Archive for December 14, 2009
What Dreams May Come – Part Deux
by John Weckerle
On June 1 of this year, we reported that HGTV’s Dream Home would be built at the Campbell Ranch subdivision here in the East West Mountains. Since then, however, problems with the project have cast a pall on what appeared at first to be good news. As reported in a New Mexico Business Weekly article, the home’s builder – Sonida Construction LLC – has filed a $310,000 suit against the developer, Campbell Corporation, and HGTV’s parent company. According to the article, Sonita’s owner, Mark Roccoforte, is suing to obtain final payment for the project. As quoted in the article, Mr. Roccoforte states that he never received any complaints from Campbell, and only good reviews from HGTV – and that the only reason he was given for nonpayment was “risk management.” Campbell Corporation CEO Robert Gately declined to discuss the problems in detail with the New Mexico Business Weekly. The article goes on to discuss similar problems that other providers clam to have had with Campbell Corporation.
We find it disappointing to see what should be a great piece of publicity for all involved parties tarnished by this kind of news. It certainly can’t be to Campbell’s advantage to allow this to continue – the whole article seems to scream “caveat venditor,” and to many people that says “caveat emptor” as well. Here’s hoping that the issue will be settled quickly and to all parties’ satisfaction.
Fire In The Sky…Briefly
Sunrise Over The Estancia Valley
by John Weckerle
At about 5:24 this morning, there appeared in the eastern sky a meteor so large and bright that your editor was able to see it without corrective lenses – which is saying that it was really big, and really bright. We’d be interested in knowing if anyone else witnessed the event. About an hour later, we were treated to a lovely sunrise with a sliver of moon – and figured we’d share it with those who might have missed it.
Things will be quiet on the International Space Station sightings front for the rest of this month, with only one pass scheduled (December 23, 2009). For more information, see the Moriarty schedule.