State of the City
Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber is changing things up a bit. This year's State of the City event, which has previously occurred in the Santa Fe Community Convention Center and has attracted crowds of hundreds, will be a more low-key affair ($ TNM) at the Southside Library. It goes down at 5:30 pm tomorrow (Wednesday), and audience capacity is greatly reduced, so if you want to go you have to RSVP ASAP. That article doesn't specify what number to call, but the mayor's office is 955-6590, so that is a start.
Loss of Coriz
A young doctor was killed in a rock climbing accident in the Sandias over the weekend. Garon Coriz, 33, was a member of Kewa Pueblo and had recently returned to his home state to practice medicine. He had previously spent time in Utah and South America advocating for Native causes and providing medical care to Indigenous peoples. The area of the Sandias where Coriz was climbing was so remote, it took from 10:30 am Saturday until 4:30 pm Sunday to recover his body.
Who knew Epstein?
Former New Nexico Gov. Bill Richardson says he visited the now-infamous Stanley-area ranch of convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein one time, but maintains that he was not friends with the financier. The Albuquerque Journal reports that "Epstein also donated $50,000 to each of Richardson's two gubernatorial campaigns, in 2002 and 2006. Richardson re-gifted the 2006 campaign donation to charity as sex-crime accusations against Epstein emerged." The ranch, which is now owned by a holding company, has been a hot topic in the federal investigation of Epstein's sex crimes; and one of his victims said yesterday that she spent time with him there, declining to give further details.
Reevaluations are in order
After the high-profile April 1 death of city worker Toby Williams, who was electrocuted at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center, the New Mexico Construction Industries Division filed a cease-and-desist order to the City of Santa Fe, barring employees from all construction work. The state is also demanding the city provide detailed records including worker qualifications and assignments.
Sharing is (not?) caring
Turns out Los Alamos' jail shares inmate booking information ($ TNM) with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a practice that isn't very popular among some jurisdictions. The New Mexican got ahold of an email and saw that two addresses with ICE suffixes were on the recipients list; the jail confirmed that it does cooperate with any and all law enforcement agencies. Marcela Diaz of Somos Un Pueblo Unido pointed out that "people will have to think twice or three times before calling the police or accessing services if they think that someone might get turned over to ICE."
What you wish for
Albuquerque Public Schools' superintendent could see a pretty significant pay bump this year. A school spokesman said that the raise could be up to 11% (and that would equal $15,000 more a year), but the Board of Education says that number ain't guaranteed and it will look more like anywhere from 6%-11%. Albuquerque Teachers Federation President Ellen Bernstein cautions the board against too much of a bump: "They should consider what it means for teachers who have been in the classroom 30 years and only get 7%."
Sequins and tennis skirts
Looking to get up the hill this summer, but not sure which opera you'd like to see? SFR humbly recommends Così fan tutte. This year's production is radical, impeccably acted, aesthetically pleasing, hyper-sexualized, minimalist, and not a little bit weird. It's a lot weird. Check out our review here.
Heat on its way
Whoops. We sure did accidentally mislead you yesterday about the possibility of storms. It really seemed like we'd get some from the forecast. Today should get up to 92. And brace yourselves; if we're going to get showers, today's our last chance, and the second half of the week should soar to the mid-90s ($ TNM).
Thanks for reading! The Word just woke up but is ready for a nap.
