I've decided that a really useful thing to offer would be to share wonderful discoveries that I make when traveling around my area. Places to eat. Things to do. Great places to see. I may start a new blog for this - or just simply use this one - but here goes! GREAT PLACE TO EAT! If you find yourself in Espanola anytime soon (north on Highway 84 through Santa Fe, if you are going to Abique or Northern New Mexico) MAMACITAS PIZZA Not just for Pizza please! This place has the best hamburger anywhere around; the pizzas looked amazing, but I haven't tried it yet! Very clean, very simple surroundings, very cheerful help. SIMPLY GREAT!

School board OKs land donation By Susie Gran Thursday, March 8, 2007 By 2015, there will be a new elementary school in Quail Ranch on 15 acres donated by the developer. It's the historic deal school officials worked for three years to seal so they could stay ahead of West Side growth. The Quail Ranch schools will be the first built with financial help from developers, setting a precedent for Mesa del Sol, SunCal and other planned communities in the works, said Robert Lucero, a member of the Albuquerque Board of Education. "This is the best deal we've seen in a long time," Lucero said. But it's a deal several Albuquerque city councilors opposed, claiming the school board was contributing to urban sprawl, water shortages and traffic snarls. The board on Wednesday accepted Quail Ranch developer Bob Murphy's offer of $13.5 million, including the donated land, to help build an elementary and a middle school. Murphy said the school district is not...