Entrada protests and arrests
The loud protest of the Entrada on Friday resulted in eight people being arrested and an increasingly uneasy tension between the Fiesta de Santa Fe and Native rights supporters. Protesters see the annual celebration of Don Diego de Vargas' reentry into Santa Fe as an insensitive and unnecessary reminder of conquest. Fiesta organizers say it's a nonviolent remembrance. Over the weekend, we learned that one of the protest's organizers may face felony charges of battery on a police officer, allegedly for hitting two officers with a sign as she tried to march past them.
Taos monuments targeted in protest
Two monuments in the town plaza in Taos were targeted—apparently by protesters—on Friday as the Entrada protests were taking place in Santa Fe. Red paint was dumped on the feet of a statue depicting Padre Antonio José Martínez, who was a priest in the early 19th century, long after the Pueblo Revolt and the retaking of Santa Fe by the Spanish crown. A banner reading "Remember 1680" was also draped across a memorial to soldiers who were taken prisoner in World War II's Bataan Death March.
Hooray for teachers
The state Public Education Department says its annual teacher report card shows a record number of teachers designating as high performing. The state has shifted how it evaluates teachers, but unions say the measures still rely too much on standardized tests are not a good measure of effectiveness in the classroom.
Keller loop
Albuquerque mayoral candidate Tim Keller is being scrutinized for accepting what his campaign manager termed "in-kind" donations of goods or services, but was really cash. That's an issue because Keller is running his campaign with public financing. He and his campaign are not supposed to be able to keep raising private money and critics say this is an end-around of the system. Keller is currently the New Mexico State Auditor.
Braggies
On Saturday, New Mexico State University held off a late rally by the UNM Lobos to claim bragging rights for the in-state duel. It's the second rivalry win in a row for the Aggies, who racked up a ton of offense and handed the Lobo football program its first loss of the season.
Fatal crash suspends Rail Runner service
An collision between a commuter train and a private vehicle this morning has shut down rail service between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. State police are apparently investigating the collision, which happened on or near the San Felipe Pueblo.The train will still run between the US Highway 550 stop and points south of that.
Still summer
In case you were wondering, Mother Nature gave us a nice reminder this weekend that it's still summer for another week and a half. Warm temperatures will continue for the next few days before tapering off toward the end of the week. In other weather news, Hurricane Irma is about to become a tropical storm after tearing up Florida's west coast. It's a massive storm, as these images show (click on the satellite photos to enlarge).
Thanks for reading! The Word hopes you catch a life-affirming whiff of roasting green chile sometime this week.
Subscribe to the Morning Word at sfreporter.com/santafe/signup.
