Kilmer sets the record straight with NM neighbors

Val Kilmer took the unusual step Wednesday of going before a county commission in rural New Mexico to make amends with some of his neighbors who are angry over disparaging comments attributed to the actor over the years. San Miguel County commissioners invited Kilmer to explain magazine interviews in which he said he lives in the "homicide capital of the Southwest" and proclaimed that 80 percent "of the people in my county are drunk." He also made insensitive comments about war veterans. Hard feelings about Kilmer's words resurfaced with a plan for his Pecos River Ranch to open three guest houses to paying customers. After Wednesday's meeting and Kilmer's apology, commissioners gave Kilmer the go-ahead. Dressed in a black blazer, blue button-up shirt and a bolo tie, the star of movies including "Tombstone," "Top Gun" and "The Doors" had his hair tied back as he stood before commissioners and more than four dozen people at the county courthouse. With a prepared statement folded in his hands, he explained that his words were taken out of context and misunderstood. "I can only ask that you view my apology as a stepping stone toward repairing this misunderstanding between us so that we can go forward, working together toward a common interest in promoting and protecting our beloved New Mexico," Kilmer said. He said he has lived in the area for more than two decades and loves it. His grandfather is buried here, his father lived here, and his children were born here and have grown up here, Kilmer said. But he understood why some residents are upset...more