The shame rests solely with the City Council and Community of Hope for going against the wishes of the residents of Mesilla Park and intentionally deceiving the public by portraying four homeless people as a "family." They are not. Mesilla Park is and always has been intended for single-family dwelling.

Has anyone ever done a needs assessment to see if our community needs an additional hospital before we start making plans to build another one?

The proposed tax increase has a lot of worthy projects, but the county continues to waste money. They should look at eliminating the assistant county manager position as well as the county vet. $9.5 million is a lot to waste, folks.

Governor Martinez has cut corporate taxes that will cost the state $70 million in lost revenue. Additionally, she is rated 43rd out of 45 governors in private-sector job creation. Economically she has been a disaster.

Governor Martinez must think she is Queen Martinez since she appoints Reidel to the Public Defender Commission with no experience defending indigent and refuses to account for her expenditures as a governor.

The governor has made it really easy for whoever runs against her in the next election to claim cronyism. Look at her new appointments to the Public Defender Board.

It is not only Governor Martinez' business but also taxpayers.' If we dished out $33,500 for State Police to protect a non-politician first man, then yes, I want to know why he went alligator hunting. Produce those papers, Governor Martinez.

In reading the Sound Off! today, I see the people are still attacking Governor Martinez. I am sorry she is not revealing her costs, but none of the other governors gave any information on their cost. So leave her alone.

What a sad waste of human life with those fire fighters trying to put out a wildland fire when they should be logging that. Totally avoidable.

It is unfortunate that the tragedy in Arizona will also be taken advantage of by politicians who will be there for the photo op.

We visit the Farmer's Market every weekend and thought it would be nice if the city would step up and plant flowers in the big flower boxes that are on the Farmer's Market.

I am disappointed in our Congressman, Steve Pearce, for not doing more to help save the Raptors at Holloman Air Force Base and Engineer Battalion at White Sands Missile Range. It seems that the Congressman, Beto O'Rourke, from El Paso is really doing a good job in securing new Air Force training facilities there.

Unlike Paul Gessing of the Rio Grand Foundation, locally known as the Republican Party, I am perfectly content to have federal lands stay federal lands because that way they'll stay public. If they are localized, they will be privatized and sold, like they are trying to do in Nevada, Arizona and other western states.

I thought that tax-exempt organizations are supposed to be nonpartisan and have no political views. Paul Gessing's column in the paper indicates that the New Mexico Rio Grande Foundation seems to be totally partisan and should probably not be tax exempt.

The New Mexico school scores are in and some schools did really well, and some did not. Why don't the schools that do well share what they are doing with the schools that are not doing well so everybody can do well?

How do you feel, Rep. Pearce, by supporting a bill to cut billions from the food stamp program and yet you want taxpayers to pay for your airline ticket of $19,525 to fly to Cairo, Egypt to visit New Mexico National Guard. Makes no sense.

Steve Pearce must have felt entitled to fly first class to Cairo for $19,000. I did a little checking, and the most expensive flight was $15,000. So his food and lodging must have been another $4,000. If any of this is wrong, please set the record straight.


The Supreme Court ruling on the Voting Rights Act was right on the nose. They said, no, we are not going by the 40-year-old rules that you have had. You need Congress to update, but they can't do it.

I can't see why they can't find George Zimmerman responsible for the death of that kid. They told him not to follow him when he called in to report it.

I think background checks should be made on people that buy guns off of the newspaper or off the gun shows because I just saw a guy that I know that is not well. He told me he had Alzheimer's and I see him inside a grocery store or supermarket with a gun strapped to his side.

The United States Government bailed out GM when they were going under and now they are doing fantastic. And guess what they do, they invest $691 million in Mexico.