LEGAL ASSISTANCE STILL AVAILABLE FOR OBJECTORS!

This past Tuesday we introduced Blair Dunn, Attorney, to the community as legal assistance to all objectors for a one-time fee of $100. Everyone that attended to ask questions agreed to signed up!!

The next opportunity to sign up.....

SATURDAY, MAY 10TH @ KOKOMANS LIQUOR PARKING LOT
We will have a tent set up in the parking lot from 10am - 2pm.

Please come by and sign up for help!

Remember, you can always represent yourself or hire an attorney. This representation is being organized by Northern New Mexicans Protecting Land, Water, & Rights for those that still need assistance.

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. WE HAVE LITTLE TIME TO GET THE COMMUNITY ON BOARD SO THAT BLAIR DUNN CAN PULL YOUR OBJECTION AND BEGIN THE PROCESS OF REPRESENTING YOU!

ONCE AGAIN- PLEASE STAND

PRC Meeting Tomorrow at 9AM - PERA Bldg - 4TH Floor

Last week a few El Rancho community members attended a PRC Commissioners meeting in support of our Interveners, who requested that the PRC Commissioners hear the Jemez Coop/San Ildefonso Easement rate rider case directly. Usually the commissioners vote on a recommendation from a hearing examiner who hears the case and only presents his/her opinion.

The Commissioners voted 5-0 to listen to the community directly on why this rate recovery method has a negative impact on our community(s).

In a nut shell, Rate Rider (RR) 19 originally protected consumers by stating that the Government body who imposes a cost which increases electric rates, has to pass the cost to the people it governs. For example, a city franchise tax increase made by the city government has to be recovered and paid by city residents.

With Ohkay Owingeh, the PRC Commissioners altered Rate Rider 19 to give the pueblos exemption to this rule and include residents not governed by their government. This is why it is SO IMPORTANT for the Commissioners to hear the impact they made on the RR 19 alteration.

Tomorrow, May 7th at 9am, the lawyers from San Ildefonso, Ohkay Owingeh, and City of Espanola are all going in front of the PRC Commissioners to protest their decision to listen to YOU!
We need support! Not only from El Rancho residents but from our neighboring communities as well! This is just ONE of many easement issues and we need to come together and fight for a voice! Remember, San Ildefonso will be the location for the Aamodt water system and their government the primary controller of the Joint Powers Agreement Board that will regulate water rates.


No one has to speak, just be COUNTED! There is power in numbers.

COMMENT MADE ON JOURNAL NORTH ARTICLE - GOOD STUFF!

This great comment was posted by a community member to the comments section for the article we currently had in the Journal (article link here)

We thought it needed to be shared -

"Guadeloupe de Hildago is the International Treaty that applies to Aamodt.. it states that property rights existing at it's inception will be respected. This specifically includes water.The Pueblos were not "dependent sovereign nations" or wards of the government (via the BIA )but Equal Citizens under both Spanish and Mexican law. There were no Priority Water Calls under Spanish and Mexican Law. This is a later invention of the US Government. "Aboriginal water rights"( priority calls) are not found in or before Guadeloupe de Hildago. This international Treaty between nations has evidently never been higher than District Court in New Mexico. How could that be a definitive ruling ?The current Aamodt Settlement is a racially based preferential treatment establishing water rights that historically did not exist. The US Gov has aided in unfair representation in the courts by providing for one groups legal costs and attorneys while the other groups have had unequal and inadequate representation. Some say Santa Fe County's interests are contrary to many Pojoaque and Nambe residents interests because of the water rights in the Aamodt Settlement being moved downstream for Santa Fe County to manage. Potentially taking from Pojoaque and Nambe residents to aid in further new Santa Fe County growth. The notion that there will be four Pueblo members of a managing Water Board with one Santa fe County member further illustrates the inadequate representation of Pojoaque and Nambe residents rights. A deeply flawed settlement."

The Wall Street Journal Article - ONE SIDED ARTICLE!

A reporter from Wall Street Journal contacted John Tapia, Chairman JMEC to ask some questions about the astronomical electric easements. Mr. Tapia offered some names of community members that are active in the JEMC case and could give their side of the story. The reporter is Dan Frosch. He never bothered to get any other opinion except the people who could paint the picture that San Ildefonso officials wanted to paint. Once again, the States back east (many with powerful congressman) get manipulated to believe one side of the story.

In order to comment on this article, you have to pay for a subscription but you can always email the reporter.

Write to Dan Frosch at Dan.Frosch@wsj.com

Or send an email to elranchocommunity@gmail.com and we will pay to post your comment. Please remember if we stay respectful and state our case fairly, perhaps Mr. Frosch will consider a follow on article.

See the article below:

Wall Street Journal: Tribes' New Negotiating Power Costs Utilities