artdirector@sfreporter.com
Ronchetti, Torrez win primary races for governor, AG
Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham will face former television meteorologist Mark Ronchetti in the Nov. 8 general election, following Ronchetti’s decisive win in yesterday’s Republican primary race. According to unofficial results from the Secretary of State’s office, Ronchetti captured 58% of the vote in the five-way race, with state Rep. Rebecca Dow of Truth or Consequences trailing him in second place with 15%. “This is a great day for New Mexicans,” Ronchetti said in his victory speech. “But I’ll tell you what, this is going to be a very bad day for the political elite who look out for their own best interests.” Libertarian Karen Evette Bedonie also will be in the mix in the gubernatorial general election. Current Lt. Gov. Howie Morale ran unopposed in the Democratic primary; Ant L. Thornton won the Republican primary for that seat; Libertarian lieutenant governor candidate Travis Steven Sanchez ran unopposed. In another highly-watched race at the top of the ballot, Second Judicial District Attorney Raúl Torrez bested State Auditor Brian Colón to replace outgoing Attorney General Hector Balderas, who is completing his second and final term. The most recent unofficial tallies show Torrez with 53% of the vote. Torrez addressed supporters in Albuquerque shortly before 10:30 pm last night: “It’s been an incredible night, an incredible journey, a very spirited campaign,” Torrez said of the sometimes bitter race, saying he wanted to “acknowledge the service to our state,” from Colón and asking attendees to offer his opponent applause. Statewide turnout hit approximately 25%, with Santa Fe County nearing 30%. As of 5 pm yesterday, 8,178 people had utilized same-day registration to vote; 741 people did so in Santa Fe County.
Santa Fe County voters chose Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza for another four years with 56% of the vote against Santa Fe Police Department Lt. David Webb; Mendoza is unopposed in the general election. Santa Fe’s Board of County Commissioners will have two new commissioners—Justin Greene for District 1 and Camilla Bustamante for District 3—and neither face opposition in the general. First Judicial District Assistant Attorney Dev Atma Singh Khalsa won the four-way Democratic race for Division 2 Santa Fe County Magistrate Court bench—replacing outgoing Judge George Anaya Jr.,—with 40% of the vote and faces no opposition in November. “I think I’m the only person that put forward any kind of plan,” Khalsa told SFR last night. “I think I came across as professional and also unassuming. I take the responsibility very seriously and I feel incredibly humbled.”
Lujan Grisham views fire damage in Mora
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham visited Mora County yesterday to survey homes damaged or destroyed in Sapello and Rociada from the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire, and to meet with homeowners and local officials, her office announced. Analysis of the destruction remains ongoing, but at least several hundred homes have been destroyed. “The destruction caused by these fires is devastating, in both the physical damage they have caused and the ways they have forever disrupted and altered New Mexicans’ lives,” the governor said in a statement. “Today in Mora County I saw firsthand the irrevocable harm that has been caused, with historic homes and livelihoods lost to the flames. But I was also reminded of New Mexicans’ resiliency—I saw neighbors helping neighbors with that same compassion that New Mexicans always show toward one another in tough times. Together, we will rebuild.” The governor also received an update on ongoing watershed recovery and mitigation efforts. As of last night, the fire was at 318,172 acres and 65% containment. The Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) team has issued a notice of very high potential for flash flooding in the burn scar today. Closer to home, the Santa Fe City Council will consider a resolution tonight to extend the city closure of some of its wilderness trails through June 17 due to fire danger; the emergency order containing the trail closures currently expires June 10.
DOH will hold first COVID-19 update in months today
For the first time since March 11, Acting Health Secretary Dr. David Scrase and state epidemiologist Dr. Christine Ross will provide a COVID-19 update at 1 pm today, which will stream live on the health department’s Facebook page. At the last public briefing, Scrase also announced changes to the reporting protocol for COVID-19, which had previously included detailed daily case and fatality reports for each county. Now, the state reports statewide case, hospitalization and death rates daily, with more detailed epidemiology reports weekly. The department in April made an internal decision to stop reporting on vaccination breakthrough cases while it adjusted its method for calculating them, leading to questions from SFR and then other media outlets about the decision. Today’s public briefing comes as the state experiences an increase in cases, with a rising number of counties moving from “low” to “medium,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “community levels” tracking system most recent update. The CDC uses case rates along with two hospital metrics in combination to determine the state of the virus on a county level; currently, nine NM counties are “yellow” or medium for risk: Santa Fe, Rio Arriba, Los Alamos, Mora, Harding, Sandoval, Bernalillo, Cibola and Grant counties. The rest of the state remains “green” for low community levels. The CDC updates its community levels on Thursdays. CDC recommendations for individuals and communities based on the community level rankings can be found here.
COVID-19 by the numbers
New cases: 726; 541,646 total cases
Deaths: five; Santa Fe County has had 304 total deaths thus far; there have been 7,849 total fatalities statewide. Hospitalizations: 132. Patients on ventilators: 15.
Case rates: According to the most recent DOH report on geographical trends for COVID-19, as of June 6, the state had recorded 6,104 new cases in the preceding seven days—a nearly 55% increase from the prior seven-day period. Grant and Santa Fe counties had the two highest daily case rates per 100,000 population in the most recent time period: 82.5 and 64.8, respectively.
Resources: Vaccine registration; Booster registration Free at-home rapid antigen tests; Self-report a positive COVID-19 test result to the health department; COVID-19 treatment info: oral treatments Paxlovid (age 12+) and Molnupiravir (age 18+); and monoclonal antibody treatments. Toolkit for immunocompromised individuals. 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
If you had thought nothing remained unsaid regarding the late Santa Fe art dealer Forrest Fenn and his hidden treasure, you’d be wrong. Apparently. This week, Cavalry Audio premiered the first two episodes of a new limited-series podcast, X Marks the Spot: The Legend of Forrest Fenn. “The fact that someone hid millions of dollars in gold in the Rockies for anyone to find is intriguing in and of itself, but we discovered that the people who went looking for it, and their stories, are even more intriguing,” the podcast’s writer and narrator Branden Morgan tells Deadline magazine. According to Deadline, the new podcast contains “never-before-heard interviews from people who were close with Fenn, treasure hunters who spent years in the chase, and even a few who claim to know where the treasure chest was buried.”
Make a splash
ICYMI, the City of Santa Fe’s formerly beleaguered Bicentennial pool (1121 Alto Street) will be reopening for the season on June 18, right in time for the official start of summer (June 21). The city will also host a pool party on July 2 to celebrate. The city closed Bicentennial last summer after it was discovered the 46-year-old pool was leaking approximately 130,000 gallons of water per month. Flash forward to now, $2.3 million in renovations include: a new lap pool built from the shell up with a plaster surface and inlaid interior tile; new decking and landscaping surrounding the pools; and a variety of repairs and preventative maintenance. The city also has completed sustainability improvements, such as new energy-saving lighting and water-saving fixtures; air leakage repairs; and a new solar carport. The pool is slated to remain open through Aug. 14, with the possibility of an extension later in the season to be announced at a later date. “We are excited to kick off our summer season with the exciting renovations at Bicentennial Pool, our new lineup of activities like the ‘Learn to Swim’ programming, and an extension of other offerings to our community and beyond,” Community Services and Library Director Maria Sanchez-Tucker said in a statement. “Please plan to get your feet wet and join us at the pool this summer!” Done and done.
Native food heritage
Condé Nast Traveler highlights Indian Pueblo Kitchen, located at Albuquerque’s Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, a place where visitors can learn about the “enduring heritage” of the state’s 19 pueblos, including their cuisine. At Indian Pueblo Kitchen, the menu employs traditional ingredients in dishes “with contemporary twists, like the Native Superfoods Waffles or Griddle Cakes, which use gathered items like blue corn, quinoa, amaranth, currants, pine nuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and berries.” Jon Ghahate, the cultural center’s museum educator says when guests visit for a meal, “we hope it helps them understand that these civilizations weren’t just here by happenstance or were just lucky or primitive. They were using science constructs, learning how to cultivate crops, to plant and irrigate them and nurture them.” Some of the restaurant’s kitchen staff, such as Josh Aragon (Pueblo of Laguna) talk about their remembrances as they cook. “We share stories like how our traditional foods were slowly cooked over an open fire, baked in horno ovens [outdoor earthen ovens], or grown using farming practices passed on through generations,” Aragon tells the magazine. “We offer what we have learned along the way.”
Better than nothing
The National Weather Service forecasts a 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon today in Santa Fe. Otherwise, it will be mostly sunny, with a high near 90 degrees and northeast wind 10 to 15 mph becoming southeast 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph. Chances for some rain and thunderstorms rise to 30% this evening, mostly before 9 pm.
Thanks for reading! The Word always enjoys a good multi-media exploration of the unfolding apocalypse.
