artdirector@sfreporter.com
Morning Word
Big improvements for bicyclists, pedestrians could be on the way
The City of Santa Fe Finance Committee is set to consider a resolution at its meeting this evening from District 2 Councilor Mike Garcia that would adopt the city’s Bicycling and Pedestrian Advisory Committee’s recommendations for funding, inventory and consistent maintenance of pedestrian and bicycle facilities. Those facilities include crosswalks, bike lanes, sidewalks and trails. A fiscal impact report details a one-time $860,000 cost as well as $2.2 million in recurrent costs. “If no plan is funded or implemented,” the report notes, “then maintenance would be intermittent, leaving the pedestrian and bicycle facilities in poor condition. Intermittent maintenance of the city’s bicycle and pedestrian use-systems can prevent non-driving public from accessing essential services, can slow adoption of low-carbon multimodal transportation options, and could result in more frequent accidents.” According to a memo accompanying the resolution, BPAC developed it “after seeing unsafe conditions persist on bike lanes, trails and sidewalks in Santa Fe for years.” In addition to a letter of support from Bike Santa Fe, the resolution also has support from the Mayor’s Committee on Disability, which notes that the resolution also “provides the infrastructure to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act to maintain and upgrade inaccessible or obstructed sidewalks and pathways.” If adopted by the Finance Committee tonight, the resolution will then proceed to the full City Council on Wednesday.
Witness: former Rust armorer removed items from set
Prosecutors on Friday introduced witness testimony pointing to former Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s alleged drug use and removal of items from the set following the fatal Oct. 21 shooting that killed cinematographer Haylna Hutchins. Cell phone analysis company Hawks Consulting owner Jason Hawks testified about the data extraction from Gutierrez-Reed’s iPhone, which included texts from the defendant, who was 24 at the time of the shooting, reading: “Right on I might go smoke in the jacuzzi soon but maybe not I’m so pooped” and “headed down to get high out back…” Former Rust unit production manager Katherine Row Walters testified that Gutierrez-Reed had removed a gun belt and other items from the set. Row Walters also said accidental gun discharges had occurred on set prior to the shooting, the latter a point noted in the state’s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau’s Rust investigation report, which also said both Row Walters and Line Producer Gabrielle Pickle had “ignored concerns of firearm misfires on set,” according to statements taken by OSHA. Defense attorney Jason Bowles used Row Walters’ testimony Friday to bolster his argument that evidence in the case had not been well controlled. Gutierrez-Reed faces charges of involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering in the case, and faces up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine. The trial for Rust star and producer Alec Baldwin, who also faces involuntary manslaughter charges, has not yet been set, but is likely to take place this summer. Gutierrez-Reed’s trial continues this morning and is expected to last through March 8.
SFPS, Care Solace partner on behavioral health services
Santa Fe Public Schools on Friday announced a new collaboration with mental-health coordinator Care Solace to provide expanded access to mental health and substance abuse treatment. According to a news release, the new partnership includes access for SFPS students, staff and family to 24/7/365 multilingual support; access to care regardless of insurance; and use of several trademarked services provided by Care Solace. The latter include: “Care Loop Warm Hand-Off Referral,” through which SFPS staff can submit referrals for care on a student’s behalf and Care Solace will navigate the mental health care system and provide “real-time updates”; and the “Care Match” self-service tool for folks who want to preserve their anonymity while searching for care. “SFPS is greatly appreciative of its new partnership with Care Solace, which will provide a critical option for ensuring the health and safety of students,” Superintendent Hilario “Larry” Chavez says in a statement. “There is no greater priority than our students’ social and emotional well being. Care Solace’s services are an important expansion of the resources available through SFPS to support youths and families.” According to a 2022 health department report on mental health in New Mexico—which appears to be the most recent one—the state had the fourth highest rate of suicide in the US in 2020. According to the most recent Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey, 41.8% of Santa Fe County high school students reported feeling sad or hopeless, while 30.2% reported frequent mental distress; both percentages are slightly lower than the overall state average. In terms of substance abuse, 19.7% reported current alcohol use; 23.8% reported cannabis use; and 7.6% reported improper pain medication use.
FCC Chair: New alert system could help missing Native people
A proposal to add a new “Missing and Endangered Persons” alert code to the nation’s Emergency Alert System could help address the crisis of missing and endangered Indigenous people, US Sen. Ben Ray Luján says in response to the proposal last week from Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. In introducing her proposal to the rest of the commission, which is slated to vote on it March 14, Rosenworcel in a statement likened the idea to the AMBER Alerts used by law enforcement “to help mobilize public attention and recover abducted children.” No similar alert for missing people, “particularly the thousands of missing native and Indigenous women who have disappeared from their homes never to be seen again,” exists, she noted, and the new alert code could close that gap. In a statement expressing support for the proposal, Luján, who chairs the US Senate Subcommittee on Communications, Media and Broadband, describes “violence against Native people” as a “crisis” from which “far too many families and communities have suffered as a result. The federal government must take more decisive action to properly notify their loved ones and locate these individuals to keep families together. I’m glad the FCC is taking necessary steps to establish an alert code for missing and endangered persons that will broadcast critical information that could save lives and prevent more harm to Native communities and Tribal Nations.”
Listen up
Looking for an ambitious outdoor adventure this spring? Consider the Four Corners Loop, a new 2,300-mile route incorporating the borders of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado, created by Kevin “The Animal” Koski, who hopes it will eventually become a new National Scenic Trail. On a recent episode of Backpacker Radio, Koski discusses how he mapped the trail, along with some of his favorite portions and towns in each state. In New Mexico, Koski climbed Wheeler Peak, visited Angel Fire and followed the southern Sangre de Cristos straight into Santa Fe, he says.
Billionaire shredders
Are billionaire owners good for ski resorts? That’s the non-rhetorical question posed by the Wall Street Journal, which begins its analysis at Taos Ski Valley, where a decade into billionaire hedge-fund manager Louis Bacon’s purchase of Taos Ski, most of his changes “are seen as positive by skiers like him: better snowmaking, increasing property values, two new high-speed quads that reach Taos’s steep, signature chutes several minutes faster. There’s a heated saltwater pool at the hotel, where penthouse suites rent for about $3,000 a night.” Bacon also could be considered a “trend setter,” as the first of many “deep-pocketed shredders who’ve staked considerable sums to get into the ski business.” Still, whether “these mogul-loving moguls are hailed as saviors or seen as powder-grabbing profiteers whose true motives are obscured by futuristic ski goggles and organizational layers depends largely on whom you ask,” and varies depending on how their takeovers impact access to the mountains and nearby property values. “If you’re a local and you’re income-challenged, you typically fight against what Louis Bacon has done for the resort,” Marc Harrell, a New-Mexico based founder of a reservation software company for ski resorts and other types of outdoor recreation companies (Taos Ski is not a client) tells WSJ. “People who are a bit [more] financially secure, we’re OK…We love everything they have done to raise up the resort.”
Charged up in New Mexico
Clean tech news site CleanTechnica turns its attention to New Mexico, where allegedly people are stealing copper from electric vehicle stations in order to sell it to buy fentanyl. New Mexico-based contributor Jennifer Sensiba writes: “While we need to solve the root of the drug problem, that’s a matter of public policy and it’s not something EV charging providers and the site hosts can fix. But, they can at least do something to discourage or prevent theft.” For instance: “getting a good camera angle on the chargers. There needs to be sufficient resolution to capture the face of the wrongdoers, so the camera can’t just be a wide angle of the lot. In some cases, the camera is going to need to go on the station itself or be right there. Also, lighting is critical.” Even better, she adds: “Somebody can keep an actual eyeball on the stations. If there’s not line of sight between the store’s clerk and the stations, the camera feed should at least be monitored by somebody who can raise the alarm.” In another post, Sensiba shares images from a friend of a new charging station in Truchas, which she describes as evidence that the problems depicted in the late John Nichols’ 1974 novel The Milagro Beanfield War continue today in terms of rural New Mexico receiving the shaft (we are paraphrasing). Sensiba actually cites the film, but to the same point: that being Truchas receiving charges Sensiba says are outdated and slow.
Earth, wind and fire (also rain)
The National Weather Service forecasts a 40% chance for rain and thunderstorms this afternoon and tonight in Santa Fe, on an otherwise cloudy day, with a high temperature near 60 degrees and west wind 10 to 20 mph increasing to 20 to 30 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 40 mph. Higher winds and temperatures—aka critical fire weather—expected in the eastern part of the state.
Thanks for reading! The Word estimates she listened to the first track on Mary Timony’s first solo album in 15 years approximately 100 times over the weekend.
