artdirector@sfreporter.com
Morning Word
COVID-19 by the numbers
New Mexico health officials last reported COVID-19 cases on Friday, May 28: 124 new cases statewide, with four in Santa Fe County.
The state also announced six additional deaths—four from more than 30 days prior—and a decline in hospitalization: 109 as of Friday.
As of Friday, 65.2% of New Mexicans had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 55.3% were fully vaccinated. In Santa Fe County, 73.5% had received at least one dose and 62.5% were fully inoculated.
A four-day update from the Department of Health for COVID-19 cases, deaths and hospitalizations, along with current vaccination data, is expected this afternoon.
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.
CD1 voters head to the polls
Voters in New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District will choose a replacement today for the seat formerly held by now-Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. Four names will appear on the ballot: Democratic state Rep. Melanie Stansbury; Republican state Sen. Mark Moores; Aubrey Dunn Jr., a former state land commissioner and former Republican turned Independent; and Libertarian Chris Manning. Early voting in the election ran from May 4 through May 28. While the district—which encompasses Albuquerque as well as Torrance County—has favored Democratic candidates historically, Republicans account for 31% of its registered voters. Moreover, the election is the first special congressional election held since 1998, leaving outcomes less than certain. University of New Mexico Political science professor Lonna Atkeson says the negative tone of the race indicates a lack of confidence about its outcome by the candidates. “Nobody’s felt confident enough that they can just ride it out in a positive way. So they’re both feeling a little stressed,” Atkeson tells the Associated Press. “I mean, we never saw Deb Haaland do a negative ad.”
Union questions city’s safety training efforts
Leaders from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees say the City of Santa Fe hasn’t stepped up its safety training enough in the two years since Tobin “Toby” Williams was electrocuted and killed. The state Environment Department’s Operation Safety and Health Bureau investigated Williams’ death and said the city had used untrained workers to replace electrical equipment, among other violations, requiring the city to pay $120,000 in fines, half for safety training. That training was supposed to be executed within six months, but a city spokesman said the city received an additional six months, and detailed the trainings and policy changes that have taken place, despite the challenges of the pandemic. “Workplace safety is the utmost priority for the City as an employer,” spokesman Dave Herndon wrote to the Santa Fe New Mexican. “The City works constantly on an ongoing basis to ensure workplace safety.” Union safety committee Chairwoman Maxine Sandoval, however, says the trainings took too long to implement following Williams’ death. “It’s taken them two years to get some training implemented,” Sandoval said. “Two years is way too long to pay attention to what is going on with the city.”
Bottoms up
Bureaucracy and neighborhood concerns have left the fate of beloved local business Susan’s Fine Wine & Spirits up in the air, with the store departing its 1005 S St. Francis Drive location on Friday after 15 years. “Our landlord decided he’d be better off with a national tenant and our understanding is that AutoZone will occupy the space we’re currently in,” a notice on the business’ website reads, adding that Susan’s intends to reopen in late August at 632 Agua Fria Street. Now, however, neighborhood concerns at that location coupled with a slow license-transfer process requiring city, state and public input has left Susan’s in flux. “That area is zoned for mixed residential and business,” Nirmala Ganapathy, one of Susan’s owners, tells SFR. “We even got a zoning verification letter from the city telling us a store like ours, package and retail, was permitted in that zone—in fact, it was encouraged. We started down this path, now we’re fairly far down this path and the residents are saying there would be too much traffic, they can’t handle it, we can’t come there.” The state Regulation and Licensing Department’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Division will also have to sign off on the move, and will take public comment into consideration. After that, the Santa Fe City Council will have to do the same.
Listen up
June typically represents New Mexico’s worst month in terms of wildfires, and this particular June kicks off with the state experiencing severe drought and Stage 1 restrictions already in place for some portions of the Santa Fe National Forest. Julie Anne Overton, public affairs officer for SFNF, talks with KUNM about the conditions in the forest, and how folks can still head out and enjoy nature safely. “I think the most important thing I would say to visitors, especially families with kids: Plan ahead. We call it ‘know before you go.’ Make sure you know what kinds of fire restrictions are in place for the location you’re headed. Do read up on campfire safety if campfires are allowed. Do read up on lightning safety.” Currently, firefighters are implementing a full suppression strategy to confine and contain the Wolf Draw Fire, which has been burning in “rugged, steep terrain” in the far northwest corner of the Santa Fe National Forest since May 2 (several fires also are burning in the Gila National Forest).
Pojoaque Pueblo’s new festival
ICYMI, on Friday, SFR reported Pojoaque Pueblo’s Poeh Cultural Center will host an inaugural Pathways Native Arts Festival Aug. 20-22, coinciding with this year’s Indian Market, and featuring 500 indoor and outdoor booths at the Hilton Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino. “We definitely just want to support artists during this time and because of this past year,” Executive Director Karl Duncan (Three Affiliated Tribes) says. “We’ve been doing what we can to help throughout this last year, and this is what they need right now.” The festival has already received roughly 100 applications from mostly New Mexico artists, according to Duncan—Cochiti Pueblo ceramicist Diego Romero and Santa Clara Pueblo multi-media artist Roxanne Swentzell have signed on—along with applications from Oklahoma and the Great Lakes area. Applications can be filled out online (available here), and Poeh staff and arts instructors will make the final decisions collaboratively, Duncan says.
High tech on the court
The New York Times homes in on high school basketball in New Mexico, specifically Volcano Vista High School’s recent win in the New Mexico state championship, which marked the first time sensor technology was used for a high school championship game to track athletes’ movements, along with the ball itself. The New Mexico Activities Association worked with technology company ShotTracker and marketing company Playfly Sports to deliver what became Natalia Chavez’s winning—and viral—shot. While the technology has become common in college and professional sports, the National Federation of State High School Associations says New Mexico’s game broke new ground for high school sports. Whether that becomes a trend remains to be seen. Class 4A championship winner Del Norte High School boys’ team coach Jeron McIntosh tells the Times he’d like to see it used more, while Karissa Niehoff, executive director of the National Federation of State High School Associations, says doing so requires weighing the pros and cons, such as the privacy of youth athletes. But Niehoff praised New Mexico’s “experiment,” calling it “a great example of how technology can make the experience better for all involved without compromising the integrity of how the sport is played, or providing an advantage to one team or the other.”
Hello, June!
Santa Fe’s chances for rain today have diminished from yesterday, but a sliver of hope remains: To wit, we have a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly between noon and 3 pm. Otherwise, it will be mostly sunny with a high near 74 degrees and northeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming west in the afternoon.
Thanks for reading! The Word has often wondered what makes certain recipes go viral, found this story explaining the phenomenon illuminating and fully intends to whip up a Whipping Cream Cake one of these days.
