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COVID-19 by the numbers
New Mexico health officials yesterday reported 671 new COVID-19 cases, another increase. There have now been 213,247 total COVID-19 cases; DOH has designated 197,222 of them as recovered.
Bernalillo County had 147 new cases, followed by Doña Ana County with 65 cases and Eddy County with 61. Santa Fe County had 33 new cases (we had 12 new cases the day prior).
The state also announced three additional deaths: males from Eddy, Grant and San Juan counties who were all hospitalized with underlying conditions, the first two of whom were in their 30s; there have now been 4,419 fatalities.
As of yesterday, 203 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, an increase from 187 the day prior.
Currently, 73.6% of New Mexicans 18 years and older have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 65.2% are fully vaccinated. In the 12-17-year-old age group, 51% have had at least one dose and 39.6% have been fully vaccinated. In Santa Fe County, among those 18 years and older, 83.6% have had at least one dose and 74.9% are fully inoculated.
You can read all of SFR’s COVID-19 coverage here.
UNM regents approve campus vax policy
The University of New Mexico Board of Regents has approved a plan to require the vaccination of all students, faculty and staff against COVID-19 by the end of September. The UNM policy, adopted at a special meeting Thursday in time for the academic year that begins Aug. 23, allows for exceptions for people who have disabilities, medical conditions and religious beliefs that would prevent vaccination, but they might be required to undergo asymptomatic surveillance testing and symptomatic testing. A similar policy for state workers began this week under an executive order that mandates they are either fully vaccinated or show a negative COVID-19 test at least once every two weeks.
Smoke signals
Retail cannabis rules for the new businesses within the Santa Fe city limits made their debut Thursday in a presentation before the Planning Commission. While a subcommittee of that group recommended the city impose 300-foot buffers between new retail weed shops and allow such retailers to open in areas of the city where other retail activity is already allowed, it also wrote that work was rushed and incomplete. The state adopted the Cannabis Regulation Act in the spring and expects recreational sales to begin no later than April of next year. That put local governments in a rush to get zoning rules in place. “During this process, the Policy Subcommittee has expressed concern that the City’s desired timeline assigned to the promulgation of the policy related to the cannabis legislation has impeded the Subcommittee’s completion of a thorough and effective set of recommendations,” its report notes. “The Subcommittee notes the complexity of this industry and its impacts (both positive and negative) on the community need further examination. It would be beneficial to seek more community feedback prior to making any final recommendations.” The commission did not vote on the ideas, which would also need full City Council approval before they are final. Santa Fe County adopted its new zoning for cannabis last week.
PFAS poison present in NM water and soil
Contaminated cows in Clovis and soil under Air Force bases aren’t the only evidence of pollution from PFAS that’s affecting New Mexicans. The “forever chemicals” are connected to myriad health problems, yet they are everywhere, including household products such as nonstick cook wear, stain-proof fabric and dental floss. And worse yet, the military used firefighting foam that included the chemicals for years and now it’s fighting cleanup mandates. Plus, federal authorities have not established a regulatory limit that would give states authority to stop polluters. Laura Paskus reports on the cover of this week’s Reporter, “Toxic Threat,” as part of her years-long journalism on PFAS with New Mexico PBS. Watch the new episode of “Our Land,” where Paskus interviews former Air Force firefighter Kevin Ferrar about his experiences with the foam over a 20-year career and his current advocacy for accountability.
Listen up
Last month, Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson made international news when he launched into space from New Mexico’s Spaceport. But the state’s space history stretches back much further. The Spaceport America podcast delves into New Mexico’s space past, present and future. In the most recent episode, host Alice Carruth talks with FAA Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation Wayne Monteith about what it takes to launch people into space. And June’s episode features Loretta Hall, author of Out of this World: New Mexico’s Contributions to Space Travel. (And here’s Hall’s website dedicated to New Mexico’s space history).
Eye toward innovation
The New Collar Innovation Center opens its doors with a grand opening celebration at 3:30 pm today in new digs at the Higher Education Center (1950 Siringo Road). A collaboration between Fab Lab Hub, the New Collar Network and Santa Fe Community College, the opening event will include SFCC President Becky Rowley and Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber announcing winners of a 3D art competition. Events continue through Aug. 15, with tours, panel discussions and demos. Fab Lab and New Collar Network founder Sarah Boisvert says the center will provide increased opportunities for digital badges and work in growing and innovative fields. The center grew out of courses she already offered through SFCC with an eye toward “having something that could innovate education, innovate workforce training and also foster entrepreneurship for the kinds of companies that create these new collar jobs.” You can find the complete schedule here.
Forest for the trees
Scientific American looks at reforesting efforts in the eastern Jemez Mountains, site of the 2011 Las Conchas Fire, where a consortium of groups—pueblos, the US Forest Service, the National Park Service and the Nature Conservancy, to name a few—hope to plant 23,000 seedlings in Santa Clara Pueblo lands, 24,000 in the Santa Fe National Forest and 7,840 in Bandelier National Monument. When all is said and done, participants hope to replant 4,000 acres within the Las Conchas burn scar by the end of 2022. Santa Clara Pueblo Project Manager Phillip Tafoya remembers the forest, now a “vast tree graveyard” from his youth when, he tells Scientific American, “Everything was trees. You could get lost.” No more: “Now you can see a long ways. There’s no way you could get lost.” Thus he, too, is helping to reseed a forest his people relied on for centuries for food, firewood and recreation, as well as cultural purposes. “They envision a future where these lands will be a forest again, so that their own offspring can experience the landscape of their youth—remade for a climate-altered future,” the story notes. “It’s gonna take a lot of years,” Tafoya says. “I hope it rains.”
Haze and breeze
The National Weather Service says today in Santa Fe will include widespread haze before 1pm. Then, it will be sunny, with a high near 89 and east breezes of 5 to 10 mph becoming west, but staying relatively calm, in the afternoon. The weekend looks to be sunny and clear with highs in the upper 80s.
Thanks for reading! The Word intends to figure out how to livestream the Olympics by 4 pm today when Santa Fe marathon runner Aliphine Tuliamuk competes. (You can watch her win the trials last year in this video, right around 3:50).
