Morning Word: A Valiant Leader Honored

H

onor for a national hero. Civil rights leader Martin Luther King is remembered today for his valiant push to create a country that recognizes the rights of all people.

It's January 19, 2015

US Sen. Martin Heinrich reflected on the important lessons taught by the bold and brave preacher.

Hundreds marched in honor of King on Saturday. Pics and story at the ABQ Journal.  Marchers in Las Cruces also rallied to remember King over the weekend. Read more at the Sun-News. MLK Day is also recognized in Hiroshima every year according to Wikipedia. Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba holds a special banquet at the mayor's office as an act of unifying his city's call for peace with King's message of human rights.

Spike Lee, notes that the new film Selma was snubbed by the Oscars even though it covered this territory. He says there needs to be more diversity in the nominations. Read more at US Weekly.  Cheryl Boone Isaacs, the first African American president of the film academy, agrees with Lee and  says she’ll push for more diversity. Read more online. Remember that public schools, banks and most government agency offices are closed today.

The New Mexico Legislature gets underway in Santa Fe tomorrow and declining oil prices could fracture the state budget. With less money to "bicker over," budget talks could get complicated. Read more at the Farmington Daily Times.  Blogger Joe Monahan says Democrat Rep. Eliseo Alcon, who represents parts of Cibola and McKinley counties, won't caucus with the minority party this year. Instead, Alcon plans to meet with nonprofits and rank and file union members for advice on legislation. Read more here.  State Rep. Patricia Roybal Caballero, D-Albuquerque, wants to increase the powers of citizen police review boards to investigate and resolve citizen complaints after multiple shootings jarred the state and the nation last year. Roybal Caballero's proposal currently does not give those boards subpoena power, but she plans to amend her pre-filed bill to give "it more teeth." Read it at the Santa Fe New Mexican.  A group in Farmington is putting its support behind a state Senate bill that would allow private schools students to participate in public school activities and sports.

Read more at The Daily Times. 

Officials at Spaceport America will ask legislators for an extra $1.7 million this year. Read why at the Las Cruces Sun-News.  Journalists Trip Jennings and Heath Haussamen have published an edgy 2015 Legislative Guide. Read it at New Mexico In Depth.  New security measures are in place in the Farmington police evidence locker room after pills and credit cards were discovered missing. Read more at The Daily Times.  The Public Regulation Commission's independent hearing examiner continues to listen to expert testimony in PNM's controversial energy replacement proposal. Nellis Kennedy-Howard is with the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign and said she's relieved that the commission is going over PNM's proposal with a fine-tooth comb.

Once testimony concludes the hearing officer will prepare his findings and recommendations to commissioners. No date has been set for a vote. Rita Daniels has more at KUNM radio.  Santa Fe resident Peggy O'Mara says it's time for New Mexico to "think big" on its energy future, because:

Read her view at the Santa Fe New Mexican.  As more people consider adding solar panels to their roofs, energy market Analyst Jim Conca, who used to work at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad, takes a look how some homeowners are getting scammed.

Read it at Forbes.   Laura Paskus continues her New Venture Fund series Drilling Deep. She talked to families concerned about oil companies plans lease land around Chaco Canyon National Historic Park for future drilling.

Listen to the latest on KUNM radio.  US Sen. Tom Udall, who opposes the Keystone Pipeline, says Congress should not intervene in approving the pipeline for a foreign corporation.

Udall says lawmakers should focus on expanding clean energy technology. Read more at the Los Alamos Daily Post. 

Mike Bush has more at the ABQ Journal. 

Reporter Charles Brunt reports the free play revenue, has been a "multimillion-dollar point of contention between casinos and state regulators" for years.

Collectively, the racinos are seeking about $9.3 million in what they allege are overpayments to the state. Read more online. Andy Lyman spent some time figuring out the difficult process of negotiating and approving gaming compacts. Read how at the New Mexico Political Report.  Former Morning Word editor Matt Reichbach has some analysis on what impact the Supreme Court’s decision to review gay marriages could mean to same sex couples in the Land of Enchantment. Read it at New Mexico Political Report. 

See more at KRQE. 

Editor's note: An earlier version of this post incorrectly identified Spike Lee as the director of Selma. The film was directed by Ava DuVernay.

Santa Fe Reporter