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Morning Word
Dems air doubts on special session
In a news conference yesterday at the state Capitol, Democratic leadership expressed concerns about the special session scheduled to start July 18, which Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has called to address public safety issues, with proposals that include bills on involuntary commitment and median loitering. “There are critical voices that still need to be brought to the table and consulted with, including our behavioral health provider community, law enforcement, the courts and civil rights advocates,” President Pro Tem Sen. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, said. Along similar lines, last week, the ACLU of New Mexico; EQNM; Bold Futures NM and the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness—along with 37 other organizations and mental health experts—sent the governor a letter expressing concerns about the expected proposals. In a joint statement following yesterday’s news conference, Stewart, along with House Speaker Javier Martínez, D-Albuquerque, House Majority Floor Leader Gail Chasey, D-Albuquerque, and Senate Majority Floor Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, say after several weeks of meeting with law enforcement, behavioral healthcare providers, disability rights groups, community leaders and other subject matter experts, “We still have deep and serious concerns that the legislation proposed for this special session would have unintended consequences on New Mexicans, especially for those most vulnerable, and their liberties.” Nonetheless, Lujan Grisham’s Communications Director Michael Coleman tells SFR the governor is “not going to back off or drop this legislation” despite concerns from lawmakers. “We’re not changing our plans for the special session, and she wants to go full steam ahead on these bills,” Coleman says, noting Lujan Grisham is open to changes in bill language. “She feels that public safety is too important to wait.”
DA “disappointed” with Baldwin case dismissal
Following First Judicial District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer’s July 12 dismissal with prejudice of the involuntary manslaughter case against Rust star Alec Baldwin, District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies says she’s “disappointed” in the outcome. A statement from her office notes Special Prosecutor Kari Morrissey’s “appointment and oath are still in place” for any future legal proceedings related to former Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s case. “Our goal from the beginning was to seek justice for Halyna Hutchins, and we fought to get this case tried on its merits,” Carmack-Altwies says in a provided statement. “There is no better advocate than Kari Morrissey to see the Hannah Gutierrez-Reed cases through.” Beyond that sentiment, the district attorney will not be giving interviews regarding Rust or providing additional statements “until our office has had sufficient time to evaluate what occurred last week and how we plan to move forward,” First Judicial District spokesperson Nathan Lederman says. The end of the Baldwin case, some legal experts say, capped a prosecution riddled with errors. Former federal prosecutor and current president of the Los Angeles-based West Coast Trial Lawyers Neama Rahmani, who also teaches at his alma mater Harvard Law School, tells SFR he would grade prosecutors’ handling of the case “an F minus” from the beginning. “It is the worst handled case in my more than 20-year career as a lawyer and a former prosecutor. I’ve never seen a case botched like this,” he says.
Heinrich pushes more early childhood investment
New Mexico voters’ overwhelming approval of a constitutional amendment in 2022 opened doors to affordable child care for working families. Now, community advocates and legislators are looking at ways to strengthen early childhood care in the state, chief among them being workforce development and additional support for families and child care providers. To hear some of those ideas, yesterday US Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-NM, hosted a roundtable discussion with child care providers, educators and community leaders from the Albuquerque-based Partnership for Community Action, at which he promoted a proposed expansion to the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit that would increase the maximum credit of $2,158 per child to $4,000. In an interview with SFR, Heinrich said that the limitations child care facilities face in growing capacity have been largely financial, and that he believes giving these facilities more access to state funding and working with community financial institutions for access to more capital could help expand their capacities and serve more children.”We’re going to have to work through all of those things to make sure that we maximize how these businesses can grow over time,” Heinrich says.
Film Office touts economic benefits for FY24
Despite the Hollywood film strike shutting down close to 150 productions, the state Film Office yesterday said the industry surpassed $740 million in direct production spending in the 2024 fiscal year. According to a news release from the state Economic Development Department, direct spending by film and television productions has totaled more than $4 billion since 2018, and the film tax credit generated nearly $1 billion per year between FY20 and FY24. In addition, the median hourly wage for full-time New Mexico crew members hit a record high of $36.75 in FY24, and the rural production spend increased by 88.6% from FY23 after the film tax credit doubled for productions working outside the Albuquerque/Santa Fe urban corridor. The news release also notes the high-profile successes of specific local productions, such as Peacock’s Poker Face, Showtime’s The Curse and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. “Our work in enriching the film tax credit proves the film industry isn’t just about entertainment; it’s a cornerstone of our economy, enriching lives and bringing prosperity statewide,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement.
Listen Up
What is lyfe, anyway? No, that’s not a typo but, rather, the name computational biologist and Yale University Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Assistant Professor C. Brandon Ogbunu uses to describe a new framework for understanding biology as part of his work investigating biological systems through the lenses of “history, context, environment, nonlinearity, and narrative.” Ogbunu, a Santa Fe Institute external professor, will deliver a free lecture titled “What Is Lyfe? Towards a Biology of Context & Complexity” at 7:30 pm tonight at the Lensic Performing Arts Center and online via SFI’s YouTube channel.
Let them eat dog food
Forbes magazine spotlights The Art of Canine Cuisine, a book for dog-owning foodies that explores “unique recipes from around the world, all vet-approved for your dog’s safety.” Author Deborah Davis, who is also a movie producer, set about the project after COVID-19 shut down movie production, she says. “I put together the team of designers, photographers, and hired the phenomenal cookbook editor who worked for Martha Stewart and Oprah Winfrey, to name a few,” she tells Forbes. “The goal was to create a one-of-a-kind art, photography, and cookbook to use in the kitchen but also have the quality to be displayed in any home or hotel lobby in the same manner as classic hard cover fine art books.” She is currently working on a new menu in collaboration with—wait for it—Bishop’s Lodge Auberge Resorts Collection Chef Diego Sobrino here in Santa Fe, offered for in-room dining. “Growing up on a farm, I have always been surrounded by animals and had multiple dogs throughout my life,” Sobrino tells Forbes. His favorite recipe from Davis’ book? The carne asada. And, yes, people may enjoy the dog food as well. “All my recipes came from the dishes I always made for friends and family with new adjustments and inventions to allow humans and dogs to eat the same food,” Davis says.
No place like home
The UK’s Daily Mail spotlights 34-year-old Courtney McIntosh’s new gig and digs as a fire lookout in the Santa Fe National Forest, where she’s been living since April in a 14-by-14-foot space with electricity, but no running water. She lives there with her dog, Captain Pepperoni, and monitors the weather, cloud cover and other atmospheric conditions from 8 am to 6 pm. Her main job, of course, is alerting the Forest Service for signs of smoke; her post lasts until September 2025. She fills up water jugs at a ranger station an hour away, and shops for groceries at the nearest stories 35 miles away. In her spare time, she’s hiking, listening to music and catching up on chores. ‘I was looking to get out of the service industry,” she tells the paper. “I wanted to be isolated when I came across a TikToker who was living in a fire lookout. I asked them for advice, looked around different districts and applied for roles until I got this job. I really enjoy the solitude I get in the job, I enjoy reconnecting with the land and it gives you a lot of free time. I love knowing that I am taking care of the land.” She began applying in September 2022 and it took two tries before she was hired, she says. Santa Fe National Forest’s next “fire hire” starts Aug. 23.
Fire and rain
Speaking of fire, the Santa Fe National Forest reports an increase in wildfire activity. “What is occurring recently is pretty much the summer monsoonal pattern,” Southwest Coordination Center Meteorologist Richard Nade says in a statement, noting last week had a few dry days, but “wetting rainfall activity” should pick up this week. “We will still see lightning activity, but it should be coupled with that increased moisture,” he says. Today, the National Weather Service forecasts a 30% chance for precipitation, via scattered showers and thunderstorms primarily after 3 pm. Otherwise, it will be increasingly cloudy, with a high temperature near 92 degrees. The rest of the week, at present, looks rainy, with a flood watch in effect tomorrow.
Thanks for reading! The Word started the week listening/watching The Wiz’s new cast perform for the Tiny Desk.
