Category: Commentaries

Walt Rubel Commentary: Carter warned us of problems ahead

1/7/2025

Jimmy Carter was an honest, reverent and decent man during a time when those qualities were seen as a political asset. Now, I fear they would all be seen as weakness.

It’s been clear for some time that the Carter presidency will not be viewed positively by history. A 2021 survey of professional historians conducted by CSPAN ranks Carter 26th, between Grover Cleveland and James Garfield.

Walt Rubel Commentary: City breaks transparency laws again

12/31/2024

Last March, New Mexico State University, Dona Ana County and the city of Las Cruces were all searching for new leaders.

NMSU conducted a national search, attracting applications from college administrators throughout the country. The finalists were brought to Las Cruces for a rigorous and transparent interview process. When regents were unhappy with the first batch of finalists, instead of settling for someone they didn’t really want, they had the courage to start over.

Walt Rubel Commentary: The pay is good for “amateur” athletes

12/24/2024

Christmas came early this year for former NMSU quarterback Diego Pavia, and every other “amateur” college athlete who started at the junior college level.

Pavia was recently granted an injunction by the U.S. District Court in Tennessee, giving him an extra year of college eligibility. That means he will continue to make millions of dollars as an unsalaried, “amateur” college quarterback, rather than have to take a far lower salary playing as a professional in the United Football League, which plays in the spring, or the Canadian Football League.

Walt Rubel Commentary: My 14-year pact with Andres the cat

12/17/2024

I was feeling a little bit lonely one night about 14 years ago when I made a pact with Andres, the kitten I had just adopted from the Mesilla Valley Animal Shelter: Get me to age 65, and I promise to take good care of you.

The plan was to get a dog once I was retired and had more time to care for one, and I made sure to tell everyone that. I shared the snarky attitude toward cats that is so prevalent in modern culture.

Walt Rubel Commentary: Budget forecast comes with warning

12/10/2024

Later this month, the Consensus Revenue Estimate will be released, providing the basis for the state’s budget when lawmakers meet next month in Santa Fe. And the expectation is a continuation of the oil-fueled revenue boom, leading to another record budget.

The estimate is prepared twice a year. The August report predicted lawmakers will have $659.6 million in “new money” to add to the record $13.4 billion budget for the current fiscal year. It’s a dramatic reversal from the days of the Richardson administration, when lawmakers were forced to claw back money from local school districts to avoid budget deficits, which are now allowed under state law.

Walt Rubel Commentary: A plan to fix healthcare shortage

12/3/2024

The free market system just doesn’t work for healthcare. If it did, we would sell kidneys at auction to the highest bidder instead of having a waiting list of those most in need.

Unfortunately, we have convinced ourselves that the power of the free market holds the solution to all of our problems. When public schools fail, we don’t increase funding, we shift it to private schools. But, almost nobody supports auctioning off kidneys.

Walt Rubel Commentary: Election ads breed fear and loathing

11/6/2024

I’m glad the election is over. I was getting a little tired of the political ad rubbing our community’s worst day in our face every time I turned on a TV.

“One day in one city, two double homicides, four dead, Another day, an officer killed leaving two kids with no dad. New York or LA? No, Las Cruces.”

Walt Rubel Commentary: Easy for viewers to forget the danger

10/29/2024

The Air and Space Expo at the Las Cruces International Airport was one of the most entertaining shows I’ve seen in years.

I hadn’t been to an air show since I was a kid, and was surprised to feel the exact same thrill now as I had then watching an airplane nosedive toward the ground, only to pull up at the last second and gracefully loop back into the sky.

Walt Rubel Commentary: New plan, funding revive hope for center

10/22/2024

It’s hard to think of anything locally that has been more needed and less productive since its founding than the Crisis Triage Center.

In 2012, then-County Manager Brian Haines recognized a serious problem. Law enforcement officers were spending too much time transporting and overseeing criminal suspects in need of a mental health evaluation and, perhaps, involuntary treatment. A trip to the state’s only mental health hospital in Las Vegas would mean 10 hours on the road.

Walt Rubel Commentary: Two P’s of TV election coverage

10/15/2024

In last week’s column I wrote that I was going to vote early and then spend the rest of the election season as an interested spectator. It turns out, that wasn’t true.

I did vote Thursday morning, just before the lunch rush. And, as always, it was quick and easy, and the people managing the election were friendly and professional.

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