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Morning Word
Gov. declares violence public health emergency
As Albuquerque police seek tips about a road-rage shooting that killed an 11-year-old boy and put his aunt in critical condition after the family left an Isotopes game Wednesday night, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has declared gun violence a new public health emergency via executive order. The governor also wrote a letter to US Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday asking the Department of Justice to “assist in curbing the escalating violence and drug and human-trafficking activity that is ravaging our great state” by sending law enforcement agents. “As I have stated previously, both the nature and volume of these crimes require focused attention from the federal government. Allocating additional federal resources to New Mexico would not only benefit our State but also the region and the entire country, cutting off vast criminal networks at their source.” The shooting took place just before 9 pm, and apparently began with “some type of altercation,” possibly when the car in which the child was riding made a U-turn in front of a suspect’s vehicle, said Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina during a Thursday morning news conference. Medina said someone fired 17 shots at the family’s SUV near the intersection of Avenida Cesar Chavez and University Boulevard and 14 bullets hit the vehicle, with one striking the child in the front seat in the head. “We are asking for the public’s help in this...if somebody has seen something or somebody knows something, we ask that you notify law enforcement and you let us know,” Medina said. Police are looking for a dark-colored Dodge Durango SRT and asked those with information to contact (505) 843-STOP. “This is a nightmare experience for that family and I think in many ways for our city,” said Mayor Tim Keller, who noted the incident marked the fifth road rage shooting death in a year in the city. “This is the kind of thing that never, ever, ever should happen in America or New Mexico or Albuquerque or anywhere else.”
Abortions increase in NM and other states near bans
A new study indicates the number of abortions has increased in states bordering those with bans on the medical service. New Mexico released figures in June indicating an increase in abortions in the state one year after the US Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision upended abortion access nationwide. On Thursday, the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organization focused on sexual and reproductive health, launched a dashboard to estimate the number of abortions provided in the United States each month. It shows New Mexico, which had a 220% increase in abortions in the first half of 2023 compared with 2020, and Wyoming, which had a 202% increase, had the highest percentage of increase in abortions. The study, the institute reports, represents estimates of the number of abortions provided within the formal health care system, including procedural and medication abortions provided at clinics or doctor’s offices, as well as medication abortions provided via telehealth and virtual providers. Abortions increased nationwide, which suggests, according to The New York Times, “thousands of women have crossed state lines to obtain an abortion in the face of restrictions at home. It also indicates a rise in abortions among those living in states where the procedure is legal.” This week SFR explored reports that people are also traveling to New Mexico to access gender-affirming medical care, now banned in 20 states including Texas.
Lawmaker files Supreme Court writ over tax vetoes
Attorney and former state Sen. Jacob Candelaria filed a writ Wednesday on behalf of Rep. Miguel Garcia, D-Albuquerque, asking the state Supreme Court to declare unconstitutional all of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s line item vetoes to House Bill 547 and to order the New Mexico Compilation Commission to publish the final version of the bill as passed by the Legislature. “H.B. 547 is a tax bill. It is not a bill that appropriates money and the Governor cannot line item veto a single word from the bill. The Governor exceeded her limited line item veto authority by striking the vast majority of the bill, including tax proposals that would exempt more Social Security retirement income from State Income Tax,” Candelaria says in a statement. “The Governor’s actions are an affront to the separation of powers that underpins our State government, and unlawfully encroach on the Legislature’s power to appropriate public money.” In April, Lujan Grisham issued a news release explaining her position on vetoing significant portions of the Legislature’s tax package. “We can and should consider permanent and meaningful tax reform, but it must be accomplished in a fiscally responsible manner that will not jeopardize the state’s future,” the statement from Lujan Grisham said. “We are fortunate to have record revenues right now, but we know from past experience that this won’t last forever.” Caroline Sweeney, the governor’s spokeswoman, tells SFR late Thursday, “We take lawsuits filed against our office seriously and respect New Mexicans’ right to use the judicial system when seeking change. We anticipate, however, that this suit will be dismissed after review by a judge.”
State Fair and Santa Fe Fiestas welcome visitors
Yesterday marked the beginning of the State Fair, which runs through Sept. 17 at Expo New Mexico. Today’s events include the Beef Jerky Showdown, and The Battle of the Salsas goes down Saturday. “The spice-tacular battle will take place at 1 pm Saturday, Sept. 9 in the Agriculture Building Courtyard, and the first 200 people in attendance will serve as judges. Each judge will be provided with individually packaged salsa samples, a bag of tortilla chips and a ballot. After the judges try all the salsas, cast their votes and submit their ballots, the results will be tallied, and the top three winners will be announced as the most enchanting salsas in the land,” reads an announcement from the state Department of Agriculture. For more information, visit the State Fair website here. It’s also the final weekend of Fiestas de Santa Fe, and City Hall will close early, along with libraries, Municipal Court, city recreation centers and senior centers. Find the Fiestas schedule, including parades, here.
Listen up
Yes, the Santa Fe Opera’s 66th season has come to an end, but a little time remains to catch free live recordings of the final three operas: Claude Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande through Sept. 13; Antonín Dvořák’s Rusalka through Sept. 20; and Claudio Monteverdi’s Orfeo, available until Sept. 27—all through the Santa Fe Opera’s partnership with 95.5 KHFM Classical Public Radio, which also has the final three operas available on-demand for free. The Santa Fe Opera’s Opera in the Park program also returns this weekend, with a free and public screening of Rusalka at 4:30 pm, Sunday, Sept. 10 at the Railyard Park.
All aboard
Autumn in New Mexico for many means hot air balloons, changing leaves and long scenic train rides. Vacation By Rail’s Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta itinerary (sold out for 2023) combines all those fun fall elements and then some, Travel & Leisure magazine reports. Board in Chicago, San Francisco or any node along Amtrak’s California Zephyr route. The train takes riders through the Rocky Mountains, stops at Arches and Mesa Verde national parks and then on a ride on the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. Then comes Santa Fe, a historic walking tour, followed by the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque (Oct. 7-15). “The southwest in autumn is a wonderful time of year,” Vacations By Rail co-founder Todd Powell tells Travel + Leisure. “Summer heat makes way for milder temperatures, there are fewer visitors in the National Parks, and the changing colors of aspen, cottonwood, and willow trees make a colorful backdrop for hundreds of hot air balloons rising to the sky.” Plus the itinerary helps travelers check multiple items off their bucket lists, he notes: overnight train travel, national parks and two visits to the balloon festival, “once in the morning to experience the mass ascension as well as in the evening to see illuminated balloons during the night glow.” Speaking of trains, Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, which runs between Chama and Antonito, Colorado, landed on Travel Off Path’s roundup of the best train rides for fall views.
Staycation?
Santa Fe County made Sunset magazine’s 2023 winners list for the Where to Go: Best Destinations category. “The quintessential high-desert New Mexico destination manages to encompass a world-class opera, ski resorts and spas, art and culture, and nature and history,” Sunset writes. “And it continues to evolve with immersive experiences like Meow Wolf and the new Sky Railway offering themed train rides.” We will endeavor to review the 20 or so other categories in this contest (from wellness getaways to craft cocktails) over the weekend and report back if other New Mexico locales placed as well. Fortunately, Santa Fe and New Mexico also make great staycation destinations, as language learning platform Promova recently released a new survey on Americans’ summer travel plans and attitudes toward travel that ranked New Mexico last for the percentage of residents intending to travel abroad. New Mexico ranked better when it came to anxiety about not being understood in foreign countries (44th, with only 27.2% of residents expressing qualms about such a scenario; Nebraska, numero uno for that category, had 64.2% of residents worried about not being able to communicate). Only about 18% of New Mexico residents bother to learn basic phrases in the language of a country they’re visiting, placing us toward the bottom again (45th). Hawaii residents, on the other hand, came in first, with 75% doing so (The Word has amassed several useful phrases for international travel, the top ones being: Je voudrais un verre de vin rouge and Ich spreche kein Deutsch). Yet only 12.5% of New Mexicans thought English sufficed as a language for international travel—only Nebraskans had a lower percentage (10%) In Iowa, however, 66.6% of residents thought English was good enough.
Sunny September
The National Weather Service forecasts another sunny day, with a high near 88 and northwest wind of 10 mph becoming west in the afternoon. This weekend, there’s a slight chance of thundershowers Sunday afternoon.
Thanks for reading! Last year, The Word received as a gift an orphaned elephant adoption through the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, and now she likes to keep up with all the elephant happenings there.
