Big donor
Not only was Paul Krebs earning hundreds of thousands of dollars a year from the University of New Mexico as its athletic director, he was apparently quite the whale of a one-time donor to the UNM Foundation. But that donation may have been used to cover up evidence of fraud, money laundering and embezzlement. Krebs made a $25,000 donation to cover part of the cost of a golf trip to Scotland exposed by KRQE's Larry Barker, but a search warrant affidavit from the attorney general shows he might have tried to cover up where the "anonymous" donation came from, and that the foundation's leadership might have been complicit in that as the university's athletics program continued to unravel.
Debate, part deux
All that sports talk reminds the Word of the "Be! Aggressive!" cheer from high school. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Steve Pearce seem to have had that in mind during last night's KOB-TV debate. Both candidates poked at their opponent's records and ties to more powerful politicians like Bill Richardson and Donald Trump. The state's Republican Party caused a bit of a Twitter uproar when it compared Lujan Grisham's appearance to Richard Nixon's in the infamous 1960 debates with John F Kennedy. A party spokesman claimed the tweet was a commentary on her debate performance, though it did not mention her debate performance.
Ballot boss
SFR profiles the race for secretary of state this week. Democrat Maggie Toulouse Oliver took over from Dianna Duran after the Republican beat her in a statewide race, but then Duran pleaded guilty to charges of funneling her own campaign money into her personal accounts. She faces two challengers, both of whom say Toulouse Oliver is trying to expand the powers of her office.
Let me tell you how it will be
The tax man came for Steve Pearce yesterday, as the Republican gubernatorial candidate made public his tax returns as promised back in May ($). He'd been taking heat for it on the campaign trail. Pearce, who is a millionaire many times over, reported earning $431,114 in 2017. He paid $33,111 in federal tax. Pearce also reported losses of more than $330,000 from investments in rental real estate, royalties and other similar investments. He did not release schedules that would itemize losses or specific income sources.
Better buses
With the opening of a new hospital on the Southside, Santa Fe has changed the routes and schedules for two of its four bus lines to stop at both Presbyterian's hospital and the somewhat new VA clinic nearby. The schedules also more closely align city bus service to Rail Runner Express train stops.
Sellout
New Mexico could see $2 billion in new money for state expenses, thanks laregly to the boom in oil and gas drilling. That boom has roots in the Obama administration and has blossomed under robust fertilization by Donald Trump. The US is now rocketing toward energy dominance, the Center for Public Integrity says, and it may have sold out on climate change to get us there.
No wolf, no part
The Word loves Teen Wolf. The original. Right down to the most needlessly intense drama teacher in the history of high school drama teachers. See that seminal scene and appreciate everything that is Stiles, Boof and the teen wolf himself, Scott Howard, tonight at 8 pm at Violet Crown. Grab a beer from any of the donated kegs and all the proceeds go to support Parkinson's research through the Michael J Fox foundation. People will probably think you're pretty cool if you show up in a too-small basketball uniform, too.
I shouldn’t say this, but …
SFR's annual writing contest is back, and that phrase up there is the theme. We think it works well in all kinds of situations, so submit your new, original fiction or nonfiction and see if our pro judges like your style. Winners get published in our Dec. 5 issue, just in time for the holidays.
Thanks for reading! The Word just realized Michael J Fox's character in Teen Wolf was named Scott Howard. This immediately brought on the realization that he could have been calling a former co-worker named Scott Howard "teen wolf" as a nickname. What a missed opportunity.
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