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letters, opinions, editorials
Stereogram, by Gary Priester. Relax
your eyes and look “through” the image, not focusing
on the foreground. Let your brain work to see the picture above
in 3-D. (No hidden image.)
re: burglaries in Placitas
I don’t know who the person was who wrote the letter in the
Signpost about break-ins in Placitas West, but I had an interesting
experience to share with them, if you could pass it on.
A few weeks ago, someone knocked at the door selling “meat,”
“... just happened to be in the neighborhood,” etc.
I declined, of course. He then asked if we had many people selling
stuff door to door. I said “No,” and almost said, “The
last time someone knocked at the door selling ‘vegetables,’
we had a series of burglaries.”
At that time years ago, one woman had her television stolen when
an intruder took it while she was at the back of the house.
I don’t think I would recognize this “salesman,”
but I bet it is tied in. We have had some construction in the area,
and that always brings in strangers, some of whom are opportunists
up to no good. Gives ‘em an opportunity to scout the neighborhood.
—BUNNY BOWEN, Placitas
re: give troops gift packages, mailers available
The war is in its fifth year, and, after a hiatus in 2006, troops
from the New Mexico National Guard units will be back in Iraq for
the 2007 holidays. No matter where you stand on the war, all of
us support our young men and women who are serving. So, once again,
we are asking Placitans to let the troops know we are thinking about
them, by sending a gift package.
U.S. Postal Service mailers are available at four locations in
Placitas: The Merc and First Community Bank in Homestead Village,
and at the Mini Mart and Post Office in the Village. The packages
are addressed to the units’ company commanders, who will distribute
them to their troops. The mailers have a fixed mailing rate of $8.95.
Attached to the mailers are instructions, a suggested list of gift
items, and a U.S. Customs form. The troops have access to a mini
BX (base exchange) that carries many of the things that are in our
local mini marts. However, those food items for Mexican food, chiles,
hot sauces, and things with a “New Mexico Flavor” are
not available, so a box of great “New Mexico Flavor”
items would be most appropriate and greatly appreciated. It would
be great to include a personal note or card.
To reach the troops by Christmas, packages should be mailed not
later than December 4th. For further information, call George Franzen
at 867-0112 or Alan Friedman at 771-8819.
re: enjoying the beauty around us
Last week while rushing to get to work, I got behind a small white
pickup truck. The man driving the truck had a big black cowboy hat
on and there was a small child sitting in a car seat next to him.
I noticed the driver was driving slowly and of course I was in a
hurry and was irritated to see him occasionally apply his brakes
for no reason. I noticed too that occasionally he would stop and
point out the window. Irritated but curious, I too looked. I saw
a coyote run up a hill and disappear behind a scrub of trees. Moments
later, I saw the brake lights come on again and he pointed out his
window again. This time, a wild horse grazed quietly on some buffalo
grass. The child’s little head turned to follow the driver’s
pointing hand. It suddenly occurred to me that this parent or grandparent
was “making memories” with his child or grandchild.
Despite my attempt at being a grumpy, uptight jerk, I felt a huge
smile come across my face. I watched the little kid’s head
bob up and down in excitement as he and his father or grandfather
talked about the wildlife they were fortunate enough to spot. In
my frenetic rush to get to my cubicle at Intel, I was completely
blinded to the beauty around me. I am in my 40s and I can still
remember the special time my grandfather or my father spent with
me when I was a kid. I hope this little kid never forgets this special
morning on a lazy winding road in the foothills of Placitas. I smiled
from ear to ear as I followed the small white truck and watched
him turn in to the elementary school. Later, as I stared into the
four corners of my cubicle at work and sipped on my coffee, I wondered
why I was in such a hurry to get there.
Ladies and Gentlemen: I encourage all of you to take a deep breath
and smile and enjoy the natural beauty around us. Everyone is in
such a hurry to get nowhere. You’re only on this planet one
time (or so they say), so enjoy the ride.
Many thanks to the man in the black cowboy hat driving the small
white truck for being my teacher that quiet morning.
—JOHN COLANG, Placitas
re: weighty observations
Dear Friends Back East,
I find myself increasingly awestruck by the size of trucks and
their cargoes constantly in motion at our highway 165-550-Route
25 intersection. Perhaps this is due to my decreasing physical stature
resulting from age-related spinal column compaction and/or by the
fact of recent spinach salad-related food poisoning with significant
weight loss. Or maybe I’ve become more childlike since moving
to the Land of Enchantment. In any event, it seems to me the size
of trucks and their cargoes are steadily becoming more colossal—sort
of like high school football players—and that this is particularly
evident at said intersection.
One sunny day last week, I was taking my excellent Maine Coon cat,
Patrick, to his Bernalillo-based counselor (to help him with his
unfortunate Rhode Island accented meow—we’re all embarrassed
by it) when we were halted at a light at Route 25. There was an
elephantine truck cab halted in the oncoming lane just to my left—lavender
with white lettering and about four stories tall; an equally hippopotamic
truck on my right; a mastodon of a trailer directly in front of
me and a (relatively petite) rock hauler to the rear. Patrick and
I were engulfed in near darkness. The inside temperature dropped
seven degrees.
Patrick, with his paws against the passenger window, stared upwards
at the behemoth just beyond his reach. He turned his head towards
me, giving a yellow-eyed stare that seemed to say, “Armageddon’s
here, boss. Got a salmon smoothie?”
Looking up at the lavender leviathan to my right, I could see that
a handball game was occurring in the living space behind the driver.
On our return trip, we spotted an enormous truck cab pulling four
more new, brightly colored cabs upwardly angled on their rear wheels
and lined up behind the leader as if performing a gigantic, mechanized
bunny hop—or perhaps a unique form of truck erotica. Astounding.
The objects hauled on flatbeds via that intersection are, methinks,
increasingly bizarre in shape and size and appear suitable only
for Roswell—and perhaps Congress. And I’ve noted enormous
sections of conduits apparently designed for a sewage system appropriate
for simultaneous use by the Jolly Green Giant, Paul Bunyan, Babe
the Blue Ox—and perhaps Congress.
There are large cube-shaped items resembling air conditioners suitable
for cooling the northern hemisphere. And, of course, there are huge
flatbed trucks hauling houses, some already occupied, complete with
swimming pool, lawn, shrubbery, coyote fencing, and coyotes.
Over the years, my spouse has suffered a recurring nightmare wherein
she is driving an enormous truck and trailer through lower Manhattan.
Since moving to Placitas, this nightmare has increased to near-weekly,
no doubt enhanced by these awesome sights on the way to and from
Bernalillo. And I now dream that I’m in the passenger seat
alongside her, frequently waking in a cold sweat while emitting
multi-toned whimpers.
But we’re doing fine in spite of such weighty considerations.
The spectacular balloon festival has certainly lightened things
up, and Patrick’s counselor is also proving to be a big help.
Your Friend,
—HERB, Placitas
Elk tracks in Placitas
re: off-road vehicles and bugling elk
I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who commented on the
Forest Service Travel Management Plan (the off-road-vehicle issue)
this past summer. We’re still waiting for the Forest Service
to release the Proposed Action, which is the document that spells
out exactly what they plan on adopting as the formal “Rule”
later this year. When the Proposed Action comes out, we have another
thirty days to comment on that. Hopefully the La Madera area of
the forest will not be part of that proposal, as the two main canyons,
Tejon and Gonzales, both have several springs and are recognized
by State Game and Fish as viable wildlife corridors. The Off-Highway
Vehicle (OHV) groups wanted this area as a “rock crawling”
area for “extreme” 4x4 trucks. The last we heard, the
area was taken out of consideration for OHV use because the access
was via the Giant Corp. pipeline, and they didn’t want the
general public using this pipeline maintenance road as a forest
access.
—PETER CALLEN, Placitas
P.S.—The Diamond Tail Ranch hosted a hike with the Las
Placitas Association up Tejon Canyon to the springs located near
the Forest Service boundary. And Lo! There were signs of many
animals using the year-round spring, including the four-legged
ones known as elk. For elk to be coming anywhere near Sandia Mountain
is big news, and this isn’t the first sign. Bugles were
heard earlier this year, and residents of the Diamond Tail subdivision
have seen elk to the north of their houses.
Editorial
Lamenting El Zócalo’s renovation
and the destruction therein
—TERRY LAMM
In May of 1980 in selected newsstands around New Mexico, issue
26 of Adobe Today appeared with the center article entitled
“Abenicio Salazar,” and above the title in Arabesque
calligraphy the words, “An Adobe Folk Hero.”
A large period portrait of a lean Hispanic master builder with
a broad-brimmed hat dominated the large formatted 11” x 16”
magazine. The article began with this opening paragraph:
“Abenicio Salazar was Sandoval County’s most prodigious
adobe contractor in early twentieth century New Mexico, until his
death in Bernalillo in 1941. A master mason in stone, brick, concrete,
as well as adobe, he often combined all skills in constructing massive
adobe structures…Building adobe homes, businesses, churches
and schools, Salazar’s accomplishments…”
What followed in the seven-to-eight-page article was a documented
survey of many of these places, including the first published photographs
of the ghost town of Hagan. Other surveys have followed to identify
Abenicio Salazar as the master builder of an entire adobe town now
in amazing ruins up Tonque Arroyo on the way to Santa Fe. New
Mexico Architecture writer Brent Wilson named Abenicio Salazar
as the only documented Hispanic builder in early twentieth century
New Mexico. His buildings still adorn many of the streets of Bernalillo
and other towns in New Mexico. Citizens of Bernalillo are proud
to live in his many adobe bungalow four squares, many with the original
oak floors and other solid features that characterize the town.
In addition to many historic and contemporary photographs, there
were extensive drawings, sketches, and plans that I had gathered
since I first acquired federal tax deed in 1976 to the central part
of the Abenicio Salazar Historic District called El Zócalo.
El Zócalo refers to the central square in many towns in
Mexico where people can assemble for public discussion and celebration.
It was my intent that this property should be the embodiment of
the civic ideal of the main town squares employed by all viable
societies.
From a long background in liberal idealism, a study of geography
had increasingly convinced me that civic idealism meant a more refined
sensibility of neighborhood design and rehabilitation. Rigorous
study of neighborhood history should be pursued in any real course
for civic betterment. Canvassing through neighborhoods from Alabama,
Massachusetts, and many New Mexico locations had convinced me years
earlier that a survey of overlooked and ignored architectural legacies
is central to most any successful effort at community revitalization.
In the meantime, in the seventies, the corporate planning agencies
had clearly outmatched and outmaneuvered the capabilities of local
planning officials.
It was in May of 1980 when I acquired the Augean massive adobe
rubble of “Our Lady of Sorrows High School and Convent.”
The fact that it was “Idealism” that led our efforts,
counterpunched with Realism—Idealism/Realism—the proposition
is the paradox we always face—the words faced each other in
inceptive murals with the sixteen-foot-wide muralized words headlined
over framed community bulletin boards opposite in the entrada of
the Salazar Building at the Zócalo.
In March of 2003, the sale of the Zócalo to Sandoval County
was written even as the bombs began dropping on the adobe urbanity
of Baghdad, Iraq.
Now, we have imprudent improvers who annihilate the history of
and in the Zócalo, funded by a government where geographic
misinformation malfeasance has been legendary and monumental. Now,
they are “historically” rehabilitating the Zócalo
in Bernalillo, destroying extensive efforts of Plants of the Southwest,
cutting down the Mulberry trees planted by the Sisters of Loretto
and now they have destroyed the grand Entrada itself. Any valid
historic reconstruction should make contact with its antecedent
history. I remember when county officials laughed at my collection
of sequential materials at the property closing in 2003, although
a state preservation official solemnly promised an appropriate historic
treatment for the property that county officials had long strove
to acquire and now gleefully expunge.
Last month, the new architects of the reconstituted Zócalo
chose to eliminate the murals of the entranceway that was a collaborative
effort of Edwardo Gonzales, Leo Garcia, Richard Catanach, Michelle
Sewards, and me.
The subject was Civic Idealism, and thus it had to be destroyed.
Edwardo Gonzales warms many of our homes—the Barelas Coffee
House, Monroe’s, too many places to mention, but is a key
portraitist of New Mexico folklore. While he was working on these
murals, Edwardo received surely what we should rate as the highest
in civic honors—to have an elementary school in Albuquerque
named for him.
Richard lives up to the character and work of Abenicio Salazar
himself. Leo has the best geographic public art in Albuquerque.
It is the classic Agora of ancient Greece where Civic Idealism
was first conceptualized in the Western world. Now, we experience
locally and nationally the dearth of not only civic virtue, but
we are haunted now by the dearth of civic imagination itself. Edwardo’s
portrait was of children gathering books, maps, and globes, in a
gush of youthful yet rigorous inquiry. Idealism built on study and
contemplation not unlike the remarkably overlooked ideals of classic
Islamic cities and towns. One of the least appreciated historical
reappraisals is that from hundreds of years of recently declassified
materials, it is clear that the Spanish Empire was enlivened by
master geographers. Extensive site plans, maps, and geographic inquiry
filled their libraries. I have been in many towns in Mexico where
3-D models from many ages fill their Civic exhibitions—not
utopian schemes disguised as Idealism, not the slash and burn ideological
fervors of Communism, Nazism, and now its new coarse versions rising
out of failing government.
Civic Idealism shapes the shared dreams of its builders and inhabitants.
Ancient maps, civic surveys, and cartography secret for much of
history show models of architecture and plantings, water rills and
shade-giving pavilions that were all ingredients honored in the
hallway entranceway. We get our bearings from the counterpoint of
Idealism versus the realism we encounter often at the same time.
So much misinformation persists. It is the Salazar Building. It
is the largest building in the Zócalo. Why has this misinformation
persisted?
The theme of water in the entranceway mural with the Patrick Geddes
quote, “The Valley is the basis of all Survey” was especially
highlighted by Michelle Seward’ s especially accurate 3-D
geo-diorama “Watershed of the Northeastern Sandia Watershed,”
that was just inside the double set of double doors. This too was
an emblematic model of civic geography, an exhaustive portrayal
of the beautifully named series of arroyos that both enhance and
threaten repeats of the 1949 floods—a cosmographical view
of the Bernalillo/Sandia floodplain, pertinent in any optimal land
use evaluation.
Under Edwardo Gonzales’s 4’ x 16’ mural, I had
about forty 8” x 11” color prints of Zócalos
throughout Mexico. These are the stunningly beautiful public congregation
sites that exhibit the idealism of its populace.
Study finds climate change to reduce New Mexico’s
supply water
—NEW MEXICO STATE UNIVERSITY
Researchers at New Mexico State University and the University of
New Mexico today released a new study finding climate change will
result in decreased water availability in New Mexico’s Rio
Grande Basin, cutting the state’s water supply and hurting
its economy and agriculture.
The two researchers, NMSU Agricultural Economics Professor Brian
Hurd and UNM Civil Engineering Professor Julie Coonrod, note a wide
range of climate models predict warmer weather and a change in precipitation
patterns in New Mexico, changes the new study finds will lead to
a decrease in water supply ranging from a few percent to one-third
in the Rio Grande Basin. Such water supply reductions will have
a significant impact on New Mexico’s economy. The study used
a middle scenario of greenhouse gas emissions growth over the 21st
century and examined a wide range of potential changes in temperature
and precipitation.
“Direct and indirect economic losses are projected to range
from $13 million to $115 million by 2030 in the state of New Mexico,
and from $21 million to over $300 million by 2080,” said Hurd,
who has studied climate change and its economic effects for more
than a decade. “Traditional agricultural systems and rural
communities are most at risk, and may need transitional assistance.”
Much of New Mexico’s surface water comes from snow melt high
in the mountains. Warmer temperatures could create a shift in precipitation
patterns, leading to more rain and less snow. That would mean less
water stored as snow pack and available after snow melt for rivers
and reservoirs, especially during the peak irrigation season in
late summer.
Additionally, warmer temperatures translate to earlier seasonal
snow melts. That means the water that makes it to the reservoir
has more time to evaporate before it is released to agriculture
downstream.
“Purely economic figures don’t tell the whole story,”
said Hurd. “Unfortunately, what we leave out of our analysis
might ultimately prove more valuable to our environment, our identity,
and to the character of New Mexico.”
Hurd and Coonrod say water supply losses will not only shrink crop
acreage and production but could irreversibly alter New Mexico’s
landscape and rural character.
“Irrigated lands support more than crops,” Hurd said.
“They provide habitat for wildlife, open space and scenic
vistas for the backdrop to New Mexico’s thriving art, tourist
and recreation economies.” In addition, the researchers warn
of the effects warming and drying would have on New Mexico’s
forests, rangelands and water quality, including heightened frequency
and severity of wildfires, reduced forage for both livestock and
wildlife and reduced water quality.
With decreases in available surface water coupled with rising urban
populations, Hurd believes pressure to buy water from farmers will
intensify. “Water prices will inevitably rise and farmers
will find it more lucrative to lease or sell their water than to
farm.” He also believes clarifying water rights and improved
measurement will allow farmers to more profitably manage their water,
leading to greater efficiency and mitigation of some of the farm-level
economic losses.
“This is something that has already been happening in the
state,” Hurd said. “Climate change will only hasten
water transfers.”
Hurd and Coonrod say with more people and less water in New Mexico’s
future, the patterns of water use will either have to be reorganized,
or the state risks significant disruption in the services provided
by water resources.
The study is available online at: http://agecon.nmsu.edu/bhurd.
Title insurance reform
—THINK NEW MEXICO
—NEW MEXICO STATE UNIVERSITY
Researchers at New Mexico State University and the University of
New Mexico today released a new study finding climate change will
result in decreased water availability in New Mexico’s Rio
Grande Basin, cutting the state’s water supply and hurting
its economy and agriculture.
The two researchers, NMSU Agricultural Economics Professor Brian
Hurd and UNM Civil Engineering Professor Julie Coonrod, note a wide
range of climate models predict warmer weather and a change in precipitation
patterns in New Mexico, changes the new study finds will lead to
a decrease in water supply ranging from a few percent to one-third
in the Rio Grande Basin. Such water supply reductions will have
a significant impact on New Mexico’s economy. The study used
a middle scenario of greenhouse gas emissions growth over the 21st
century and examined a wide range of potential changes in temperature
and precipitation.
“Direct and indirect economic losses are projected to range
from $13 million to $115 million by 2030 in the state of New Mexico,
and from $21 million to over $300 million by 2080,” said Hurd,
who has studied climate change and its economic effects for more
than a decade. “Traditional agricultural systems and rural
communities are most at risk, and may need transitional assistance.”
Much of New Mexico’s surface water comes from snow melt high
in the mountains. Warmer temperatures could create a shift in precipitation
patterns, leading to more rain and less snow. That would mean less
water stored as snow pack and available after snow melt for rivers
and reservoirs, especially during the peak irrigation season in
late summer.
Additionally, warmer temperatures translate to earlier seasonal
snow melts. That means the water that makes it to the reservoir
has more time to evaporate before it is released to agriculture
downstream.
“Purely economic figures don’t tell the whole story,”
said Hurd. “Unfortunately, what we leave out of our analysis
might ultimately prove more valuable to our environment, our identity,
and to the character of New Mexico.”
Hurd and Coonrod say water supply losses will not only shrink crop
acreage and production but could irreversibly alter New Mexico’s
landscape and rural character.
“Irrigated lands support more than crops,” Hurd said.
“They provide habitat for wildlife, open space and scenic
vistas for the backdrop to New Mexico’s thriving art, tourist
and recreation economies.” In addition, the researchers warn
of the effects warming and drying would have on New Mexico’s
forests, rangelands and water quality, including heightened frequency
and severity of wildfires, reduced forage for both livestock and
wildlife and reduced water quality.
With decreases in available surface water coupled with rising urban
populations, Hurd believes pressure to buy water from farmers will
intensify. “Water prices will inevitably rise and farmers
will find it more lucrative to lease or sell their water than to
farm.” He also believes clarifying water rights and improved
measurement will allow farmers to more profitably manage their water,
leading to greater efficiency and mitigation of some of the farm-level
economic losses.
“This is something that has already been happening in the
state,” Hurd said. “Climate change will only hasten
water transfers.”
Hurd and Coonrod say with more people and less water in New Mexico’s
future, the patterns of water use will either have to be reorganized,
or the state risks significant disruption in the services provided
by water resources.
The study is available online at: http://agecon.nmsu.edu/bhurd.
First in nation: gambling-specific treatment recovery
house opens in Albuquerque
New Mexico has its first long-term, housing-based treatment program
exclusively for gambling addiction. This new pilot program is open
to address compulsive gambling. Overseen by The Evolution Group,
Inc., a local counseling treatment center, the pilot program is
called Integrity Recovery House.
Phase One of the project, the men’s house, was started with
initial funding from Sandia Resort and Casino and the member tribes
of the Responsible Gaming Association of New Mexico. Phase Two,
a women’s house called “Rainbow House,” now under
renovation and construction, received initial funding from Santa
Ana Star Casino and Acoma Business Enterprises.
Integrity Recovery House (IRH) provides structured accountability
and support for compulsive gambling and other co-occurring issues
for persons in need of a structured lifestyle. IRH is a six-month
recovery living model combining the proven approaches of structured
recovery house living with nearby gambling-specific intensive outpatient
treatment. The men’s house opened in June 2007; the women’s
house will open after construction is complete in February 2008.
Integrity Recovery House is grounded in the philosophy, literature,
and curriculum of Integrity Recovery, a cognitive-behavioral approach
utilized by The Evolution Group, Inc., which has proven successful
for many struggling to overcome addictive behaviors and restore
balance to their lives. Gamblers Anonymous as well as other community-based
recovery organizations will be invited to hold meetings at the location.
Because Integrity Recovery House is recovery housing plus the cost
of outpatient treatment, it is not nearly as expensive as inpatient
or residential treatment. Scholarships have been made possible for
those in need by Sandia Resort and Casino.
Integrity Recovery House is located near The Evolution Group, Inc.,
an outpatient treatment facility in Albuquerque with a reputation
for excellence in treating adult and family issues including gambling
addiction, alcohol and drug addiction, domestic violence issues,
and mental health disorders.
Integrity Recovery House is open to anyone in need of assistance
with a gambling problem. Clients may apply to the program by calling
(505) 242-6988, ext. 112, obtaining an application at www.walkingwithintegrity.com,
or visiting 218 Broadway SE in Albuquerque. For more information
about this program or to schedule a presentation for your organization
on counseling and services available for addictive behaviors, contact
Daniel Blackwood at (505) 242-6988, ext. 114.
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