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Ethics complaint fans flames in sheriff’s race
A Santa Fe city police officer challenging the incumbent Santa Fe County sheriff in the primary election has filed a complaint with the State Ethics Commission. With early and absentee voting ongoing and final ballots to be cast just days away on Tuesday, June 7, the complaint from David Webb accuses Adan Mendoza of improperly displaying his badge and uniform in campaign materials. Webb’s complaint offers as evidence two flyers in which “Candidate Mendoza is appearing in his SFCSO uniform and badge of office in support of purely campaign-based photographs which is wholly unrelated to the official duties of the office of Santa Fe County as opposed to on-duty activity.” State law prohibits public officers form using “property belonging to a state agency or local government agency” for unauthorized purposes. The complaint also notes some of Mendoza’s ads omit “the candidates, committee or other person who authorized and paid for the advertisement.” Mendoza told the Santa Fe New Mexican on Wednesday that the complaint filed May 31 was “a last-ditch effort from my opponent to try and discredit my reputation.” Voters who are registered with one of the state’s three designated major parties are eligible to cast ballots in the election, with same-day registration also available. Many local races, including for sheriff, feature contests now and no opponents in the November general election. Find local voting details here and read all of SFR’s election coverage here.
Mapping NM wildfire
The New York Times takes a long and cartographic look at the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire in New Mexico, describing the largest fire in state history as one that reflects the “convergence” of numerous long-term trends: “a forest landscape overgrown after decades of aggressive fire suppression and parched by drought; springtime temperatures warmed by human-caused climate change—and more immediate dangers, like the relentless winds that have fanned the flames.” Charts and maps show how New Mexico’s fire season began earlier this year than in years past, and they depict historic temperature and precipitation levels (spoiler alert: It’s been hotter and drier than usual). The story also runs through the US Forest Service’s role in the fire (Hermits Peak started as the result of a prescribed burn; Calf Canyon as a result of a dormant pile burn). While experts and fire ecologists to whom the Times spoke support the Forest Service’s 90-day pause and review of prescribed burns, they also stress the importance of them to avoid catastrophic wildfires. “Many of these forests, naturally speaking, are adapted to burn,” Blanca Cespedes, a fire ecologist at New Mexico Highlands University, tells the Times. “Fire suppression policies have allowed us to live in this territory, but also created a forest that is hyper-dense in fuels.” As of last night, Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon had reached 315,830 acres and 54% containment.
Historic train slows its roll
Fire danger has led the bi-state board that oversees the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad to delay its planned June 11 opening until at least July 1. The historic trains are powered by burning coal that creates steam and also presents a fire hazard. Even though the railroad, which recreates conditions passengers experienced in the late 1800s and early 1900s, has a fire-protection plan that includes a vehicle following the excursion line to watch for blown-out cinders, commissioners said the risk is too high right now. “In 50+ years of operation, the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad has maintained an excellent safety record and established a hard-earned reputation for a proactive and vigorous approach to fire safety,” Scott Gibbs, president/CEO of the railroad, said in a statement after an emergency meeting Wednesday night. “It was a difficult—but vital—decision to proactively postpone our start date. Our mission is to preserve an important part of our nation’s history, while ensuring the safety of our passengers, employees, local communities and the environment through which we travel.” The train is a habitual winner in the USA Today Readers Choice, where it picked up the No. 1 spot as “Best Scenic Train Ride” the last for years running. Voting for this year has wrapped and the winners are set to be revealed Friday. SFR featured the railroad—jointly owned by the states of New Mexico and Colorado—on the cover last year.
COVID-19 by the numbers
New cases: 561; 536,571 total cases
Deaths: Six; at last count, Santa Fe County had 298 total deaths; there have been 7,797 total fatalities statewide. Hospitalizations: 130. Patients on ventilators: 18
Case rates: According to the most recent DOH report on geographical trends for COVID-19, Mora County has the highest daily case rate per 100,000 population for the seven-day period of May 23-29: 50.1, followed by Santa Fe County with 44.7 and Grant County with 44.1.
Vaccination break-through report: After discontinuing a four-week look at vaccination breakthrough at the end of April, DOH this week once again began reporting COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths for the last four weeks, with the caveat that “trends in reported case rates by vaccination status have become difficult to interpret due to differences in the vaccination categories (unvaccinated, primary series completed, primary series completed with booster) by a number of factors that affect the risk of having a positive result reported to NMDOH, including behaviors that increase exposure to the virus, testing practices, prior infection and time since last vaccine dose. Surveillance data are unable to control for all of these factors, making them inaccurate for interpreting vaccine effectiveness.” That being said, between May 2-30, 44.8% of cases were among those who completed a primary series with a booster; 36% were among the unvaccinated; and 19.2% were among those who completed a primary series without a booster. For hospitalizations, the percentages are: 39.3% for the unvaccinated; 38.3% for vaccinated with a booster; and 22.4% for a primary series without a booster. For deaths, the percentages were: 50% among the unvaccinated; 28.6% for a primary series without a booster; and 21.4% for primary series with a booster.
Community levels: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “community levels” tracking system—which uses case rates along with two hospital metrics in combination to determine the state of the virus on a county level—classifies nine NM counties as “yellow” or medium for risk: Santa Fe, Rio Arriba, Los Alamos, Sandoval, Bernalillo, Cibola, De Baca, Grant, and Doña Ana counties. The rest of the state remains “green” for low community levels. The CDC updates its community levels on Thursdays. CDC recommendations for individuals and communities based on the community level rankings can be found here.
Resources: Vaccine registration; Booster registration Free at-home rapid antigen tests; Self-report a positive COVID-19 test result to the health department; COVID-19 treatment info: oral treatments Paxlovid (age 12+) and Molnupiravir (age 18+); and monoclonal antibody treatments. Toolkit for immunocompromised individuals. People seeking treatment who do not have a medical provider can call NMDOH’s COVID-19 hotline at 1-855-600-3453.
You can read all of SFR’s COVID-19 coverage here.
Listen up
At 8 am today, KUNM’s Let’s Talk New Mexico takes on a topic impacting schools across the state: the teacher shortage. Guests will discuss the short- and long-term solutions on the table, which have thus far included a call for substitute teachers, raises and less paperwork, to name a few initiatives. Guests on the show will include: Alan Mather, president of the Golden Apple Foundation; Mandi Torrez, Public Education Department teacher liaison and 2020 teacher of the year; University of New Mexico Associate Professor in Secondary Education Mia Sosa-Provencio; and Layla Dehaiman, PED’s assistant director of educator quality. Whether you’re a current or retired teacher, parent or student, email or call in live with your comments to LetsTalk@kunm.org/ (505)277-5866.
Protecting Indian Country
Yes! magazine spotlights the work of the New Mexico-based Pueblo Action Alliance, with a specific focus on its #WaterBack campaign, part of a growing #Landback initiative to “reclaim ancestral landscapes and protect the sacred and cultural resources.” Much of the alliance’s work has concentrated on protecting the Greater Chaco area. But the issue of water justice, Yes! writes, extends beyond specific initiatives and has sparked the alliance to develop “a paradigm shift that integrates traditional Pueblo values into business.” The organization’s own structure, Director Julia Fay Bernal says, is centered on pueblo values. The story also includes a profile of the Florida-based Native American-founded and women-led organization The NDN Companies, an environmental consulting company created, founder Shawna Newman says, out of “a desire to provide environmental assistance and education throughout Indian Country.” While the organizations take different approaches to their advocacy for Indigenous communities, the story concludes, both “draw attention to the unique ways in which tribes are impacted by extractive industries and infrastructure. They provide visibility to Indigenous peoples who have been stewards of ancestral landscapes, such as Chaco Canyon, since time immemorial. Most importantly, they challenge the historic norms of tribal consultation, giving voice to those who understand the sacredness of the tribes’ most precious resource.”
Animal stories
ICYMI, Fox’s Weather Channel recently covered Española Humane’s story about the seven puppies rescued from the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire (all quickly found homes, five with the National Guard members who helped save them). And as long as we’re highlighting rescued animals, the baby elk firefighters saved last month—Cinder—also made the national news. But most of what the local animal shelters have been doing behind the scenes has been less photogenic. In his monthly column for SFR, “Heavy Petting,” Santa Fe Animal Shelter and Humane Society CEO Jack Hagerman talks about the challenges the organization faced in aiding evacuated animals when the shelter was already over capacity with Santa Fe animals. “How do you take in more animals when you’re already packed to the gills?” Hagerman writes. “By calling in favors with friends outside of the area, that’s how!” Ultimately, Santa Fe’s shelter received assists from other shelters in New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Texas, as well as the National Guard, ASPCA and The Humane Society of the United States. Hagerman offers tips for pet owners to prepare for the worst, noting: “The almost unimaginable devastation serves as a reminder that we must protect what is most precious–our lives and the lives of our loved ones, including our animal companions.”
Slim chance, but a chance
Santa Fe might see isolated showers and thunderstorms after 3 pm today, according to the National Weather Service, which also forecasts a mostly sunny day with a high near 76 and southeast wind 10 to 15 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon.
Thanks for reading! The Word spent approximately 20 minutes sifting through the comments on Matt Shirley’s recent chart of every state’s most over-rated city, which included numerous folks pointing out Cape Cod isn’t a city, and at least four people defending Santa Fe.
