Article in The Albuquerque Tribune: Hook, line and thinker

Outside Herman Molina’s cargo container workshop at Sandia National Laboratories, the housing units for an airborne atmosphere analyzer and a dashboard-mounted license plate reader sit on a patch of the gated labs’ secretive desert grounds. Molina, a technical consultant at the Albuquerque labs, took about 40 hours to build the units. The 25-year veteran of … Read more

Article in The Albuquerque Tribune: Reel state

Inside Room 101 of Ted Chavez Hall on the main TVI campus in Albuquerque, students are studying magic. Eager learners zip, zoom, hustle and bustle around the room, weaving among cameras, tables, cords, microphones, chairs, tripods, lights and each other. Instructors bark out strange incantations, phrases such as, “I want power to all my taps!” … Read more

Article in The Albuquerque Tribune: Cafe life

To give an idea of what the Blue Dragon Cafe is all about, co-owner Norman Everett, sitting in overalls and a ski cap at one of the cafe’s tables, tells a story from October. It was around the presidential debates. The Dragon was packed. In one room, poets recited their work for a contest of … Read more

Article in The Albuquerque Tribune: Water savers earn free movie tickets

Some Albuquerque residents who have been watching their water use may soon be watching movies – for free. Customers of the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority who participated in the conservation program will be eligible to win one of 1,000 $9 gift certificates to Century Theatres in Albuquerque, Mayor Martin Chavez announced Monday. The … Read more

Article in The Albuquerque Tribune: The Tort Tangle

Former Gov. Gary Johnson has been through it.

Neil Hise, president of an Albuquerque manufacturing firm, has been through it.

It is getting sued, and though statistically on the decline, a fear of crippling lawsuits pervades the New Mexico business community.

It’s a fear driven in part by high-profile tort cases – the McDonald’s hot coffee spill being legendary – that some call the end of personal responsibility and others call justice being served. It’s a fear that has real effects: bigger liability insurance policies for worried businesses.

It’s a fear that the New Mexico Alliance for Legal Reform, a nonprofit organization watching over New Mexico’s courts, wants to do something about.

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Article in The Albuquerque Tribune: Little pink house

When Jane Putnam painted her mobile home pink, it was all part of her plan. The plastic pink flamingo in the yard was, too. When Jane Putnam painted her mobile home pink, it was all part of her plan. The plastic pink flamingo in the yard was, too. “It’s just like trailer perfect,” jokes the … Read more