Martinez found guilty
State Sen. Richard Martinez, D-Ojo Caliente, was found guilty yesterday of aggravated drunken driving and reckless driving charges stemming from a crash last June in Española. Martinez, who will be sentenced next month, faces a minimum sentence of seven days in jail and a maximum of 180 days. In the wake of his conviction, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham called for Martinez' resignation, noting drunk driving is "an intolerable scourge in our state," and that "elected leaders must hold themselves to the highest possible standard of behavior." Martinez' legislative colleagues have not called upon him to step down, although some say they will recommend he not remain chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Martinez previously said he would not resign from the Legislature, even if convicted.
Sands of time
The US Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act yesterday, which means once President Trump signs off on it—which is expected—White Sands will become a national park. This will be New Mexico's first new national park since 1930, US Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-NM, said in a press release. Heinrich and US Rep. Xochitl Torres Small, D-NM, jointly introduced the White Sands National Park Establishment Act, which Heinrich said "…will put southern New Mexico squarely on the map as a must-see destination for park-seeking travelers and will be a major boon to the whole region's economy." The National Defense Authorization Act also includes millions in defense projects in New Mexico.
Neglected victims
Searchlight New Mexico reports on the conclusions of its 16-month investigation of sex trafficking in New Mexico in "Stolen and Erased," an upsetting story that traces the sex trafficking of a young Navajo girl named Eva. For two years, Eva (whose name, along with her family's names, has been changed) showed signs of being a victim of sex trafficking, but no one intervened. "She was frequently reported missing, labeled a runaway, appeared malnourished and was occasionally bruised. Time and again, she was cast aside by the very authorities sworn to protect her." The story reports that the The Navajo Department of Family Services says officials often overlook or misidentify sex trafficking.
Navajo healthcare
The Navajo Nation has announced it plans to contract with Molina Healthcare to become one of the first Native American tribes to create its own managed healthcare organization. Approximately 75,000 Medicaid-eligible Navajos live in New Mexico. Navajo Nation Counselor Daniel Tso, chair of the Health, Education and Human Services Committee, said their rate of accessing care is lower than the average Medicaid patient, and their outcomes from doing so are worse.
There’s a locally made app for that
Santa Fe students Ytzel Romo-Olivas, Diana Vasquez and Ruth Calija are the 1st place winners of the 2019 Congressional App Challenge. US House Assistant Speaker Ben Ray Lujan, D-NM announced all the winners yesterday for student participants in the 3rd Congressional District. Romo-Olivas, who attends Santa Fe High School, along with Vasquez and Calija, who go to Mandela International Magnet School, created an app called Kids Against Racism, which informs people about the adverse effects of racism in their communities, provides suggestions on how to combat racism, as well as resources where individuals can seek help. The app includes personal stories from individuals who have experienced racism. Both the first and third-place winning apps were developed in Stem Santa Fe's app development camp, which SFR wrote about last summer.
Work it real good
Two Santa Fe companies are among the recipients of December grants from the state Economic Development Department, which this week announced awards of $3.9 million in Job Training Incentive Program (JTIP) funds. The money will be used to support training 763 employees in Santa Fe, Albuquerque and Bernalillo. In Santa Fe, Family Hemp Brands, founded last year by John Sedillo, has seven jobs with an average wage of $20.79 per hour. The company was the first certified extraction and manufacturing facility in New Mexico, and currently has one consumer product on the market with plans to launch two more brands this year and four more in 2020. OpenEye Scientific Software, which is headquartered in Santa Fe, has five jobs with an average hourly wage of $47.40. The company develops large-scale molecular modeling applications.
Have yourself a merry little whatever
SFR will be taking a holiday siesta starting Dec. 19 (aka mañana) and, as SFR goes, so goeth the Word. By which we mean to say, this is your last Morning Word for a week. We'll be back in your inbox on Dec. 26 with a catch-up on the news. Until then, we wish you Sugar Plum Fairies and reindeers and Peace on Earth etc. etc.
Written while wearing mittens
Today will see a high near 41, with increasing clouds and wind chill values as low as zero. North wind 5 to 10 mph will become west in the afternoon. More sunny on Thursday and Friday, although temps will remain cold (39 as a high tomorrow; 43 degrees on Friday). Forecasts say the cold will let up this weekend, when temperatures head to the high 40s and low 50s .
Thanks for reading! The Word plans to catch up on her New Yorker reading over the holiday, starting with this existential-nausea-inducing story on Instagram Face.
