I'm an "A**hole" According to Court Bailiff

I've been called every four-lettered word in the book by thugs, scam artists and criminal suspects.

But out of all the years I've spent covering court cases in this state, in countless courtrooms and courthouses, I have never been called an asshole by an officer of the court. No big deal. I do find it amusing and I'd figure you may too since many readers of my blog like the behind the scenes stuff.

It all started when we reporters and photographers were segregated in a courthouse conference room and told we couldn't shoot video in a public hallway (we were covering this story). We were told we couldn't leave the conference room by a Rio Arriba County Sheriff's Department deputy named Tony.

I saw members of the public in the hallway sitting around and walking through the lobby.

I protested, politely and aggressively. I never used vulgarity and I never raised my voice. I took turns speaking. I've been in arguments like this before plenty of times when people think they can do whatever they want with press access.

Another deputy didn't like my questioning and got irate when he realized I wasn't backing down.

I started recording on a mini camera I had with me when the bailiff of the court stepped in. He called me an asshole and then admitted were were "segregated," but then corrected himself. I wish I rolled on the heated discussion a bit earlier.

See the video.

The bailiff is the guy in the white shirt.

00:40 is when I get called an asshole.

01:15 is when the bailiff admits we were "segregated," but then corrects himself.



To give the bailiff credit, he became more reasonable and actually seemed like a nice guy after the whole exchange.

I could only imagine what would have happened if I resorted to the same vulgarity.
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jeremyjojola.com

Three Times

From the DWI Offenders section of the local paper:

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House Fires Are No Fun to Cover

I can't imagine losing my home to fire. The feeling must be gut-wrenching...a complete loss of control over a devastating situation. Today I covered this terrible house fire (this is raw cell phone video):



Flames were coming out of the roof when we arrived with our live truck. Neighbors surrounded the fire trucks watching smoke billow out of the home.

I found the homeowner watching her house burn across the street with an indescribable look of despair on her face. She was a kind elderly woman who was siting in a chair, wrapped up in a blanket while surrounded by her neighbors. She was quite nice in talking with me. She's a widow whose husband, I was told, was a KOB-TV newsman in the 1960's.

She has home owners insurance and will be staying with family, thankfully.
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jeremyjojola.com

Albuquerque's Non-Stop Problem

An Albuquerque area man has every right to be upset. Take a look at the video he posted on the You News section from KOB.com:



The anonymous video poster says:

"The first problem is that the "Artist/Scumbag" used my personal property, ie, my camper as the canvas for his/her/their contribution to society.The message of vulgarity is in my opinion is the expression of the persons lack of respect of someone elses hard work and effort, and shows the inability for them to achieve goals on their own, instead they act out against others when they could and should be using their energy and effort to do good things in this city and community not to mention their own family, which they have probably let down tremendously."

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jeremyjojola.com

Hitting a Nerve with Teachers

While school districts across the state are clamoring for tax dollars, school supplies and money for students, my eyebrows raised when I received an anonymous email on Monday morning.

It said teachers from Dennis Chavez Elementary were having a catered lunch meeting at a hotel. Their school sat empty three miles away while this meeting was happening. Other schools had their same meetings at school.

Sure enough I dropped by the hotel and saw it happening.

I ran a report on Monday and Tuesday questioning the move by the school administration. I was eventually told the $1200.00 dollar lunch was paid for by the school's activity fund, specifically money from a "donation" put into the fund by the company that does school pictures.

Here's Tuesday's report.

The feedback has been mixed. Some people are frustrated the school would do something like this considering the non-stop news of the district's budget crunch. One teacher wrote me saying her school also had an off-site catered lunch meeting (name/location redacted to protect identity, as requested):

I watched your story on an APS school conducting an inservice day at a local hotel. I have been working for [REDACTED] Elementary school for the past four years and each year at the beginning of the year we have our first inservice day at the [REDACTED]...yes, catered by the [REDACTED] for breakfast and lunch. I have never questioned it, but since I saw that story I thought I'd write to let you know that other schools do what you reported on about Dennis Chavez. We lack books, materials and good working equipment in the classroom, but the district spends these unnecessary dollars. Our buildings leak, the heating and cooling works intermittently, and our kids have old, rotted desks. Do we really need to eat catered breakfast and lunch at a local golf club. I don't think so.

I also received several anonymous phone calls from other teachers at other schools who felt it was unnecessary for them to have an off site meeting with lunch catered. I wish I had time to visit other hotels around town to document it.

And then I received some hate mail and other messages (some from APS employees) asking me to apologize for the reports I did:

One result of this story is that you have lost credibility with one Albuquerque household. We will never again take your reporting at face value, as you have proven that the facts are an inconvenience that can be skipped when you THINK that you have a juicy story.

Keith Andersen

And...

Mr Jojola

It's a shame that you are so desperate for investigative stories that you have to make an attempt to discredit the administration of the Dennis Chavez Elementary School for their decision to hold a staff development program at a local hotel.

Clearly you are ignorant of the fact that it is a common practice in both the public and private sector to conduct employee development sessions away from the daily distractions of the normal workplace. It is proven that by holding these meetings in a neutral environment, they are more effective in achieving their intended goals. To be able to have an offsite meeting and lunch for a mere $20 per person was an absolute bargain. As a taxpayer, I applaud the administrators of the Dennis Chavez school for their forward thinking in conducting their staff development program and their ability to do it so inexpensively.

Aside from that, when did it become a crime for a school administrator to spend a small sum of money to provide lunch at a faculty development function? Give me a break Mr Jojola, these teachers work hard. They deserve a small perk like this.

Granted, the school budget is strained, but these funds were not from tax based appropriations. They were from discretionary funds. Even if they were from tax based funds, the amount is insignificant in the total picture of what it costs to run a school.

You have blown this issue totally out of proportion in an attempt to discredit the administration of the Dennis Chavez school for a decision they made. In doing so you have only served to discredit yourself. If this is all you have to offer in your so-called "investigative" reporting, then you may want to consider a career change.

James Carnevale

My Take:

There's no doubt school districts across the state are hurting. Superintendents across the state will have to make some tough decisions on where to make cuts at their schools. Unfortunately these cuts will hurt the classroom.

Having a catered lunch meeting, even if paid with the school's activity fund, breeds suspicion not only among reporters, but among parents and taxpayers. It raises questions about the priority of the school's administration. What's more important? Supplies for students or a free lunch for teachers (state employees)?

Many teachers preach they are pious and selfless. And they are. My wife is an APS teacher who spends hundreds of dollars on her classroom. She works with other teachers who do the same. Their meeting was held at school. They paid their own lunch. Why can't Dennis Chavez administrators do the same?

Should I even dare ask that question?
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jeremyjojola.com

When the Scammers Came to Me

Usually, a good part of my day is trying to track down scam artists. Last week, two of them approached me. Check out the report I did below about being approached by two guys carrying out the White Van Speaker Scam. The confrontation I recorded was done with my iPhone and Qik video software:

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jeremyjojola.com