With A Bang And A Whimper

\ Aug 26, 2004

1 min read

At the Aug. 16 Council meeting, one sign read “Weapons of Mass Destruction? Iraq: 0, Albuquerque: 2000.” The sign supported speakers from the local peace advocacy group Stop the War Machine, who cited the world’s largest caché of nuclear weapons stored about a mile from the Sunport runways.

SWM called on councilors to set up an evacuation plan in case of an accident involving our very own Motherload O’ Death. So there, do President Bush a favor and have yourself an orange alert moment, imagining the worst.

A bill putting Albuquerque/Bernalillo County unification on the November ballot passed 8-1, Councilor Miguel Gomez opposed. Gomez and Council President Michael Cadigan said they supported the concept but not the current proposal. The Council also approved a loan making up a shortfall in the city’s lodgers’ tax revenue.

And in Round XX of the spitting match between Councilor Tina Cummins and former Councilor Greg Payne, Cummins sponsored a bill repealing Payne’s 2003 bill that called for competitive bids for marketing the woefully underused Albuquerque Convention Center. Cummins’ bill was deferred until September.