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Morning Word
Scientists ID new Tyrannosaur from NM fossil
Groundbreaking research in New Mexico has identified a fossil found here 30 years ago as a previously unknown species of Tyrannosaur. The researchers published their findings yesterday in Scientific Reports and discussed them at a news conference in Albuquerque at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History, where the paper’s lead author, Montana State University doctoral candidate Sebastian Dalman, first noticed differences between the fossil discovered by a family at Elephant Butte Lake and the teeth from known species of Tyrannosaur. From there, he enlisted other researchers, including the museum’s Spencer Lucas and executive director, Anthony Fiorillo, also co-authors on the paper, which received widespread national attention yesterday. The researchers posit the new species they’ve dubbed T.mcraeensis as a direct ancestor of the T.rex, pre-dating it by approximately 5 to 7 million years. “Science is a process,” Fiorilla said. “With each new discovery, it forces us to go back and test and challenge what we thought we knew. And that’s the story. The core story of this project is that it took 30 years, but it’s part of the process of moving forward with new interpretations.”
Feds award NM $68 mil for EV infrastructure
New Mexico will receive close to $68 million to build electric vehicle charging stations, federal officials announced yesterday in Santa Fe. The funds include $3.4 million for Santa Fe County to build a charging network of 33 fast charges and Level 2 charging stations at 13 sites. The funding, awarded by the Federal Highway Administration through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program, also includes $500,000 for six publicly available EV chargers in Taos. The lion’s share of the grant—$63.8 million—will go to the state department of transportation for 2 TeraWatt charging centers for commercial electric trucks along I-10 in Hidalgo and Doña Ana counties. According to a news release from the office of US Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-NM, private company TerraWatt Infrastructure will be building the I-10 Electric Corridor, described as “the nation’s first network of high-powered charging centers for heavy-duty electric trucks.” In statements, the congressional delegation, along with federal transportation administrators, such as US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, praised the funding and project as next steps forward in the “EV revolution.” In total, the Biden-Harris administration yesterday announced $623 million in EV charging network grants across the country. “From passenger sedans to school buses and delivery trucks, today’s EVs are market ready right now,” Heinrich said in a statement. “If we want to meet our ambitious climate goals and deploy these clean and zero-emission vehicles at scale, we need to build much more EV charging infrastructure in our communities and along our major highways. This grant is a crucial step to get that done.”
Santa Fe Prep to buy part of Waldorf
Pending negotiations between the two schools and an inspection, Santa Fe Preparatory School will buy part of the former Santa Fe Waldorf School campus to accommodate two higher education programs, Breakthrough Santa Fe and the Davis New Mexico Scholarship, with which Prep collaborates. The potential sale follows the 40-year-old Waldorf’s unexpected closure just before the start of the current school year. Waldorf’s Board of Trustees emailed parents and alumni Jan. 9 and said it had signed a letter of intent to negotiate selling a portion of Waldorf’s property to Prep, noting the latter had “submitted a significantly competitive bid” to buy the high school portion of the campus. “We still have work to do to get through inspections, but this is a huge step forward and light at the end of the tunnel,” the email reads. The report did not mention the dollar amount of the potential sale, and neither the board nor Santa Fe Prep responded to SFR’s request for comment on the bid amount. Moreover, Waldorf parents still have no news about when they will be refunded for the 2023/2024 school year. “The only thing that we have been getting as parents was weekly updates about how they can’t give us our money yet…and selling the school so they can re-open Waldorf, get Waldorf education back,” parent Jeff Jedlowski tells SFR. “It’s like: Read the room, guys. You owe us thousands of dollars, you still haven’t given us any money and you’re telling us about the future of Waldorf? This is ridiculous.”
Gov. Lujan Grisham to unveil legislative crime agenda today
Lawmakers will convene on Tuesday, Jan. 16 for a 30-day session focused on finances, along with any other topics designated by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. The governor was expected to unveil her criminal justice agenda for the session this morning. The governor declared states of emergency related to gun violence and substance abuse in September; the state Supreme Court heard arguments regarding the legality of those orders last week and a decision in the case is pending. Last month, the governor said she intended to back legislation curtailing the use of automatic weapons, modeled on federal legislation co-sponsored by US Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-NM. As part of the governor’s spotlight on violence, the state police has been tracking and sharing its progress on a gun-violence dashboard and releasing a variety of data regarding public safety. Yesterday, state police released statistics between October and December for felony arrests, drug seizures and other crimes. “The New Mexico State Police are committed to keeping drugs and guns off our streets. Arrests and seizures like these will continue to occur to reduce the devastation guns and drugs are having on our New Mexico communities,” State Police Chief Troy Weisler said in a statement.
Listen up
Greg Berg, “local poet and lover of all things playlist” provides the latest installment for the 2024 Morning Word Playlist Project. Enjoy the music this long weekend, and create your own for us to share.
1. “Morning Dew,” Grateful Dead, Winterland 10-18-74: “Captures the dread of the upcoming national presidential election.”
2. “Become Desert” by John Luther Adams: “Captures standing still in our natural environment and saying to ourselves ‘remember this.’”
3. “Become Ocean” by John Luther Adams (Pulitzer Prize winner for music in 2014): “Here is Santa Fe, a piece of music with essence of water.”
4. “Music for 18 Musicians” by Steve Reich: “Because we live in cycles.”
5. “Ray of Light” by Madonna: “She was kickin’ in 2009 and this tune will pick you up anytime; crank it.”
Staying warm, keeping cool
Travel & Leisure’s roundup of “12 cozy girls trips” (which the magazine advises can be taken with one’s friends, sisters or mother) to find “peak cozy vibes” includes Taos, for skiing, art perusing and chowing down, among other activities. Afar magazine sends travelers in search of soothing soaks to New Mexico in its collection of eight of the best hot spring resorts in the US,” specifically to Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs and Spa Resort, where “whether you’re in New Mexico for skiing or for a dose of Southwestern architecture, cuisine and culture, the pools fed by natural spring water at Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs and Spa Resort offer a tonic retreat.” Afar also recommends Ojo for rejuvenation post skiing in Taos. Condé Nast Traveler revisits its best places to go in 2024, of which Santa Fe is one, in the latest episode of its Women Who Travel podcast. Host Lale Arikoglu talks with travel editors Arati Menon and Sara James about the spots on the list, with a big shout-out for Zozobra and its upcoming 100th anniversary burn (Aug. 30). Arikoglu also notes that when she moved to New York, she ended up making friends with a triplet from Santa Fe, who had lots of other friends from Santa Fe, also living in New York. “Everyone who’s grown up there is very cool, um, is one of my takeaways,” she says.
Time marches on
Variety magazine highlights the winning marching bands chosen by Metallica for its “For Whom the Band Tolls” matchup. Eastern New Mexico University was one of those winners, in the College Divisions 2 & 3 category with $40,000 in prizes. According to Variety, “the winners were chosen from more than 450 submissions from colleges and high schools across the US” and “narrowed down to five finalists in each category by professional judges, furnished by premiere marching band instrument manufacturers Conn Selmer, with first prize in each category ultimately awarded by Metallica.” ENMU performed “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” “Master of Puppets” and “Fade to Black” at the “Wagon Wheel Rivalry” halftime Show Nov. 4 during a game against West Texas A & M University. “We are so excited and proud to win Metallica’s “For Whom The Band Tolls” Marching Band Competition,” ENMU Director of Bands Dustin Seifert says in a statement. “The entire process was a labor of love and started with music from this iconic band.…We are grateful that Metallica chose to feature the outstanding work that is accomplished by our amazing students.”
Winter tames man, woman and beast
The National Weather Service forecasts another bitterly cold day, with a high near 26 degrees and wind chill values as low as -8; sunny skies; and north wind around 15 mph becoming west in the afternoon. The high temperature will rise to about 34 degrees on both Saturday and Sunday, with sunny skies on Saturday, cloudy ones on Sunday and likely another round of snow on Sunday as well. Look for a mostly sunny day on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, with a high temperature near 33 degrees and a slight chance of snow that evening.
Thanks for reading! The Word plans to slowly read Rebecca Solnit’s essay on slow change over the long weekend. She returns Tuesday, Jan. 16, following MLK Jr. Day.
