Environment Department fines Air Force $1.7 mil
Yesterday, the state Environment Department fined the US Air Force close to $1.7 million for ongoing violations of state law related to the protection of groundwater resources. "The Air Force continues to ignore New Mexico's environmental laws," NMED Cabinet Secretary James Kenney said in a statement. "Rather than address PFAS contamination, the Department of Defense shows no interest in helping afflicted communities and impacted natural resources." The Air Force did not respond to request for comments by The Santa Fe New Mexican ($). According to the state, in 2018 it made rules aimed at protecting groundwater resources from man-made chemicals that can cause adverse health effects. Cannon Air Force Base's groundwater discharge permit expired on March 31, 2019 and the Air Force was notified prior to that date and thereafter that monitoring was required under state law. The Air Force "has been unlawfully discharging wastewater without a groundwater permit" since April 1, 2019.
SFPD arrests man accused in Cowgirl incident
Santa Fe Police charged Mark Romero, 42, with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon yesterday ($TNM). Romero was booked into the Santa Fe County jail. The charge—a fourth degree felony—stemmed from an incident Monday at Cowgirl on South Guadalupe Street, during which employees say Romero threatened them and said he was going to "kill all the Mexicans," according to an arrest warrant affidavit. A Cowgirl employee also told The New Mexican Romero pointed a revolver at her.
New CEO at Descartes Lab
Santa Fe startup Descartes Lab announced today that co-founder and CEO Mark Johnson will now be the company's executive chairman. Descartes' new CEO, as of Jan. 1, is Phil Fraher, who has been Descartes' chief financial officer since September ($TNM). Johnson—who is a majority shareholder at the company—says his new role will let him focus on Descartes' myriad large customers, along with traveling and giving speeches to discuss Descartes' work refining data gathered by satellite imagery. For example, Johnson will be representing Descartes in Davos, Switzerland this month at the World Economic Forum.
Final frontier
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham attended a Space Valley Summit this week at New Mexico State University, meeting with approximately 30 executives from Spaceport America, Virgin Galactic and other aerospace laboratories and businesses. The four-hour meeting, also attended by various NMSU officials, was closed to the public following introductory speeches by Lujan Grisham and other officials. "This is the year…when we're going to see a launch with Virgin Galactic, and we're going to see Sir Richard Branson and his family taking that first commercial flight in space," Lujan Grisham said in her speech, after recalling the initial skepticism the Spaceport engendered when the Legislature approved its construction in 2006.
SLO creates parental leave policy
Employees at the New Mexico State Land Office also will have 12 weeks of paid parental leave, following an executive order issued by State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham created a policy for state employees under her purview at the end of December, and urged independent state agencies to do the same. "I'm extremely grateful to the Governor for taking this initiative and prompting this change of culture in state government," Garcia Richard said. "The Land Office is committed to supporting working parents and promoting the health of our employees and their families."
Big Chile
Deemed "the world's largest conference dedicated to chile peppers" (a claim we haven't verified, but find believable), New Mexico State University's 2020 New Mexico Chile Conference will take place Feb. 3-4 at the Las Cruces Convention Center and will feature an array of experts from the state's favorite agricultural sector. Topics at the conference will include developing and improving the chile industry's competition advantage in New Mexico; molecular advances in breeding; the H2A temporary agriculture program; and the New Mexico Chile Certification program.
Think about it
Does the prospect of retiring from work someday and living out a life of relative ease seem as fanciful as the Santa Fe City Council creating a unicorn park? Does the latter actually seem more likely? You're not alone. Think tank Think New Mexico recently published a report detailing how unprepared most New Mexicans are for retirement. To wit: 62% of New Mexicans have nothing saved and 80% have $10,000 or less. Those stats sounded like a crisis to Think New Mexico, which has several proposals it plans to push for in the upcoming legislative session to try to start remedying the situation. Think New Mexico founder and Executive Director Fred Nathan sits down with SFR this week to discuss those ideas.
Don’t make him angry
The Incredible Hulk actor Lou Ferrigno will become a sheriff's deputy in Socorro County next week. Socorro County Sheriff William Armijo will deputize Ferrigno, whose more recent filmography includes portrayal of Hulk in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Agent Banner in Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! He previously served as areserve sheriff's deputy in Los Angeles County. In a story on his website about becoming deputized in California, Ferrigno notes that he has played a sheriff in various roles, but always wanted to be one in real life. He also is a fitness trainer/consultant as well as a retired professional bodybuilder.
January blues
Forecasts still calling for a 30% chance of snow showers today, mainly before 8 am. From there, the day will be cloudy, but will gradually become mostly sunny with a high near 36, and north wind 10 to 20 mph (aka cold and windy). If it does snow, we're looking at less than a half inch. Tonight, lows around 13 degrees. Saturday and Sunday are expected to be sunny with highs in the mid to high 30s. What can we say? It's January.
Thanks for reading! The Word has run out of both time and mental capacity this morning, but would be remiss if she didn't direct your attention to recent news regarding plutonium production in the state. Also: TGIF.
