

The company employs nearly 100,000 workers and manufactures more than 500,000 products, according to the Governor's Office. The press release didn't say how many jobs would move to New Mexico.

Guess the move puts an end to the questions of which state Martinez, who grew up in El Paso, likes better?

Block resigns and pleads guilty

The New Mexican's Steve Terrell is in the courtroom for today's Jerome Block hearing, where he just tweeted that Block has plead guilty and will resign.

Follow the New Mexican on Twitter for updates.

And, here's the info just released by the Attorney General's Office.

Attorney General Gary King says Public Regulation Commissioner Jerome Block, Jr. has agreed to resign and plead guilty to multiple felonies involving two separate cases.

“Another important step was taken today in the prosecution of government corruption in New Mexico,” says AG King. “I congratulate my Government Accountability Division staffers for their good work and dedication in pursuing this matter.”

The PRC Commissioner agrees to plead guilty to two (2) separate embezzlement charges; fraudulent use of a credit card; theft of identity; violation of the state Election Code, Campaign Reporting Act, and Voter Action Act; and conspiracy to commit violation of the Election Code.

Block, Jr. has also agreed never to seek public office again and to repay the state for all improper charges involving state gasoline charge cards. The Attorney General adds that the state can likely save a million dollars in expected costs for impeachment proceedings in the legislature.

A sentencing agreement requires the defendant to successfully complete a drug court program and meet other requirements before final sentencing by the Court.
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GQ's long but fascinating look at Gary Johnson

After last night's presidential debate, our former governor is starting to get a little traction, at least according to his campaign, which this morning said in a release that his name is now the number one search on Google.

Well because I already have a Google alert in my email for Gary Johnson, I just took a peek at the GQ profile of him. It's a fun read.

I like the description in the piece of him in a bike shop in Hooksett, New Hampshire, a state where all the contenders have been.

Gary? He's talking about bikes. Weight and tire pressure. He's telling the guys at the store that he needs to rent one for some race he's in. His two aides, Brinck and Matt—who constitute his entire paid New Hampshire staff—give him the look. The one that says: Maybe you should mention you're running for frickin president. But Gary's on to pedals now. He brought his own pedals with him from New Mexico. Would have taken the whole damn bike, but it would've cost too much to fly it here.

Classic Johnson. After being excluded from so many debates, maybe we'll start to see more of him in the upcoming ones.

Some tourism employees got canned, public gets ... a can

The Department of Tourism earlier this week had to lay off some folks who worked for the New Mexico Magazine. The same department earlier this year got an eight-foot can to promote an anti-littering campaign. Although the two pots of money are separate, the purchase is raising some eyebrows.

Read my story about the $26,400, eight-foot can in today's paper here.

Keep track of lawmakers votes, attendance record

The New Mexico state Legislature is a lot to keep track of, what with 112 members, who knows how many bills and things happening at all hours.

But the folks at the conservative Rio Grande Foundation have a tool they say will help average folks keep tabs on the happenings in the Roundhouse.

The group first launched the site in 2008, and I have used it from time to time to look up how a lawmaker voted on a specific issue. One handy feature allows you to look up votes a lawmaker cast that went against the majority of votes in his or her party. Users can also see how many votes a lawmaker has missed. The info is helpful now during the session and I'm guessing gets even more hits around election time.