Half
FIfty percent of the registered, reliable voters surveyed for the Albuquerque Journal poll say they'll cast a ballot for Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham in November. That's a seven-point lead over Republican Steve Pearce, 50-43 percent. Like all polls, this is snapshot of how people would have voted (last week, in this case), but the lead puts Lujan Grisham outside the margin of error and Research & Polling, Inc. has a reputation for accuracy. But the race is far from over. That's not a huge lead, and Pearce has staked his campaign on working every county in the state.
Senate, Congress
The same poll shows US Senator Martin Heinrich with a good chance of holding his seat, despite the strong name recognition of Gary Johnson, the former governor who entered the race as a stand-in for the Libertarian candidate. Heinrich hasn't hit the 50 percent mark, but he's close at 47 percent and this is a three-man race. Republican Mick Rich also leads Johnson, with 26 percent to the former governor and presidential candidate's 16 percent. For Congress, despite a fractious Republican primary, Yvette Herrell leads Democrat Xochitl Torres Small in the race for Pearce's old seat, 48-41 percent. Deb Haaland polled ahead of Janice Arnold-Jones, 49-41 percent.
Sunspot Observatory set to reopen
Enough about politics, let's talk conspiracy. The solar observatory in Southern New Mexico that shut down for more than a week at the behest of the FBI is going to open this morning ($). There's still no specific reason cited for the shutdown, but a former employee told KOB-TV that thousands of dolllars' worth of electronics were recently stolen. The FBI and the group that runs the observatory wouldn't confirm that.
It’s going down
Juvenile incarceration is plummeting and Santa Fe's youth detention center is less than half full most of the time. Many counties are closing their "juvie" lockups. So why is Santa Fe keeping it open? It's SFR's cover story.
The raspberry
Hail storms have crushed the crop at the six-acre La Cueva Farm in Mora County. Four storms in two months ($) forced farm managers to close their locally famous raspberry fields (it's the old Salman Ranch). They're still keeping the café open though, to sling raspberry ice cream sundaes.
The planes!
A whole bunch of them descended on the Santa Fe Regional Airport over the weekend for an airplane enthusiasts' convention. SFR wandered through the wings, props, flaps and ailerons. Word is the airport had a few more calls than usual from the folks who live near the flight paths.
Easy now
Mondays can be overwhelming. Or even just a bit much. Take the edge off tonight by grabbing some of Chili Line Brewing's smoked beers (not a gimmick, they were invented by the Germans, who don't joke about anything) and listening to Jamie Russell play some guitar. The fun starts at 7 pm.
In sight
It's been a hot September in much of New Mexico as the monsoonal moisture pattern has faded. We'll see continued conditions like that for the first part of the week, but rain returns on Wednesday and Thursday, along with some more fall-like temperatures.
Thanks for reading! The Word caught some great fall color, minus the crowds this weekend. Those little patches of yellow on the mountains are pretty big once you get up in 'em. Here's hoping you have a chance to slip away for an hour or so this week.
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