New Mexico State Senator Dede Feldman's Blog

Our Connections Constituents & Communities

Summer is the time for neighborhood picnics, and Senate District 13 was the scene of two of these community building celebrations  last  Saturday.  One of these was a gala celebration for the Duranes  Neighborhood, to dedicate a new playground that had been torched by  neighborhood teenagers just a few weeks ago.  After a heroic effort  by the city's Park's Department, the much-awaited playground was  reconstructed in less than a month.  Much of the credit for getting  the funding from the state, and coordinating everything with the  city, goes to Julie Lopez Casaus, pictured here with me. 
One person really makes a difference.  Congratulations to the Duranes Neighborhood Association, too.

The other picnic was a laid back social hosted by the Sawmill  Neighborhood Association, which is composed, largely of the  affordable new houses built by the Sawmill Land Trust on land  assembled with city, state money and, most of all, with community  ingenuity and sweat equity. 

Pictured here are the representatives of  the area --- City Council President Debbie O'Malley, Rep. Rich Miera  and yours truly.

I am honored to serve both of these great neighborhoods in the state Senate.

Follow Up on the Take Back America Conference 2007 in Mid June

I’m still processing this one. The conference’s web site, has videos of the speeches of Gov. Bill Richardson, Hillary Clinton, Barak Obama, John Edwards, Nancy Pelosi, Jesse Jackson, Dennis Kucinich, and others. I’ve listened to them all again. They are great. I recommend anyone who cares about the Democratic race for President take a look at them. They’re at http://home.ourfuture.org/  the website for the Campaign for America’s Future.

Getting out of Town, to the Valle Grande in the Jemez

Two weeks ago, Mark and I went on a seven-mile hike in the Valle Caldera National Preserve, We joined the “Friends” of this great endeavor to preserve one of the West’s classic landscapes and largest volcanic craters for public use. It took a lot to make this happen, both in Congress and here in New Mexico.  Rep. Roger Madelena and I sponsored a Memorial in 1998 requesting that this land be bought by the federal government from the Dunigans, a Texas oil family who owned much of the remaining Baca Land Grant. It finally was purchased, under the Land and Water Conservation Fund in 2000, with support coming from the entire NM delegation, and finally, Sen Domenici,. However, the proviso was, that it had to be self-sufficient in five years or so. A tall order, but the Trust is going to do it, with more public tours—van tours, cross country events, marathons—as well as with the more traditional ranching, and hunting (there are from 2,500-3,500 elk on the 89,000-acre property.)

Our guided hike, sponsored by the Friends of the Valle Grande, walked around Cerro del Abrigo, a mountain in the middle of the preserve from which you could see several different valleys – Valle San Antonio, and Valle Toledo-- and mountains, including Redondo Peak and Pajarito Mountain. There were great volunteers along who were wild flower and bird specialists from Los Alamos, and tour guide Craig Martin, who wrote a great book about the Baca Location called, Valle Grande: A History of the Baca Location No. 1.  It’s a paperback from All Seasons Publishing ( ISBN 0-9639040-4-3) that’s available from Bookworks in the North Valley and other local bookstores. After the hike, we had a barbecue with a power point from Craig on the history of the land. I’m not a huge fan of power points but for history buffs and naturalists, though, this was great.

To Find out more hikes and other activities at the Valles Caldera Preserve, go to www.vallescaldera.gov.

Celebrate These Anniversaries by Making Use of these Great Community Resources

The Rio Grande Nature Center turned 25 this summer and they are celebrating over two decades of bosque preservation, outdoor education for kids, recreational opportunities and access to nature in an urban setting. Join the Friends of the Rio Grande Nature Center on summer bird festivals (Aug. 4), full moon walks, seminars on the bosque for teachers, and many other great activities. Call 505-344-7240 for more information on festivals and events for all ages or go to the website (google Rio Grande Nature Center or go to nmparks.com and follow the links).

The nature center was started by a band of intrepid open space advocates who wouldn’t take 'no' for an answer. It grew into one of the state’s great collaborative efforts. The park is located in the near North Valley at the end of Candelaria NW in the Rio Grande State Park on land owned by the state, and operated jointly with the City of Albuquerque Open Space Division and the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District. The headquarters, designed by then little-known architect, Antoine Predock, has been home to thousands of school kids who have caught tadpoles in the “Discovery Pond” and watched sandhill cranes in the nearby Candelaria Farms. In honor of the anniversary, the Friends are raising money to help build a new education building. Call 344-7240 to help.

The Nurse Advice Line in New Mexico is Growing like Gangbusters

In its first year of operation the new Nurse Advice Line at 1-877-725-2552 has gotten tens of thousands of calls from new moms, panicked caregivers and people with medical problems but no access to a doctor or medical provider. If that’s you… or someone you know… like your daughter or teenage son, call 1-877-725-2552. They operate 24:7. 

As we discuss a plan for universal coverage and health care reform in New Mexico this summer, access is a major issue. With a shortage of health care providers,especially in rural areas, a hot line like this really makes sense. I’m trying to get the Department of Health to recognize that this is health care reform and they should fund it more adequately. It’s now run as a public-private partnership between hospitals, the primary care association, & the UNM Department of Family Medicine. This is immediate access—and we should build on it. 

Identity Theft - There's Help Available

Left: Senator Dede Feldman & Miss New Mexico, Christina Hall

A new law that went into effect July 1 will give you a tool to prevent identity thieves from obtaining your information and using it to open new accounts or make large purchases in your name. Yes, it’s the Credit Freeze bill I worked so hard on during the session along with the Attorney General, the AARP and Miss New Mexico, Christina Hall.  A special thanks to those of you out there who helped. Here’s how the new law work.

You can pro-actively prevent unauthorized access to your credit report even before you have your mail stolen(as I did) or even know that your identity has been misused by following these steps. Send either regular or certified letters to all three credit reporting agencies that include your full name, current address, Social Security number, date of birth, a copy of a government-issued ID card and proof of your address (such as a utility bill). If you have been a victim of identity theft, include a copy of a police report. Tell ‘em you want your credit report frozen. Unless you are a victim of ID theft, or are over 65, you must include a payment of $10 for each freeze.

Here are the addresses to which to send your letters (be sure to make copies):

Experian, PO Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013, Transunion, Fraud Victim Assistance Department, 1561 E. Orangethorpe Ave., Fullerton, CA, 92831, and Equifax, Attention Security Freeze, PO Box 105788, Atlanta, GA 30348.

The companies will notify you that your credit information has been locked and issue you a pin number with which you can unfreeze the account when you want to make a big purchase like a house or car. It will cost you $5 to release the information in this way

(unless you’re over 65 or a victim of ID theft), and the companies must do it quickly – in three days for now, and then, within 15 minutes, next year.   

Then, you can rest secure in the knowledge that-- in these days of repeated credit card solicitations, nasty divorces wherein one party tries to use credit information to make life difficult for the other, and so much personal information floating around in your handbag and over the internet—for the most part, only you have access to your own credit information.

For other ways that you can protect yourself against identity theft or deal with it if you are a victim, go to the Attorney General’s web page at www.ago.state.nm.us and access the new Identity Theft Prevention and Repair Kit. The booklet can also be obtained by calling the AG’s office at 222-9000 in Albuquerque or 827-6000 in Santa Fe.