My Page: Rebecca Powell
BorderWest
Scenes from the Hatch Chile Festival
Hatch, New Mexico claims the title of Chile Capital of the World. As we drove through the town, every other business boasted chile or included a mention of chile in its name. Chile is more than a crop or a condiment in Hatch. It is the economic mainstay of their economy. A town of little over 1600, Hatch has been celebrating the chile harvest for over thirty-six years. [more]
BorderWest
Sarah Palin: We Know Her
The more I read about John McCain's vice presidential pick, Sarah Palin, the more I feel like I know her that I have lived beside her, sat a few pews behind her in church, and maybe bumped into her at the local grocery store. Sarah Palin reminds me of dozens of Northern women I met in Montana. Physically imposing and fiercely competent, they make running their homes and communities look effortless. Men call them "good gals," and children need them. They hunt, bake, fish and camp for weeks on end with the same smile and perfect hair. [more]
BorderWest
John Edwards, You Comfort Me
I remember classmates spreading the details of the Ken Starr report, peeking over the shoulder of a co-worker as she pulled it up on the screen. Engrossing, and eventually tiring, but for a few moments in time, the President of the United States' sex life took up a significant corner of my brain. I am older now; no one's sex life is very interesting, and the mysteries and compromises of marriage are my daily reality. Still, you would think I would have some reaction to the John Edwards/Rielle Hunter affair, that my moral sensibilities would squirm, that I could muster some outrage. I don't and I can't. Instead, I am awash in nostalgia for a simpler time, a time when I did not fret about the global economy, the slipping dollar, the muscle flexing of Russia, or lives lost in the sands of Iraq. There was time to worry about sex, power and semen on a blue dress. There was time to debate the ethics of friendship and marriage, to relish the thought of Hillary breaking china over Bill's head. There was time and space for prurient interests, for lascivious gossip. [more]
BorderWest
McCain Visits Las Cruces and Thoughts on Protest
On the day the war in Iraq began, a colleague of mine wore a black armband in mute protest. She taught tenth graders the difference between illusion and allusion while silently declaring her disapproval. In her late forties, I attributed the display to her age, to the specter of the 60s and 70s. Five years later, I wonder if it is only a generation gap that leads some to watch and some to act.
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BorderWest
Still Kicking and Las Cruces’ Downtown Planning
The last sentence would not be a revelation in our last home, Kalispell, Montana, where my white husband and child were often asked their ethnicity because they have brown eyes and some tint to their skin, but this is Las Cruces, New Mexico. Hispanics are fifty percent of the population. Go downtown to the Farmer’s Market Saturday morning and languages collide, mix, and make a kind of music as speakers seamlessly switch from Spanish to English and back again. The mix of cultures is one of Las Cruces’ great strengths. So where is it when it comes to planning the future of downtown? [more]
BorderWest
To Clean a Dirt Tank and the Real Loss
People for Preservation of Our Western Heritage reports that at a City of Las Cruces meeting, Mr. Ed Roberson, Las Cruces BLM District Manager at the time, publicly stated "The ranchers are afraid of being 'eaten' one bite at a time." So why does it matter if ranchers like Mobley have to wait five months to make repairs? If they decide the hassle of wilderness and Wilderness Area Restrictions are too much and quit ranching? The answer: land. Ranchers who utilize federal lands own vast sections of land beside the areas we want to protect. The view sheds are open because ranching is happening on those lands. If the ranchers quit ranching because of wilderness restrictions, they will sell their land. Chances are good it will not be sold to another rancher, but to a developer. So instead of seeing a few cows, we can peep in people’s windows and look at rooflines. [more]
BorderWest
Why We Need Bloggers and New West
The Pew Research Center released "The Changing Newsroom:Gains and Losses in Today's Papers," detailing the state of newspapers across the country.
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BorderWest
Wilderness, Wilderness Everywhere
HR 6300, proposed by U.S. Representative Steve Pearce (R-NM) was inspired by the Valle Vidal Protection Act. Tom Mobley, a Doña Ana County rancher, took his grandson fishing in the Valle Vidal. The fishing trip inspired a school research report that the grandson later shared with Mobley. As Mobley looked over the report, he noticed the few paragraphs of legislation forever withdrawing the Valle Vidal from mineral leasing Mobley thought if a few paragraphs could protect a place as unique and beautiful as the Valle Vidal, surely the same could work for lands in Doña Ana County.
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BorderWest
Haussamen on Haussamen
"I hate politics."
A common sentiment from an uncommon source. Journalist Heath Haussamen makes a living reporting the ups, ins, outs and downs of New Mexico politics. The namesake and founder of Heath Haussamen on New Mexico Politics views politics as a necessary but problem-ridden agent of change. When the fates align and politician's interests work for the public's good, Haussamen forgets he hates politics, remembers it can help people, and just maybe change our world. Politics' potential to change lives interests Haussamen. Indeed, it is what keeps him posting five days a weeks, 52 weeks a year
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BorderWest
Why the Blogger is Not Blogging
The boy, the dog, the husband and I will be making the 12-hour drive twice in three days. The boy is two. The boy will be in a car seat for over 24 hours, People are looking forward to seeing the boy. I need to deliver a happy and rested child. I am devising many diversions – tin foil masks, puppets, audio books, and sing-a-long tapes. Any and all suggestions for traveling with a two-year-old are welcome. [more]
