
Federal gun legislation creeps along
The US House has passed a bill that closes the "Charleston Loophole" by making people with nebulous background checks wait 10 days rather than three to procure a firearm. While on the coasts, support for gun legislation may be split on more black-and-white party lines, it ain't so easy in the middle of the country. Case in point: Democratic Southern New Mexico Rep. Xochitl Torres Small opposes the legislation. The bill is not expected to pass the Republican-majority Senate.
Southern news
Large groups of immigrants crossing the border in Southern New Mexico have led the US Attorney for New Mexico, John Anderson, to hire more prosecutors to handle the legal aspects of managing the undocumented groups. Anderson asserts that his department's job begins and ends with criminal justice. This comes the same week that 67 people from Mexico and Central America were found in a stash house in southeastern New Mexico, and the Albuquerque Journal reports that the two main requests from migrants detained at the border are asylum and medical care.
Prison reform or nah
UNM graduate students have conducted a study that suggests that New Mexico prisons are misleading the public about how many hours inmates spend in solitary confinement. As mentioned in some of SFR's coverage in the last year, this comes on the heels of proposed legislation to reform and limit the use of solitary confinement, which activist groups say is psychologically damaging.
Please, sir…
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller has asked for more state funds for his city's much-reported crime problems, and asserts that ABQ has long gotten the shaft from whomever has held the state's purse strings at any given time. Keller's largest ask is nearly $35 million to be used in ABQ and Bernalillo for a better law enforcement radio system.
Let it snow
A Velarde man has been charged with drug trafficking for the second time in recent years. Though Club Lumina owners Mario Amparan and Marcella Garcia ($) were charged with selling narcotics in 2016, the squat nightclub landmark on Highway 84 was allowed to continue operations and keep its liquor license. Amparan was caught in a sting operation and has been arrested on similar charges again.
Learn your city
Your weekend long-read comes courtesy yours truly (SFR, that is); we revived a popular story from 2017, "Castles, Ruins and Mysteries," to bring you "Even More Castles, Ruins and Mysteries" (our town has at least two castles, so we were able to recycle the title). This time we looked at Seton Castle after the blaze that destroyed it in 2005, the long-dormant Palace Grocery downtown, a much-talked-about artistic creation in Agua Fría and the towering gold stupa on Airport Road.
Choose your favorite
Santa Fe Community College is selecting a new president, and has invited the public to attend forums with each of the five candidates over the next couple weeks. The forums start at 2 pm today with candidate Raúl Rodríguez, and wrap up Tuesday March 12. Go be a part of a jewel in Santa Fe's educational crown.
It’s gonna get cold cold cold cold cold
Yeah, we've been telling you for a few days, but it's still true: This weekend's gonna turn yucky. Whatever. We're fine. We don't want to talk about it.
Thanks for reading! The Word knows how much you love your daily news digest (aw shucks), but how about a weekly environmental digest? Those interested in that kind of stuff should head over to NM Political Report where the NM Environment Review keeps you updated.