City readies for Entrada
Organizers of the Fiestas de Santa Fe have abandoned the use of horses in the annual celebration of the conquest of Santa Fe by Don Diego de Vargas. The Entrada will be protested once again this year by those who say the idea that de Vargas' reclaiming of the city was peaceful is a sham. The city has also banned bullhorns, masks, water guns and weapons from the Plaza. SFR is already covering the event and will have dispatches throughout the day.
A place at court
A young, well-connected attorney from out of state could be the next US Court of Appeals judge for New Mexico. William Levi's mother owns a cattle ranch in Corona, but he lives in Washington, DC, and has closer connections to Utah. Several New Mexicans are thought to be up for the post.
Farewell to Lucky
Santa Fe and political heavy hitters from across the state remembered former state Rep. Lucky Varela yesterday. Vaerla served Santa Fe for decades in the Legislature. He became an authority on the state's budget process and was one of the most-loved politicians at the Roundhouse.
Hey, Amazon!
Albuquerque Mayor RJ Berry wants to lure one of the world's largest companies to New Mexico. Amazon announced it plans to build a second headquarters somewhere in North America, and Berry figures why not Albuquerque. There may be a few reasons why not, such as the lack of both an international airport and a large population. The headquarters, dubbed HQ2, could employ 50,000 people.
Equi-hack
One of the credit-reporting bureaus got hacked back in May, exposing names, addresses, social security numbers and all sorts of information about 143 million people. The company's chairman, Richard F Smith, called it "clearly a disappointing event for our company." Ya think?
Feds lease land next to Chaco
New Mexico Sen. Tom Udall and Rep. Ben Ray Lujan are asking the Bureau of Land Management to honor a ban on oil and gas drilling within a 10-mile buffer zone around Chaco Culture National Historic Park. The area, which had a reputation as one of the quietest, darkest places in the country, is hemmed in by federal land on which leases were recently started.
New charges for holistic cardiologist
Santa Fe's Roy Heilbron has already pleaded guilty to health care fraud charges. Now, he's charged with faking some of the medical documents filed in his case. A grand jury believes he may have falsified some of his own medical conditions in an effort to delay or avoid sentencing. Heilbron faced two years in prison on his previous charges. That could now rise to more than 15.
Get out
It should be another gorgeous weekend in Santa Fe and elsewhere around New Mexico. There will be a chance of rain, mainly in the mountains, but for the most part it should be a great couple of days to do whatever you have planned.
Thanks for reading! The Word wonders if avoiding funnel cake for the weekend can be considered a victory.
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