Here’s an e-mail from Ed Boles, historic preservation planner for the City of Albuquerque, that was sent Friday:

This coming Wednesday, the El Vado Motel owner’s application for a Certificate of Appropriateness for demolition will be heard again by the City of Albuquerque Landmarks and Urban Conservation Commission. The application was remanded to the LUCC by the City Council after the owner appealed the LUCC’s denial of the application in 2006. We believe the case against demolition is strong on the merits.

The City Council re-designated the El Vado a city landmark on January, following a court order reversing the original designation of early 2006. Some of you wanted to testify at the Council hearing and could not because rules for quasi-judicial proceedings. We appreciate your effort nonetheless.

The City is taking affirmative steps to preserve El Vado Motel as it defends against demolition. If you want to comment to the Landmarks and Urban Conservation Commission for its hearing on the demolition case February 13, here’s how:

1. E-mail correspondence to Charles Price, Chair, and members of the Landmarks and Urban Conservation Commission c/o Dora Henry, LUCC Secretary, dhenry@cabq.gov. Do so by noon on Monday, Feb. 11.

OR

2. Attend the hearing, which starts at 3 p.m. on the 13th in the Basement Hearing Room at 600 Second Street NW, Albuquerque, and testify in person.

Thanks for your interest.

Considering that LUCC has unanimously voted twice to name El Vado Motel a city landmark, Jack Frost has a better chance of surviving in Death Valley than the commission approving the demolition permit.

Nonetheless, we’d better let the El Vado’s misguided owners know that what they’re doing is wrong.

From the Waynesville (Mo.) Daily Guide:

The woman who began the drive to place vintage lighting on the Historic Route 66 bridge over the Roubidoux Creek in Waynesville has been named Citizen of the Year by the Waynesville-St. Robert Chamber of Commerce.

Charli Hartley, a lifelong resident of Waynesville, was nominated by All-American Security, a member of the Chamber of Commerce. [...]

Hartley’s most recent project began when she approached the Waynesville Downtown Beautification Committee in 2005 with the concept to improve the appearance of the area just west of Waynesville’s main downtown area. After several efforts that weren’t initially successful, Waynesville obtained a Missouri Department of Transportation grant in 2006 that included not only her bridge lighting project but also expansion of the Roubidoux walking trail, connecting sidewalks between the trail and Route 66, and a historical interpretation site for tourists in Laughlin Park explaining the role of Waynesville in the Trail of Tears forced move of the Cherokee Nation from the southeast United States into what is now the state of Oklahoma.