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Morning Word
COVID-19 by the numbers
New Mexico health officials yesterday reported 203 new COVID-19 cases between July 3-6, bringing the total number of cases thus far to 205,915; the health department has designated 195,126 of those cases as recovered. Bernalillo County had 60 cases, followed by Doña Ana County with 32 and McKinley County with 15. Santa Fe County had 10 new cases over the four-day period.
The state also reported two additional deaths from Bernalillo and San Juan counties; there have now been 4,346 total fatalities. As of yesterday, 62 people were hospitalized with COVID-19.
Currently, 71.1% New Mexicans 16 years and older have at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 62.8% are fully vaccinated. In Santa Fe County, 81.2% have had at least one dose and 72.4% are fully vaccinated.
DOH also revealed three of the four winners of the most recent $1 million Vax to the Max sweepstakes, each of whom won $250,000: Edward Nieves of Santa Fe; Robert Padilla of Tijeras; and Kelley Smith of Ruidoso. The health department says it is still confirming the fourth winner’s identity and vaccination status. The next $1 million drawing is scheduled for July 16, followed by drawings scheduled for July 23 and July 30. A grand prize drawing of $5 million is scheduled for early August.
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.
Millions proposed for NM public lands
Various public lands in New Mexico could receive close to $50 million under the US Interior Department’s proposed Fiscal Year 2022 budget for Great American Outdoors Act funds. Proposals include $375,000 for Carlsbad Caverns National Park to acquire a final parcel of private land and $29 million for Bandelier National Monument to replace its underground water, wastewater, gas and electrical systems. “If funded, these projects would ensure modern and reliable utility systems, including phone and internet coverage, to meet current and future needs,” Bandelier Program Manager Joanie Budzileni tells the Albuquerque Journal. “They will also enable the park to reopen public restrooms near the visitor center that were damaged by massive floods in 2013.” Other proposed allocations for New Mexico include a $3.3 million dam decommissioning project near Deming; $1 million to finish acquiring 1,300 acres of land in the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument; and $15.4 million for deferred maintenance projects at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.
Western Refining sues NM over new liquor law
Western Refining Retail, which owns liquor licenses and operates gas stations in New Mexico, has filed suit in US District Court over a new state law that prohibits alcohol sales at gas stations in counties with populations between 56,000 and 57,000, according to the 1980 federal decennial census. The prohibition comes as part of many changes to the state’s liquor laws, and was introduced as an amendment by Sen. George Muñoz, D-Gallup, in response to chronic alcohol-related problems in McKinley County—the only county impacted by that facet of the new law. In its suit against the state, Western Refining Retail says it owns 11 active dispenser licenses in McKinley County, 10 at businesses that also sell retail gasoline, and that the portion of the law restricting such sales violates the Equal Protection Clause of the US Constitution. The company’s argument stems from the singular impact on McKinley County, particularly when contrasted with other aspects of the new law, which created new tiers of more affordable liquor licenses and allows for home alcohol delivery. Indeed, the suit highlights a press release from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, upon signing the law, that said the changes to the state’s liquor laws “infuses new equity and opportunity into the state’s liquor licenses process.” Not so for Western Refining Retail, the company says: “The discrepancies, inequalities and incongruities of [the bill] are obvious and manifest and demonstrate that Western Refining Retail…is being treated unequally and unfairly.”
LANL employee appeals benefits denial
A former cybersecurity employee at Los Alamos National Laboratory has appealed a Department of Workforce Solutions decision to deny him benefits after he was fired for purportedly using lab resources to run a background check on a woman he met online. According to the petition filed in the First Judicial District last week, which also names LANL contractor Triad National Security LLC, Justin Vermillion was fired after using lab resources to background check a woman he met through a dating app. Because the woman was a foreign national, the appeal says, Vermillion “out of an abundance of caution” began creating a “person record” and reached out to a colleague at Homeland Security for assistance. At that point, Vermillion claims he had not yet met the woman but, once he had, he disclosed the relationship to his supervisor, was placed on administrative leave and terminated shortly thereafter. The suit questions whether an employee with no prior disciplinary problems and an award for his contributions should be denied benefits after engaging “in a single act of bad judgement.” The appeal also questions whether Vermillion received proper training on the lab’s policies.
Listen up
The most recent episode of the Augmented Humanity podcast takes a look at New Mexicans who are exploring the promise of the civic tech movement, most recently at the DataFest: ArtQuest, sponsored by the City of Albuquerque and the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government. Guests include Eric Renz-Whitmore, a lead organizer of the DataFest: ArtQuest event, and Karen Mazur, coordinator and database administrator for Albuquerque’s public art program.
Summer by the lake
New Mexico doesn’t normally rank very high for water vacations (what with being the desert and all) but Forbes rectifies that oversight in its story “15 of the Most Crystal-Clear Hidden Gem Lakes in the US,” and makes note of Williams Lake near Taos. “This natural, glacial alpine lake sits just below Wheeler Peak in the Wheeler Peak Wilderness of Carson National Forest, and can easily be reached by traveling along the Williams Lake Trail from the trailhead in Taos Ski Valley,” the magazine writes. You can check out more photographs of Williams Lake courtesy Carson National Forest, which also provides more detailed directions for access and use. Take note: Williams Lake does not have fish, and camping and campfires are not permitted along the lake shore to prevent damage to soil and water quality.
Ready, set, schmooze
As social distancing declines, networking makes its inevitable return. The City of Santa Fe’s Office of Economic Development will host a summer mixer for local business owners from 5:30 to 7 pm tomorrow, July 8 at Santa Fe Brewing Beer Hall at Headquarters. “Businesses will have an opportunity to directly connect with Santa Fe’s college students and graduates in an array of fields while they are home for summer break and hometown students can bring their new skills and ideas back to Santa Fe to help our community and local businesses,” the city says. Needless to say, small business owners and recent graduates are encouraged to register and attend. “The last year has been a challenging time for individuals and businesses, building and maintaining our social capital has been pushed aside,” Rich Brown, the city’s community development director, says in a news release. “Now that we have a high rate of vaccination, we can get back to community and professional development while having a good time.” Register here.
Don’t steal our thunder
Expect a high temperature near 82 degrees today and a 40% chance of precipitation—yes, we wish it was higher—in the form of scattered showers and thunderstorms after noon. Those chances decrease to 30% tonight, according to the National Weather Service, with scattered showers and thunderstorms before 9 pm.
Thanks for reading! Despite the cattle reference, The Word found this poem about July by Henrietta Cordelia Ray fairly apt.
