City will sell Railyard building
The Santa Fe City Council and Mayor Alan Webber agreed last night to sell the former Santa Fe Clay building in the Railyard for $175,000, a proposal that has raised concerns about the property's appraised asking price ($TNM). The vote was 8-1, with City Councilor Michael Garcia as the only vote against the sale to Luna Capital Advisors of Santa Fe. The city owns the property, but it's managed by the nonprofit Santa Fe Railyard Community Corp. In a news release, the City details the process surrounding the sale, concluding: "The proposed sale of the SF Clay Building cannot be fairly compared with straightforward real estate transactions. This is a unique hybrid property that operates differently than other property in Santa Fe due to the arrangement between the City and SFRCC." Luna Capital has not revealed who will be moving into the space. In other Council action, the governing body signed off on the appointment and contract for Jarel LaPan Hill as city manager at a salary of $170,000 a year ($TNM).
SFPD evidence room
Also at last night's Santa Fe City Council meeting, City Clerk Yolanda Vigil told councilors she is working with the Santa Fe Police Department on a series of corrective actions in response to revelations that items connected to at least two murder cases had been lost in the department's evidence room. As the Santa Fe New Mexican reported on Jan. 25, a third-party audit, commissioned by the city, found the department scheduled officers on light duty due to injuries or other issues to take over responsibilities in the evidence room when overworked evidence technicians needed a break. Councilor Joanne Vigil Coppler reprimanded both the police chief and the city clerk for what she called "a breakdown of management," and cautioned the Council not to simply "throw money at the problem." Councilor Carol Romero Wirth and Mayor Alan Webber, however, commended the police department for taking initiative in requesting the audit.
That was fast
The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled quickly yesterday that the Public Regulation Commission must consider the state's new energy goals as codified in The Energy Transition Act in its decision making regarding the closure of the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station near Farmington. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, New Mexico legislators and Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez petitioned the court to intervene in December. Regarding the decision, Lujan Grisham's office released a statement expressing gratitude to the court and noting that: "Today's unambigious ruling by the Supreme Court underscores what we have said all along: the Energy Transition Act is the law of the land."
Passing the buck
Legislators, who are unpaid, realize that deciding to pay themselves—and how much—might not fly with the public. A proposed constitutional amendment, however, would put the brand new State Ethics Commission in charge of all state and county elected officials' salaries—including the governor's. The Senate Rules Committee passed SJR02 yesterday; it now heads to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Co-sponsor Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto, D-Albuquerque, says putting the salary decisions in the new Ethics Commission's purview depoliticizes the issue. "There is no ability for us to even consider whether there should or could be an appropriate level of salary for the work that we've done," he said. "If we were to do it, then we're self-dealing." If approved by voters, the new salaries would not take place until 2023. A survey conducted last year by Common Cause New Mexico revealed that 66% of the public believe New Mexico should pay its lawmakers; advocates say doing so could help eliminate conflicts of interest and attract more socioeconomically diverse candidates.
Listen up
In Episode 8 of "Your New Mexico Government," a podcast devoted to the 54th Legislature, Gwyneth Doland of New Mexico PBS joins KUNM radio's Khalil Ekulona to talk about the nuances and inner workings of SB 5, the Extreme Risk Firearm Protection Order Act, and what proponents and opponents have to say about this "red flag bill." "Your New Mexico Government" is a collaboration between SFR, New Mexico PBS and KUNM radio.
Call for Women’s Commission members
Last year, Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber established the Santa Fe Women's Commission, which is now taking applications from members of the public interested in serving. According to a city press release, Commission members will be responsible for "providing a gender equity lens through which the City's programs, policies, services, ordinances, budgets and practices are viewed," among other duties. The resolution establishing the Commission defines women or "women and girls" as "transgender women, self-identifying women and girls, and gender non-confirming individuals," including on the Commission itself. Seven members will appointed by the mayor—one of each of the city's four districts and three at large—with approval from the City Council. Information on how to apply is available here.
Teens grill candidates
ICYMI, on Jan. 28, Girls Inc. sponsored a forum for candidates in the June 2 primary election for the 3rd Congressional District. The young women asked attendees to weigh in on topics ranging from reproductive freedom to gun violence to the environment, while also throwing in some personal and fun questions as well. Eight of the nine Democrats participated; none of the Republicans running in that party's primary attended. The students ended the forum by asking the candidates what advice they would give to their younger selves. SFR was in the house and has their answers and a wrap-up of the forum.
Not down the drain
The City of Santa Fe plans to add 100 restaurants this year to its Restaurant Water Conservation pilot program. That program, which earned Santa Fe a 2020 Sustainable City of the Year award from Green Builder magazine, audited and updated appliances in 30 restaurants in 2018. "We want to save water as much as possible with Paper Dosa," says Paulraj Karuppasamy, who co-owns the restaurant with his wife Nellie Tischler. "I definitely think it is important for the city to be helping restaurants because we were already doing very many things to save water, but the city helped us to save even more." In this week's issue, SFR takes a look at how the program works.
Sunny, cold and windy
Mostly sunny today with high temps near 42 degrees and northeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. Still a 20% chance of snow showers tonight after 11 pm with a low around 19 degrees. Back to sunny on Friday with a high near 41. If you're already thinking about the weekend, it looks like a sunny one with temps inching toward the high 40s on Saturday and low 50s on Sunday.
Thanks for reading! The Word agrees with The Economist magazine: "Television has never seen anything like 'The Good Place.' ($) Warning: The essay includes spoilers, and references Sartre, Shakespeare and literary critic Northrop Frye. Anyway, the show ends tonight and if you've never watched it, start at the beginning.
