Lack of care
A 25-year-old transgender woman from El Salvador has died after being released from an immigration facility in New Mexico. Johana Medina Leon died in a hospital in El Paso; she had requested asylum on April 11, and had been locked up since then. She passed her first test in the asylum process, a credible fear assessment, and the day after she was paroled, she complained of chest pains and asked a hospital for an HIV test. The test was positive. Allegra Love, an immigrant rights lawyer, said Medina Leon should have been treated during the seven weeks she was detained.
And all that jazz
The New Mexico School for the Arts has ousted a member of its music faculty ($ TNM). Orlando Madrid, known as a teacher at NMSA and as a jazz musician around town, issued an announcement that said NMSA students won awards at a jazz festival in New York. Then the Journal North found out that the festival does not give out awards. Madrid said he fabricated the awards because he thought it would help with fundraising. (For the record, the Word would like to congratulate NMSA kids on their immense talent—this doesn't reflect on them, and if there were awards, they for sure would have taken a bunch home.)
Poof, it’s gone
And just like that, a lawsuit disappeared. Well, kind of. The City of Albuquerque sued the company that was supposed to make electric buses for the ill-fated, infamous ART bus system, but it appears both sides have walked away, without any settlement money changing hands. (The ART project is still reportedly going forward, by the way, but with diesel buses.)
Get your produce fix
The Santa Fe Community Farm, now renamed Reunity Farm, reopens this evening ($ TNM) at 6 pm with a grand celebration. The farm, which has been revitalized by Reunity Resources after a few unsure years following the death of its founder in 2017, is going to once again sell produce at the Farmers Market. The farm itself will be open from 10 am-3 pm Saturdays and 3 pm-7 pm Tuesdays. Go visit the fine folks of San Ysidro Crossing.
Respecting nature
The weather has had some negative consequences for some ranchers in the Four Corners area, as a poisonous plant that kills cows has proliferated in the wet season. Tall mountain larkspur is beautiful, but full of alkaloid, and about 15 cows have died of suspected poisoning. Navajo Botanist Arnold Clifford told the Albuquerque Journal, "In a way, the holy plant people are probably sending us a message by increasing their numbers to cause these hardships in order for livestock producers to have more care and respect for the land."
Be safe out there
The man suspected of killing a 23-year-old UNM baseball player has pleaded not guilty. In talking about violence at or near the university, Daily Lobo writer Danielle Prokop breaks down the crime rates on campus: reports of sexual assault are up 21%, aggravated assault by 58% and stalking by 26% from 2016 to 2017.
Safety first
Depending on where you were in town yesterday, it was either sunny, a little cloudy, or violently hailing. Threats of such events continue today, so maybe wear a hail helmet if you have to go out. The wild storms should chill out and become just normal rain tomorrow.
Thanks for reading! The Word got distracted just now by wild storm pics from yesterday shared on the Albuquerque National Weather Service's Twitter.
