
Victory for Indigenous land
New Mexico Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard has put a halt to oil and gas drilling on state land near Chaco Canyon ($). The hotly contested issue has been in the news a lot lately (as loyal Word readers would know), and in addition to protecting the land for cultural and archaeological purposes, Garcia Richard's executive order also creates the Chaco Canyon Land Office Working Group, which would work to preserve the area. The order, however, does not affect federal or private lands in the patchworky area.
On a similar note
In a move that could mean big things for New Mexico, a federal judge has ruled that companies that make money off oil and gas extraction on public lands need to pay full royalties to the public. The Obama Administration closed a loophole which had allowed companies to sell their product for less and pay fewer royalties; former Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke opened the loophole back up; now, a judge has closed it again. That royalty money would then be used to fund schools, roads, transit and parks in the states where the resources are extracted.
Dubious fixes
Still speaking of public lands, remember in 2018 when SFR told you about how the government was considering fixing a backlog of necessary repairs at national parks with money from oil and gas extraction? Well, that still hasn't happened, and parks, including those in New Mexico, are still waiting for important fixes as the busy summer season approaches. But the Restore Our Parks Act still has bipartisan support in Congress. Meanwhile, the president has cut $481 million from the parks budget for 2020.
Casanova convicted
In August 2017, SFR told you about "Informant No. 9097," a wild tale of a government informant who used unconventional methods to net criminals who the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms called "the worst of the worst," but who really were mostly street-level dealers and struggling addicts. One of the men ensnared was Yusef Casanova, who was arrested in 2016 and was convicted last week on drugs and weapons charges. While black people make up about 3% of Albuquerque's population, the ATF sting netted nearly 30% black defendants. New Mexico In Depth reports that Casanova plans to appeal.
A taste of Italy
Another change for the cute brick building next to the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum: The restaurant that used to be Georgia, then became Maize, is going to become Sassella this month ($). The restaurant, at 225 Johnson St., has been taken over by the team that brought us the fine dining establishment Sazón.
Very patriotic
A few "patriot" groups from around the state are pushing to overturn at least seven, perhaps more than 30, new laws in New Mexico. The Eddy County Patriot Group and the Roosevelt County Patriot Group disagree with laws having to do with privacy for domestic violence victims, the declaration of Indigenous People's Day, a ban of right-to-work laws, and the ban of coyote-killing contests, among others. To move forward, the groups would need to gather 70,000 signatures from at least 25 counties.
Extra Mayo, please
Christus St. Vincent has become the first hospital in New Mexico to join the Mayo Clinic's network, making available the legendary Minnesota-based organization's resources to folks here. Not only can patients now get Mayo-level care, but doctors have access to Mayo's experts and educational and collaborative resources ($).
Somebody knockin’ that door
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham have announced that Expo New Mexico will open its dorms to up to 60 asylum-seekers at a time to stay there for up to 72 hours while they await further instruction. New Mexico State Police currently patrol those grounds and do not believe any extra resources will need to be allocated for its security; when the gov asked Expo NM Manager Dan Mourning whether the facility could be made available, he said, "It didn't take 30 seconds for me to go, 'This is what we're here for.'"
Thanks for reading! The Word's hands are a bit chilly, but it will get up to nearly 70 today, so that's nice. Very nice.