(We are no longer publishing phoned-in Rants and Raves. Even though the voice mail may answer, we are not transcribing them. You must send in, or walk in, your Rants and Raves to The Observer office, 1594 Sara Road, Rio Rancho, NM 87124, though we would prefer them sent by e-mail to editor@rrobserver.com).
“This is my first time to answer any rant or rave. This is to the lady who complained about the school time change. Her lament was regarding ‘family time.’ I became a widow with two kiddos to raise. At first, I signed them up for after school day care because I could not pick them up before 6 p.m. They did all of their homework there and had a snack. Here is where the family time came in. I picked them up by 6, we went home and fixed dinner talked about our day, said prayers and ate. We cleaned the kitchen together, set our clothes and breakfast out, and ready for the next morning. Took baths, read a book chapter, said prayers, in bed by 8:30, ready to go again the next day starting at 5 a.m. It is all a matter of timing and cooperation within the family.”
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“I would just like to say a great big Thank You to the owners and staff at Hot Tamales restaurant. We used to eat there frequently and have cut down on our nights out because of the economy. Last Sunday, we went out for dinner after Hot Tamales was closed so we headed over to Albuquerque, to another Mexican Restaurant. When we checked in to wait for a table, the hostess didn’t even look up from her magazine. She just handed me a beeper. I asked how long the wait might be and she looked at me like I was a bug and said “whenever people are done and we get the table cleared.” The service was so slow; the food was not even close to what we expected. We will never go back there. On the ride home, we decided that whenever we want a good meal, with courteous, professional servers, and great food, we will stay close to home and go to Hot Tamales.”
“Jim Palenick received thousands of dollars from the city when he left. I don’t remember whether it was as a pension or a settlement. Rob Anderson is leaving Sept. 1 and will receive $61,000 so that, according to the Observer, “he will not pursue legal claims against the city”. Jim Payne is leaving Sept. 30 with no mention of what, if any, his payout/settlement/severance will be. I would like to know the circumstances that have given rise to the necessity of the “City of Vision” having to settle all of these claims, amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Were the employment terms misrepresented to these gentlemen? Was there some violation of the City Charter? Were their rights violated? Why exactly is the city on the hook for all of this money? Money we need here for our roads, our schools, our teachers. I would like to know whether the person(s) responsible for the situations that led to these people possibly having “legal claims against the city” have been removed from office. This looks to me like a pattern. A pattern of questionable behavior, of waste of taxpayer money. How many thousands of dollars more are going to be paid out in settlement to others before there is some accountability to the people whose pocket the money is ultimately coming from - the taxpayers? Just what exactly is going on at City Hall?”
“As I was absorbing the article in today’s Albuquerque Journal regarding the “unique” law we have in the City of Vision on kids under 13 in the front seat ($138 fine), I noticed a Rio Rancho police officer sitting in the shade, motor running, on the cell phone across the street. Right then, on the cross street directly in front of this officer, some motorcycle moron ran it through the gears going at least 50-60 MPH, in a 25 MPH zone.
This officer finished his call, pulled out and went the opposite direction on the cross street. This officer was in no hurry and could care less about preventing a serious incident on a quiet street. Corrales Heights and Rio Rancho deserve better.”
“Good for Rio Rancho! It’s wonderful that it’s been able to attract big corporate interests to join the governor and mayor in bullying Rio Rancho into donating land and tax funded guarantees for private profit. Decision makers’ include an Albuquerque builder, an out-of-state corporate entity, a Rio Rancho law firm, an Albuquerque design firm, a Santa Fe resident, and a not-for-profit corporation that pays its CEO very well. It’s good regional neighborliness that lets the City of Rio Rancho pay for all.”
“I just had the ultimate displeasure of going in for a pizza at Little Caesar’s at 701 Unser Blvd. in Rio Rancho. I don’t know about you, but there’s something about “Little White Lies” that I find particularly offensive. I also get the same feeling about bait and switch techniques. I just received some advertisements today with my mail. You know the ones – the ones from all of the local supermarkets and some assorted other ones. Well, one of the other ‘assorted other ones’ was from Little Caesar’s that proudly proclaimed ‘Hot-N-Ready’ pizzas for the price of $5. The ad also said “All Day, Every Day.” Loving a great deal, I promptly jumped in my car to go and get one the same day the advertisement arrived. No coupon of course was needed. When I got there, I asked for the $5 pizza, and they told me the price is now $5.99. Not wanting to argue about 99 cents, or a dollar, I gently protested, and they reaffirmed the higher price of $5.99 saying that the $5 price was just a ‘grand opening special’. Really? Not only did the ad say “All Day, Every Day, but the store did not even have a permanent sign about the door yet. Seems like they were still ‘grandly opening’ to me. The truth is – I will never go to this store again. The pizza was OK, but whether for $5 or $5.99, the pizza was pretty soggy and totally uncrisp. But, much more important, I just really don’t like being told thing that are untrue because they are just so sure no one will argue about something so meaningless as a dollar. Shame on them once, but not me twice. Adios.”
(Editor’s note: An Observer reporter contacted the restaurant for the story. The Little Caesar manager said that if a customer brings in a coupon, the $5 price will be honored. Otherwise, they will be charged $5.99).
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