Gov. Bill Richardson comes to Taos

Town Celebrates Grants, KCE, Gov. Bill Richardson

Gov. Richardson and Company announced over $800,000 in grants for acequias and about $200,000 for land grant councils today, Aug. 18, on Taos Plaza. The money came from the Obama stimulus package i.e. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Congress Ben Ray Lujan, Speaker Ben Luhan, ex. Lt. Gov. Roberto Mondragon, OSE Chief John D’Antonio, and Mayor Cordova were among the notables.

On Broadband

We have yet to hear from CEO Luis Reyes but have requested information on the benefits of Broadband. One of our correspondents, Gary Ferguson, has submitted the enthusiastic brief below in support of the project.

Gary says: “It’s all: “e-commerce,” global trading, selling music for millions after one youtube video, selling a novel for millions without ever printing one piece of paper, selling TaosFriction as a newsfeed to CNN/ABQ Journal after a few months, saving $100 per month to $200 per month by not paying for Qwest land lines/DSL, and satellite tvm, and using VOIP phone service ($20 per year) and streaming video from Netflix for $17/mo instead. It’s being able to work for XYZ Corp in PQR while living in Taos and having HD video conferences with your team whenever you need to instead of living in Toledo or flying to LAX. It’s a chance to reduce gasoline consumption by a factor of 2 then 3 then 4 then 10. Wanna know the first question people ask when they make travel reservations anymore…. do you have WIFI? How fast is it? It has become a global addiction.”

Editor’s Note: Despite our paved roads, many of them the result of Roosevelt’s New Hispano Deal during the thirties and forties, isolation continues to slow economic growth as does local politics. Will Broadband cure the culture of inertia and envidia that stops schools from improving and local politicos from their obsession with movida making? The proof of any project is in the administration and the detail.

During the early forties, Taos County was subject to a local, state, and federal experiment in social engineering that included something like 37 operative agencies in the community. The distribution of dollars during the depression area stimulated the rise of the patron and political class, which continues today in our little social democracy!

Today, add the KCEC new Broadband grant and loan of $64 million to the grants and bonded public projects to projects proposed, planned, and implemented during the last decade. Include road and highway improvements; CDBG grants; legislative grants for fire departments, community centers, and acequia improvements. Add $100 million in bonds for the schools and the County Complex; throw in improvements at the Town, Youth and Family Center,  the Convention and Visitor’s Center, the construction of UNM’s Klauer Campus; the expansion and development of Holy Cross Hospital and KCEC’s ongoing infrastructure improvements of $60 million or so. The total figure must look something like $250 million in public money being distributed across Taos County, thanks to taxpayers from Taos, the state, and nation during the last decade.

Who benefits directly? Ask yourself about the improvement in the quality of life? Surely, the Youth and Family Center, Holy Cross, UNM Klauer have generally earned their stripes as has the paved road on the West Rim. The County Complex is promising—if unfunded for operating. Generally the highways are in better shape. The schools have a new football and baseball field, some renovations, and, soon, the kids will have a new soccer field. Ancianos in Amalia, Penasco, and Taos have better facilities. Kit Carson has fewer outages and folks in outlying areas have access to Internet.  (Still, the best Internet service comes from a privately held company—Taos Net.)

Social problems, crime, education, drug addiction, and decent jobs—unless you work for the government or the Coop—appear problematical. Servers in the food and hospitality industry–private sector–appear to thrive. The TSV pulled itself up by the bootstraps, thanks to a new generation of snowboarders and cooperative U.S. Forest Service.

New construction, art, rental properties, and real estate are suffering. Whatever happened to agriculture and the food security business? Farmers markets are growing but why are developers ignoring the potential victory gardens supported by historic acequias? Erecting more stick-built homes for second homers who don’t live here anyway?  The Regional Water Plan meant to protect water and water sheds is being promoted but threatened by political rumblings on the southern Rio Grande and divisive greed in northern Taos County.

Americans, including Taosenos, are good at Capital Improvements but seem less capable at managing their facilities efficiently for the greater good. I’m willing to wait and wait and wait in Casablanca.But for what? Global warming on the coast and rising oceans so that coastal fugitives will flee to the high ground here in El Norte and jump start the real estate culture?