Storefronting the Money

Cramped entrepreneurs and empty storefronts, unite!

The plan: Match young entrepreneurs and artists with empty retail spaces to create more vibrant, mixed-use spaces around Santa Fe.

Let’s Get Together

Discussing Santa Fe’s challenges and opportunities is a crucial first step

The plan: Start a meaningful conversation about Santa Fe’s future economy by organizing and engaging small, diverse groups of local residents. Schnieders says the groups would first address the question of what Santa Feans consider the key issues; the question of what changes are necessary would come later.

The Process is the Point

Can we think past job creation to building a culture of entrepreneurship?

The plan: “Ignite the entrepreneurial ecosystem” by creating a pilot program to assist selected “entrepreneurial fellows.”

Campaign Trail

Tom Udall isn’t up for re-election, but he has plenty to say about campaign finance

In a recent story about the role of super PACs, The Economist highlighted a proposal by US Sen. Tom Udall, D-NM. Udall’s idea: a joint resolution calling for a constitutional amendment that would allow Congress to regulate contributions and spending for federal campaigns. If the resolution passes, Congress could then establish the actual spending and donation limits—but according to The Economist, “it has almost no chance.” SFR sat down with Udall to pick his brain about this and other concerns.

Eating Wrong

End Game: Does Amavi's closing foretell the fate of youth culture?

“Amavi is closed until further notice,” Megan Tucker, the restaurant’s petite, auburn-haired former executive chef, announces upon sitting down. We’re in a corner of the former Corazón space,

Chopped

What a restaurant's closing means for Santa Fe's culinary economy

I’m sitting at the bar in Tomme, restaurateur Maria “Max” Renteria’s latest venture, eating the best goddamned burger I’ve had in a long time. It’s not the biggest, but it is the best.Rent

Big Picture

A More Perfect PRC

Long before Jerome Block Jr.’s third arrest for violating the conditions of his drug court program, the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission had problems. In 2007, former Commissioner David King was convicted of sexually harassing his assistant; in 2008, Block and his father, Jerome Block Sr., faced allegations of election violations; in 2009, former Commissioner Carol Sloan attacked a rival with a rock.

Swiss Bliss

It's not nightlife, but the Swiss Bakery makes a mean meat plate

My dad is a fount of bad jokes. In general, his jokes fall into three categories: painful puns, dirty jokes and humor at our family’s expense.

One Year of Susana

On a sunny Saturday in March 2010, Republican candidates and supporters thronged the halls of the Albuquerque Hilton. That morning, New Mexico’s Republican gubernatorial field seemed every bit as wide-open as the GOP’s current presidential field.

Big Picture

Taxonomy: Who wants a tax cut?

On Jan. 5, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez proudly announced—per her press release—that the state’s “fiscal house is back in order.” She also introduced her budget proposal for fiscal year 2013, trumpeting one of its provisions: a $55 million tax cut.