Lake Arthur laugher
You can be forgiven for not knowing where in New Mexico the tiny town of Lake Arthur happens to be located. Just a few dozen miles south of Roswell, the place has a population of just more than 400. It has a reserve police force that is a quarter of the town's size. For the last decade, the town's self-styled police chief has been handing out badges to anyone who makes a donation of $400 a year. That doesn't make them a real cop, but it does let them carry a concealed weapon and bypass a bunch of training. Actors, military men and Albuquerque attorneys have all signed up to "serve."
Shacking Up
When we happened upon an ad for housing in Santa Fe, we thought the accommodations looked a little small and the front door looked a little large. That's because it's a shed. In a backyard. And, provided you meet the criteria, you can live there for $575 a month. Yes, Santa Fe, housing is a thing.
Not forgotten
SFR's cover story this week looks at Matthew Rodriguez, an inmate at the Santa Fe County jail who is accused of murder. Rodriguez has been living with mental illness, and after a violent outburst in general population, he's now in segregated custody and alone 20 hours a day. Justin Horwath's story explores the problem of providing care for inmates living with mental illness and the balance many county jails must attempt to strike between security and safekeeping.
Get right out of town
The Alamo Navajo Nation near Socorro and Magdalena has 347 kids in its school system. Over the course of six months, KOB investigators found its four-member school board tallied travel expenses of more than $200,000 for trips to Las Vegas, Washington, DC, and Orlando.
Keep it classy
Lawmakers yesterday heard from education experts who say finding ways to leverage federal dollars to add days to the school calendar or hours to the school day will pay off ($) for struggling New Mexico students. Programs like K-3 Plus, which adds summer instruction for students in low-income districts and schools, have the potential to boost learning later in a student's school years.
The cost of Gary Gregor
Española's school district will have to pay $750,000 as part of a settlement for a lawsuit filed by former students of ex-teacher Gary Gregor. The students say their teacher, who taught in Santa Fe for a time, sexually abused them. The district avoided having to pay $2.5 million more. Instead, that part of the settlement will be paid by an insurance pool, made up of premiums paid by school districts around the state. Another case against Gregor has settled and a third is in the court system.
Hemp-ready
At least one New Mexico farmer says he's ready to turn his thirsty alfalfa fields into a hemp farm. That, of course, is legal, now that the state Supreme Court overturned Gov. Susana Martinez' veto of two bills granting approval to industrial hemp operations. Derek Jones may have to wait until next year to start growing on his Hobbs operation; it's up to Martinez' Secretary of Agriculture to set rules for the program.
Spring’s back
After a glorious respite from winds the past couple of days, the breezes are back. There's a chance of storms tomorrow, although it seems that should read "storms" (with quotation marks), because many of the events are expected to be dry. Soooo … that probably means a lot of wind. Temperatures will be moderate across most of the state.
Thanks for reading! The Word is getting a cinnamon roll tomorrow morning. So just … be aware.
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