Date Posted: NEW ADDITIONS/ ISSUES :
Date sent: Tue, 09 Apr 2002 12:36:24
-0600
To:
cna@laplaza.org
From:
Casa de las Chimeneas <casa@newmex.com>
Subject: [cna] Question
to ponder
Dear CNA members,
There will be a meeting at the Town of Red River Council Chambers
on
Thursday, May 9 at 2 pm to discuss a "charter" for the various groups
who
are working on securing National Scenic Byway Status for the Enchanted
Circle. At the last meeting held to discuss the charter, the
big issue was
the influence the Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway Council should have
over
potential development along the Enchanted Circle. As an example, suppose
a
particular view from the road is considered (through the planning and
asset
inventory process) to be worth preserving. Before funds are secured
to purchase
conservation easements or conservation leases, a developer comes along
and
proposes a 300 home 1/8 acre lot subdivision that will obliterate the
view.
Should the Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway Council take on the role of
opposing
the development outright or requesting modification of the plans in
order to
maintain the viewshed? Should the Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway Council
pose
itself as an entity to be queried regarding zoning, development, planning
around
the roadway? What's the CNA's opinion? FYI - The stated mission of
the Enchanted
Circle Scenic Byway Council is to promote the intrinsic qualities of
the byway
to regional, state and national travelers and to improve the visitor
experience
and enjoyment of the byway. Promoting the intrinsic qualities may indeed
require
some say in roadside development. Another sticky issue, should the
Council
promote legislation or ordinances that deal with issues like roadside
billboards
around the Circle?
I have been on the Council for two years now and am happy to report
on
progess on this issue. However, any and all parties are welcome to
attend
meetings and chime in. The Council wants to do this "right" and we
are
actively soliciting input and participation.
Susan Vernon, Innkeeper
Casa de las Chimeneas, 'House of Chimneys'Inn & Spa
405 Cordoba Road - 5303 NDCBU
Taos, NM 87571
toll-free 877-758-4777
505-758-4777
fax 505-758-3976
http://www.VisitTaos.com
mailto:casa@newmex.com
March 27,2002 Calender for the year [from Linda Moscarella]
To:
LDMNA-Board <LDMNA-Board@yahoogroups.com>
From:
Linda Moscarella <lmosc@laplaza.org>
Date sent:
Thu, 14 Feb 2002 18:15:45 -0700
Subject:
LDMNA-Board] Next board meeting, calendar for the year
Send reply to: LDMNA-Board@yahoogroups.com
Report of Calendar Committee
Judy Anderson, Erin Dayle and Linda Moscarella
met Jan 30 and created a
tentative calendar for the year. A Water
Fair was suggested at the Feb.
11 informal board meeting by Tom Carrow who came
to speak about water
issues. Those present agreed to a regular
board meeting Feb. 25.
The committee proposes that Board meetings should
be held bi-monthly on
the third Monday of the month and that a newsletter
should be assembled
and sent out in March.
The proposed calendar is as follows:
Feb. 25 – regular board meeting
Mar. 1 – Newsletter materials deadline
Mar.18 - Mail newsletter
April 15 – Regular board meeting
May 18 – Clean up and pot luck
June 17 – Regular board meeting
July 20 – Water Fair
Aug. 19 – Regular board meeting
Sept. 24 – Annual meeting
Oct. 21 – Regular board meeting
Nov. ?
Dec. ?
This calendar will be voted on at the next regular
board meeting Feb.
25. See you there.
Linda
October 1, 2001 Annual Meeting Minutes [ Draft ] from Linda Moscarella
LOWER DESMONTES NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION
ANNUAL MEETING – SEPTEMBER 25, 2001
The 2001 annual meeting was called to order at the Arroyos del Norte School shortly after 7PM. President Paul Sands welcomed the 30 neighbors who attended. Attendees were asked to find their names on a data base provided by the Taos County Assessor’s office, or sign in on a separate sheet. A hat was on the table for donations. $72.00 was collected during the evening to help fund neighborhood association activities. A brief history of the Neighborhood Association was presented by Carmeron Mactavish and Linda Moscarella.
Elections of new members to the board was next on the agenda. Paul explained that board terms are staggered and that this year, four new members must be elected, three to fill vacated seats (previously occupied by Paul Sands, Linda Moscarella, and Joe Gonzales) and one to fill a vacancy left from last year’s annual meeting. He presented the slate put together by the nominating committee which consisted of Erin Dayle, Joe Gonzales, Erich Kuerschner and Cameron Mactavish. Holdover board members are Mary Ann Elder, Dean Archuleta, Greg and Tracie Jaramillo (one board member). Two additional board members will be nominated by the local acequia board and by the Lower Des Montes Domestic Water Association bringing the full board membership to nine. Nominations from the floor were invited. There being none, Ralph Bendel moved that the slate be accepted by voice vote. Bill Hyde seconded. The new slate was elected unanimously.
Paul presented his annual report, noting the successful road cleanup effort held August 25 and presentations of importance to the neighborhood of ongoing State re-evaluations of agricultural exemptions and the mapping of existing water wells. (Paul add more)
Bill Monlux requested that the issue of recent robberies be discussed. Marjorie Reading reported her recent experiences and it was noted that a Pensky truck had been seen in the neighborhood on several days when robberies occurred. As a result of this discussion, the new board was charged with forming a safety and security committee, to look into ways to deal with this problem.
The meeting adjourned to continue sampling the
delicious desserts provided by the participants and continue discussions
started during the evening.
August 31, 2001
Email from Nancy
Montano re: LP site for Non-Profits
Date sent:
Wed, 15 Aug 2001 10:24:05 -0600
From:
Nancy Montano <nmontano@laplaza.org>
To:
erich kuerschner <erichwwk@laplaza.org>
Subject:
Re: Site for Non-Profits
erich,
Yes we do. You receive 5 mb of webspace.
You do not need your own domain
name. Your URL would be www.laplaza.org/users/yourname
(i.e. ldmn).
Once you're ready to do this please let me know
so I can set up the
directory and send directions.
BTW, I am the Webmaster for La Plaza (web-dev@laplaza.org)
Nancy
erich kuerschner wrote:
> Dear Web Developer:
>
> Does LP still offer free web hosting for 501-c
non-profits per
>
> http://www.laplaza.org/about_lap/community/outreach.html
?
>
> I am looking at alternatives to using my personal
home page allocation
> for siting the Lower Des Montes Neighborhood
Association Web Site.
>
> Would we be required to have a proprietary
domain name?
>
> In any case, we would appreciate any information
as to our options,
> including whatever the current LP policy is
relative to support of non-profits
> in the areas mentioned in the URL.
>
> We next meet on August 25 and I would like
to be in a position to share
> whatever support LP is willing to provide,
both pro bono and for fee.
>
> Thanks
>
> Erich Kuerschner
--
Nancy M. Montano
|| 224 Cruz Alta Rd, #F || Taos, NM 87571
Webmaster/Content Coord || nmontano@laplaza.org
||
http://www.laplaza.org
La Plaza Telecommunity || [V] 505-758-1836 || [F] 505-751-1812
"Aprender es avanzar"
August 18, 2001
Email from Greg Jaramillo re: Individual Well Data available from
the
State Engineeers Office
Date sent:
Mon, 18 Jun 2001 19:55:36 -0600
From: greg
jaramillo <gjara@newmex.com>
To:
Erich Kuerschner <erichwwk@laplaza.org>
Subject:
Re: Elsbeth Atencio handout on
Groundwater Survey
Dear Erich,
This sounds good. I don't know if you know,
but if one has the name of the property
owner, one can look up the data on line w/ the
state engineer's
website. We are a part of the "Rio Grande
Basin". If the information exists on record,
it should be here. The website's address
is:
www.seo.state.nm.us
It is simple to do and if neighborhood associations
are familiar w/ landowners in their
neighborhoods, this can be expedient in the process
you seek.
This may all be "old news" but I thought I would
share it w/ you.
Regards,
Greg
Jaramillo
August 15, 2001 Email from Cameron Mactavish re: LDMNA Certificate of Incorporation #1759745
The LDMNA
was originally registered with the State Corporation Commission on
November 13, 1995 as #
1759745.
A visit to Santa Fe to do this was part of
my assignment as one of the organizers of the
association.
A check with the Public Regulatory Commission
(PRC)--successor to the
Corporation Commission--on August 15,2001 indicates
that no annual
corporation reports were submitted for 1998,1999,and
2000. These annual
reports are due as of December 31 of each year
along with a filing fee.
The corporation reports can be downloaded from
the PRC web site
<www.NMPRC.state.nm.us/forms.htm>
along with the fee schedule.
I spoke with the PRC this morning at telephone
number 505.827.4511 and was
told that the Certificate of Incorporation was
in the process of being
revoked. This process can be stopped by timely
filing of the 3 delinquent
annual reports and paying the fees which now
amount to a total of $40.
Let me know if I can help.
July 12, 2001 Email from our NA President, Paul Sands re Mtg July 24, 2001
LDMNA Board meeting!!!!
Tuesday, July 24 at the Arroyo Seco Community Center (old school)
at
7:00pm
Agenda Items include:
LDMNA Web Page
Redistricting of County Commission
CNA Update
Annual Meeting
Clean Up Day
Neighborhood Growth Issues
The meeting is open to the public and will be in the July 19 issue
of the
Taos News and it will also be announced on KTAO during the coomunity
calender. I hope to see as many of you as possible, and please
bring a
neighbor.>
posted
JULY
5, 2001
Email from John Hilyard
re Redistricting
Date sent:
Thu, 05 Jul 2001 09:43:19 -0600
From:
John & MaryAnn Hillyard <hillyard@laplaza.org>
To:
cna <cna@laplaza.org>
Subject:
[cna] Redistricting
At the last County Commission meeting three alternative redistricting
plans were presented by Research & Polling, Inc. Copies of
the plan are
available at the County Office. Which alternative is most reasonable
or
what other alternative might be better? Election of good Commissioners
is critical and defining of distirict boundries is critical to
that
process!
Today, at the Commission meeting, there will also be some discussion
of
the alternatives.
There will also be a meeting in the County Commission chambers on July
26th at 6pm to review the alternatives.
The redistricting is especially important as we are increasing from
three to five districts; as well as the significant changes in
population distribution in the past 10 years.
All neighborhood associations should take a great interest in the
drawing of boundaries. It will affect their representation in
County
governance. With the increase from three to five commissioners,
there
is an opportunity to have better representation of the diverse
communities within the County. Regional needs and perspectives
can be
better represented, if care is taken in the drawing of the boundaries
of the districts.
There are legal requirements which govern the drawing of boundaries,
such as having roughly equal number of voters in each district; having
compact districts, protecting minority interests, etc. However, there
is
still great latitude in how the boundaries are set.
Act now and get involved! Review the proposed alternatives and
give
input now. It will do no good to just wait for final action and
then
complain!
June
21, 2001
Renewed Interest/Neighborhood Watch:
email from Cameron Mactavish
Date sent:
Mon, 18 Jun 2001 09:38:19 +0100
To:
erichwwk@laplaza.org
From:
Cameron Mactavish <cmact@laplaza.org>
Subject:
LDMNA
Erich---Thanks for the infomation on our water
situation. And the two
officers of the LDMNA.
A website for the neighborhood association would
be great. And your idea to
distribute the site info by mail to those not
connected to the internet is
appropriate. Has there been a mail out since
the last board election?
I have heard nothing, but was not at the annual
meeting.
The LDMNA can be a viable organization with an
enthuiastic leader and board
members. The folks in the neighborhood need a
reason to want to join and be
active. The VGOA ( Vision, Goals, Objectives,and
Action Items ) document
can serve as a basis for renewed interest in
the place where we live. The
present county commission will be replaced one
of these days and the
neighborhood associations better be prepared
to join in the comprehensive
land use planning effort when that happens.
Perhaps the objective of a neighborhood watch
program could be the focus of
renewed interest in the neighborhood association.
June
21, 2001
Redistricting - Fair vote op-ed submitted
by Linda Moscarella via email to
cna
Subject:
oped: "New computer technology makes redistricting
more controversial than ever
From: Steven Hill, Center for Voting and
Democracy, www.fairvote.org,
415-665-5044
Dear colleagues,
Below is the second oped of the "redistricting
series," co-authored by
Steven Hill and Rob Richie of the Center for
Voting and Democracy, which
covers different aspects of the redistricting
process. This particular
oped, called "New computer technology makes redistricting
more controversial
than ever," focuses on the impacts that new computer
technologies are having
on the redistricting process, allowing incumbent
politicians to "handpick
their voters before the voters have a chance
to pick them."
With the impending release of 2000 Census data,
redistricting in 50 states
for thousands of legislative seats will begin
in earnest. No single process
does more to determine who wins and who loses
elections than the
redistricting process. And yet it occurs,
for the most part, behind closed
doors, overseen by incumbents and the major political
parties, as one party
attempts to gain advantage over the other in
legislative elections.
We at the Center for Voting and Democracy have
developed a number of
Web-based resources about redistricting, including
a "Redistricting Wheel"
(where viewers can try their own hand at redistricting,
and see how
different legislative lines produce different
results), a comprehensive
online library, commentaries and opeds, and other
resources. You can view
them at www.fairvote.org.
The co-authors of the "redistricting series,"
Rob Richie and myself, are
respectively the executive director and the western
regional director of the
Center for Voting and Democracy (www.fairvote.org),
and co-authors of Whose
Vote Counts (Beacon Press, 2001). Please
feel free to publish this oped in
your newsletters and send to your email lists.
Sincerely,
Steven Hill
*******
New
computer technology makes redistricting more controversial than ever
by Steven Hill and Rob Richie
Like the starting gun at the Oklahoma Land Rush,
the Census pistol has
sounded, and legislative redistricting is now
seriously underway.
Politicians and their proxies are busily redrawing
the most fundamental
terrain of our political landscape.
Most incumbent line-drawers will be guided by
no criteria other than two
rather ambitious and self-serving goals: firstly,
to guarantee their own
re-election and that of friends and colleagues;
and secondly, to garner a
majority of legislative seats for their political
party or faction.
In a moment of candor, the primary architect of
Texas' last redistricting
plan admitted that the process "is not one of
kindness, it is not one of
sharing. It is a power grab." A North Carolina
state senator was even more
blunt: "We are in the business of rigging elections."
Redistricting has never been a model of fairness
or exclamation of high
democratic values, but this time several new
factors have raised the stakes
beyond anything previously experienced.
It will come as no surprise that, just like computers
have impacted so many
other areas of modern life, new computer technologies
have dramatically
altered the redistricting game.
Politicians and their consultants now have at
their disposal extremely
sophisticated computer technology, combined with
the latest Census,
demographic and polling data, to precisely gerrymander
their districts. The
days of plastic Mylar maps, Elmer's glue, magic
markers, trial and error
jigsaws and cut and paste blueprints are over.
The software is more accurate
than ever before, and the politicians have greatly
enhanced capacity to
handpick their voters.
Stanford law professor Pamela Karlan says, "The
technology is so good, you
can draw districts with absolutely equal numbers
of people in them, and yet
create virtually any kind of political breakdown
between the districts that
you want." Adds Jeffrey Wice, an attorney for
Impact 2000, the Democratic
Party's redistricting program, "The ante has
been upped immeasurably by
changes in technology and the law. An excess
of technology leads to a manic
temptation where people try to connect the dots
anyway they can."
One can credibly argue that most of us no longer
choose our
representatives -- instead, the politicians choose
us. Every decade when the
district lines are re-drawn, winners and losers
will be decided for most
legislative districts. Politicians will pack
their district with the types
of voters that will easily re-elect her or him.
The choice of voters for the
remainder of the decade will be simply to ratify
the selections made for
them by the redistricting politicians.
This will perpetuate the high numbers of non-competitive
legislative races
we see all across the country. For all the talk
of a stolen election in
2000, we are about to see the theft of millions
of Americans' chances to
elect a Member of Congress or state legislator
they like -- and the new
redistricting technologies will be crucial to
this effort.
The practices perfected by redistricting practitioners
have become the
steroids of politics -- once one side is using
them and gains a competitive
edge, you don't dare not use them. Success breeds
success, and the new
techniques and technologies are irresistible
to those salivating to win.
One virtue to the new redistricting technologies
is that they are now
relatively inexpensive. That means that virtually
any special interest or
lobby with an interest in how districts are drawn
can create their own set
of maps and push for the gerrymander that suits
them. There will be many
cooks in the kitchen during this round of redistricting.
Unfortunately, few
will speak for the general public interest in
creating plans that represent
all of us.
With the nation so evenly divided between the
two major parties, the current
round of redistricting is bound to be one of
the messiest ever.
[Steven Hill and Rob Richie are, respectively,
the western regional director
and the executive director of the Center for
Voting and Democracy. They are
co-authors of Whose Votes Count (Beacon Press).
For more information,
contact the Center at fairvote.org.
Back to beginning of [ oped
] Back to [ Top of page ]
June 21, 2001
NM "Wetlands" Takings Case goes to trial after nine years of litigation
In late February, after nine years of litigation,
a two-day trial was held in Albuquerque, New
Mexico, as a landowner denied the ability
to use his land for economic activity sought
constitutionally mandated “just compensation.”
The trial, conducted by the U.S. Court of
Federal Claims, was scheduled to take two
weeks; however, at the last minute federal
lawyers conceded defeat on several legal
issues.
For full article, go to Mountain States Legal Foundation [ Issue: Spring 2001 ]
June 18, 2001 Taos County Groundwater Survey
The Taos Soil & Water Conservation District is funding a groundwater
survey for parts of
Taos County. We are gathering data concerning the locations of wells and
their water depths.
As part of this project we will be revising, adding to and/or correcting
existing records in order
to create a more accurate well inventory. Using this data we will produce
a map of the water
table showing well locations and depth to water.
The purpose of this survey is to have a more detailed picture of the water
table in Taos County
and to provide the general public with information that will aid in the
long term use and
monitoring of groundwater resources. The map and well inventory will be
available to the public.
The following areas may be included in the survey:
Lower and Upper Las Colonias
Blueberry Hill
Hondo Mesa
Des Montes
El Prado
Much of the data collection involves physically being at the well and field-checking
its location
and depth. Therefore, I would like to contact the neighborhood associations
in the above areas in
hopes of attending meetings and/or obtaining mailing lists so that we can
inform the members
about the survey, gather any information that they might have (well ID
#, depth) and field-check
their well.
Having the names of the relevant associations and their contact people
would be very helpful
in furthering this study. Thank you for your cooperation and consideration.
Elsbeth Atencio
Contractor for Taos Soil & Water Conservation District
776-1882
E-mail: eatencio@newmex.com
Tony Benson
Taos Soil & Water Conservation District
751-5925
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