Freeform

George Brunacini excelled at everything he did. The Albuquerque businessman and Kentucky horse breeder would help anybody with anything. Those are the memories that came through Jude Worden’s shock after hearing that Brunacini, 60, had died Sunday in a plane crash. “I always wanted a brother like him, if I could have had one,” said … Read more

If Hurricane Katrina happened again, Michael Lente would go back. He’d go back to the chaos of the Gulf Coast, to the instant entrepreneurs selling “I survived the big one” T-shirts from the back of their trucks, to the 100-degree-plus invisible goo of the summertime South called air, to the armed soldiers and helicopters criss-crossing … Read more

If you managed to reduce use of a precious, limited resource, it’s unlikely you’d do anything to undermine your success. But that’s just what would happen if drought-driven restrictions on water use were chucked, argues Alan Armijo, chairman of the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority. In spite of the recent heavy rains and strides … Read more

When Trish Parsons climbs aboard Gandhi the Second – the name she gave to her second Harley-Davidson motorcycle – she steps into not just a ride, but a state of being. “Especially when you get into really beautiful countryside – and there’s a lot of it around here – I think you really do get … Read more

Growing up, Juan Martinez remembers his parents struggling to get help in stores because they didn’t speak English and the people behind the counter didn’t speak Spanish. It’s an experience he’d like other families such as his own to miss. As a bilingual retail sales consultant with Cingular Wireless’ new West Side store dedicated to … Read more

DuWayne Ordonez believes fun can change the world. If you doubt his belief, look at Ordonez’s job title: “outdoor recreation CEO of fun” with the city. “I just made it up,” says Ordonez, who also has the more formal, but far less used, title of “outdoor recreation section head.” “If you’re happy, trying to get … Read more

With only seven lifeguards working at Albuquerque’s Heights YMCA, Tommy Tune has a few theories on where all the pool protectors have gone. “Some of it has to be due to the fact that the Beach water park closed,” says Tune, senior program director at the one-pool facility at 4901 Indian School Road N.E. “Maybe … Read more

As Brandon Gibson remembers it, the little girl was a year old when an incident in a backyard pool led to her death 12 months later from complications. He was around 10 years old, and even though he didn’t witness the tragedy that hit family friends, he saw its effect. “Everyone that knew that little … Read more

Just because two major film industry players are considering building production facilities in New Mexico, local studio co-owner Michael Jacobs isn’t worried about losing business. Even with the potential competition from Lionsgate and Pacifica Ventures, Jacobs, co-owner of Rio Grande Studios, is considering an expansion that could include 200 acres and five new sound stages … Read more

When a couple of screenplays in the Duke City Shootout called for black actors in about 15 roles, the digital film festival’s director said there was some concern about finding enough. “People went in thinking, `This is going to be tough’ – just the nature of the world we live in in Albuquerque,” Grubb Graebner … Read more