Tough times for everyone, including casinos

Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino won't be able to make a big bond payment in December, Pojoaque Gov. George Rivera said.

Rivera points out that the state's casinos still pump money into the local economy through the state's revenue sharing agreements. Come to think of it, that might be the only (fairly) steady source of cash for the state at the moment, what with fluctuating oil and gas prices and rocky tax revenues, although it has decreased some overall from last year.

King funeral to be broadcast on TV and the 'Net

If you can't make it to Moriarty High School Saturday at 10 a.m. for the funeral of former Gov. Bruce King, you can still catch the event. Channel 7 will stream the event on its website and Channel 4 will broadcast it live on its 4.2 channel.

The crowd will be large, no doubt, but the speeches might be short. Just former president Bill Clinton and Lutheran Pastor Rev. Russell C. Lee are scheduled to speak.

Lyons vs. Richardson

I'm pretty sure Pat Lyons and Bill Richardson aren't running against each other for anything next year, but maybe I missed something.

Based on their comments this week, it seems perhaps I did.

The spat between the Republican land commissioner and the Democratic governor started earlier this week when Lyons blasted Richardson for implementing five days of furloughs for state employees, calling it "cruel."

In short, Lyons said he'd been fiscally conservative so his shop wouldn't have to force employees into unpaid vacations. Richardson apparently didn't like that, and suggested Lyons was out to score political points. Richardson said Lyons had "yet to take an active role in helping the state shore up its budget shortfalls."

Lyons responded late Thursday, saying his office "generates an average of $500 million a year for public schools, universities, hospitals, correctional facilities, and the other state supported programs that rely on the Land Office to meet their budgets."

He went on to say “I’m not the one who hired 400 friends and paid them excessive salaries, or spent exorbitant amounts of money on my pet projects, or paid corporations and movie producers to do business with the state, or spent every penny of last year’s $400 million revenue windfall, which by the way is pretty close to what we need to bridge the budget gap. I’m not the problem, I’m the solution.”

The state budget shortfall is an important issue, but it just seems an odd one for these two to be crosswise over. Is Lyons running for something else? How 'bout Richardson?

Update, 3:18 p.m.

Yep, Lyons is running for something: PRC. (Knew I was missing or forgetting something.) That could explain some of this...But is Richardson running for the regulatory panel as well?

In any case, the matchup continues. The governor's office this afternoon released a statement critical of a proposed land swap in the Whites Peak area.

"I’m extremely concerned about proposed land swaps between the State Land Office and private land owners in the Whites Peak area," Richardson said. "I am told the swaps would result in a net loss of almost 4,000 acres to the state, much of it pristine mountain, alpine meadow, lake and riparian territory.  These are some of the finest public hunting and sporting grounds in the state." 

"I’m particularly concerned about the process by which this swap apparently has been arranged – namely, a behind-the-scenes deal with virtually no public input or notification, sealed bids, and inadequate opportunity for examination. This should not be acceptable for any major transaction involving public trust lands, much less lands that for centuries have been used for traditional purposes such as hunting, trapping and recreation."

  Expect a rebuttal from Lyons next. . . 

Department of Workforce Solutions secretary returns to work

Betty Sparrow Doris resigned effective at the end of August as the head of the Department of Workforce Solutions. 

But she's working again for the department on contract.

If you thought there was a hiring freeze in state government, you are correct. But it doesn't apply to contract workers.

PRC releases some info from survey

...but not a whole lot. Some of the employees' comments were blacked out completely, like this one.

Read this story for some of the information that was released. Many comments focused on the agency's hiring practices. Several of those who responded said the PRC has a tradition of hiring unqualified people — "political flunkies," according to one employee — because of political influence or family ties.

While releasing some  of the survey information is better than none, it's not what we asked for, and many are saying, it's not legal for the PRC to withhold. The stories aren't over on this one. Stay tuned.

Kent Cravens to pursue "statewide office"

Usually, the press releases from a would-be candidate state exactly the office the person is seeking.

Not so with a release from Sen. Kent Cravens, R-Albuquerque. He's set to announce his "statewide elected office" on Wednesday.

Word on the street is he's running for lieutenant governor, but stay tuned.

PRC ethics survey yields interesting results

Even Public Regulation Commission officials admitted that the information they likely would get from a survey of agency employees about ethics might not be the most flattering.

Whether they expected the results to show that 85 percent of those polled had seen unethical behavior at the agency in the past year, or that about half had been asked to do something unethical by a supervisor is unknown. What is known is that training is coming to the beleaguered agency.

The survey is just the tip of the iceberg, though, in terms of information that some say could fix up the PRC. The agency today plans to release some of the comments that employees wrote on their surveys. Still, the agency plans to black out some information, making many wonder what there is to hide.

Here's a look at the survey's raw data, as provided by the PRC.

WHAT IS ETHICS
1.  What does the word "ethics" mean to you?
	see surveys
2.  Do you think you could spot potential problems with ethics in the Agency?
	yes	106	no	6
3.  Have you observed any ethical issues/violations at the Agency within the last year?
	yes	100	no	17
4.  Does management provide adequate information/training on ethical issues?
	yes	14	no	106
5.  Do you feel that as an employee of the PRC your are aware and understand what "ethical" rules
the staff and the Commissioners need to follow?
	yes	78	no	35
6.  Have you ever received any training from management at the PRC regarding what is ethical and
what is not in your position?
	yes	24	no	92
7.  Have your ever been asked to do anything you felt was unethical by someone who has
supervisory or managerial power over your position at the PRC?
	yes	51	no	50
8.  Do you think that there is a different ethical standard for Commissioners,
exempt employees and classified employees?
	yes	97	no	24
PERCEPTION
1.  How do you think the PRC is perceived by the public?  Rate on a scale of 1-5
1		2			3				4			5
3		3			13				33			70
Ethical											Unethical
2.  How do you think the PRC is perceived by the regulated entity?  Rate on a scale of 1-5
1		2			3				4			5
1		10			37				31			39
Ethical												Unethical
3.  How do you think the PRC is perceived by the employees?  Rate on a scale of 1-5
1		2			3				4			5
3		4			22				30			62
Ethical												Unethical
4.  Please rank the following issues in order of which of the issues raises the greatest concern to you as related topics at the PRC.
	#1 would be of the most concern to you and needs the most improvement,  #2 second most etc.
			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0
Political Partisanship			45	18	18	5	6	5	5	5	2	5
Personal use of state time			22	10	12	22	16	8	6	2		8
Influence by regulated industries			21	9	8	13	10	12	13	10	1	8
Hiring and promotional practices			73	23	13	6	1	1	1			3
Use of computers and state equip			11	7	4	3	15	13	18	17	2	9
Unequal treatment of employees			49	24	14	10	3		1			5
Expense reporting			18	5	3	5	16	13	16	16	2	10
Time reporting			17	7	8	8	10	19	7	16		7
Other		***
			*** 22 see comments
CONFIDENTIALITY
1.  Would you feel comfortable reporting unethical behavior by an employee if you were told
it would be kept confidential?
	yes	38	no	81
2.  Do you feel that you could confidentially discuss concerns with someone in this Agency?
	yes	31	no	84
SITUATION QUESTIONS - These are hypothetical
1.  Your supervisor asks you to look the other way when he/she allows another employee to
take off early every day and not report it on their timesheets.
	ethical	1	unethical		125				I don't know			4
2.  Your boss takes you out to lunch.
	ethical	61	unethical		19				I don't know			25
3.  A regulated entity tells you that they will buy you dinner if you fast track their paperwork.
	ethical	0	unethical		117				I don't know			2
4.  An employee of a regulated entity asks you out on a date.
	ethical	19	unethical		54				I don't know			30
5.  Your friend asks you to get their paperwork due to the PRC processed more quickly that the regular guy.
	ethical	11	unethical		95				I don't know			7
6.  A regulated entity takes you out to dinner and you pay for yours.
	ethical	77	unethical		22				I don't know			15
7.  Working against the PRC agenda at the Legislature on work time.
	ethical	5	unethical		91				I don't know			10
8.  Helping a regulated entity to get copies of the documents they need that have been filed in a case file.
	ethical	43	unethical		45				I don't know			18
9.  A member of a regulated entity asks you to pass on confidential case information.
	ethical	2	unethical		105				I don't know			9
10.  An employee does not report time they have taken off on their time sheet.
	ethical	1	unethical		113				I don't know			16
11. An employee is consistently taking more than one hour for lunch and not reporting it.
	ethical	2	unethical		98				I don't know			16
12.  A Commissioner asks you to do a special favor for a regulated entity.
	ethical	5	unethical		85				I don't know			23
13.  A fellow employee is working for a regulated entity as a second job.
	ethical	6	unethical		73				I don't know			22
14.  An employee of a regulated entity gives you a kitten.
	ethical	32	unethical		31				I don't know			52
15.  An employee of the PRC gives an employee of a regulated entity a car.
	ethical	15	unethical		78				I don't know			23
16.  An employee is passing on false information about a fellow employee in order to keep
them from getting a promotion.
	ethical	1	unethical		100				I don't know			2
17.  Volunteering to work on a Commissioner’s campaign.
	ethical	38	unethical		35				I don't know			36
18.  Employees are taking walks together and visiting during their lunch hours.
	ethical	99	unethical		2				I don't know			7