WORKING IT:
Marianne Griego recently got a job. Before she found work, however, she says she made weekly trips to the Department of Labor in search of employment. The weekly trips proved traumatizing. "I was getting catcalls and harassed by the [day laborers who gather outside of the DOL for work]." Griego says the harassment was so bad that she stopped driving to work. Instead, she had acquaintances drop her off directly by the DOL's doors. "This has been going on for the last year, and it hasn't changed," she says of the harassment. "It's worse." Griego says she planned to meet with City officials about her concerns. DOL Area Director Nancy O'Rourke, who believes that women are particularly intimidated by the day laborers [Outtakes, April 20: "Kicked From the Curb"], says she spoke to City officials last fall about the problem. City officials such as Councilor David Coss, who pushed the installation of port-a-potties in DeVargas Park out of concern for the day laborers a few years ago, and Public Works Department Director Robert Romero say they are unaware that new concerns have surfaced about the laborers. "I've never heard of these issues," Romero says. At present, Romero says the City plans to make the DeVargas Park area more accommodating. "We're working on a project right now to make the area a whole lot more attractive, to make it a more pedestrian area," he says. But the street the City will target is Alameda, not DeVargas. Romero says Alameda will be narrowed. Coss has said he is willing to arrange a meeting between the DOL and City to address the concerns. O'Rourke had a meeting scheduled with the City on May 2, but the City postponed it, she says, and it has yet to be rescheduled. (NK)
BILLBOARD SQUAWK:
The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals are accusing Lamar Outdoor Advertising of being a chicken. Bock-bock-bock. The primary billboard company in Santa Fe recently refused to allow a PETA advertisement to go up in the City Different that depicted a naked man sitting on a countertop between two chicken carcasses with the message "Try to relate to who's on your plate: go vegetarian." Chris Link, a campaign coordinator for PETA, says plans for the billboard were moving forward until a Lamar representative did a double-take and sent the animal-rights organization an email that said, in part, "You've got to be kidding! I'm surprised that got through our filter." Link expressed disappointment with Lamar's decision by saying, "It's frustrating for us to try and give this message to people only to have a company that doesn't like the message toss it aside." Link added, "Chickens are the most abused animals on the face of the planet. Chickens are individuals that experience emotion and physical pain just like you and I." Take that, Lamar. (ND)
BLACKHAWK NOT DOWN:
A group of local citizens that has been battling the National Guard for the better part of a decade launched another salvo in its struggle last week. Residents and organizations concerned with the noise and environmental issues surrounding the alleged expansion of the Guard's Black Hawk helicopter operations the Santa Fe airport held two public meetings, one April 25 at Whole Foods and one April 27 at the downtown library. "Many of us have become burnt out on this issue," Elaine Cimino, director of Citizens for Environmental Standards, told the crowd. "We need more support from the community at large." The Guard has acknowledged its plans to build a new 93,000-square-foot hangar and increase the land it leases from the City from 17 to 34 acres. But it insists it has no immediate plans to expand its fleet of seven helicopters (only three are currently on site). Cimino and supporters allege the Guard wants to turn Santa Fe into a full-fledged military training facility. According to Cimino, the new facility could house up to 25 Black Hawk helicopters. That many copters could potentially fly more than 13,000 missions a year. The corresponding impact on noise pollution could be severe, but getting the Guard to properly document those effects has proven elusive. Cimino says the CES has spent nearly $12,000 battling the operations and is considering filing suit to get a comprehensive study on the environmental impacts, but currently lacks resources to file litigation. (ND)
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