Students rally for gun control
Today is the 19th anniversary of the Columbine school shooting, which ushered in an era of growing school violence. New Mexico entered the sad fraternity in recent years and in Santa Fe, students will rally at the Roundhouse ($) as well as talk with politicians and public safety leaders. Albuquerque schools have similar plans for protests at both APS schools and the University of New Mexico.
Heart Institute drops Presby
The New Mexico Heart Institute will stop accepting Presbyterian health insurance in Albuquerque as of July 12. The change affects some 3,000 patients who use NMHI facilities (it's not the same thing as the Heart Hospital). The company says it will continue to accept Presbyterian at its Santa Fe practices.
4/20
Why yes, it is April 20. To the uninitiated, it's a big day for cannabis, as Aaron Cantú explains for SFR. Sales from dispensaries in New Mexico are likely to top $1 million today as marijuana users and cannabis enthusiasts celebrate the drug's existence.
Apodaca speaks up about marijuana
SFR has long been tracking the positions of New Mexico's gubernatorial hopefuls as they relate to medical marijuana and the potential for legalizing recreational cannabis in the state. While we're certain Jeff Sessions hasn't read our work (reasonably certain), the debate has gained some notoriety as Jeff Apodaca has solidified his plans and called on his Democratic opponents to do the same.
DA charges former Lobo basketball staffer
District Attorney Raul Torrez took the case of Cody Hopkins to a grand jury, which has handed up an indictment of the former Lobo basketball operations director. The indictment accuses Hopkins of falsifying credit card receipts and embezzling more than $60,000. Hopkins told his story to NMFishbowl.com last year. The internal audit that detailed the alleged misspending dates back to 2015.
Take care
SFR's cover story this week is a series of personal essays on what exploring and caring for one's mind, body and spirit looks like these days. The Word was a bit of a skeptic about this cover package, but ended up a huge fan. The companion to the four essays is tomorrow's expo at the Genoveva Chavez Community Center. It's free and runs from 10 am-3 pm.
Take extra care
You might have noticed litter crews on a 20-mile stretch of I-25 from Santa Fe south toward Albuquerque yesterday. What a miserable stinking day to volunteer to pick up trash. But they'll be at it again (thank you) today and tomorrow, so keep an eye out.
The wind and the …
There's a chance we could see some moisture in town and elsewhere in the Rio Grande Valley, as a storm system moves in today. The mountains will almost certainly get some late-season snow. It'll be cloudy for a chunk of today and tomorrow, then begin to warm up on Sunday. The winds should ease off for a few days.
Thanks for reading! The Word has become aware since moving to New Mexico that there's a certain subset of people who are angered by the persistent spring wind. Those people should be issued cinnamon rolls every Saturday in spring to ease the pain.
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