ABQ Free Press, August 12, 2015
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VOL II, Issue 16, August 12, 2015 New Mexico’s second-largest newspaper XX-centric Bubonicon Author Mary R. Kowal Joins ‘Women of Wonder’ at Sci-fi Fest PAGE 17 How Payday Lenders Got Their Way in Santa Fe PAGE 4 Joe Monahan: List of 2017 Mayoral Hopefuls Grows PAGE 7 Boyd Standoff Went Badly Right from the Start PAGE 5 2 • August 12, 2015 • ABQ FREE PRESS www.freeabq.com www.abqarts.com Editor: [email protected] Redflex Greased its ABQ Deal, Report Finds Associate Editor, News: [email protected] BY ABQ FREE PRESS STAFF Associate Editor, Arts: [email protected] ity auditors found violations since 2013, with six separate allegations of bribery or inap- Advertising: [email protected] Cof city policy but no criminal indictments spanning from 2006 propriate gifts in Albuquerque,” On Twitter: @FreeABQ wrongdoing in an investigation to 2015. Auditor Debra Yoshimura wrote of Redflex, the company that The investigation by Albuquer- in a report to Lewis early this operated Albuquerque’s redlight que’s internal auditor found that year. “The FBI agent chacater- Editor and speed cameras from 2004 to Redflex spent about $1,425 on ized the allegations related to Dan Vukelich 2011. meals, hotel accommodations Albuquerque as ‘glad-handing’ (505) 345-4080. Ext. 800 The investigation was requested and golf equipment benefitting activities such as taking people by City Councilor Dan Lewis after civilian and Albuquerque Police out to lunch or dinner a couple of Associate Editor, News news reports that Redflex had Department employees. times.” Dennis Domrzalski bribed municipal officials around Redflex paid for a total of 53 Albuquerque voters decided (505) 306-3260 the country to win redlight meals for city employees starting to end the red-light cameras Associate Editor, Arts contracts. in 2003 and bought one city in October 2011. City officials Samantha Anne Carrillo In a lawsuit, an executive employee $40 worth of golf balls, concluded that Albuquerque (505) 345-4080 ext. 804 at Redflex, Aaron Rosenberg, according to the auditor’s report. made $7 million from red-light alleged he was a top salesman Accepting meals or other benefits traffic tickets, while Redflex made Design for five years from 2008 to 2013 from a current or potential vendor $18 million. Terry Kocon, Hannah Reiter, Cathleen Tiefa and that Redflex has been bribing is a violation of the city’s admin- Rio Rancho is the only city in and giving gifts to city officials istrative code, according to the New Mexico still contracted with Photography throughout the United States, report. Redflex. The contract ends in Mark Bralley, Mark Holm, Juan Antonio including officials in Chicago, “An Albuquerque FBI agent December. Labreche, Liz Lopez, Adria Malcolm Arizona, Ohio and New Mexico. informed us that according to Contributors this issue Six executives have been fired the Chicago office, there were no Lisa Barrow, Hugh Elliott, Richard “Bugman” Fagerlund, Gary Glasgow, Ariane Jarocki, Elijah Jensen-Lindsey, Megan Kamerick, Dan Klein, Joe Monahan, Sayrah Namasté, Joseph Sorrentino, ABQ Free Press Pulp News M. Brianna Stallings, Rene Thompson, COMPILED BY ABQ FREE PRESS STAFF Tom Tomorrow, Efrain Villa, Terry L. Warkentine Pee perps where government officials hand cash register from his pocket after Copy Editors out jobs in return for votes. The he realized he missed a trailer Wendy Fox Dial Requests for “pee-proof paint” study found that 27,000 new being pulled by a vehicle and Jim Wagner are going through the roof in public-sector jobs were added wanted his register to balance San Francisco, where officials are Sales Representatives (505) 345-4080 before one recent election. Now, with the axel counts and was trying to stop public urination Abby Feldman x802 Greece has a ministry charged caught on tape putting money with a paint that repels urine. Garrett Ferguson x809 with eliminating 25,000 govern- from his pocket into the register,” “We are piloting it to see if we can Colandra Gallegos x807 ment jobs as part of the country’s Samsonov’s daughter, Patricia discourage people from peeing Cory Calamari x810 plan to get its economy in order. Samsonov Gillis, wrote on John Wehner x812 at many of our hot spots,” said Facebook. Samsonov had worked Public Works Director Moham- for the toll authority for 29 years. Operations Manager med Nuru. The UV-coated paint Well off Abby Feldman (505) 345-4080, Ext. 802 He was popular with customers is hydrophobic, meaning it repels About 71 percent of the 7 billion because he handed out lollipops Published every other week by: water. Urine actually bounces people on this planet are clas- to children and dog bones to pets, Great Noggins LLC back at the urinator, splashing sified as poor, while 13 percent P.O. Box 6070 pants and shoes. San Francisco according to USA Today. are middle-class, according to Albuquerque, NM 87197-6070 got the idea from the German Bloombergview.com. That leaves city of Hamburg, which grew about 16 percent who are rich. Vandalized Publishers weary of smelling like a urinal Being poor is defined as getting Will Ferguson and Dan Vukelich A drunken squirrel caused more each morning. “The team that by on less than $2 a day. Middle- than $500 damage to a Worces- did the testing, they were excited class is defined as living on tershire, England pub, according because the liquid bounces back between $10 and $20 a day. more than we thought it would. to the British newspaper the Corrections policy: Anything we can do to deter Independent. The owner of the Punished Honeybourne Railway Club said It is the policy of ABQ Free Press to correct people is a good thing,” Nuru errors in a timely fashion. Contact the editors told the newspaper SFGate. A Florida toll booth attendant he found glasses and beer bottles at the email addresses on this page. was fired after reaching into his broken when he arrived to open own pocket to pay part of the toll up, before he spotted a squirrel Quid pro quo for a driver. Vladislav Samsonov, stumbling out from under the bar. How bad is corruption in Greece, 77, said he made up the differ- The owner believes the squirrel Where to find stepchild of the European Union? ence when he mistakenly charged somehow opened a beer tap and our paper? Bribery accounts for 8 percent of the driver too little to pass drank from it before going on its List of more than drunken rampage. He chased the the gross domestic product of the through his booth on the Gaspa- 550 locations country, according to the Brook- rilla Island Bridge Authority near squirrel out a restroom window. at freeabq.com ings Institution. The practice has Boca Grande, Fla. “He broke the “It’s safe to say he is now barred its roots in the electoral system, rules by putting $5.50 into the for life,” the owner said. [ after the news ] ABQ FREE PRESS • August 12, 2015 • 3 [STAGES] [FOOD/DRINK] “I showed ‘Jonesy’ a Chat- “Even the toughest of 15ter postcard, and he said, 19 weeks are no match for ‘Oh, man, Dude’ – he kept call- the Three Sisters, Downtown’s ing me ‘dude’ – ‘Do you know sleeping giant and the Haute- about the parking ramp?’” Savoie of the High Desert.” – Chatter Executive Director – Ariane Jarocki on the second Pamela Michaelis on finding an installment of our multi-issue outdoor “auditorium” for Chat- Deep Dish coverage of Albu- ter’s Sept. 5 rooftop concert querque’s best happy hours [ARTS] [SCREENS] “[Misogyny] is not a new “Can we relate to an ani- 17thing, and the reason that 22 mated horse? How about we’re seeing all this conversa- one who was once a household tion about it is because it’s name and lives in a mansion something that people are with his entourage? You might actively fighting against.” be surprised.” – Hugh Elliott on – Bubonicon 47 toastmaster, dark, animated Netflix comedy author and puppeteer Mary “Bojack Horseman” Robinette Kowal on sexism and harassment in the sci-fi/fantasy [STAGES] community Listen to The Update with “All the while, rape cul- 24ture blames victims, tells Dennis [ARTS] women that their worth is 100 “Gatas y Vatas is going percent body-based and cracks Domrzalski 18 down in Seattle this year, jokes about men dropping the Monday mornings [but] the all-ages music fest soap in prison showers.” at 8:25. on featuring solo female perform- – M. Brianna Stallings on KANW-FM 89.1 ers (including trans and cis YouTube sex educator Laci women, as well as genderqueer Green’s visit to UNM to present and non-binary folks) hasn’t “Taking Down Rape Culture” forgotten its many nuevo- mexicano fans.” – Lisa Barrow [MUSIC] on Gatas y Vatas’ fundraiser Animales Animados: Monsters “With the exception of Under the Bed 25Gregg Araki’s ‘Happy Face’ and Judd Apatow’s ‘Pineapple Express’, stoner movies have [FOOD] been declining ever since “Think all-American sum- Cheech and Chong toked on 18 mer foods: watermelon, that Labrador strain. On the barbeque, lemonade ... and other hand, stoner rock has macaroni and cheese? If that last experienced a renaissance of one didn’t immediately spring to late.” mind, don’t worry.” – M. Brianna – Samantha Anne Carrillo on Stallings on the transformative Weedeater’s concert at cultural power of the Macaroni Launchpad and Cheese Festival ON THE COVER: Author/puppeteer Mary Robinette Kowal. Photo by Rod Searcey. [15] [19] [24] 4 • August 12, 2015 • ABQ FREE PRESS nEwS Payday Lenders’ Giving Pays Off at Roundhouse BY RENE THOMPSON AND DAN VUKELICH SPENDING WISELY f you wonder why it’s still legal in New Mexico Ito charge up to 1,000 percent on payday and title Campaign finance records show that the payday loan industry gave money to 24 legislators with the loans, a clue lies in the campaign finance records of power to block payday lending reform during the the Office of Secretary of State.