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Morning Word
COVID-19 by the numbers
New Mexico health officials yesterday reported 131 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the statewide total so far to 202,698. Bernalillo County had 34 new cases, followed by San Juan County with 27 and Doña Ana, Rio Arriba and Torrance counties each with eight new cases. Santa Fe County had seven cases, five from the Southside 87507 ZIP code, which was sixth highest in the state for new cases.
The state also announced five additional deaths from Bernalillo and San Juan counties, one of which took place more than 30 days prior. As of yesterday, 120 people were hospitalized with COVID-19.
Currently, 65% of New Mexicans have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 55.1% are fully vaccinated. In Santa Fe County, 73.5% have had at least one dose and 62.5% are fully inoculated.
You can read all of SFR’s COVID-19 coverage here. If you’ve had experiences with COVID-19, we would like to hear from you.
Lawsuit accuses governor of gendered pay discrimination
New Mexico’s former executive director of the state’s Educational Retirement Board filed suit in federal court yesterday accusing Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and other state officials of violating the state’s Fair Pay for Women Act by paying her less than her male counterparts. The lawsuit rests on the compensation disparity between Jan Goodwin, who left her position earlier this year after approximately 13 years, and Steve Moise, state investment officer at the State Investment Council. When hired, the suit says, Moise’s salary was over $100,000 more than Goodwin’s even though both jobs required “equal skill, effort and responsibility and were both performed under similar working conditions.” According to the Albuquerque Journal, Goodwin and Moise’s salaries—among the highest in state government—were $183,000 and $276,000, respectively.
The suit, brought by The Bennett Law Group (which previously brought a gender-discrimination case against Walmart) contends the disparity was known by Lujan Grisham’s administration, as well as the two prior administrations, but never rectified. “It appears that the current Governor and other named Defendants are giving discriminatory deference to Mr. Moise and concomitant disparagement to Ms. Goodwin because Mr. Moise is an older male, because Ms. Goodwin is a younger female close to the age of the Governor and because Ms. Goodwin is a Caucasian female, while the Governor is a Hispanic female who, by statute, is paid far less than Ms. Goodwin (thus also infusing the discrimination being perpetrated against Ms. Goodwin with a racially-motivated bias),” the suit says. The governor’s press secretary, Nora Meyers Sackett, told the Journal the suit’s claims are “entirely without merit.” The suit claims Goodwin was forced to resign as a result of the situation and take a job in New Hampshire, thus being separated from her family.
Neighborhood group appeals Zia Station approval
The Candlelight Neighborhood Association yesterday filed suit in District Court challenging the Santa Fe City Council’s April 8 vote approving the massive multi-use Zia Station development project. In its appeal, the neighborhood association argues the city’s “quasi-judicial” land-use application process favors developers and deprives residents of due process rights. “It is clear to us that developers are granted far more access to decision-makers than the average citizen, as well as special advantages, such as the use of visual aids. This is unjust. We are taking this action on behalf of both the citizens at large and the majority of residents within our neighborhood,” association President Ed “Aku” Oppenheimer said in a news release. The appeal also objects to the council’s decision to remove the project from the South-Central Highway Corridor ordinance, passed in 1986, which restricts building heights to less than three stories along St. Francis Drive.
NM Film Office announces two new productions
Yesterday, the New Mexico Film Office announced two short films are currently in production here. Two Roads—being produced in Albuquerque and Rio Rancho—is “a universal and relatable story about a person who questions his or her purpose and existence,” and will employ approximately 30 New Mexico crew members, two New Mexico cast members and 10 New Mexico extras. The film will star actors Michael Malarkey (The Vampire Diaries), Grasie Mercedes (Perfect Harmony), and Ian Fisher (Covert Affairs). “This will be my first time working behind the camera and I’m incredibly grateful to be filming in New Mexico, a place that I’ve called home the past three years while working on the TV series Roswell, New Mexico,” director Michael Trevino said in a statement. The Maid, a “story of a maid who shows up to clean a palatial home and discovers a darkness living inside that has no intention of letting her leave,” will shoot in Albuquerque and employ approximately 17 New Mexico crew members and five New Mexico cast members, including Frida Mercury (Briarpatch) and Danielle Louise Reddick. “We are very excited to produce The Maid this summer in New Mexico,” Executive Producer Caleb Silver said in a statement. “It has always been our dream to make films in the beautiful state we grew up in, and it is especially gratifying to be a part of the New Mexico filmmaking renaissance after the year we have been through.”
Listen up
The Santa Fe Art Institute launches the sixth and most recent episode of its Tilt podcast today, “Emergence,” in which, fittingly, three SFAI staff members emerge as the co-hosts of Tilt with new and exciting directions for the podcast. Residency Director Toni Gentilli, Works Manager Kourtney Andar and Strategic Initiatives Coordinator Nuttaphol Ma have a candid conversation about what they have been up to, the invisible labor of running a non-profit organization and the importance of working with care at the intersection of the arts and social justice.
Working for the weekend
The long holiday weekend provides plenty of opportunities for being out and about, some of which you will find in SFR’s weekly Picks. For example, Upstart Crows, Santa Fe’s youth Shakespeare theater company, will kick off live performances with The Tempest, that timeless tale of fathers, daughters, feral weirdos, betrayal, love, sadness, magic, murder and boats. Put on your theater duds for performances at 6:30 pm tonight and Sunday, May 30 (as well as June 3 and June 5) ($12) at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Santa Fe, 107 Barcelona Road, 982-9674. Canyon Road’s Turner Caroll Gallery also provides a rare chance to see work by Brooklyn-based multimedia maven Swoon (Caledonia Curry) in the exhibit, “Wholeness in Mind,” opening today at 4:30 pm. “She’s had trepidations about working with galleries because she was riding around [New York City] on her bicycle putting up murals,” Tonya Turner Caroll tells SFR about the show. “She likes to create happy surprises. We chose her. We asked ourselves who we’d want to embody our values and mission; where we’ve come from, the legacy we’ll take with us and what we’ll leave behind.”
Meow Wolf swiftly rebounding
Meow Wolf’s Las Vegas attraction Omega Mart is performing better than anticipated, Fast Company says, selling out at 50% and then 80% capacity as Nevada eases capacity restrictions. The company, the magazine writes, “is ready for a hot Vax summer,” following a “devastating” year that included shutting down Santa Fe’s House of Eternal Return and delaying the Vegas opening. In addition to big audiences, Meow Wolf says the Omega Mart “grocery store” has sold 4,801 “Orange Dream” Mocktails in the Datamosh Bar; more than 2,000 packs of “Doomed Expedition Gum;” and 3,551 bottles of “Omega Cola Soda.” “After months in lockdown, audiences are hungry for novel and unique, physically immersive, and creative experiences,” Ali Rubinstein, Meow Wolf’s chief creative officer and co-CEO, told Fast Company via email. “We’ve seen this in spades at both the Omega Mart and House of Eternal Return exhibitions. Both installations have exceeded expectations in terms of ticket sales and have been consistently sold out since opening earlier this year, illustrating the drive of visitors to experience something they can’t replicate at home or on a screen.”
Storms ahead
Today will, once again, be mostly sunny with a high near 81 degrees. However, we also have a 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon, and about the same percentage chance for storms tomorrow. Sunday, however, the stakes rise, with a 60% chance of precipitation and temps dropping to the high 70s. As for Memorial Day: a 70% chance of precipitation delivered with showers and thunderstorms and a high temperature near 69 degrees.
Thanks for reading! The Word returns Tuesday, June 1. Have a wonderful Memorial weekend—try to enjoy it as much as Monty the Humboldt penguin enjoyed his birthday at the Santa Barbara Zoo. If you need a rainy day activity, final voting for SFR’s 2021 Best of Santa Fe remains open through May 31.
