Police chase leads in Smith’s shooting

The real question is why wasn’t the crime scene preserved right away? Per this article, it looks like a multi-agency investigation is underway and not one officer or detective found any pertinent evidence to help apprehend these/this criminal or even think that since the scene of the crime is located in a busy parking lot, it would be a good idea to take the necessary steps to prevent contamination? If I still lived in Taos, I would wonder what type of training/leadership officers have access to.

JGL1951 WROTE: Smith’s and all other parking lot owners have a responsibility to maintain safety for their customers. The blackened parking lot is a hazard. Last week, a murder in the dark, the week before an armed robbery in Walmart’s parking lot. There is also ice to contend with, along with vehicles backing out of their parking space in the dark. It is no mystery that the lots should be lit. I am no longer going on foot with a flashlight from truck to store and back. The face of this murderer is not known. The chief’s guesswork is not compelling to me. So, for me, no more shopping at Smith’s after dark until the lights go back on.

GUEST1590 WROTE: I can understand why some people would feel unsafe in a dark parking lot, but lights would NOT have prevented this particular shooting, since the victim was not random, but a specific target. The shooter would have murdered him regardless of lights. That’s not to say the parking lot should be kept dark. Being well lit could prevent things such as rape and child abductions. But I’ll keep shopping at Smith’s after dark. But I recommend people carry some sort of self-protection at all times, such as pepper spray. Also, open and concealed carry are both legal in Taos.

Taos barrels toward home rule

THEEBUTLERS WROTE:

I think that the first thing to do is to educate the public on exactly what home rule is and exactly why you want it. What is the best case and worst case scenario of the changes that home rule would bring within the city limits of Taos.

Is it true, for instance, that home rule would allow people living outside the city limits of Taos to decide what happens within the city limits of Taos? Would home rule dilute the say that people living inside the city limits of Taos have over their city? I don’t know the answer to these questions, but I want to know. I would bet that I’m not the only one wondering what home rule is all about. Someone needs to inform the public BEFORE you go forward with home rule.

There have been numerous editorials and articles on what home rule is about, so I am a bit confused by folks saying that they are in the dark about it. Maybe TN can republish some of these. The role of the Home Rule Commission will be to suggest how it will work for Taos, and I think we can assume that the product of their work will be analyzed and voted upon, first by the Town Council, and eventually, by voters in Taos. This, because there has been discussion over the cost to print the entire charter in the TN. What is abhorrent is that this entire process is starting out with distrust, as the Mayor refused to share the list with the names of folks for the committee, how he got his list, or even wait until individuals in the public had a chance to express their interest in participating. For the mayor to resort to Facebook, his personal page, not even a dedicated mayoral page, and accuse the TN of putting ‘spin’ on a clear issue, and trying to divide the public, is rather ripe. No bueno.