Archive for April, 2009
Spring Must Be Here…
by John Weckerle
The weather is warming up, and so are the musicians! For three consecutive Fridays starting April 17, the Mountainair 2009 Spring Concert Series will be presenting concerts at the Brazil Auditorium on Limit Street and Highway 60. The April 17 will feature Holy Water & Whiskey, with traditional, folk, bluegrass, gospel, Western, and other tunes. The New Mexico Marimba Band will present pop, jazz, and authentic Mexican marimba music on April 24. The Watermelon Mountain Jug Band will serve up a heaping helping of ragtime, country, bluegrass, some rock and roll, and a Spanish ranchera added for spice on May 1. All concerts start at 7 p.m. and involve one of our favorite four-letter words – free. For more information, see the Manzano Mountain Arts Council web site.
Also, don’t forget the Kite Fair and Green Energy Festival at Wildlife West Nature Park in Edgewood. There will be kites, kites, more kites, and vendors/demonstrators representing a wide variety of green energy and sustainable technologies and services – and much more. It’s a great outing and an opportunity to learn a thing or two! For more information, see the Wildlife West Kite Fair and Green Energy Festival page.
I-40 Closures
by John Weckerle
Beginning tomorrow morning at 6:30 and continuing through noon Wednesday, 1-40 eastbound will be reduced to one lane for just over a mile east of Tijeras. Tuesday night from 9:30 p.m. through 5:30 a.m., I-40 westbound will be closed. NMDOT’s detour instructions are to exit at Zuzax and take Route 66 to I-40 at Carnuel.
Small Business Economic Stimulus Workshop
by John Weckerle
The NM Economic Development Department, the Estancia Valley Economic Development Association, and the Edgewood Chamber of Commerce are co-sponsoring a Business Finance & Labor Workshop at the Edgewood Middle School this Thursday, April 9, from 4:00 to 7:30 p.m. State elected officials and other guests will speak early in the program, and then representatives of the NMEDD and other State programs, U.S. Small Business Administration, and regional microlenders will provide information on their programs. The presenters will be available for one-on-one meetings with business owners and other individuals interested in obtaining more information and/or applying for the benefits of their various programs. This will be an excellent opportunity to learn more about available funding and obtain some information on the effect of economic stimulus provisions on loan programs.
EVEDA has also provided us with a copy of the New Mexico Congressional delegation’s Resource Guide to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. We’ve reduced the file size so that you can download the file and look it over. This is a 45-page document providing a comprehensive look at the provisions of the Act. If you are interested in the stimulus package and/or the opportunities it may afford, we recommend giving it a look over and attending Thursday’s meeting.
Town Hall Meeting With Congressman Martin Heinrich Tomorrow
by John Weckerle
The Estancia Valley Economic Development Association has informed us that Congressman Martin Heinrich will hold a town hall meeting tomorrow – Tuesday, April 9, 2009 – at the Moriarty Civic Center from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. Mr. Heinrich will report on his first 100 days in Congress and hear the public’s ideas on hoow more can be accomplished. Those who wish to RSVP or require any other information or assistance from the Congressman can contact his office at (505) 346-6781.
Circus Clarification
by John Weckerle
Two important bits of information regarding the upcoming Culpepper and Merriweather Circus. First, the circus will also be doing a show in Mountainair on Wednesday, April 8. For more information, see the announcement at Mountainair Annoucements. Second, according to new Edgewood Chamber Executive Director Julie Terrell, local schools and the Chamber will only benefit from ticket purchases made by Monday, April 6. Interested parties should contact the Chamber at 286-2577.
Grow Your Own – Alas, Poor Stringbean; I Knew Him, Horatio…
by John Weckerle
In a tragedy of not exactly Shakespearian proportions, we must finally accept the fate of the string beans we’ve been attempting to grow in the plant room. They appear to have succumbed to pests, or at least very nearly succumbed. This is too bad, as they had actually produced a few string beans. We believe the culprits to be fungus gnats and perhaps some odd-looking creature that appears occasionally on the undersides of the leaves – but only on the pea/bean contingent (the snow peas appear to have bounced back from this). This is not our first abortive attempt at indoor string bean cultivation; we had similar problems last year. While the fungus gnats don’t seem to damage anything else, string beans seem unusually susceptible. We’ll give it another shot soon. The lettuce is doing nicely, and has produced leaves for a few sandwiches already. »» Grow Your Own – Alas, Poor Stringbean; I Knew Him, Horatio…
100 Days of Solitude – Well, Slow-itude, Anyway
by John Weckerle
According to the latest information received from the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT), we can expect the lane closures/repositioning on I-40 to remain as it is (one lane westbound, two eastbound) for the next 100 days. The next phase will also have two lanes eastbound and one lane westbound. The reason for this is that the bridges are only wide enough for three lanes. The lane width restriction through the construction zone is 11 feet.
This is, I suppose, the price we have to pay for the great highway we’ll have when it’s all done. As I sailed by on Route 66 most days this week, the shortest backup I saw was about three miles. I’ve been jumping onto I-40 at Tijeras, and note that the westbound lane includes the shoulder rumble strip, right where the passenger side tires go. We applaud this development on behalf of people who will be getting paid to tighten up all the little rattles that will be developing in people’s dashboards over the next 2/3 of a year.
The Long, Thin Parking Lot
by John Weckerle
Once again, we’d like to heap a little kudos – or perhaps something else – onto the traffic management whizzes at the New Mexico Department of Transportation. I’ve had the pleasure of driving to Albuquerque mid-morning twice this week. Tuesday, we hopped on I-40 at the Sedillo on-ramp, and within about a quarter mile – just far enough so it couldn’t be seen from the bridge at Sedillo Hill – traffic slowed to a stop, and proceeded to move slowly; I think we topped out at about 20 mph before eventually reaching the end of the tie-up just west of Tijeras. That’s about a six-mile backup, and it wasn’t even rush hour. We were nearly half an hour late for our meeting as a result. The problem? I-40 westbound through the construction is limited to one lane, and – once again – NMDOT has created a major traffic flow problem and has not posted a sign at the Sedillo entrance.
I took Route 66 eastbound mid-morning yesterday and, except for some traffic approaching Tijeras, found it to be the better way to go. Eastbound at rush hour, the difference between taking Route 66 and I-40 seemed less pronounced; traffic was slow on both roads approaching Tijeras, but evened out on I-40 after that. Of course, NMRoads.com is malfunctioning at present, so we can’t get updated information for you this morning. For now, we’re recommending taking Route 66 going west, which at least allows the option of turning around and heading back to an I-40 on-ramp if it’s really backed up. We’d also like to suggest that the NMDOT consider placing signs at entrance ramps BEFORE traffic tie-ups so that drivers can seek alternative routes.
Oh, What A Tangled Web
by John Weckerle
It was about a month ago that we noticed that the Moriarty Chamber of Commerce web site was missing. Shortly thereafter (on or about March 2), the beginnings of a new site appeared, with most pages simply stating “New site coming soon.” The site has remained essentially unchanged since. It has come to our attention that the Edgewood Chamber of Commerce web site went dark this past Sunday, and remains so as of this morning. Given the history of outages in the past, perhaps a gentle admonition is appropriate. »» Oh, What A Tangled Web