No Love For The New Arena

\ Jul 22, 2004

6 min read

[RE: “Downtown Arena Plan Moves Forward,” July 8-14] I am very supportive of most developments Downtown, and like to see business other than bars appear in the area. However, I am not supportive of the most recent development as detailed in the Alibi regarding the construction of a 10,000 seat arena between Central and Martin Luther King. Obviously, as stated in the article, “Albuquerque makes decisions more rapidly” than other cities, perhaps too rapidly. The location for this arena is poorly thought out and will only serve to bring congestion and aggravation to an already congested area. The type of events and the numbers of attendees will substantially increase many undesirable aspects for nearby neighborhoods, namely increased noise levels, crime, alcohol related incidents and traffic. Now, as for the traffic, I might not object so vigorously if some parking provisions were to be made, but in a stupidly shortsighted leap at dollars, this development has no added parking in an area where it is already difficult to park. As far as using the existing parking structures, this might be a good idea except that the arena attendees will not pay the higher parking fees when they can fill up all the other (albeit scant) parking, and spill out into residential and/or other areas. In the end, it will end up that the other Downtown employees, tourists and customers will have no parking alternatives available except the over-priced event parking, which will result in a drop in Downtown vitality and attendance overall.

Albuquerque, pay attention!

Rattling The Comfort Cage

I am thankful for people such as Katie Couric for reminding me why it is that I wake up irritated with America, and even myself, for our debilitating silence. Her interview with Michael Moore regarding his new movie, Fahrenheit 9/11 served as yet another nail in the coffin of our incompetent national media. Moore was raising legitimate concern before every journalist when he asked Couric why the more difficult, probing questions go unasked, when said journalists are free to ardently seek the truth. Couric’s response was to question Moore as to the use of profits from his movies, after which she ended the interview with the observation that he obviously was not spending the profits on his wardrobe, as if this matters. I am relieved that Couric chose not to portray the shallow vacancy so frequently seen emanating from the American unconsciousness. Moore tends to make sleeping citizens rather uneasy with his comfort-cage-rattling, revealing the question that begs to be asked, “Why is this so?”

Taking Away Your Right To Vote

A chill ran through my spine and I was sickened after reading CNN.com’s story “Officials discuss how to delay Election Day” describing a Newsweek magazine story of how Saudi royal puppet President Bush in a naked attempt to again steal another election is having his cronies begin the process of “postponing” election day in the event of a terrorist attack. In other words this administration is attempting to destroy our democratic process in order to protect it. Bush’s masters are so confident that they now have complete control of the federal government that they have Bush sycophant and Baptist church pastor DeForest Soaries Jr., chairman of the United States Election Assistance Commission (“assistance” as in a mugger “assists” you with your wallet), draft a letter to Gestapo Security … oops, I mean Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge asking whether the Nov. 2 election could be postponed. Since no branch of government has the authority to postpone federal elections, Soaries is asking Ridge to ask Congress to give his commission this power. Clearly the Florida election tampering in the first Bush election was only a dress rehearsal in turning our republic into a Fascist Theocratic state not unlike Saudi Arabia.

Please contact your member of Congress to put an end to any attempt to take your right to vote away. My mother was wrong—there is a bogeyman under the bed.

Red Means Stop!

Battering ram. The vehicle I should drive. Reinforced bumper with double-welded steel tubing displayed in Mad Max fashion slightly above dash level. And only Max would appreciate my ride as no one else will when I imbed my custom bumper in their grill after they run another red arrow. Beware, my horn no longer serves as a meager warning for all you rude-racers skipping out in front of my green light.

Alternative Transportation

I have a bone to pick regarding our city’s problem with drinking and driving. Our city has a really bad reputation for this, but I have a theory as to why the problem is so bad. We need alternative transportation!

I have been working Downtown for six years and I am right across the street from many bars and restaurants. Come closing time, I can guarantee that 99 percent of the people leaving these establishments have been drinking! You cannot stop this! People want to go out and have drinks with their friends. You can set up all the road blocks you want and you will not catch everyone!

Other cities don’t have the stats that our city does because they have alternative transportation! Most cities have many choices—buses, cabs, subways, etc. We have absolutely got to change this in our city.

We need buses running every weekend up and down Central—I would suggest until 4 a.m. We may need to do some sort of fun event related to the buses (music on the bus) to get people used to taking it.

Instead of lining Central with cops (which makes our wonderful Downtown look like an unwelcoming militant state) how about lining Central with cabs! Ta-dah! When you do call a cab now it takes about an hour for it to come and pick you up! That is too long! Women will never wait outside that late at night for that amount of time. We need a street full of cabs right when the bars close.

There are other alternatives as well! California has HomeJames where guys on scooters come and pick up you and your car—their scooter folds up and fits in your trunk and they drive you and your car home.

Come on people! If we want this problem solved we need to think of ways to keep people from getting into their cars and driving. They need to get home somehow!

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