Official: Complaints coming in about ‘hangers on’

There have been intoxicated people hanging around the Gallup Express bus stop on Aztec Avenue near Camille’s Sidewalk Café, and downtown property owners don’t like it. Moreover, bus riders who frequently take the bus downtown believe safety is important.

This was the topic of a July 21 meeting between the Business Improvement District and Tommy Mims, the executive director at Gallup Express, which operates under the auspices of the Gallup Community Pantry. Mims and BID agreed to meet at a later date to iron out either a relocated bus stop or increased safety measures.

“We don’t have a problem moving the actual bus...

Reports indicate that Gov. Susana Martinez is considering calling the Legislature into a special session to deal with what looks like a large shortfall in the state’s budget.

The news comes nearly a week after Senate Finance Committee Chair John Arthur Smith said a special session would be needed. Smith made the comments during a legislative interim committee.

The Associated Press reported [July 26] that Martinez has been “working for weeks with executive agencies and a key legislative committee” on how to deal with the shortfall.

Smith, a Democrat from Deming, said he spoke to Martinez’s staff about the need for a special session.

The Santa Fe New Mexican was at the State...

It wasn’t quite New Mexico Day at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday, but two New Mexico elected officials addressed the delegates.

Ben Ray Luján and Michelle Lujan Grisham, both members of Congress, spoke to the delegates July 27.

The speeches came hours ahead of scheduled speeches by President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Tim Kaine. Earlier in the week, Democrats at the convention voted to nominate Hillary Clinton as their presidential candidate.

Luján represented the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. The DCCC, the group which Luján chairs, seeks to get more Democrats elected to Congress.

Luján...

The Gallup City Council unanimously passed a resolution July 26 related to budget adjustments for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016. The action took place at the regular city meeting and was not met with opposition.

City Finance Director Patricia Holland introduced the matter to council members, prefacing the information by saying the finance department reviews budget changes and submits changes to council for approval.

“This is a relative routine matter,” she said.

According to Holland, the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration requires the city council to pass resolutions for budget increases, decreases, and transfers between funds. Areas that were reviewed by...