Evan Moore

The state attorney general accuses Zangara Dodge of overcharging customers

Ken Zangara knows money. As a Bush Ranger (meaning that he raised over $200,000 for the prez's election campaign last year), he practically mastered the art of gathering donations. As chairman of the Bernalillo County Republican Party, he probably understands the relationship between politics and the hard-earned buck. As a businessman and owner of two New Mexico car dealerships, he must know the benefits of a well-seasoned sales pitch. And, after being put on a three-year probation and ordered by the courts to pay $73,000 to 80 employees who he allegedly defrauded in 1992, he might feel the karmic weight of the good ol' smackeroo. It also seems, according to a recent lawsuit filed by New Mexico Attorney General Patricia Madrid, that when it comes to money, Ken Zangara might be charging a little more than he should.

District 7 council race already heating up

Sally Mayer, Albuquerque's District 7 councilor, is a realtor. But Mayer doesn't own a home in District 7. She rents. You might guess she hasn't expected to stay long. You might guess right.

Singeli Agnew

At the crowded March 21 meeting, Councilor Craig Loy's ordinance setting fines for drivers running red lights passed, as did Councilor Tina Cummins' ordinance bringing Albuquerque residential building codes in line with water conservation standards now required by state codes. During public comment, nine representatives of city unions spoke about the Labor Relations Board "taking years" to decide cases and said the city had a double standard in treatment for workers and management.

In its final hours before adjournment, the 2005 session of the New Mexico Legislature completed action on a comprehensive election reform measure and sent it to the governor. The measure received no Republican support; not a single senator or representative from the minority party voted in favor of it, but it passed nonetheless.

Scott Rickson

Dateline: England—Breed animals, lose your dead mother-in-law. Five animal rights extremists were arrested for digging up and stealing the remains of an 82-year-old woman to protest an animal breeding farm in England. A 32-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman were seized at a house in Gloucester, while at the same time three men were stopped by police in their car in Newchurch. Staffordshire police had spent five months investigating the desecration of Gladys Hammond's grave in St. Peter's Churchyard in Yoxall, Staffs. Detectives believe the dead woman's remains were stolen in protest against a farm in nearby Newchurch run by Mrs. Hammond's son-in-law, Chris Hall, who breeds guinea pigs for medical research. The arrests followed a series of anonymous letters, suggesting that those responsible might finally be willing to return the body. Detective Chief Inspector Nick Baker declined to say whether that involved any kind of deal, such as the guinea pig farm closing. Animal rights activists have picketed Mr. Hall's business at Darley Oaks Farm for nearly six years.

Letters