This weekend marks the official start of summer, and there’s no better season in New Mexico than summer.  There’s never a shortage of things to do and see across our great state.  And, one of the real jewels of the Albuquerque metro area is of course the zoo.  Host David Alire Garcia recently got the chance to catch up on the latest and greatest news at the zoo, and what he found may surprise you.  For starters, there’s a bit of a baby boom going on within the confines of the zoo.  But, that’s just the beginning of the hidden secrets ready to be unearthed this summer.  Watch the video below to find out more, and be sure to read David’s companion piece on the New Mexico Independent.

President Obama at 100 Days

It’s an interesting question to ponder: What has President Obama’s first 100 days mean to New Mexico. And, it’s also a totally arbitrary question. We get that. But, at the same time, there are some direct impacts to our state, first and foremost of which is the sheer number of New Mexicans tapped to serve in this administration. Here’s a list of just a few:

Deanna Archuleta – Bernalillo County Commissioner, who will serve as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water and Science in the Department of the Interior.

Ned Farquhar – Former energy and Environment policy advisor to Governor Richardson, who will also serve in the Department of the Interior, as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals.

Hillary Tompkins – Former general counsel for Governor Richardson, she will now be the Solicitor for the Department of the Interior.

Ray Rivera – Former Albuquerque mayoral intern, he also ran President Obama’s Colorado Campaign. He will now serve as the director of External Affairs and and Intergovernmental Relations for the Department of the Interior.

Louis Caldera, Former UNM President, he is the director of the White House Military Office. At least for now, he is. That may change any moment based on the Scare Force 1 scandal.

We talked with Deanna Archuleta in this week’s episode. She actually heads to Washington D.C. on Saturday. She seems genuinely excited and eager to get to work. I made her promise that whe would come back to New Mexico someday, and she said that is definitely in her plans. We’ll just have to wait and see what kind of position she would be interested in when she comes back? Would it be back to the Commission? Maybe a run for Albuquerque Mayor? We’re not saying, we’re just saying! If you missed any of this week’s show, not to worry, just watch it here:

As mentioned above, we also talked on THE LINE about what to make of President Obama’s first 100 days. Again, an arbitrary number, but one that this country has used since FDR made such an indelible mark in his first 100 days in office. I did get a chuckle out of Stephen Colbert’s take on the 100 Days evaluations, though. If you missed it, just click on the player below:

So what do you think about how this Presidency is doing so far? Leave us a comment, or vote in our online poll. We love to hear from you!

Also, in case you missed any of this week’s AFSCME mayoral forum, you can still watch it, in its entirety:

Part 1

Part 2

Kevin
THE KNME PUBLIC AFFAIRS TEAM