By Rob Nikolewski │ New Mexico Watchdog
SANTA FE — Disgraced former state Senate Pro-tem Manny Aragon isn’t scheduled to be released from a federal prison in Colorado until next year, but New Mexico Watchdog has learned he is eligible to be released to a halfway house.
“I can’t tell you when Manny will be released,” Aragon’s [...]

By Rob Nikolewski │ New Mexico Watchdog
Update: A public memorial service for Stephen Easley will be held on Tuesday, August 20th at 2 p.m. at the Roundhouse Capitol Rotunda.
SANTA FE — Rep. Stephen Easley, D-Santa Fe, died unexpectedly Wednesday. He was 60.
Details were sketchy about the cause of death, but a Facebook post from the Easley [...]

By Rob Nikolewski │ New Mexico Watchdog
SANTA FE — In one corner are allegations that some $36 million has been misspent by behavioral health providers in New Mexico.
In the other corner are the providers, who say it’s unfair their Medicaid funding was suspended while the state’s Attorney General’s office — and possibly other law enforcement [...]

A wise old cowboy – in fact, an old Dallas Cowboy – once said, “It’s not whether you win or lose that matters but who gets the blame.”
And there’s been plenty of finger-pointing this week after the non-profit Annie E. Casey Foundation placed New Mexico dead last – No. 50 out of 50 states – [...]

We missed this item last week but it’s too good not to pass along:
There’s a dispute over a restaurant in Lamy, the town just outside of Santa Fe — the place that unironically bills itself as “The City Different.”
The restaurant and bar called the Legal Tender has inspired a legal dispute between the eatery’s managers and the location [...]

Affidavits released by U.S. Attorney’s office in New Mexico indicate that the arrest of a Democratic political consultant on child pornography charges stemmed from the investigation that led to the arrest of a former Republican campaign official charged with hacking into the e-mail account of Gov. Susana Martinez.
It’s the latest twist into the complicated story surrounding electronic [...]

In May of 2009, Barack Obama held one of his first news conferences with the White House press corps and New York Times reporter Jeff Zeleny asked him …
Well, what tough question do you think would come from a hard-bitten group that prides itself on its preternatural skepticism?
Why the new President, three months into his [...]

It’s run $25 million over budget, it’s way behind schedule and now the new courthouse in downtown Santa Fe has merchants worried that a decision to prohibit public parking in the new facility will translate into hassles that will hurt their businesses.
“When this thing opens, it’s going to be a nightmare, an absolute nightmare,” said [...]

From the Santa Fe New Mexican:
State Sen. Linda Lopez, an Albuquerque Democrat, said Monday that she’s ready to run for governor.       
Lopez, who first was elected to the Senate in 1996, told The New Mexican that she has appointed a campaign treasurer but still needs to set up a campaign account and complete the paperwork at [...]

I joined three media colleagues late last week on New Mexico In Focus, the weekly public affairs program hosted by Gene Grant on KNME-TV in Albuquerque.
The topic?
A post-mortem on the just-completed 60-day legislative session in Santa Fe.
James Monteleone of the Albuquerque Journal, Steve Terrell of the Santa Fe New Mexican and Matt Reichbach of the [...]