Keep the plutonium away from the plutonium
Seems like a pretty straightforward rule, no? Los Alamos National Lab has once again been dinged for breaking it. In a new report, the lab earned a red tag for a criticality mistake in which two pieces of machined plutonium were kept too close to one another. That has the potential to cause a nuclear reaction that could, in turn, release radiation. The lab's record of dealing with those critical errors has been roundly criticized recently.
Smile!
There weren't a whole lot of smiles on streets around the Plaza during the Entrada protest. But Santa Fe officer Landislas Szabo brought his own camera and telephoto lens to take pictures anyway. SFPD says it didn't ask him to take them and there's nothing of "evidentiary value" on the memory card, so it gave the card back to Szabo. Defense attorney Dan Cron says it all became evidence as soon as an on-duty cop snapped the pictures. They also show police had two sniper rifles at the ready from their perches on the northeast corner of the Plaza.
City ponders panhandlers
Santa Fe is trying to figure out how to curb its panhandling problem. There's a public right to be on a sidewalk saying whatever you want (kind of like a free-speech zone, eh?), but downtown merchants in particular are worried about it impacting their business. The city's worried about getting a reputation among the tourists that fuel the local economy. One idea: Install an old parking meter on the Plaza and let people donate to city causes. Of course, that doesn't deal with the direct cash infusion many panhandlers seek.
That crappy bridge
There are many around our state, but the one in question here is the southbound exit off Highway 285 as you come down into Santa Fe from the north. It's closed because of structural problems. Those haven't been defined since the closure yesterday afternoon, but it's likely to snarl traffic this morning.
Woman snared in ATF sting takes plea deal
Jennifer Padilla didn't sell dope, but she did connect a guy who used to sell meth to her with a man she thought was her boyfriend. Her boyfriend had asked her to do it. He then turned out to be an ATF informant. SFR detailed the case last month. Padilla, who faced a decade or more in federal prison, has agreed to a two-year sentence—an unusually large reduction, experts say—in exchange for her guilty plea to conspiracy to traffic meth.
Santolina developer, Hobbs oil man fund dark money group in ABQ mayoral race
In a look behind the curtain of independent expenditure committees—known colloquially as "dark money groups"—New Mexico In Depth reports the man who's developing the massive Santolina project on the outskirts of Albuquerque, Jeff Garrett, and a Hobbs oil man and property owner, Mark Veteto, are behind the sex offender ads targeting Albuquerque mayoral candidate Tim Keller. None of it's illegal, of course; campaign finance reformers say knowing who's funding the ads they see and hear is critical to understanding the dynamics of an election.
I stand with you
Steve Pearce, the southern New Mexico congressman who wants to be the all of New Mexico governor, felt a kinship with Santa Fe on Friday. Pearce's campaign released a statement lauding county voters for rejecting a proposed sales tax. Of course, Pearce is a conservative Republican and Santa Fe leans heavily into the liberal Democrat camp. These are interesting times, my friends, reflecting deep dissatisfaction across the political spectrum with our government.
Crisp
It's how you should like your breakfast cereal and your autumn, and Mother Nature is obliging and then some this week. Temperatures will be below normal for a good chunk of the work week. Today will be pleasant, with highs around 70. Tonight will be a little breezy and cold. Come Wednesday, we're setting up for a couple days of rain.
Thanks for reading! The Word is scrambling to unpack its wool socks and ordering $17 handcrafted marshmallows from a bearded 30-something in Brooklyn.
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