Welcome to the e-Voices MONDAY MINUTE, your weekly email newsletter from New Mexico Voices for Children. Please take a minute to add your voice to the pressing issues of the day. Also, tell us what issues you'd like to know more about so we can tailor the MONDAY MINUTE to your interests. Thanks!

December 4, 2006

The Season of Giving

The work we do here at New Mexico Voices for Children depends on support from people like you who want to raise your voice with ours on behalf of the children of New Mexico. Your donations make it possible for us to educate policymakers, eradicate policies that harm our children, and identify and advocate for policies that improve the well-being of New Mexico's children, families and communities. An easy and painless way you can help is to sign up for a monthly donation of just $5. For the price of a latte at Starbucks you can make your Voice count for New Mexico's children all year long.

What you can do:

  • Monthly contributions can be made online via your credit card here: https://secure.ga3.org/05/onlinegiving.
  • You can also send a check to New Mexico Voices for Children, 2340 Alamo Rd. SE, Suite 120, Albuquerque, NM 87106.
  • Thank you for your support!

Talk About Walking

There was a time when you could stroll down the street, greeting your neighbors as you went, and soon find yourself at the local ice cream shop, park or grocery store. Such outings were about more than the destination. They were about being an active participant in your community by personally interacting with it. Not just driving through it, but actually being part of it.

Such days - unless you live in the midst of a revitalized downtown -- are largely gone. It's not that people don't walk anywhere any more. It's just that our current car culture makes the streets friendlier (and safer) for cars than for people. Suburban sprawl has made walkable destinations much sparser. And in this age of rising rates of obesity and diabetes in children and adults, and rising global temperatures, that's a real shame. It's also unhealthy.

Fortunately, the Mid-Region Council of Governments (MRCOG) is currently updating the region's Metropolitan Transportation Plan. And they're even asking for your input. The way it's written now, the plan doesn't call for a whole lot of pedestrian-friendly facilities and infrastructure. And much of the reason, quite frankly, is that MRCOG is not getting a lot of requests for it from the community.

Why should you care about walkable neighborhoods? Even if your feet never touch the cement at the edge of your yard, you would stand to benefit from living in one. Homes in walkable neighborhoods are more likely to hold their value, less likely to be targeted for crime, and benefit from cleaner air inside and out.

OK, enough of the sales pitch. Here's the call for action: please attend one of the upcoming public meetings about the Metropolitan Transportation Plan and speak up on behalf of walkable neighborhoods.

Save the date:

  • Tuesday, Dec. 5, 10am-noon at the MRCOG offices, 809 Copper Ave. NW (at 8th St.) in downtown Albuquerque
  • Thursday, Dec. 7, 5:30-7:30pm at the MRCOG offices
  • Monday, Dec. 11, 7pm at the Rio Rancho City Council Chambers, Rio Rancho City Hall.
  • Wednesday, Dec. 13, 6-8pm at the Village Council Chambers, Los Lunas.
  • For more information on walkable neighborhoods visit our friends at: www.1000friends.com and www.activelivingbydesign.org/albuquerque, or visit MRCOG: http://www.mrcog-nm.gov/index.htm

Last Call!

There are still spots open for our Legislative Advocacy Training this Friday, but you need to register by close of business today. At this training you'll learn about the elements of effective policy, how state politics work, and how the state budget is divvied up. The NM Voices' team will be joined by other community leaders for focus sessions on tax and budget policies, health-care reform, the minimum wage, and other issues. Former Governor Dave Cargo will give the keynote presentation.

Save the date:

  • Legislative Advocacy Training is Friday, Dec. 8, 2006, from 9am to 4pm, at the Hilton Garden Inn, 2601 Yale Blvd. SE, in Albuquerque (at Yale and Randolph).
  • Admission is $25 ($15 for full-time students), and includes lunch.
  • Register online here: http://action.voiceshub.org/nmvoicesforchildren/events/legisadvocacytraining/details.tcl or call 505-244-9505, ext. 10. Space is limited. Registration deadline is 5pm, Monday, Dec. 4th

Our Santa Fe event has been cancelled.

Regarding Race

The quarterly Race Matters Coalition meeting is also this week - Wednesday, Dec. 6, at 2pm. We'll be discussing the data that's been collected and our legislative plans for the coming session. RSVP at: http://www.nmvoices.org/racematters.htm.

  • Also, check out www.arc.org. This group, headquartered in
    New York, is doing similar work. Pay special attention to
    their Facing Race reports and conference as it might spark some
    ideas!
  • And while you're out and about on the web, check out the site recently launched by the New Mexico Task Force to End Hunger here: www.nmhunger.org

A Minimum Update

And lastly, a quick update on the status of the bill to raise the minimum wage in Bernalillo County - which was not voted on last week as we'd hoped. County Commissioners are making minor technical changes and plan to consider the bill again on Dec. 12. We'll keep you posted. Until then, consider contacting your commissioner and asking for their support of the bill: http://www.bernco.gov/live/departments.asp?dept=2350

Your financial support is critical to our work. Please consider making a contribution today at http://www.nmvoices.org/donate.htm