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Opinion
Snow Days Bring Worries for Adults
What Is Real Purpose of Animal Law?
Let's Get State Police Out on the Road Again
It's Time To Fork Over All that Unspent Pork
Kudos and Thanks for Quick Response
Edgewood Parade Turned Out Nicely
AYP Status Doesn't Tell Whole Story
Letters to the Editor
Editorial: Hibbs Has Done Job of 2 Mayors
Editorial: Law Revised for Problem Animals
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Opinion
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Thursday, April 17, 2008
Letters To the Editor
Story Kept Public
Informed on Issue
THANKS FOR YOUR ARTICLE today on the NM Water Service Company contract with Campbell. Especially helpful was the information on setting up an e-mail updates on PRC action on the issue. I never knew there were e-mail updates — you just saved me a lot of time!
A group of neighborhood associations along North 14 is starting to form what’s currently called the North 14 Impact Group, for neighborhood associations and landowners on this part of the mountain to talk about development issues that impact us all.
The group would be parallel to the East Mountain Coalition, which has focused so well on Bernalillo County planning issues and could easily partner with that group if they want to pursue our issues.
The group has identified concerns about the predictable issues — traffic, water, waste water, fire and EMT protection, maintaining the rural character.
Thanks to the Telegraph for keeping us all informed about the East Mountains issues.
JANET WINCHESTER-SILBAUGH
Sandia Park
Why Haven’t We
Considered Wind?
THE WIND IS BLOWING hard across New Mexico and Torrance County today, but presumably not hard enough to persuade the Land of Enchantment’s electric co-ops management to take a look at wind power. I guess our wind is not as good as the wind in Texas, which now gets more than 3 percent of its power, enough to supply 1 million homes, from wind. But get this. Texans are even turning tapped-out oil fields into wind farms, and no less an oilman than Boone Pickens is getting into alternative energy.
“I have the same feelings about wind,” Mr. Pickens said in an interview, “as I had about the best oil field I ever found.” He is planning to build the biggest wind farm in the world, a $10 billion behemoth that could power a small city by itself, the New York Times reported in February. Not surprisingly, Texas is first among the states in wind production. (The United States recently passed Spain to move into second worldwide behind Germany.) And Texas is moving aggressively.
California is No. 2 in wind power. Then come Minnesota and Iowa. Colorado and Oregon, like the former two, get 5 to 8 percent of their power from the wind today. What about the land of mañana? Here we’re planning on burning our trees to make alternative power, you know, as was done with the first steam locomotives in the nineteenth century.
JOHN F. MIHELICH
Estancia
Council Didn’t Give
Special Treatment
I AM WRITING TO COMMENT on the article “NM 344 Gets Its Name Back,” which appeared in the April 10, 2008 Telegraph. Mr. Ross did a good job of reporting much of what was said at the meeting, but his article omitted one important detail. The omission gives the false impression that John Bassett received special treatment during the meeting. The council agreed to combine the general public comment time with a second comment time reserved for discussing the resolution itself. Others who had planned to speak later in the evening were given the same opportunity.
The original resolution was passed in 2007. It renamed N.M. 344/Edgewood 7 and was brought to a vote on short notice. There was no substantive debate about the practical implications of the resolution, nor was there any acknowledgement of the role to be played by the state highway department. As stated during the April 2 council meeting, those were the grounds upon which Councilor Felton based his previous vote against the original resolution, and also the grounds upon which he, Councilor Abrams, and Mayor Stearley voted to rescind that resolution on April 2. I don’t believe the vote reflects politics or factionalism as much as it demonstrates a new level of political maturity.
Mr. Bassett made a valuable contribution to the discussion by mentioning the good things which have been lost by the town since 1999. What we gained in the way of consequence and autonomy needs to be balanced against the negative effects of rapid growth. Mistakes by the governing body are inevitable; that’s especially true in a young town. However, in order to maintain its integrity, the governing body must be willing to re-examine and correct mistakes when they do occur.
I hope the council decides to establish written guidelines for the naming and renaming of streets, parks, buildings, and any other facilities for which the town is responsible. Having such a policy will provide both residents and the council with an objective standard for constructing and evaluating future requests.
JANELLE TURNER
Edgewood
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