The Gallup Independent has the photo above with the following information:

Star Light: Hinckley Signs employees Danny Ellis, Gilbert Mexican, Dan Rudisill and Tamend Brown dismantle the star-shaped sphere after removing it from the top of the Downtown Plaza sign Monday in Gallup. The old sign, which is motorized and lit with neon lights, is being shipped to Albuquerque to be restored and is schedule to be completed in June. [Photo by Jeff Jones/Independent]

This sign is called a rotosphere, which is festooned with neon and rotates. There's another one on Route 66 at the Moriarty, N.M., at the El Comedor restaurant. When restored, the Gallup rotosphere should look like the picture below. The Downtown Plaza is a block off of Route 66, and when this rotosphere is fixed, it should be easily visible.
The El Comedor and eight other neon signs on New Mexico's Route 66 were restored by this fabulous program.

Guest blogger Don Pizzolato gives his opinion of the Albuquerque Destination Master Plan to the Duke City Fix. He deserves kudos for reading all 114 pages of it.

You can download the plan here. He initially was critical of it, but now says it is sound overall.

Two items of interest:

Nob Hill: “Rich in Route 66 lore and is a great collection of boutique shops and dining.” “Solid local constituency.” “Doesn’t provide a reason to get on an airplane to Albuquerque but it will enrich the visitor experience.”

Route 66 (Central Avenue): “An interesting attraction that has limited appeal and fails to show off the best of what Albuquerque has to share with visitors.” “May, in fact, serve to perpetuate a negative image of the destination by channeling visitors to parts of the city that have not seen adequate reinvestment.”

To the last part: Feh. If I travel down Route 66, I want to see America in all its beauty — and warts. If you just like seeing landscape that's clean and antiseptic, you're not a very interesting person. As for "limited appeal," let's see whether that opinion still holds after Pixar's "Cars" movie comes out.

It's also worth reading the comments about Pizzolato's post.

Actuacine.net has posted the French version of the Pixar "Cars" movie poster. I've posted it here, but I'd go to the Web site to see it in its enlarged version. In it, you can see the Route 66 shield and the town of Radiator Springs in the distance on the right.

This is a brief item from the Belleville (Ill.) News-Democrat:

Lewis & Clark (College) will offer its annual Variety Show at 7:30 p.m. April 7 and 3 p.m. April 8 on the Hatheway Stage. The show will feature a tribute to Route 66. The concert choir and Limited Edition will perform, as well as the Jazz Band and guest artists. Veterans are admitted free of charge; all other tickets are $10, $5 for students….