DA Bregman

Asking Sam Bregman to stay out of politics once he's inside the circle is like asking a lion to stop eating its kill. And so it is with the freshly appointed Bernalillo County District attorney. 

Our reliable sources report Bregman is prepping a run for DA next year, breaking a compact he made with MLG who announced when she appointed him in January that he would fill out the two years of the term of Raul Torrez, who was elected attorney general, and not seek the office in his own right. 

At the time the Governor's office said:

Democrat Bregman could face a Democratic primary next June if he is indeed reneging on his no election pledge. As for the GOP, they can't elect a sheriff countywide anymore so there's no reason to think the Dem primary winner won't win the general election as well. 

Bregman received some good news Tuesday that will only encourage him to ignore MLG's wishes. A UNM study shows more of the accused are staying in jail before their trials in Bernalillo County with about 60 percent of the DA's pretrial detention requests now being granted by District Court judges.

Said Sam:

We can see it now "Vote Bregman. He's moving the needle!"

It's okay to cringe, Governor. 

$675 million in federal money to spread high speed internet to deprived rural New Mexicans is a whole lot of dollars. When we blogged Tuesday that the state should utilize some of that money for satellite service from Starlink it got the attention of ABQ Dem state Rep. Cynthia Borrego. Other lawmakers also have good reason to tune in as do members of the Connect NM Council working under the state Office of Broadband Access as they draft a plan to spend that massive federal grant. 

"I support it and I think it is something the state should look at," Borrego of ABQ's westside told us. As a top city of ABQ planner Borrego was involved in communications decisions involving the major providers.

She also noted the slow rural broadband rollout and said environmental and regulatory issues could continue to plague fiber and that it makes sense to have satellite internet as part of the mix. 

The state broadband plan is due to be sent to the the feds by year's end so lawmakers may have to get their opinions known before the 2024 legislative session.  

ABQ Dem state Sen. Michael Padilla has been in the fore of the broadband issue and we'll be interested to see if he weighs in.

There is little question that thousands of rural New Mexicans would opt for the satellite service if offered and if it were subsidized. They are worn out and apprehensive. In fact, for many satellite would suffice permanently. That's because the service continues to improve, as recently noted by PC magazine:

Starlink is very aware of the role they could play. They asked the FCC to apportion some of the $885 million from the 2020 Rural Digital Opportunity Fund to satellite internet as well as cable and telecommunications companies. The FCC initially approved but then reversed itself, citing similar reasons as those given by Kathy Schlegel, director of the NM Broadband Office, who is standing in the doorway. 

She (and the FCC majority) argue the service is not as fast nor as dependable as fiber laid down by the giant telecommunications companies. But when you have no connection at all or an old dial-up "fast" is a very relative term. 

Musk

Could there be politics at play as well as technical concerns for the dissing of satellite service? Some think so. After all, billionaire Elon Musk, who is no friend of top level Dems, owns Starlink. 

We received email regarding the politics of broadband. Most of them along these lines: 

Can New Mexico lawmakers dig into this and determine whether satellite internet is one of the viable  solutions for our broadband woes? It is urgent. 

If a 10 year old rural student unable to receive broadband but was signed up for satellite, the difference could be seven crucial years in their educational life. The fiber build out is going to take at least seven more years to complete and that's under the most optimistic scenario.

Doesn't that young student deserve to have every chance to fulfill their educational needs and pursue a better life? Or should they struggle through elementary, junior high and high school technologically handicapped as their elders argue about speed and latency?

Those are questions the Governor, her broadband director and our legislators should be asking--and answering--as young New Mexicans wait and wait some more to go to work on their dreams. 

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