Hilltop approval
Santa Fe's City Council and mayor last night denied an appeal that would have stopped development of 49 luxury homesites at Estrellas del Norte off Hyde Park Road. Neighbors down the hill appealed a Planning Commission decision to allow building there because they were concerned about potential for flooding in storms. The city had previously barred development there on two occasions decades ago.
ICE Air
NPR took a look at the federal government's deportation system yesterday. In the case of air transport, the system, dubbed "ICE Air," relies on contractors like CSI Aviation of Albuquerque. It's owned by politically active Republican and retired Marine Corps colonel Allen Weh. CSI's contract jumped by 10 percent this year to $96 million.
A Workers’ History of Los Alamos
The subtitle alone was enough to get us interested in a new book by Peter Malmgren and Kay Matthews. SFR's Aaron Cantú flipped the pages and talked to the author as well as others who shared stories of the early years of Los Alamos National Laboratory and the people who kept the doors open for the scientists.
Some teeth
The state Court of Appeals ruled this week that public agencies can be forced to pay $100 a day for failing to respond properly to requests made under the Inspection of Public Records Act. The decision was in favor of Marcy Britton, an animal rights activist who sued the New Mexico Attorney General's Office for failing to turn over emails. From Katy Barnitz's story in the Albuquerque Journal: "Without a per-day penalty, the Court of Appeals wrote, 'there exists no incentive for a public body to do anything more than provide a perfunctory 'response' to a request no matter how incomplete and inadequate.'"
Sued again
Meanwhile, a group of single mothers and an advocacy organization have sued the state Children, Youth and Families Department. They claim the state is illegally denying assistance to families that make 150 percent of the federal poverty level—about $31,000 for a family of three—when they say the limit should be 200 percent. The agency called the claims preposterous.
Learn about your city
One of the Word's favorite occasional series is SFR's Back to the Barrio, which offers a look at the not-so-distant past of Santa Fe's neighborhoods. Alicia Inez Guzmán strolled over to the Barrio Analco for the latest installment.
SMiiLE
Who doesn't love a good concert? Sticks in the mud, that's who. If rock is your thing, head over to Zephyr Community Art Studio to hear traveling Austin prog-rock band SMiiLE and three others, including Jake Trujillo. Show starts at 7:30 pm, and admission is by a donation of $5-$10.
Back to early fall
Santa Fe topped out at 69 degrees yesterday, but hooboy, today is going to be nice. Nearly everywhere around the state is going to be within a few degrees of 80, save for Las Cruces and other warmer climes, which will see close to 90.
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