Episode 224: On the Train to Santa Fe

A bird's eye view of the Railrunner Commuter Train in Santa Fe

We talked a lot this week about the expansion of Railrunner commuter train service north to Santa Fe. It’s been almost a year and a half now since the train first left the station here in Albuquerque. Now it stretches all the way from Belen to Santa Fe.

There are plenty of people who still think the train is a mistake, or question the funding and operation of the Railrunner. We hope we helped add to that discussion at least in some small part during this episode. But, the bottom line is, the train is here to stay, and it is imperative to the state as a whole that it succeeds.

If you want to learn more about the Railrunner, including schedules, fairs and background information, just head to the website, which is chock full of great tidbits, including the original environmental studies. That was an interesting point that Margaret Montoya brought up on THE LINE this week as well. There is very little information on the Railrunner website about how the train is helping fight global warming. It may be an oversight, or maybe something else. We’ll be sure to ask our friends at the Mid-Region Council of Governments and get back to you.

Also this week, we talked a lot about the economy, from its impact on local school districts, to the ongoing fight over what to do about the ailing automobile companies. At the time of our taping the Senate had not yet balked at the most recent bailout package, so please keep that in mind as you are watching. So, what do you think about the bailout plans? Head to our online poll and cast your vote, and be sure to leave us your comments or shoot us an email at infocus@knme.org.

And, in case you missed any of this week’s episode, just click on the player below, or rewatch your favorite segments all over again!

As always, thanks for watching!

The Public Affairs Team

This entry was posted on Friday, December 12th, 2008 at 4:22 pm and is filed under nmif. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 Responses to “Episode 224: On the Train to Santa Fe”

1. James Hickerson Says:
   December 12th, 2008 at 9:21 pm

   I’m sorry, but Margaret Montoya takes too much time with her answers. After being a loyal watcher for several years, I find myself channel surfing whenever she is called on for an opinion during the roundtable discussions. Too often what she has to say is neither concise nor to the point, filled with unnecessary expansions and digressions that run on and on and on and……. Could you please, gently, find a way to keep this dear lady from monopolizing the discussions.

   Otherwise, In Focus is the best local regularly-scheduled program on TV–better than the network local news for actually giving me a sense of what this state is about. Thank you for that.

   Jim Hickerson

2. Bill Mader Says:
   December 13th, 2008 at 2:42 pm

   I watched David’s interview with Lawrence Real during and felt is mostly a sales pitch for the Rail Runner! David tried to ask some challenging questions, but never pushed with follow-ups when Lawrence danced around with his spin. Where were the really hard financial questions and answers needed for taxpayers to decide what to do when we’re asked to subsidize this “project” even further?

   It’s interesting to listen to Lawrence compare subsidizing rural roads to the Rail Runner, comparing apples and oranges. He will fit in well as Lt. Governor where he won’t have to be forthright in that position with state finances, following in the footsteps of typical Santa Fe politicians. If he truly wants to serve the public, he should start answering questions with answers that serve the public!

   The same is true for the show’s interviewers! David and Gene’s liberal bias frequently shows through loudly and clearly. I enjoy a discussion panel with members on opposing sides. I don’t like the idea of interviewers who don’t push interviewees to answer pointed questions on both sides of an issue. Certainly we should expect more from journalists, or have we given up and just acquiesced to the prevalent media liberal bias.

   Cheers, Bill

3. bernice Says:
   December 14th, 2008 at 3:59 pm

   Re: the Economy, as concerns the Schools in New Mexico: Jim Scarantino said it exactly right: (paraphrase) “We DO have money in New Mexico; we have a rainy-day fund; it’s called the Permanent Fund.” Legislators MUST, this session, figure out a creative way to use the PF to help bail out our drowning schools. Enough excuses, please! NM Educators have too long been asked to function in a woefully underfunded system, and our children pay the penalty. Every person who really believes that children are our future must assess what we are doing to that future by not providing them the best possible start in life. Using our Permanent Fund wisely is the key to following New Mexico’s Constitutional mandate of “sufficient” funding for education. Having this nice financial cushion is a luxury that our struggling teachers and students can no longer afford. Our future is truly in jeapordy. The solution lies in the hands of the Legislature. I encourage In Focus to focus on The Permanent Fund in a near-future program.

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