SWOPblogger

Megan Kamerick NMBW Staff
Original article

Opponents of how tax increment development districts (TIDDs) are structured in New Mexico plan to take their concerns to the state this January during the legislative session in the hopes of changing how the economic development tools can be used.

New Mexico Voices for Children, which has been among the groups opposing the use of TIDDs by SunCal Cos. in its large, mixed used development on Albuquerque's westside, wants to change the enabling legislation that passed in 2006 to allow the creation of TIDDs.

The nonprofit sides with 1,000 Friends of New Mexico and the Southwest Organizing Project in their opposition to the use of these tools to develop projects on the city's fringe. So it will seek to limit the use of TIDDs in greenfield development. But its primary concern is the potential impact of TIDDs on the state's general fund if more such projects begin popping up across the state, said Gerry Bradley, research director of Voices for Children.

"We want to go back and say that the state share of gross receipts tax should not be taken out of the state general fund and given to the TIDD," Bradley said. "So we would delete that portion of the statute."

mkamerick@bizjournals.com | 348-8323

Labels: Albuquerque City Council, Campaign for a Better New Mexico, county commissioner, State Legislature, TIDD, TIF

To explain why he didn't recuse himself from the vote to create 9 TIDDs for SunCal Corporation, Bernalillo County Commissioner Tim Cummins told the Journal that "There is absolutely nothing of benefit that the TIDD brings to us."

We think this is highly debatable given the amount of land SunCal proposes to develop very near Cummins' own property. And we're not the only ones who think so. In her blog, Coco points us to this from the 2004 Alibi expose of west side development shenanigans:

"Cummins has said he will not vote on any plans that would directly affect the value of his property. But, bureaucratically speaking, to get any closer to the deal, he'd have to be the county commission's staff proctologist. (...)"

On other fronts, the Journal reports on a case this morning that NM State District Judge Jerald Valentine won't reconsider his decision to set aside an Extraterritorial Zoning Authority approval of a development project just south of Las Cruces.

Valentine made his decision because of the participation of Las Cruces City Councilor Jose Frietze in the hearing. Apparently Frietze has an extensive history of working with the developer, of which the Judge noted "...an objective observer would entertain reasonable questions about Authority Commissioner Frietze's impartiality."

During the hearing to ask him to reconsider his decision, the judge said that further study after his initial ruling about the relationship between Frietze and the developer "reinforced his belief that a "reasonable person could entertain reasonable suspicions" about Frietze's impartiality."

Moving this logic to the wheeling and dealing on Albuquerque's west side...we think any reasonable person can see that Tim Cummins stands to benefit financially a great deal from SunCal's development project. After all, it will essentially bring the City of Albuquerque right out to meet his land.

In 2004, Cummins told the Alibi he would not vote on any plans that would directly affect the value of his property. He might not be getting direct cash from SunCal, but it’s pretty obvious that the SunCal project will most certainly directly affect the value of his property.

Labels: Albuquerque County Commission, TIDD, TIF

Original Article.

By Sean Olson
Journal Staff Writer

The executive director of an environmental group that focuses on growth issues says Bernalillo County Commissioner Tim Cummins should not have voted to move forward on a major West Side development.

But county officials say Cummins, whose company is developing an industrial park surrounded on three sides by the 57,000-acre SunCal property, had no conflict and his vote was "proper." The industrial park is north of I-40 at Paseo del Volcan.

The commission last week voted 3-2 to approve a master development agreement and special tax districts for SunCal. Cummins joined Commissioners Alan Armijo and Michael Brasher in voting yes.

The so-called Tax Increment Development Districts allow developers to divert future tax revenues from within the districts to pay for roads, storm drainage and other infrastructure.

Gabriel Nims, executive director of 1,000 Friends of New Mexico and a vocal critic of the tax plan, said Wednesday that Cummins should have recused himself from any SunCal votes.

"It's more than just if there's a conflict," Nims said. "There is an appearance of conflict."

Read More.

---

Original Post.

Political solicitation is not allowed on Albuquerque Public Schools campuses. Military-based organizations are not considered political, says Rigo Chavez, APS spokesperson.

Those are the first two facts to consider before diving into a months-long debate waged by the SouthWest Organizing Project (SWOP) regarding equal access to high school students facing choices about their futures. Schools receiving federal funding are required to allow the military access to campuses under No Child Left Behind laws.

Turned Away
SWOP underwent serious scrutiny before being given permission by the school district to approach Albuquerque High with the possibility of setting up a table during lunch hour to distribute information on alternatives to the military. The Alibi first wrote about SWOP's struggle to get space on campus at the end of May ["Military Brats," May 31-June 6, 2007].

Armed with a pamphlet about scholarship opportunities in New Mexico, the lottery scholarship and what students need to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, staff from the organization showed up at Albuquerque High earlier this month. "After a year of obstacles and challenges," SWOP was turned away, says Monica Cordova, youth coordinator. Administrators told Cordova they couldn't go ahead with the SWOP table that day because of extenuating circumstances.

What circumstances? Well, coincidentally, SWOP showed up for their scheduled tabling on Thursday, Dec. 6, the same day a Journal article appeared regarding Albuquerque High parents angry about a mandatory assembly the previous day called “Planning for Life.” It was a veiled military recruiting assembly, the parents said, the kind they thought they had protected their children from by filling out a form saying they didn't want their mailing address given to recruiters. In Cordova's mind, Thursday was the perfect day to allow SWOP on campus. "I started calling Albuquerque High," she says. " 'Here was your opportunity to counter,' ” she told administrators. "They didn't want to look like they were countering anything."

Recruiting?

APS Spokesperson Chavez says Planning for Life is not a military-based organization. A small logo on the bottom left-hand corner of each page of Planning for Life's website (www.planningforlife.com) reads: "Brought to you by U.S. Army." Senior Hannah McGrew described the assembly as "absolutely crazy." When McGrew heard there was a mandatory assembly for seniors that day, she assumed it was going to have something to do with caps and gowns or graduation requirements. "I sit down, and this big old guy in army fatigues is up on the stage as soon as I get in. He starts talking about sacrifice," she says.

Emil Hill, who handles the day-to-day operations of Planning for Life, says the presentations are not designed to generate interest in the military and that, usually, the officers who deliver the exercise portion of the program are not dressed in fatigues. "The Army not only has an interest and obligation to recruit young people but also to help young people be prepared no matter what path they choose in life," Hill says.

Targeting

High school students are no longer given much advice on physical fitness and are at a disadvantage to stay healthy, Hill adds. Planning For Life is also connected to March 2 Success, billed as a free tool to help students prepare for standardized testing. "The average high school student in most urban centers can't afford to pay for standardized test-taking training," Hill says. "Those classes generally cost about $700 apiece."

In a letter to APS, Albuquerque High parents expressed concern that Planning for Life targets underprivileged students. "... It is clear that the military targets ethnic minority teenagers and 'less advantaged' communities for recruiting," it reads. The Planning for Life assembly was held at Albuquerque High, Rio Grande, Highland and Manzano, according to Chavez. But Chavez says the assembly didn't make the rounds of Albuquerque high schools with concentrations of low-income or high-minority numbers. "Highland High School is our most diverse school," he says.

Chavez says he heard from concerned parents after the assembly and referred them back to Albuquerque High's administration. Principal Tim McCorkle met with SWOP and concerned parents last week and apologized for the situation, says Cordova. He was out of town when SWOP was denied access to campus, she says. McCorkle and other administrators at Albuquerque High did not respond to the Alibi's phone calls as of press time.

Equal Access
Cordova says if Planning For Life went through the same extensive process SWOP went through to get permission to show up on campus, it might have been clearer as to what the assembly was going to be about. As it stands, Planning for Life only had to contact the high school, whereas SWOP had to get all of its materials approved by the school district before being given permission to start talking to Albuquerque High. "APS has to come up with some more solid, concrete policies that don't put schools in a bind," says Cordova, "where the rules are enforced across the board."

In this article from the Dec. 15 Corrales Comment about Patrick Callahan, the third Intel whistle-blower, he tells of repeated disregard for safety procedures at Intel, and the mistreatment of employees who try to follow the proper procedures.

Note Mr. Callahan's summary in the final paragraph, in which he says:
"Intel's public relations people come out and say they're deeply concerned about the community. But if they're not concerned about exposing their own employees, I don't think they're deeply concerned about the community".

Fred Marsh
Corrales Residents for Clean Air & Water
*************************************

The third former Intel employee whistleblower to speak out publicly about the company’s toxic chemical usage believes such factories shouldn’t be allowed near residential areas.

In an interview following his remarks November 7 to officials with the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), Patrick Callahan said, “I’m deeply concerned about the community. We shouldn’t have chemical factories next to our schools and neighborhoods, but I’m more concerned about the workers themselves.”

Callahan, who worked for Intel for 18 years, eventually as a senior technician and manufacturing safety specialist, called for a thorough review of presumed safe levels of exposure to industrial chemicals.

Callahan said his own exposures to toxic chemicals at Intel caused chronic liver damage. “The bottom line is, whoever is in charge of determining what level of chemicals is safe needs to go back and re-visit all of that. Most of that data was set in the Sixties, and the industry has changed.

“As far as putting computer chip factories next to schools and in residential neighborhoods, that’s just ridiculous. That needs to change.

Read More:

Labels: Envirionmental Justice, Intel

The AG has finally given the word that APS can not create it's own police department without legislative approval. So the APS Board is going to seek legislation during the upcoming session in order to proceed with their wrong-headed plan to merge the criminal justice system with school campuses. From the Journal, here is the rationale given for creating a police force:


"An APS police department would be able to apply for state and federal grants to pay for squad cars, body armor and other equipment, APS police Chief Bill Reed said Tuesday. It would also give Reed and other officers access to national and state criminal databases on the district's students, teachers and other employees."

Can someone tell me why the APS security force needs body armor? And why do they need to access criminal databases?

Since the notion of creating a police department came from a "Safety" commission, I would like to suggest that APS look up the word "safety" in the dictionary. A quick online search comes up with these:

From Word-Net: "the state of being certain that adverse effects will not be caused by some agent under defined conditions"

From Answers.com: "The condition of being safe; freedom from danger, risk, or injury"

Last time I checked, this country continues to pour people, primarily men, into prison. It's our solution to a public health problem called "drug abuse" , and it's also our solution to behavior stemming from lack of opportunity, or in plainer terms, poverty. Think I'm a bleeding heart? If our criminal justice system had maybe 5 million less people in it...then maybe.

Given this, I don't think it's safe for young people to be intersecting with the criminal justice system as a matter of course...every time they go to school. Our society has proven itself to be incredibly dysfunctional in this area, and the APS School Board does the young people of this city a great disservice by pursuing this.

Not much to say but Quaaack!

Check out the
Campaign for a Better New Mexico site to read about the TIDD's and how bad they are for our city, county & state.

You gotta hear this!
Marty_the_duck.mp3

Labels: Albuquerque Mayor, Marty Chavez, Marty The Duck, SunCal, TIDD, TIF

Patrick Callahan, who spoke at the November 7 ATSDR (Agency For Toxic Substances And Disease Registry) meeting in Rio Rancho, is the third former Intel employee to speak about the mishandling of toxic chemicals at Intel's Rio Rancho facility.

The information below from an article in the current (December 8, 2007) issue of the Corrales Comment.

...Why should [anyone] believe Intel's calculated emissions, based on their fictitious emission factors?

I'd also like to hear Mr. Callahan's thoughts about Intel receiving the highest Green Zia Award for Environmental Excellence, and John Bartlit's continued support for it having been given to Intel.

Fred Marsh
Corrales Residents for Clean Air & Water

* * * * * * * * * * * *

At the Rio Rancho session, a third former Intel employee spoke out about exposures to toxins from the Rio Rancho plant. Patrick Callahan, who said he was harassed into resigning from Intel in 2005 after persistently complaining about safety concerns, claimed Intel officials in Rio Rancho have falsified documents about chemical exposures.

"I actually worked at Intel for 18 years," Callahan said. "I was exposed to arsenic and I don't know how many chemicals for 25 years, 18 of which were at Intel, and I survived chronic liver disease.

"I have a small son, which is why I'm here: I'm concerned about the community."

Callahan said he was forced to resign in 2005 because he complained about chemical safety issues and failures to take corrective measures. He said he instituted a legal action against Intel which resulted in a monetary settlement.

"I have seen them falsify safety reports when I worked there. I've been harassed by management over OSHA violations there. I went through so much hell with that company that I lost weight mysteriously.

"I went through liver biopsies, and every test known to man, and they couldn't figure it out. But six months after removing myself from working around [Intel] solvents and chemicals, I felt fine.

"All these years when I was working at Intel, and reading about people feeling sick in Corrales, I was always thinking, 'yeah, that's public knowledge, but what about the workers in the plant? We're breathing ten times the chemicals that anyone living close to Intel in Corrales or Rio Rancho is breathing.'

"You know, I did that job for 25 years, so I understand the chemicals Intel is using, I understand the safety procedures they put in place, and their capabilities, but also their finding ways to make a dollar.

"So I wanted to come forward and tell my story for the first time. Most people who work at Intel won't talk about it."

One of the ATSDR officials said she would like to speak to him in more detail after the meeting.

Later in the meeting, Callahan said his superiors would blame diesel trucks for certain heavy chemical odors at Intel. "I think they were coming from our [acid gas] scrubbers, but my supervisor said, 'Oh, it's just diesel trucks delivering materials...' It wasn't diesel trucks; I know what a diesel odor is. There are a lot of good engineers there, a lot of good people who will falsify documents to make them look good."

In a subsequent interview, Corrales Comment asked Callahan to be more explicit about his allegations of falsified documents. He referred to an incident in September 1995 when an industrial safety check list was filled in to show that "visible and audible alarms" were installed for an arsenic blasting room when they were not. "I uncovered the safety sign-off sheets that they had installed those alarms in the room, and they didn't." In a similar vein, he said he worked in a robotic manufacturing room from 1998 to 2003 when contractors for Intel "were violating electrical safety" procedures. "I was told at that point, 'You should be happy you have a job and you should keep your mouth shut.' My Intel manager told me that."

He said he eventually became the team leader and certifier for control of hazardous energy for that robotics unit. He said he was aware of safety check documents that incorrectly indicated proper procedures were in place.

"My supervisor said to close the issue. So I took it to corporate safety, and after eight months of attempted meetings, they got everybody in a room and determined they were actually wrong and I was right, and they had to start labeling the [electrical] panels.

"After that, the inquisition started." Callahan said, referring to the alleged harassment that led to his resignation and initiation of legal action against Intel.

Additional allegations by Callahan and results of his exposure to Intel toxins will be published in a later issue [of the Corrales Comment].

Labels: Envirionmental Justice, Intel

Read the great commentary over at M-pyre.
Read the editorial on the Journal site.

Too many of New Mexico's top politicians are too comfortable in the company of lobbyists whose client lists are built on the cozy relationships.

The politicians even turn for help with their campaigns to the lobbyists— a testimonial to their ability to influence— yet assert they are immune to the lobbyists' persuasive powers.

Mayor Martin Chávez, for example, could not be swayed by his former Senate campaign manager Mark Fleisher, according to Fleisher. Perhaps political advice would be an exception, otherwise why hire him?

So, where is the line between the fine art of influencing and advising? Are there city issues that are devoid of politics? Perhaps. But the use of tax increment development districts— something that affects plans to build out the Atrisco Land Grant on the West Side— isn't one of them.

Chávez vetoed a City Council constraint on use of the TIDD financing mechanism for developments like that proposed by SunCal, the California company that bought out Westland. Campaign manager Fleisher's day job is with a powerhouse lobbying firm, Butch Maki & Associates, that represents SunCal.

It looks bad. Even though most observers could have predicted the Chávez veto if he had never met Fleisher. His views and past actions were consistent with his veto pen.

Similar relations between Gov. Bill Richardson and the firm's principal, Butch Maki, look bad. The Maki firm launched with the inauguration of Richardson, for whom Maki worked during his tenure in the U.S. House. Maki quickly built an impressive list of clients. Maki also has been active in Richardson's presidential campaign.

But any question that those clients hired Maki to influence state government action that affects their interests elicits the same response: Richardson makes up his own mind. Lobbyists, even those with long, close relationships with Richardson, have no influence.

Now the familiar refrain comes from the Chávez camp. It's believable— if you can believe that a roster of successful companies are being suckered by lobbyists, instead of the suckers being voters with little access.

Labels: TIDD, TIF

Karlos recently put up a video that goes through the many testimonies of those speaking out about the demolition of housing in New Orleans. It is both disgusting and outrageous what is happening out there. I encourage you to see the video from yesterday's post. But also to hear this message put out by the Grassroots Global Justice Alliance and take action now.
********************************************
NOLA Housing Crisis Update 12-12-07 7:30pm

By Bill Quigley

Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO), totally controlled by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), is trying to demolish 4500 public housing apartments. Residents and affordable housing advocates are resisting.

Demolition started at BW Cooper this afternoon. Dozens of protestors arrived on site. They blocked a driveway to prevent a bulldozer from entering. At 6:30 in the evening law enforcement pulled back and left one office guarding the bulldozer still left on the street. Sam Jackson of BW Cooper thanked everyone for helping out and told everyone to go home and get a good night’s sleep and be ready to start over tomorrow.

Appeals of the decision to demolish BW Cooper and CJ Peete were filed with the City Council. Plus one of the legal team discovered that the New Orleans City Code specifically requires the City Council to approve demolition of public housing. A request for the City Council to review the proposed demolitions was made late today.

The US 5th circuit refused to stop demolitions while the federal civil rights class action case for residents was being appealed.

Over 100 organizations, both national and regional, endorsed the Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act of 2007 (S.1668), which would provide that no demolition shall occur until HUD devises a plan to replace all of the units that would be demolished.

Labels: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, Public Housing Demolition

Be the change you want to see in the world- Gandhi

I feel that this quote suits me in the work that we as SWOP members do everyday. I am glad to be one of the new youth interns here at SWOP and I’d like to take a minute to tell you all what is new in my neighborhood at SWOP. I was recently part of the trip SWOP took to Jackson, Mississippi. Now, through the friends I made, I heard of a conference being held in Atlanta on gay and lesbian rights. I wanted to attend so much! I then found out that G.L.S.E.N. (Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network) was only taking 25 applicants to go to the conference, because they are paying for the trip. I put in my application in hopes of getting the chance of a lifetime. I waited and waited and heard nothing. But on December 4th, last Tuesday, I got a call from the representatives of G.L.S.E.N saying that out of 2 thousand applicants I got one of the 25 positions to go to G.L.S.E.N’s Students of Color Gay and Lesbian Rights Conference. Now, you can only imagine my honor and happiness of representing S.W.O.P in Atlanta on January 18-21. I will be working with youth from around the nation on issues that gays, lesbians, and bisexuals face everyday at school, work, home, wherever. I would also like to tell you about the youth program I will be facilitating on January 24th. I will be dedicating a whole youth program date to gay and lesbian rights. I will have a guest speaker, and I will be showing a video. There will be multiple discussions on each. It will start at 3:00 that Thursday and will run till around 7:30 that afternoon. I hope to see you all there! This will be one of the workshops for all ages to enhance their knowledge on the subject of gay and lesbian rights.

Take Action.

Labels: Hurricane Katrina, Katrina

Unfortunately, our County Commission decided last night to create nine TIDD districts for SunCal corporation. Thanks to Teresa Cordova and Deanna Archuleta for voting NO. See CoCo's blog if you want to know what the general tone of the evening was. She pretty much nails it.

The one thing missing from CoCo's blog is that in addition to the people in suits (with "I Support TIDDs" emblazoned on their breasts...very funny) , there was also a great diversity of voices showing up to urge Commissioners to use caution, to slow down the process. There was some really compelling commentary made against the use of TIDDs in greenfields, and it wasn't coming from us. This was heartening and makes us realize that there are more and more people, like us, who are beginning to clue into this situation.

One of the Commissioners spent considerable time pointing out how long he's been around when it comes to these issues. Well, we've been around a long time too, and one thing we've learned is that it takes time sometimes to really wrap ones head around all the implications of an otherwise pat explanatory chart on paper. There's no rush, and we don't quite understand why, as CoCo points out, there seems to be a mad dash for the piggybank.

Could it be the "lightbulb" factor? As in, the one coming on over the heads of the general public?

Call your County Commissioner today. We can still stop this.

505-768-4000

SunCal wish list.

Groups back override of TIDD's

Labels: Albuquerque City Council, Albuquerque County Commission, Albuquerque Mayor, SWOP News Rant, TIDD, TIF

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
12/09/07

Contact:
Gabriel Nims, 1000 Friends of NM / 505.228-5777
Marjorie Childress, SouthWest Organizing Project /505.410.8487

Organizations Support Council Override of Chavez Veto on TIDD


What: Press Conference RE: TIDDs in greenfields

When: Monday 12/10/2007, 12:00 noon

Where: Corner of 5th and Marquette, City Hall

Who: 1000 Friends of New Mexico and SouthWest Organizing Project

Tomorrow, Albuquerque organizations will announce their support for a City Council override of Mayor Chavez’s recent veto on the Tax Increment Development District bill sponsored by Councilor Michael Cadigan.

Gabe Nims, Executive Director of 1000 Friends of New Mexico, stated, “Last week, the City Council saved Albuquerque taxpayers from a $100 million gamble. With his veto, Mayor Chavez is throwing taxpayers under the bus in order to help private developer interests. We support the Council’s attempt to override Chavez’s veto and protect Albuquerque’s taxpayers.”

On Monday, December 3, the Albuquerque City Council closed a loophole that allows massive tax subsidies to developers building in empty land on the fringes of our city.

Robby Rodriguez, Executive Director of SouthWest Organizing Project, added, “TIDD”s are complex tax proposals with far-reaching implications. This particular TIDD proposal by SunCal would result in literally hundreds of millions of dollars in tax subsidies by Albuquerque and Bernalillo County taxpayers. Now is the time for the City and County to go slow and complete the necessary financial analysis. To do otherwise, as the Mayor is suggesting, is a disservice to taxpayers.”

The Bernalillo County Commission will also address SunCal’s application to create nine TIDDs at their meeting on Tuesday, December 11.

Labels: Albuquerque City Council, Albuquerque Mayor, Marty Chavez, Mayor Veto, SunCal, TIDD, TIF

Albuquerque, NM – After getting permission to set up an information table at Albuquerque High School, a local grassroots group was turned away yesterday. Members of the Southwest Organizing Project had arranged to set up a table during the lunch hour to discuss with students alternatives to military service. But SWOP’s Emma Sandoval says they were told to go home following a Thursday newspaper article about some parents’ dissatisfaction with military recruitment at the school. Sandoval believes the school district should stand by its “equal access” policy.

“Allow our organization, and others like us, to get a positive message out there to young people. We’re not asking for military recruiters to leave. We’re just asking that we be given an opportunity to show both sides of the fence.”

Sandoval says SWOP had already worked for several months with the school district to get permission to speak with students about alternatives to joining the military.

“We just want students to know that there are other opportunities out there for them. Regardless of their economic, race or class status, they have other options besides joining the military.”

Albuquerque High School Principal Tim McCorkle says he was unfamiliar with the group and its’ request to set up a table, and that he wasn’t available when the organizers showed up at the school but Sandoval explains SWOP received permission from the district earlier this year to distribute literature at area high schools, including A.H.S.

Eric Mack/Chris Thomas, Public News Service - NM

The North American Free Trade Agreements have been around now for almost 14 years with numerous economic and societal effects on New Mexico. ‘New Mexico In Focus,’ examines those effects on Friday, Dec. 7 at 7 p.m., and repeats on Sunday, Dec. 9 at 6:30 a.m. on KNME Channel 5.

...This week’s guests are Dante DiGregorio, assistant professor, UNM’s Anderson School of Management; Tomasita Gonzalez, Southwest Organizing Project; Jerry Pacheco, International Business Accelerator executive director; Alberto Solis, manager, Albuquerque International Trade Division. Panelists are Jeffry Gardner, Albuquerque Tribune columnist; and Joan Schlueter, Women Impacting Public PolicyThis week’s In Focus also looks at the rift in the Albuquerque City Council. Panelists will sound off on the boycott of Monday’s meeting and the long-term impacts of that walkout.

After news broke from the Journal this morning about a mandatory assembly held by military recruiters. Albuquerque High denied SWOP from entering campus to provide military recruitment alternatives. This does not look good APS, not good.

It's important to note that APS has an Equal Access Policy that is enacted when a controversial issue arises on campus. It means that organizations on both sides of the issue must be allowed to present to students. So that's obviously not working.

But APS also has to follow the No Child Left Behind Act, better known as the No Child Left Unrecruited. "...buried deep within the law's 670 pages, is a provision requiring public secondary schools to provide military recruiters not only with access to facilities, but also with contact information for every student -- or face a cutoff of all federal aid." Full article here.

Hurry up APS, you got 2 fights to fight. One, to get your schools to implement Equal Access appropriately and two, putting an end to NCLB. What are you waiting for...
*********************************

For Immediate Release: Press Advisory-December 6, 2007
Contact: Emma Sandoval-489-7332
Monica Cordova-385-6590
SWOP Office 247-8832

Albuquerque High Denies Alternatives to Military Recruitment Presentation

Albuquerque - Today at Albuquerque high the SouthWest Organizing Project (SWOP) was turned away from setting up a table during lunch today to provide students with information regarding alternatives to the military and how to prevent military recruiters from calling them at home. SWOP was clearly denied after Journal headlines broke of a mandatory assembly at which military recruiters were pushing their agenda of pro-war and military. Albuquerque High officials cited the Journal article published today as the reason for changing their decision at the last minute.

“On Tuesday of last week we set up an appointment to present alternatives during lunch. Being denied today after the pro-military mandatory assembly proves that APS is not enforcing equal access policy district wide,” stated Emma Sandoval, a SWOP youth intern.

After being denied access SWOP was told to come back next year.

SWOP received a letter from Rigo Chavez, Director of APS Communications, on August 30, 2007 with approval by the Superintendent stating we have permission from the Albuquerque Public Schools Communications Office, “to visit and distribute literature to schools in the APS school district.” The letter further stated, “Linda Sink and Eddie Soto have sent a memo on behalf of the superintendents to all high and middle schools reminding them that your group and similar organizations must be provided with equal time and opportunity provided to the military.”

“I feel like APS is pushing the military down students’ throats. Students deserve to hear about alternatives to the military so they can make informed decisions. APS must adhere to their policy and allow groups other than the military to talk to students,” stated Sandoval.

What is Albuquerque High afraid of? Parents and the public need to demand that APS provide alternatives to military recruitment of Albuquerque youth. We should have the same access to students as recruiters, especially given that we follow all APS rules and protocol.

A meeting is scheduled Tuesday, December 11, 2007 at 6pm at Albuquerque High School. Interested students and parents should attend.

###

Labels: APS, Equal Access, military recruitment, No Child Left Behind Act

By Zsombor Peter
Journal Staff Writer

Hardly a week goes by that Nathaniel Matthews-Trigg, a senior at Albuquerque High School, doesn't receive some bit of promotional mail from this or that branch of the U.S. military.

Bruce Trigg, Nathaniel's father, thought the form he signed barring Albuquerque High from sharing the family's contact information with recruiters would at least spare his son the school's involvement.

But when a cadre of uniformed Army officers showed up last week for a mandatory assembly on how to choose the right goals in life, he changed his mind.

The Army and school insist the assembly was not a recruitment drive. But some Albuquerque High parents say it was just that, only "thinly veiled" in the guise of a motivational talk to get around limits on student access.

They want the district to let students opt out of such assemblies and give groups that promote alternatives to military service an equal stage.

"I support the Army," said Jill Gatwood, whose son and daughter attend Albuquerque High. "The National Guard in particular can do some good things."

"The issue to me," she wrote on Duke City Fix, a Web site for public discourse on issues affecting Albuquerque, "is the dishonesty and the hidden agenda.

"If parents or students sign an opt-out form to keep the recruiters away, the public school should ... not sponsor mandatory assemblies to give recruiters access to students as a captive audience."

"It's manipulative and dishonest," Trigg agreed. "Who are they kidding?"

The Army actually did not run the assembly. That job fell to Planning for Life, which also visited three other high schools this semester: Highland, Manzano and Rio Grande.

On its Web site, the group says it is "a toolkit that helps students like you to better prepare— academically, physically, emotionally and financially— to further your education and plan for your life."

The only sign of any military tie is a small Army logo in the bottom left corner of the site's home page.

Planning for Life takes a holistic approach to student development, touching on everything from eating right to studying for standardized tests, said Emil Hill of the public relations firm Weber Shandwick. The New York firm represents Planning for Life.

"The Army does this to demonstrate community support," providing a free public service for cash-strapped schools, he said. "It is in no way a recruiting program."
The officers never ask the audience to enlist, Matthews-Trigg said.

"Absolutely no recruiting took place," Gabriel Gonzales, Albuquerque High's activities director, said in his reply to an e-mail from Trigg.

But the Army pays Planning for Life's bills— upward of $3 million a year— out of what Hill called its annual $250 million "advertising" budget.

The Web site for March 2 Success, meanwhile, the free test prep program that Planning for Life promotes and the Army pays for, has tailored four links of frequently asked questions for students, educators, parents— and recruiters.

The site repeatedly notes that students who sign up for the 45-day course have no obligations to the Army, but adds that students can use what they learn to improve their scores on military entrance exams.

It notes that the Army has no plans to release the results of individual students, but adds that results from the course will be used to "develop statistical profiles for the Army."

Gatwood, Trigg and others aren't asking schools to keep recruiters away entirely. Under the No Child Left Behind Act, schools have no choice, unless they want to forgo their federal funding.

But the law also lets parents request that their children's contact information not be given out if the military asks. Parents like Gatwood and Trigg believe that also should apply to school assemblies.

Hill said the group gives a presentation by invitation only.

In his e-mail to Trigg, Gonzales assured him that the visit was cleared by the district's communications office. Communications Director Rigo Chavez said that never happened.

Labels: APS, military recruitment, No Child Left Behind Act

At last night's City Council meeting, our community successfully amended Tax Increment Financing legislation to bar the transfer of tax revenue to large development corporations in the fringe “Greenfield” areas of the city. The amendment did not eliminate the use of TIF in established areas of the city or in areas in which TIDDs have already been approved.

There was broad community support of Michael Cadigan’s Bill, with an impressive array of groups as well as individual residents coming out to voice their concerns. Along with SWOP, these included 1000 Friends of New Mexico, NM Voices for Children, SAGE Council, the Sierra Club, and the Albuquerque Affordable Housing Coalition. Not to mention the Westside Coalition of Neighborhood Associations. And I’m sure I missed a few.

Regarding west side residents, who were out in force last night, it was clear there is real concern about the potential impacts of a 50,000 acre development to the west of them, particularly the further drain on their already difficult task of acquiring the resources to meet their own infrastructure needs.

In addition to the resounding emphasis on the fiscal irresponsibility of giving out such massive tax subsidies, folks continually expressed their concerns about our future water supply. Clearly, TIDDs in the greenfields are widely seen as incentivizing environmentally unsustainable development. It was good to see such broad based concern about future water availability, not just 40 years from now, but 100 years from now. This is what you call long-term vision.

We congratulate Michael Cadigan for the work he did to tackle this issue and to bring in diverse community voices to the debate. The issues are complex and the consensus emerging from a broad array of community folks speaks to the hard work he did.

And we call on Mayor Martin Chavez to support this bill. It reflects deep and broad based concerns in Albuquerque about the security of our tax base and about the many issues with Greenfield development.

Hey all check this out. This is going live today all over the country. We want to get 2 million people to watch it.

From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.



Full video here

Labels: The Story of Stuff

http://www.abqjournal.com/opinion/guest_columns/266326opinion12-02-07.htm



Sunday, December 2, 2007

By Marjorie Childress and Gabriel Nims
SouthWest Organizing Project and 1000 Friends of New Mexico

New Mexico taxpayers take note: State and local "tax increment financing" law is ushering in the largest public subsidization of private land development in the nation, and lawmakers have little idea about how this may impact our existing communities and economy.

In fact, this approach to subsidizing private corporate ventures poses a significant threat to the state's financial standing and the health of our neighborhoods, small businesses and working families.

Tax increment financing— TIF— is an economic development tool that diverts a portion of our future tax revenue away from shared public needs for up to 25 years in order to pay for infrastructure built by private developers today.

Historically, TIF has legitimately been used to boost redevelopment of existing neighborhoods that are declining. It was never designed to fund massive lower-risk developments in fringe areas where development will occur anyway. But unfortunately, the state, city of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County have all in the past year passed legislation authorizing up to 75 percent of the future tax revenue of an area to be given to private developers who are building communities on vacant land on Albuquerque's edge.

Mesa del Sol, owned by Forest City Covington, was the first project to receive approval for up to five tax increment development districts (TIDDs). Mega-developer SunCal has already requested approval of nine TIDDs for its future development on 50,000 acres of the former Atrisco Land Grant. Together, TIF will be employed to offset the development costs of growing the region by hundreds of thousands of people, surpassing, in land area, the total acreage of Rio Rancho.

These multi-billion dollar development companies will divert, not millions, but billions of tax revenue away from existing communities and toward the infrastructure costs of these massive outlying developments. Other developers are lining up to make use of TIF in communities around the state.

A veritable Pandora's Box has been opened before any of our elected bodies can assess all the impacts of TIF.

Why the rush? Our elected leaders have been told that developing these projects in a "smarter" way than the status quo requires a public incentive. Developers claim they need TIF in order to build their projects according to "new urbanist" development principles that emphasize mixed-use, walkable communities.

However, they have yet to actually show anyone why a gift of public dollars to a private developer is necessary when studies of recent trends across the nation show resoundingly that communities built "smart" are in high demand by the market of potential homebuyers. And it is a gift because these public dollars pay for infrastructure (such as roads, sidewalks, sewer lines) after the fact, when we can assume the cost of that infrastructure has already been included in the price of homes and passed on to the homebuyer.

Other potential pitfalls, to list a few:

- Lack of sufficient transparency of the deals and the developer's justified need for them in a project. The public has limited assurances that its tax dollars are being used for the public good rather than simply lining the pockets of private developers.

- The negative economic impact to other parts of the city when existing businesses and homeowners relocate to TIDD areas. With hundreds of new homes on the fringe, the market for existing home sales may slow considerably.

- The impact on future state revenue streams when the economy slows and millions in tax revenue is diverted to satisfy multiple large-scale TIDDs around the state. This is revenue the state needs to meet growing demands for schools, teachers, health care and other critical services.

With gas above $3 a gallon, water increasingly harder to find and the looming certainty of global warming, can the region and state afford to give our future away to accommodate the bottom lines of billion-dollar development corporations?

We are just beginning to embrace the economic and environmental benefits of reinvesting in existing communities, and many worry that TIDDs at the edge will diminish future redevelopment efforts that are required to bring us closer to a sustainable, "green" city.

We urge elected officials across the state, in every jurisdiction, to step back from the promises of fortune and "win-win" proclamations and take an honest look at the potential harm TIFs for fringe development can bring to the state.