I drink it up
The city has temporarily approved the use of potable water to irrigate golf courses and athletic fields ($ TNM). Usually, our water treatment plant provides non-potable water that is still safe to use for watering grass, but for some reason that isn't happening right now (the water still has too much "biological matter" in it); until the city gets to the bottom of why, they will be delivering drinking water for the turf. City Council voted 7-0 to spend between $60,000 and $110,000 to cover the cost of such a plan.
Vileness online
The wildly inappropriate Facebook musings of border patrol agents in a secret online group got splashed across national news yesterday. ProPublica brought the comments to light as members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus toured migrant facilities on the Southern border; posts included vulgar statements about US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her colleagues. Ocasio-Cortez said she wasn't surprised by the posts; "It's just indicative of the violent culture that we saw," she said.
Peggy will stay home
The Southwest Association for American Indian Arts, which runs Indian Market, has recommitted to a rule it has been bending for a while in which it only admits artists who are members of federally recognized Native American tribes. This causes a problem for Peggy Fontenot ($ TNM), who is a member of the Patawomeck Indian Tribe of Virginia, which is recognized by that state but not by the federal government. She has shown her photography and beadwork at market for years, but was rejected this year based on her tribal status. "One day you are a state tribe, and you are not Indian," Fontenot said, "and the next day the federal government recognizes you and suddenly are you are an Indian. Well, that's silly."
Frauds
Joel McKay Hixon of Las Cruces and Dain Leslie Schult of Austin, Texas, were found guilty Friday of defrauding investors in a pyramid scheme surrounding radio stations on the internet. The pair told investors that their money would be used to buy small radio stations and put them online, but turns out that Schult was just using investors' money for personal expenditures and to pay Hixon for his collaboration.
‘Tis the season
Headed up to the opera this year? So is SFR! Our first reviews of the Santa Fe Opera's 2019 season are live, which includes a lackluster (but still beautiful, c'mon) production of La Bohème, and a revival of The Pearl Fishers that blew us out of the water.
Mourning Lacen
Santa Fean Kelly Lacen, 33, was found dead in her home on Galisteo Road last month, and her death was initially assumed to be due to a drug or alcohol overdose. However, an autopsy has revealed blunt force trauma, and it is now being investigated as a homicide ($ TNM). Lacen's father told police a man had been living with his daughter until two weeks prior to her death.
Midtown musings
There has been movement toward figuring out what to do with the Midtown Campus. City Council will soon vote on whether to hire firms from California and Pennsylvania for nearly half a million bucks to decide what our community needs and wants.
News in brief…
Lightning round time, everyone! … The New Mexico State Fair is hiring for the 2019 event, so if you're looking for a gig, you should check that out. Also, the Word really wants a funnel cake now. New laws that went into effect yesterday mean that Walmart will no longer sell guns in New Mexico because the company can't handle the required background checks. This story has our favorite headline of the day: "Naked man goes on path of destruction in NW Albuquerque." An alligator was spotted by Border Patrol agents swimming in the Rio Grande in Texas, and a baby alligator was also found roaming the streets of Albuquerque, so the Word would like to say for any alligators lurking nearby that I accept our alligator overlords and welcome the alligator apocalypse.
Bellissima
Dare we say, last night was nearly perfect, wasn't it? Nice and cool, with scattered rain and friendly breezes. Today we could get a little more rain, with temps at a high of 80.
Thanks for reading! The Word heard from a few readers who were confused about the day of the Southside farmers market. Indeed, it begins today! We accidentally said it begins tomorrow. Apologies to all; now get out there and get some produce, folks!
