Something to Brag About
August 25, 2007 | Leave a Comment
At our Chamber of Commerce meeting, last week, the mayor of Albuquerque himself told us about his leadership award and showed us a video that included the award ceremony in London where he was recotnized for his efforts at conservation and sustainability, thus making Albuquerque among the greenest cities in the world.
The award was not surprising to me. Both Mayor Martin Chavez and Govenor Bill Richardson have been strong advocates of conservation and sustainability.
The mayor initiated the San Juan Chama water conservation project to divert water from the Rio Grande in order to preserve and restore the aquifer, our former primary source of water for household use.
The mayor has been offering incentives for citizens of Albuquerque to cconserve energy and adopt sustainable habits like the creation low maintenance xeriscape gardens and the use of low-flow toilets.
The mayor also made a procolamation last March that all future vehicles purchased by the city of Albuquerque must be vehicles of alternative energy use.
With the latest recognition, Albuquerque is mow a city that is one of the best places to live, raise a family and start a business. It has been found to be one of the fittest cities, one of the brainest, and one of the best for Hispanics. In addition, Albuquerque was predicted to be among the cities with the most promising prospects for the 2007 and 2008 housing market, and now it is a city that is among tthe greenest.
If you are not yet living Albuquerque, New Mexico, I ask, What’s keeping you away? Come on to the Land of Enchantment. I’ll help you find your way.
Eloise Gift http://www.EloiseGift.com A Gift for all seasons
Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico
August 25, 2007 | Leave a Comment
What is Kirtland Air Force Base
Kirtland Air Force Base is a name that is almost synonymous with Albuquerque, New Mexico. And with good reason.
- Having absorbed two other neighboring bases over the years, Kirtland Air Force Base at its southeast Albuquerque location is the longest surviving base in the region. It will celebrate sixty years of operation next month, September 14, 2007.
- Apart from Air Force activities, KAFB is well known for its close links and collaborative efforts in scientific research and development with the Sandia National Laboratories and the Department of Energy.
- KAFB plays a significant and ever expanding role in the local economy, currently providing jobs for 51, 678 military and civilian personnel. (See the Library Fact Sheet.)
Base Impact on the Community
For all the impact the base has on the community, I sometimes think it is rather unobtrusive, tucked away as it is in the southeast corner of the city, framed between the southern end of the Sandia Mountains and the northern tip of the Manzanos.
But the general population is perhaps touched more than it knows by the presence of the base.
- I remember the day I drove my car onto the curb and blew out the front tire of my car. I was nowhere near the base, but a man in uniform was the first to notice my predicament while I waited for AAA to arrive. He stopped, got out of his car, came over, and offered to help. Was I impressed!
- My hair stylist is a military spouse who lives on base but conducts business for women on and off base. Many of her non-military clients are probably totally unaware of her KAFB connections.
- Ex-Air Force friends who meet who use base facilities for social gatherings invite me along from time to time and after going the process of getting the required passes I get a glimpse of a world outside my own.
I love having the privilege of helping military clients from the base find homes off base. I can empathize with them because of my own frequent relocations of my past life in the diplomatic service. With them, in particular, I try to exceed expectations, seeking to give back for the many kindnesses I received while living in “foreign” lands, and also to make up for the times when service did not measure up to my expectations.
I am looking forward to the September 14 anniversary celebrations. I understand they will be spectacular!
Eloise Gift - “A Gift for all seasons”
http://EloiseGift.com
Albuquerque, New Mexico
April 11, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Albuquerque, New Mexico is over 300 years old. It was not always the city that it is now, of almost half a million people. Before the Spanish explorers arrived, Pueblo Indians chose the fertile land on the bank of the Rio Grande to grow their crops. With the arrival of the Europeans, the small trading post established in the same area grew. Now spanning both banks of the Rio Grande (the Nile of New Mexico) Albuquerque has grown to be the state’s largest city, http://www.cabq.gov/.
Early Years
In its early years the city expanded north and south along El Camino Real, http://elcaminoreal.org/home.php, old Route 66, and east-west as the route got realigned along Central Avenue. Old Town, built in traditional Spanish style around the square is a good starting point for a visit to Albuquerque.
Arrival of the Railroad
The arrival of the railroads led to another growth surge, which helped to define and shape the city in ways that are still in evidence, even though the heyday of the railroads is past, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albuquerque,_New_Mexico.
New Growth
Currently, the city is experiencing another growth spurt; this time mainly in the western part of the city. The eastern edge of the city is already all up to the way up to the foothills of the Sandia Mountains, as far as it can go. There is little or no room left for growth except for infilling.
The Northeast
Of the four quadrants into which the city is divided, the northeast is the oldest, most developed and most populous. Well established over a number of years, this part of town is where you will find Old Town, Sandia Laboratories, the University of New Mexico, http://www.unm.edu/ , and Uptown with office buildings, shops, and restaurants. Many of the most expensive homes in the city are also found in this part of the city. As land becomes scarce, lot and home prices have increased.
The Northwest
The northwest quadrant is undergoing rapid development. Bulldozers and earth movers seem to be everywhere as large tracts of previously undeveloped lands give way to new housing, http://activerain.com/blogsview/42640/Go-West-In-Albuquerque. Single family homes, and an increasing number of commercial and industrial sites wrap around the Petroglyph National Monument and skirt the edge of the high mesa where the five sleeping sisters. (small extinct volcano cones) have remained undisturbed for thousands of years. On the northern edge, boundaries between the Albuquerque and sister city Rio Rancho are already becoming blurred.
The influx of new residents and the explosion in residential and commercial development across the city has led to a spate of road and highway construction to keep pace with the increased population and traffic.The “Big I” interchange is no longer the only one. The Coors /I-40 interchange, recently completed in 2000t is contributing to an ever-growing, big-city feel. Two other interchanges are in the planning stages at I-25 and Jefferson and Mesa del Sol and I-25.
Southeast Development
The development of the older northeast section of the city progressed naturally into the southeast. Thus the southeast quadrant is home to both older elegant and no-so-elegant neighborhoods that border on long-established Sunport airport and Kirtland Air Force Base, http://www.kirtland.af.mil/, both of which cover extensive tracts of land, essentially ruling out further expansion of the city in this direction.
The Southwest
Large parts of the southwest, such as the South Valley, have been largely agricultural land that border on pueblo lands (Isleta) farther south. More recently, as is happening all across the city, the areas of the south west are seeing the gradual introduction of small residential developments, and long-time dwellers of the area are learning to cope with these and accompanying commercial infrastructure, anchored by “big boxes.” Mesa del Sol, a declared master-planned mixed-use, sustainable development just south of the airport, is reported to be developing the last bit of available land (13,000 acres) within the city limits of Albuquerque.
Quality of Life
The charm of the city is its people, its high desert climate, its inspirational landscape and quality of life. The area abounds in parks, trails, and paths along the Rio Grande and through the Sandia Mountains. You san step out your door and walk straight up into the mountains, or you can leave your downtown office and in less than half an hour, be on the cable car for a fifteen minute ride to the top of Sandia Peak for an afternoon of skiing, then return to Albuquerque without concerns of dealing with snow or bad weather.
If you live on the west side, you enjoy the gorgeous seasonal changes of views of the bosque (woods), rosy, many-hued dawns, and the ever-changing moods of the Sandias throughout each day. If you live in the foothills of the northeast, you are may get to enjoy close-up views of the mountains and rather than dawns, more likely to enjoy gorgeous sunsets and views of Mount Taylor, snow capped in winter.
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