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Morning Word
Senate approves wildfire recovery bill; new forest burn next week
Legislation that would allow rebuilding to begin in the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon burn scar is now awaiting a House vote after the state Senate unanimously approved it yesterday. Senate Bill 6 would provide up to $100 million in zero-interest loans to local governments impacted by both the fire and the flooding in the area in order to begin rebuilding roads, acequias and other damaged infrastructure in advance of federal funding from the $2.5 billion Hermit’s Peak Fire Assistance Act. Bill co-sponsor Sen. Pete Campos, D-Las Vegas, said yesterday during debate on the bill that “patience is running out” waiting for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to distribute funds. A FEMA spokeswoman tells the Albuquerque Journal while no funds have been distributed yet, it plans to open a claims office next month.
Meanwhile, the Santa Fe National Forest plans to implement a prescribed burn (debris piles) on the Cuba Ranger District—the Deer Lake Project—starting as early as next Wednesday, Feb. 15. The US Forest Service paused prescribed burns for 90 days last year following the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon wildfire—the largest fire in New Mexico’s history—which was caused by them. As for the prescribed burn in the Cuba Ranger District, the Forest Service says recent snowfall in the burn area provides conditions that help limit fire from spreading to adjacent vegetation. “During a lengthy pause in our burning operations, we worked through the actions outlined by the Chief of the Forest Service Randy Moore in the USDA Forest Service National Prescribed Fire Review,” Cuba District Ranger Patrick Petracca said in a statement. “These actions gave our fire managers and line officers improved processes such as ensuring prescribed fire plans are validated and up to date with the most recent science and modeling, to move forward in completing important hazardous fuels reduction work to help protect watersheds, infrastructure and communities.” Nonetheless, she notes. “The community has every right to feel hesitant about the resumption of prescribed burning in the Forest. Public trust is vital to our ability to implement prescribed fires and provide defensive zones around our communities. We are moving forward thoughtfully to demonstrate our abilities to use fire successfully as a tool on the landscape.”
Council approves South Meadows project
The Santa Fe City Council last night resumed discussion and ultimately approved the controversial South Meadows development proposal from Homewise well into the early morning, with only the two city councilors who represent the Southside District 3—Lee Garcia and Chris Rivera—voting against the measure to rezone land previously designated for Santa Fe County’s open space program into housing. The vote came after a long night of comments on a proposal to rebuild the Plaza obelisk and the use of the Genoveva Chavez Community Center for a Major Arena Soccer League 2 team, with nearly four hours of public comments dedicated to mostly just those two issues in advance of the late-night South Meadows vote. The Santa Fe New Mexican also has a roundup of other introduced and approved items last night, including approval of $50,000 in donations from the Santa Fe Pickleball Club and the Mammel Foundation to begin designing and constructing six pickleball courts at Fort Marcy Park.
State Senate approves new PRC commissioners
The state Senate yesterday also confirmed the first three Public Regulation Commissioners to that body since it transitioned from a five-person elected panel to a three-person appointed one. Gabriel Aguilera, James F. Ellison and Patrick O’Connell have sat on the PRC as appointees of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham since January. O’Connell, who previously worked at both Western Resource Advocates and Public Service Company of New Mexico, will serve a six-year term. Aguilera, who spent 15 years in multiple positions at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in Washington, DC, focusing exclusively on western electric issues, will serve for four years. Ellison held multiple positions at Sandia National Laboratory, primarily focused on power systems analysis and planning, will serve for two. During the confirmation hearing, Sen. Mark Moores, R-Albuquerque, raised concerns about the nominating process, the Albuquerque Journal reports, telling the appointees he thought the process had been “tainted, not by you but by others,” in reference to former House Speaker Brian Egolf’s appointment of himself to the nominating commission. Senators also made note of controversy involving O’Connell, who has recused himself from involvement with the proposed merger between PNM and Avangrid, praising him for doing so.
Lovers, beware
Roses are red; violets are blue; watch out for romance scams, law enforcement warns you. With Valentine’s Day less than a week away, the FBI has issued a warning news release titled: “Valentine’s Day in New Mexico means love—and scams.” Apparently, love scams “proliferate” this time of year. “Romance scams can have a devastating impact on hearts as well as bank accounts,” Special Agent in Charge Raul Bujanda of the Albuquerque FBI Division says in a statement. “Your true love might be waiting for you on a dating website, or it could be someone who will tell you sweet little lies to get your money. Be alert, ask lots of questions, and know the warning signs of a scam.” According to a news release citing FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center data, New Mexico had more than 170 victims of these sorts of scams in 2021. Approximately a third of the victims were over the age of 60 and they lost almost $1.5 million—70% of the total loss for victims of all age groups. Romance scams usually involve men targeting divorced, widowed, elderly or disabled older women, but “scammers do not discriminate,” the news release notes. More information available here.
COVID-19 by the numbers
Reported Feb. 8 : New cases: 179; 666,075 total cases. Deaths: six; Santa Fe County has had 395 total deaths; 8,991 total fatalities statewide. Statewide hospitalizations: 65. Patients on ventilators: four
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s most recent Feb. 2 “community levels” map shows the same four county categorized as “yellow”—medium risk—for COVID-19 as last week: De Baca, Curry, Quay and Roosevelt counties. The rest of the state—including Santa Fe County—is green, aka has low risk. Corresponding recommendations for each level can be found here.
Resources: Receive four free at-home COVID-19 tests per household via COVIDTests.gov; Check availability for additional free COVID-19 tests through Project ACT; CDC interactive booster eligibility tool; NM DOH vaccine & booster registration; CDC isolation and exposure interactive tool; 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. DOH encourages residents to download the NM Notify app and to report positive COVID-19 home tests on the app.
You can read all of SFR’s COVID-19 coverage here.
Listen up
Hard to forget the excitement last year in the Santa Fe Public Schools when Nye Early Childhood Center teacher Tara Hughes was named 2023 New Mexico Teacher of the Year. On the most recent episode of the Inside SFPS podcast, “Just Give Them Time, They Need Time,” host Cody Dynarski, SFPS public information officer, talks with Hughes about her journey to New Mexico; transition from theater to education; and, movingly, the sense of community in her classroom at Nye, where she’s taught for nine years and is demonstrating to her students “we have differences, but we’re all the same and we need to accept differences.”
Clouds of honey
“Drizzled with honey, smothered with Christmas-style red and green chiles, or stuffed with carne adovada, sopaipillas are the all-star of dining in New Mexico.” That’s the subhed for a recent Eater story on everyone’s favorite form of fried dough (although we’re also partial to fry bread and funnel cake), which delves both into the sopaipillas’ provenance and dishes on the best places to partake in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Gallup. First the backstory, via the state Department of Cultural Affairs, which ties the sopaipillas’ emergence to the forced relocation by the US government of the Navajos and Mescalero Apaches to the Bosque Redondo reservation in eastern New Mexico. There, tribes developed a simple mix of flour, baking soda, salt, and fat that could be fried and helped stretch rations. Fry bread and sopaipillas diverged in form at some point in history, and the latter can be found across the Americas and in other US states. But New Mexico’s cloud-like sopaipilla makes it unique. The story talks to a variety of chefs about their techniques, reviews sopaipilla etiquette (it’s a thing) and points diners toward a few spots to sample the best ones, including Tomasita’s and Rancho de Chimayó.
NM’s hidden and unhidden gems
It’s not brand-new “news,” but Travel Off Path and Traveling Lifestyle this week both highlight a recent report on 2023 travel trends from Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo, which forecasts that this year “travelers are ditching the conventional and veering off course for all-new experiences. Prepare for the year of the no-normal.” Vrbo specifically maintains that “hidden gems” are trending with travelers “exploring unassuming locales and unfamiliar places. These charming spots are the up-and-coming getaways for groups who would rather take their time soaking up new destinations with loved ones than jumping into the commotion of urban centers.” The report includes a list of the top 10 hidden gems in the US, which “all have one thing in common: demand for each of these unconventional destinations has increased by 30% or more.” Yes, a New Mexico locale is on that top 10 list: Las Cruces comes in at #9. This seems to follow another trend Vrbo spotlights in the report: “Cowboy-cations,” as in “rustic ranches, lodges and farmhouses characterized by cowboy western charm.” Vrbo says demand for “whole, completely private vacation homes in US western destinations” is up by more than 30%. Speaking of cowboys, Texas Monthly serves up six great ski spots for Texans, most of which are in Colorado, but Red River, NM makes the list, perhaps because “Red River feels like Texas, only with snow,” the magazine writes.
Lastly (for now) Booking.com will be giving away $500,000 in vacation credit in tandem with its Super Bowl ads featuring Melissa McCarthy this coming Sunday (here she is singing “Somewhere, Anywhere,” which is the theme of the giveaway). Travel & Leisure reports 50 winners will be given $10,000 each in travel credits they can use both domestically and abroad. To enter, follow @bookingcom on Instagram or TikTok and leave a comment on any Booking.com giveaway post explaining the “Somewhere, Anywhere” you want to go with the credits. What does this have to do with New Mexico? We’re getting there. “Not sure where your “Somewhere, Anywhere” is?” T&L writes. “Booking.com pointed to its 10 top trending global destinations for 2023 list to provide a little inspiration. For domestic travel, it listed Santa Fe, New Mexico, as the number one trending destination.”
Barren winter, with his wrathful nipping cold
The National Weather Service forecasts a 30% chance of snow today on an otherwise partly sunny, cold day with a high temperature near 29 degrees and northwest wind 10 to 15 mph. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible. The colder weather today and potential snow arrives courtesy a pair of cold fronts sweeping the state.
Thanks for reading! The Word finds this week’s “new mix” from All Songs Considered particularly listenable.
