Martinez Administration Continues Richardson Profligacy

A high school teacher told me last week that he knows of 20 colleagues facing layoff. Though not happy about it, he seemed to resigned to the reality.
This morning I got yet another copy of "New Mexico Wildlife," the newsletter of the Department of Game and Fish, inserted in my Albuquerque Journal. This issue is a 16 page tabloid with four colors of ink on every page. For the non-printers among the readers, all that means "expensive." The only cost concession is use of newsprint as the paper, though I don't think it is the cheapest newsprint.
A story on page two told of the new 18-foot high statue of a rattlesnake's tail at the privately owned Chiracahua Desert Museum in Rodeo. The story did not explicitly say the Museum is privately owned, but it did name the owners, Bob and Sheri Ashley. Charles Painter, a Game and Fish herpetologist did the statue, the story said. I am absolutely sure that every moment Painter devoted to the project came on his own time, including the time he took to pose next to the statue for the photo that appeared in the newsletter.
A couple of years ago an issue of "New Mexico Wildlife" cost $40,000. The price alone ensured the publication an honored place on Harold's List of Really Stupid Stuff done by the Richardson administration. I know the current budget year, which ends June 30, started under Richardson. But it is disappointing to receive another example of profligacy along with my morning paper, especially as we lay off teachers.