artdirector@sfreporter.com
Morning Word
PNM files electric grid plan
Yesterday, PNM filed a plan with the state Public Regulation Commission for a six-year, $344 million modernization plan for its electricity grid. In a news conference, a PNM spokesman said if approved, the plan would cost average residential consumers approximately $1.20 per month through a new fixed charge on their bills. A “cornerstone” of the proposal, PNM officials say, is smart meters, which, “once fully implemented, will allow customers to monitor electricity rates and choose when to increase and decrease electricity usage.” They will also allow for “faster response time to electricity outages, better integration of electricity generated from solar units at homes and businesses” and “will enhance cyber threat anti-terrorism and hacking measures.” Converting the grid to “a two-way communication path,” PNM’s filing says, “is a game-changer, a sentiment echoed by Pat Vincent-Collawn, PNM’s chairman and CEO, in a statement: “This filing is a major step forward for New Mexico and our customers” and “critical to enable PNM to move to a system where electricity is generated from different sources.” PNM’s grid modernization plan, it says prioritizes “low-income and underserved communities for access to clean energy,” as specified by 2020 legislation that created the PRC application process for such projects, as well as a roadmap and grant program through the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department.
While PNM was rolling out its plan for electrification, state lawmakers on the Transportation Infrastructure Revenue Subcommittee were receiving an update from the state Department of Transportation on its plan to build out Electric Vehicle charging stations across the state. Under the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, New Mexico expects to receive approximately $38 million between 2022-2026, and will be prioritizing “filling in the gaps” on the interstates: I-25, I-40, and I-10.
DA: Decision pending on how to charge teen murder suspect
Elijah Judah Trujillo, the 16-year-old charged with murder and tampering with evidence in the death of Samuel Cordero in Ragle Park last summer, made his first court appearance yesterday. The First Judicial District Attorney’s Office told Judge Glen Ellington the office is ready to proceed in the case, but has not yet decided how to charge the teenager: If charged and convicted as an adult, Trujillo could face a life sentence and be ineligible for parole for 30 years. If charged and convicted as a juvenile, Trujillo could face incarceration through the state Children, Youth and Families Department for two years, but could be kept in custody until he turns 21. “The decision hasn’t been made yet,” District Attorney Carmack-Altwies tells SFR, though she says it’s “likely” Trujillo will be charged as a juvenile. “We’re still waiting on some pieces of evidence that will help us and that will help guide us in that decision.” Ellington ordered Trujillo to remain at a San Juan County juvenile detention center where he has been held since his arrest last week and where he was placed on suicide watch, according to Assistant Trial Attorney Jeanine Salustri. Public defender Mark Dixon had urged the judge to release Trujillo to his parents in Santa Fe for his own safety.
City of Santa Fe approves new Plaza vending events
After several delays, the Santa Fe City Council last night in a special meeting approved changes that allow Santa Fe Pride, Juneteenth and Indigenous Peoples Day events to receive commercial permits alongside eight other Plaza events already eligible, such as Indian Market, Spanish Market and Fiesta. The changes allow for art and food vendors—limited to the Plaza—during the new events, whereas previously only the organizer could sell items and had to apply for an annual permit. The council passed the measure unanimously. “The Plaza is for the people,” co-sponsor City Councilor Renee Villarreal reportedly said. “I’m excited to see how the…ordinance will manifest in positive ways for cultural events in support of local vendors and artisans.” And speaking of artists on the Plaza, the city is currently accepting applications for its Plaza artist/artisan program. The five-year license program begins Jan. 1, 2023, with a total of 19 licenses available for 16 Plaza spaces in three categories ranging in fees from $500 to $1,500. The deadline to apply is Nov. 4; details here.
COVID-19 by the numbers
Reported Oct. 3: New cases: 556 (includes the weekend); 619,238 total cases; Deaths: three; Santa Fe County has had 351 total deaths; there have been 8,570 fatalities statewide. Statewide hospitalizations: 92. Patients on ventilators: seven. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s most recent “community levels” map, which uses a combination of hospital and case rate metrics to calculate COVID-19 risk, several New Mexico counties turned from “green” (low) to “yellow” (medium) and “red” (high) during the prior seven-day tracking period. Catron, Grant and Hidalgo counties are now red; Rio Arriba and Otero counties are now yellow. Santa Fe County remains green. Corresponding recommendations for each level can be found here.
Resources: CDC interactive booster eligibility tool; NM DOH vaccine & booster registration; CDC isolation and exposure interactive tool; Self-report a positive COVID-19 test result; Curative testing sites; COVID-19 treatment info; NMDOH immunocompromised tool kit. People seeking treatment who do not have a medical provider can call NMDOH’s COVID-19 hotline at 1-855-600-3453.
You can read all of SFR’s COVID-19 coverage here.
Listen up
New Mexico In Focus host Gene Grant talks with leaders from the New Mexico Black Voters Collaborative and other organizations about their efforts boosting turnout in communities of color and the potential influence the African American vote could play in New Mexico. Guests include Harold Bailey, president of the NAACP Albuquerque branch; Mason Graham and Rodney Bowe from the New Mexico Black Voters Collaborative; and Rev. Charles Becknell Sr., state president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
Imagining the natural world
Carrizozo, New Mexico artist Paula Wilson’s exhibition “Imago,” on display at Denny Dimin Gallery in New York through Oct. 29, receives praise from the New Yorker magazine, which says Wilson’s “hybrid” works combining painting, printmaking, sculpture, collage, film, performance and furniture design cultivate “an inviting domestic atmosphere.” The exhibition’s highlight, the magazine says, is the short film Life Spiral, “starring the artist as an insect moving through its life cycle, from egg to imago, in brilliantly costumed, sun-flooded sequences. In less than five enthralling minutes, Wilson crystallizes her show’s many themes, underscoring that her everyday artistic existence is inextricable from the rhythms of the natural world.” If you can’t make it to New York before the end of the month, worry not. Wilson’s work will be part of an exhibition with artist Nicola López, “Becoming Land,” opening at the Albuquerque Museum on Oct. 8. While “Imago” references both a stage of metamorphosis for insects and psychoanalysis, “Becoming Land” presents “contemporary interpretations of the New Mexico desert landscapes that embody an ecological perspective and emphasize the relationships between humans and their surrounding environment.”
Ranching through drought
As part of an ongoing series, The Guardian examines ranchers’ struggles in the face of megadrought in the Southwest. The latest story begins with Mora resident Carla Gomez, who fled the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon wildfire, seeking refuge in Las Vegas not just for herself, but for 75 of the sheep from her beef and lamb ranch. When she finally returned, 100 acres of her 400-acre ranch had burned, “but her house was still standing and the cows she had to leave behind were alive.” Not all of her neighbors were as lucky. “People who had forest permits, they really suffered because they had to relocate their cattle,” Gomez tells The Guardian. “It’s been really devastating.” Wildfires are just one example of the issues ranchers are facing due to the drought, with the story noting an American Farm Bureau Federation survey from last summer that said two-thirds of ranchers reported having to sell off parts of their herds, with average herd sizes expected to have fallen 36% across the region in 2022—43% in New Mexico and 50% in Texas. In New Mexico, monsoons in the aftermath of the wildfire have engendered more problems. “Right now, the acequia isn’t even running,” Gomez says. “But every time it rains, it just refills with silt.” Numerous state agencies will be holding a resource fair in Mora from 4 to 7 pm tomorrow (Oct. 5), with representatives from more than a dozen state agencies and the federal Department of Agriculture.
Chill out
The National Weather Service forecasts continued “unsettled weather” throughout the week. Today, that means a 60% chance for precipitation, with showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 3 pm. Otherwise, it will be mostly cloudy, with a high near 66 degrees and north wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south in the afternoon. If that seems chilly, check out the snow that fell a few days ago up at Taos Ski Valley.
Thanks for reading! The Word is enjoying tracking bird migration over Santa Fe County, and will be heeding advice to turn the lights off during peak migration season.
