Gimme shelter

Monday, September 24, 2018.

What is it, boy?

I think he might be trying to tell us something. The Santa Fe Animal Shelter has financial irregularities that have created a bit of a mess. The shelter, a jewel in the eyes of many locals, has been taking care of not just animals, but its board members and ex-executive director ($). Thom Cole at The New Mexican delivers a series of stories about how the shelter has been using cash from a multi-million dollar bequest to cover its operating losses amid some questionable decisions ($).

Worse than Trump

Gov. Susana Martinez' approval rating in New Mexico is now lower than Donald Trump's. That's according to the Albuquerque Journal poll, the data gift that just keeps giving. With an approval rating of 35 percent (three points less than the president) Martinez approval rating is barely half what it was at the midway point of her first term. Her disapproval rating is 11 points higher.

Ad watch

The most interesting race in New Mexico this year may be the 2nd Congressional District. Steve Pearce, who's now running for governor, was dialed in there, winning reelection and reelection despite growing Democratic numbers. Republican Yvette Herrell is trying to achieve the same success, but upstart Democrat Xochitl Torres Small wants to flip the district. New Mexico in Depth looks at the race and the advertising.

Check it

Santa Fe police have held the overwhelming majority of their DWI checkpoints on the city's south and southwest sides over the past two years—a whopping 22 out of 27 ($). Police say that's because the roads on that part of town are better suited to checkpoints and the data tells them to go there. Of course, the more people you arrest somewhere, the more arrests are going to show up in your data. The wealthy north and east sides of the city haven't seen much action.

A new Hope

Ranchers in the tiny southeast New Mexico town of Hope say a new plan for federal land on which they've been grazing cattle could change life for them. The Bureau of Land Management is reexamining how best to manage federal property there to balance wilderness and water conservation with ranching and mineral extraction.

Storm child

The Storm Runner, a novel by New Mexico author Jennifer Cervantes, is becoming a hit. Cervantes, who's found favor with Disney and Rick Riordan, set her novel against a backdrop of Mayan mythology. The book's selling well, making for a happy fall in the Cervantes household. Her husband is former gubernatorial candidate and state Sen. Joe Cervantes.

The limit

There are times when it seems computers can do everything. And if they can't, someone will find a way for them to do the undone thing within a few years. But there are limits. That's where the Santa Fe Institute's Cris Moore comes in. At 7:30 pm, Moore gives a free talk at the Lensic about the limits of computing and the self-imposed limits of humans in what we should ask them to do.

Blip

It's going to be a week that's mostly quite pleasant. A strong cold front will stab into the state on Tuesday, though, dropping Wednesday's highs before what's expected to be a quick rebound. Expect 70s or 80s in Santa Fe, with 80s in Albuquerque and 90s/80s in Las Cruces. Santa Fe's Wednesday looks to be sharply cooler, only around 70.

Thanks for reading! The Word wonders why Paul Simon chose to end his tour in New York City and not at the Red River Folk Festival. Odd choice, Paul.

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