The Toughest Job in Government

 I don't read The New Yorker magazine the way I used to.  In most editions I find little of interest these days.  I came across an exception to that trend through a link to a New Yorker story about the Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland, who previous to her appointment to Interior was our U.S. congressional representative.  I've been a long-time fan of Haaland since even before attending a great presentation she made at Albuquerque's main library and I was very pleased to have the chance to support her run for the congressional seat.

The long New Yorker piece is a thorough biography of the Secretary , detailing the incredibly difficult job of overseeing an agency that includes responsibility for both the Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and how her life experience prepared her for those challenges.  The fact that she is the first Interior Secretary with Native American roots is in itself a big step forward for the country, but she has also done good work in regaining some of the ground lost during the Trump years.

Even if Biden holds on for another four years, it seems improbable that Haaland would chose to serve a second term in such a demanding position.  What path she will take after the Interior Dept. is anyone's guess, and probably it is not clear yet to Haaland either. One talked-about possibility would be replace New Mexico's  retiring governor, Michele Lujan Grisham.

To go another step further with that speculation, the two women could even just trade places, as Lujan Grisham was apparently offered the Interior job and turned it down before it went to Haaland.  Of course, at this point it is not clear sailing to that destination regardless of either woman's ambitions.  One possible barrier is the future course that might be chosen by NM Senator Martin Heinrich.  He has vowed to serve out his full term in the Senate, but the possibility of a run for governor is often mentioned by the local press corps.  I suspect the possible competition will be sorted out well before the actual Dem Primary.

Lunch

 

Four For Four

 I believe this is the first time this falcon has succeeded in hatching all four eggs in the clutch.  

I think the bird on the right is the slightly smaller male, tiercel.  He has been very ably carrying out his support role, bringing food and guarding the nestlings when the female is off the scrape.

Fifty years ago it was not uncommon that all the eggs in a falcon's clutch would fail to hatch.  In fact, in those times many bird populations world-wide had gone into a disastrous decline due to egg shell thinning caused by pesticide contamination.  The raptors were especially vulnerable to pesticides, and populations including peregrines and eagles reached critically low levels.

The birds were granted a reprieve by a rarely achieved international agreement to stop producing and using the insecticide, Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT).  The peregrine population might still not have rebounded to a healthy level had it not been for the rapid development of captive breeding programs.  Today, there may be as many breeding pairs of peregrines just in the Bay Area as existed in the whole country a half century ago.

A History Lesson for the Speaker

 It was not particularly surprising to see House Speaker Mike Johnson at Columbia calling for the resignation of the college's president.  However, to hear him demand that Biden send the National Guard to suppress the pro-Palestine demonstrations seemed extraordinary to me.  I suppose Johnson was a child when National Guardsmen opened fire on the student protesters in 1970 at Kent State, killing four and wounding nine.  That seems a poor excuse for a national leader for such a level of ignorance or disregard about such an historic and consequential event.

Mary Ann Vecchio screams as she kneels over the body of Kent State University student Jeffrey Miller on May 4, 1970.         Photo by John Filo

Peregrines

 Follow the nesting of the Peregrines at UC Berkeley (article).

(Click the picture for the Berkeley Live Cams.)

Annie takes flight around Sather Tower, or the Campanile, in 2022. Credit: Bridget Ahern

The Costs of Homelessness

 A friend recently expressed the opinion that an appropriate response to law breaking by homeless individuals would be to lock them up and throw away the key.  The Supreme Court is about to weigh in on the issue.

It appears, judging from court records that a sizable portion of the homeless population is already incarcerated, though not with a sentence of perpetual incarceration.

Ethical and constitutional issues aside, there are some practical issues with jailing as a solution to homelessness and associated burdens to society.

Looking at just the economics, the average cost of locking up a person in Albuquerque is about $124 per day.  That amounts to $3,720 per month.  Homeless people have illness and death rates much greater that of the general population, so the monthly cost of incarceration may be quite a bit higher for homeless individuals than the average.

Another practical consideration is the current state of the City's capacity to manage the incarcerated population.  In spite of a robust recruitment effort the City prison system is perpetually understaffed, currently with around a 25% deficit.  It seems like policies that would greatly increase imprisonment rates would make an already difficult situation close to impossible.

The current Albuquerque budget for dealing with homelessness is $25 million per year. I do not think that includes the current costs for the incarceration of homeless individuals. In any case, the money expended clearly has not made any real impact on the magnitude of the problem.

It seems like using the funds currently appropriated for dealing with homelessness and incarceration might be better spent on just supporting housing initiatives. Aside from getting people off the streets, housing would greatly decrease the usually minor offenses like trespassing that often lead to incarceration of the homeless.

 UPDATE:

The New Republic has some interesting comments on the unavailability of affordable housing.  It turns out that that financial speculation is at the heart of the problem:

...In 2018, corporations bought one out of every 10 homes sold in America, according to Dezember, who notes that, “Between 2006 and 2016, when the home ownership rate fell to its lowest level in fifty years, the number of renters grew by about a quarter...”

Good Morning

 

Spring Morning

 I got out on the sidewalk about 7:30 AM for the purpose of making some pictures with one of my old Kodak folders.  While there I also grabbed a few shots with my phone which actually turned out a bit better than what was captured on film.

The historic Henry Mann house across the street was built in 1905.

Our bungalow is more modest, but I'm claiming historic status for it as well as it has made it to one hundred years of age.

Eclipse Rose

 

 

I thought I missed capuring anything of the partial solar eclipse, but found a shot lurking in my phone.  I think this shot was made with the eclipse glasses held in front of the phone's camera lens.

 

 

Forest Management

 We often take our dog to this beach on the Rio Grande, walking there a quarter mile through the dense cottonwood forest.

There was no riverside forest in the vicinity of Albuquerque for a couple centuries after European settlement. Firewood harvesting and the demands of agriculture eliminated the forest, and then the Corps of Engineers tightly channeled the river's course to control flooding.  Now the area is protected as State park land and the web of steel jettyjacks has been mostly removed to allow some riverside irrigation for the cottonwoods.  Too much of a good thing at times, as fires are frequent and can be difficult to control because of the density of the vegetation.

Recently, the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MRGCD) has begun a massive effort to thin the forest for the purpose of fire suppression.  Previous clearing was most focused on removing invasive species like the Russian Olive along with the associated ground litter, but the current effort is of much wider scope and has given the forest a much more open look with broad swaths permitting access by heavy firefighting gear.

Going Wide

 I have been exploring the possibilities of panoramic photography, without yet doing much myself.  In my film photography as I mentioned on my other blog, I have done some wide shots by using 120 film in my old 116 folders.  As the 120 film is narrower than the 116 frame I get pictures that are about twice as long has they are high.

 

Today, I left the house with two film cameras, the little Canon digital and my phone.  I drove to the Natural History Museum and was immediately aware of the many possibilities there for panoramic images.  It seemed a nice opportunity to get in some practice using the panoramic function in my phone camera, and I only did that.

Here are a couple that approached my intention:

So, a useful learning experience.  My technique clearly needs work, but it is apparent that digital technology has greatly expanded the possibilities for panoramic imaging.  I'm looking forward now to further exploring the potential of both digital and film for the wide views.

Ceasefire Now

 

NM Democratic Party adopts Gaza ceasefire policy

With 74% in favor, pre-primary convention calls on congressional delegation and Biden to end war and military aid to Israel

 An overwhelming majority of the New Mexico Democratic Party’s membership this month voted in favor of a ceasefire in Israel’s war in Gaza, an end to the blockade on aid, a pause on U.S. military aid to Israel and the release of hostages on both sides...

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