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DA settles Facebook dispute
District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies has agreed to pay local real estate investor Aaron Borrego $25,000 to settle the lawsuit Borrego filed last year when he was blocked from the DA’s Facebook page, which he alleged violated his right to free speech. In an email to the Santa Fe New Mexican, Borrego writes: “It is clear that the District Attorney believes our laws do not apply to her. Thankfully, the courts and corresponding settlements prove otherwise.” Borrego criticized the DA’s handling of the cases related to the destruction of the Plaza obelisk, he says, and his comments on the DA’s Facebook page were deleted and he was blocked. Borrego says he will donate the money to local charities as well as Carmack-Altwies’ opponent the next time she’s up for re-election. Carmack-Altwies did not respond to a request for comment from the paper, but her spokeswoman said the DA was advised by the state’s Risk Management division that “despite there being legal and factual defenses…a smaller settlement cost outweighed that of an expensive litigation process” as a factor for the settlement, which she said would show no admission of guilt on the DA’s part. Borrego has filed two other cases against the DA’s office, both relating to public records requests, both of which have been decided by the courts in his favor.
Emergency fire funds add up
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has authorized nearly $60 million in emergency funds for firefighting efforts this year, the Albuquerque Journal reports, figures that figured into a discussion about the allocation of such funds by lawmakers during yesterday’s Legislative Finance Committee meeting. Committee Vice Chair Sen. George Muñoz, D-Gallup, expressed concern about the potential for emergency funding to be mis-used, as well as underspent. The governor’s press secretary, Nora Meyers Sackett, defended Lujan Grisham’s use of the funds to the Journal, in particular for the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire caused by the US Forest Service: “While we have every confidence that the state will be fully reimbursed by the federal government due to the governor’s successful effort to secure 100% federal reimbursement, it was essential that state firefighting efforts be funded in order to continue, and I assure you that New Mexicans affected by wildfires would agree with that need.” The total cost to the state for recovery and remediation from the fire season remains to be seen, according to New Mexico Homeland Security and Emergency Management Department Deputy Secretary Kelly Hamilton, who told the committee: “I can’t even imagine what it is and what it is going to be.”
Politics & crime, writ large
New Mexico appears this week in several magazines examining national trends, including a long form story from the New York Times magazine that delves into the “Stop the Steal” movement among right-wing voters. “How ‘Stop the Steal’ Captured the American Right” includes Otero County Commissioner and Cowboys for Trump Founder Couy Griffin’s arrest and conviction for trespassing during the Jan. 6 riot, and the county’s subsequent refusal to certify the June 7 primary election results, with quotes from both Griffin and Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver about Griffin’s mistrust of the electoral process. Toulouse Oliver, the story notes, will face Republican Audrey Trujillo in the Nov. 8 general election; Trujillo also does not believe Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election. Griffin described Trujillo to the Times as a “great friend” and a “great patriot.” Toulouse Oliver went to the state Supreme Court when Otero County refused to certify its election. Trujillo, Griffin says, “would be willing to at least consider the position of the county commission board.”The Atlantic magazine and ProPublica, meanwhile teamed up to compare how two US cities—Albuquerque and Wichita—handled court closures during the pandemic. In the case of Albuquerque, courts closed, cases were delayed and the city last year had the highest number of homicides in its history. Wichita, on the other hand, found ways to continue operating and saw a drop in homicides last year, bucking a national trend.
COVID-19 by the numbers
New cases: 907; 580,887 total cases
Deaths: 37; Santa Fe County had 325 total deaths; there have been 8,116 total fatalities statewide. Statewide hospitalizations: 189. Patients on ventilators: 19.
Case rates: According to the state health department’s most recent report on geographical trends, for the seven-day period of July 11-17, Grant County had the highest daily case rate per 100,000 population: 70.8, followed by Lincoln County at 68.3 and Quay County at 68.1; Santa Fe County’s case rate was 44.3, up from 42.4 the week prior.
Community levels: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s weekly community levels report, which uses case rates along with two hospital metrics in combination for its framework, for the seven-day period of July 7-13, seven counties—down from 11 last week—have “red” or high levels. After two weeks of high levels, Santa Fe County has decreased to “yellow” or medium levels. Nine counties have “green” or low levels and the rest are medium. The CDC’s recommendations include indoor masking for people living in counties with high community levels. The remainder of its recommendations 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. Vaccines for children: Parents of children ages 6 months to 5 years can now schedule appointments for vaccinations at VaccineNM.org.
You can read all of SFR’s COVID-19 coverage here.
Listen up
The Growing Forward podcast finishes its two-part series on the challenges Native American tribes and pueblos navigating New Mexico’s nascent cannabis industry. The second part of “Don’t Call It a Compact” examines the intergovernmental agreements Pojoaque and Picuris Pueblos signed with the state, this time focusing on Picuris Pueblo in a conversation between hosts Megan Kamerick and Andy Lyman with Gov. Craig Quanchello. For even more of the latest cannabis news, don’t miss SFR’s most recent Leaf Brief, which has the skinny on Santa Fe’s first cannabis delivery service, Deep Sky Cannabis.
It’s hot! Let’s eat (and drink)
The heat sent us looking for cooling grub-related ideas and we didn’t have to look far. We had missed New Mexico Magazine’s feature on paletas last month, but icy treats are even more needed now. And since we were already planning a trip to the Santa Fe Farmers Market this weekend, now we can add a stop to pick up some lemon thyme turnips from Alima Lopez’s company The Pickle Jar. We also like the sound of all those flavored mustards. Given the abundance of stone fruit this time of year, be sure to check out all the ways Edible New Mexico has offered to use up the bounty. Stone fruit salsa? Yes. Stone fruit pizza? Why not? Stone fruit gazpacho? We’re game to try it all. We’ve also added this Pineapple Habanero Margarita recipe courtesy of Paloma mixologist Andrea Duran, featured in Table Magazine New Mexico, to our bucket cocktail list.
So much to see here
Shondaland features Las Vegas, NM in its roundup of six off-the-beaten destinations in the West, part of its “traveling well” series, a list of “six unexpected places to explore whether you’re interested in surf, sun, sand, or a really great glass of wine.” While Las Vegas, the story says, “is not as world renowned as the nearby Santa Fe,” the city is “big on emerging artists,” and includes recommendations for historic Plaza Hotel, art gallery El Zócalo Cooperative and a shout-out for United World College, where “art patron Virginia Dwan’s eponymous Light Sanctuary is embedded with prisms designed by solar-spectrum artist Charles Ross to ensnare every last beam of the day, splintering the rays onto the building’s hallowed interior like rainbow confetti.” The Travel also features New Mexico in its story on ten historic sites worth visiting here, which includes Gila Cliff Dwellings, Los Luceros Historic Site and closer to home, the New Mexico History Museum.
Hot and stormy
The National Weather Service says Santa Fe’s chances for rain and storms increases to 40% today and tonight, primarily after 3 pm today and before midnight tonight. Otherwise, it should be partly sunny with a high temperature near 96 degrees and north wind 5 to 15 mph becoming west in the morning. The state health department yesterday issued an advisory reminding “anyone living or visiting New Mexico of the dangers and symptoms of heat-related illnesses” as much of the state experiences record-breaking temperatures. According to DOH, statewide, there have been 94 heat-related visits to hospital emergency rooms statewide between July 1-18. You can find more information about heat-related illnesses here.
Thanks for reading! The Word is distracting herself from the heat by looking at photos of beautiful swimming pools (one of which she has actually visited).
