With a $3.5 billion investment, Intel’s research and development at its campus on the escarpment above Corrales is transitioning to full-scale production of laser-based, three dimensional computer chips.

The ad hoc committee established to recommend future public uses of the Interior Drain ditch east of Corrales Road has requested funding from the Village to hire a professional planner. A request for $25,000 was made to the Village Council on May 5 during an a time slot assigned by Village Clerk Aaron Gjullin. Mayor Jo Anne Roake and councillors held budget discussions with Village government department heads and committees on May 4 and 5, ahead of a May 13 work-study session. Village officials must send a proposed budget for fiscal 2021-22 by the end of this month. The new fiscal year starts July 1.

A power point presentation for the funding request was assembled by committee member Sayre Gerhart, who previously served on the Village Council. Others appointed to the Corrales Interior Drain Committee last summer were Doug Findley, chair; John Perea; Jeff Radford; Ed Boles and Rick Thaler.

Corrales Heritage Day, normally celebrated in May, has been cancelled, but planning is underway for a 50th anniversary commemoration of the Village’s 1971 incorporation as a municipality. Casa San Ysidro will have a virtual Heritage Day event May 15, 1-3 p.m. The Corrales Historical Society has mounted a display at the Village Office that includes the names, and in some cases, photos, of past mayors and Village Council members as well as other facets of Corrales’ existence as a municipality.

Among the activities is to be the opening of a time capsule locked away on the Village’s 25th anniversary in 2015. The capsule is inside the crypt-like, concrete covered chamber just outside the entrance to the Village Office. (See Corrales Comment Vol.XXXIV No.9 June 20, 2015 “Creepy, Crumbling

By Meredith Hughes
Whether Yellow, Green or Turquoise —no Red, please— counties across New Mexico are opening up, Green Sandoval County among them. “Sandoval is Green!” Mayor Jo Anne Roake exclaimed. “Corrales businesses can operate at 50 percent capacity indoors. Even better, if 60 percent of our population is vaccinated by June 30, we can fully re-open. If you really care about that, please go get both shots, get vaccinated, and encourage the vaccine-hesitant.

“That’s absolutely the real way to support our businesses and our community.”

As of April 30, 24 New Mexico counties were at the Turquoise level and six at the Green level, under which there are fewer restrictions on commercial and day-to-day activities amid decreased virus risk. Thirty of 33 New Mexico counties were at the least restrictive levels. Three counties were at the Yellow level as of April 30, with no counties at the Red level, signifying highest risk.

By Meredith Hughes
So when a journalist asks four Corrales-centered youngish moms how they have coped during the pandemic lockdown —with a handful of questions as a guide— the answers are rich. In honor of Mothers’ Day, we are sharing some of them with you.

Incumbent Mike Sandoval of San Felipe Pueblo is running unopposed to represent Sandoval County on the board of directors for the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District.

The election for board members will be held Tuesday, June 8. In Corrales, voting will take place at the Community Center, behind the Corrales Senior Center, east of the Corrales Road-La Entrada intersection between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Absentee voting is now underway. A ballot may be requested by emailing to mrgcd@electionpeople.com or at http://www.mrgcd.com.

Each of the other three board positions has two candidates. To represent Bernalillo County, incumbent Karen Dunning is challenged by Julie L. Maccini. In the other race to represent Bernalillo County, Simon Haynes faces Joaquin Baca, while for Socorro County, the candidates are Steven Sichler and Glen Duggins.

By Meredith Hughes
“Earth Day? It’s every day,” said Tom Boldt, semi-fabled tree man. “Plant a tree and cool the earth.” Which is what Boldt did, starting about 12 years ago at the end of July, on the one ag acre property he and his wife

A bill in the N.M. Legislature that would have allowed any registered voter to vote in the primary election for either major party died in committee earlier this year, but a new bill is being drafted that sets up a top-four choice ballot in non-partisan primaries and then ranked choice voting in the following general election. House Bill 79, or previous versions, had been considered in the legislature over the past five years as advocated by Corrales’ former State Representative Bob Perls, who heads what is now known as New Mexico Open Elections.

In the 2021 legislature, the proposal was co-sponsored by Corrales Representative Daymon Ely who testified that the state’s current party-member-only voting for the primaries excludes nearly 300,000 citizens. In the early days of the 2021 legislative session, HB79 was favorably voted out of the State Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee with a 6-3 margin. But it died on a 6-6 vote in the House Judiciary Committee.

A public butterfly garden has been proposed for a portion of the Corrales Interior Drain. The idea was floated by a member of the committee appointed by Mayor Jo Anne Roake to recommend future uses of the drainage ditch east of Corrales Road between Valverde Road and Riverside Drain (“Clear Ditch”).

When the advisory committee was established last year, it was to submit recommendations by August 2021. So far, not even draft recommendations have been developed; the group chaired by Doug Findley will soon launch an effort to gain additional public input before summer. (See Corrales Comment Vol.XXXIX No.12 September 5, 2020 “Any Ideas To Improve Interior Drain?”)

A formal audit of the Village’s finances for the fiscal year ending June 30 last year produced a generally positive evaluation and raised no red flags. But the auditor’s report discussed at the Village Council’s April 27 meeting did call attention to “material weaknesses” in internal financial controls as well as “significant deficiencies” in that area.

The audit report was presented via Zoom by Alan Bowers, Jr., a partner in the firm Carr, Riggs and Ingram LLC. Areas of concern related to “allocation of pooled cash,” “maintenance of capital assets and “franchise tax review process.”Regarding the latter, Bowers pointed out that “The Village could potentially be missing revenues earned by not reconciling franchise tax revenues to authorized rates and terms.” On the other hand, Corrales could be collecting more than franchise agreements stipulate.

The Village is supposed to earn fees from entities such as CenturyLink and

By Carol Merrill
Bees and other essential pollinators contribute $18-$27 billion to the U.S. food economy per year. They are responsible for an estimated one out of every three bites of food. That makes them essential for our human resilience. Recently, New Mexico beekeepers reported a 50 percent loss of European bees from “colony collapse.” That leaves much pollination up to our native bees. What did the bears do for honey before the European bees showed up a few hundred years ago?