artdirector@sfreporter.com
Morning Word
COVID-19 by the numbers
New Mexico health officials yesterday reported 543 new COVID-19 cases over the three-day period of May 15-17, bringing the statewide total so far to 201,186. The health department has designated 186,553 of those cases as recovered.
Bernalillo County had 146 cases, followed by San Juan County with 101 and Santa Fe County with 42, 17 of which were from the Southside 87507 ZIP code, which ranked sixth in the state for the most new cases today. (Santa Fe County also had the third highest number of cases in the state on Friday).
The state also announced three additional deaths; there have now been 4,116 fatalities. As of yesterday, 127 people were hospitalized with COVID-19.
Currently, 63% of New Mexicans have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 52.2% are fully vaccinated. In Santa Fe County, 72.1% have had at least one dose and 60.3% are fully inoculated—that puts Santa Fe in fifth place for the percentage of residents who have been completely vaccinated. Los Alamos County ranks first with 75.3% and Roosevelt County ranks 33rd, or last, with 25.3%.
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.
Auntie Em!
If you don’t recall ever being warned to shelter from a tornado in Santa Fe, you are not alone. But that’s just what happened at midday yesterday when severe weather darkened the skies. Hail blanketed I-25 just south of Santa Fe and a Twitter user captured video of one of the reported “landspout” tornados near Cochiti Pueblo (also visible from some parts of the Southside). Those twisters form from the ground up and are weaker than a typical tornado. The National Weather Service office in Albuquerque received reports of that and one other near Socorro, meteorologist Daniel Porter told The Albuquerque Journal, and the agency warns stormy weather isn’t out of the question again today.
DA Torrez announces AG candidacy
New Mexico Democratic voters will have at least two choices in the June 2022 primary for the Attorney General’s race. Yesterday, Bernalillo County District Attorney Raúl Torrez announced his candidacy; state Auditor Brian Colón announced last week. Both hope to succeed Hector Balderas, who is on his second term and ineligible to run again (No Republicans have announced candidacies as of yet). “New Mexicans are looking for somebody who’s a fighter in the attorney general’s office and someone who has real experience to take on the job,” Torrez told the Associated Press. “If you look at the work that we’ve done inside the district attorney’s office, we’ve been able to secure additional resources, modernize that office, transform how it operates, bringing frankly new capabilities that no one had ever envisioned.” Torrez also told the AP he hopes to expand the AG office’s capacity as it relates to consumers and address concerns about tech companies. “One of the things I’d like to see is the development of a greater and more experienced core of civil litigators,” he said.
State maps uranium mines
Yesterday,the state Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department’s Mining and Minerals Division announced the launch of an online dashboard that provides data on New Mexico’s legacy uranium mines, from those that had verifiable uranium production to ones that were abandoned and their remediation statuses. “Presenting the full scope of legacy mining in New Mexico is a monumental task, but the publication of the New Mexico Uranium Mines Dashboard provides a comprehensive picture of one area of New Mexico’s mining history,” MMD Director Jerry Schoeppner said in a statement. Within the dashboard, users can search by address, current location or select points on the map to learn more about a given location or area (this user guide explains the navigation). The dashboard application was developed in partnership with the Environmental Systems Research Institute.
Listen up
Episode 29 of the No More Normal podcast takes a look at the problem of gun violence in America, where we stand and what can be done about it. Guests include: The Violence Project (Off-Ramp Project) co-founder and President Jillian Peterson; Miranda Viscoli, co-president, New Mexicans To Prevent Gun Violence; and Tim Quinn, spokesperson for Gun Control Australia. No More Normal is a collaboration between KUNM, SFR and New Mexico PBS.
Sowing the seeds of lunch
Santa Fe’s plant-based food scene has room for growth, SFR’s William Melhado writes, but vegans will find plenty to choose from at the new Plant Base Cafe (1372 Vegas Verdes Drive, 365-2556), where the menu’s American, Mexican and Italian categories “are almost as extensive as a phone book.” Calzones alone can be assembled 140 different ways if one takes into account the various proteins, faux cheeses and sauce options available. “It’s a different system,” head cook Thomas Conboy says of the solely vegan offerings, “so there’s an enormous number of options and an enormous variety of foodstuffs you can choose from.” For now, Conboy and crew only offer pick-up and delivery with entirely compostable to-go containers. If perusing a phone-book level menu sounds intimidating, Melhado recommends the Buffalo cauliflower wings for spice lovers, as well as the oyster mushroom “chicken” sandwich.
Meow Wolf announces Denver artists
Yesterday, Meow Wolf, which has kept much of its plans for the forthcoming Denver installation—the organization’s third— under wraps, announced the names of the 110 Colorado artists working on Meow Wolf Denver. According to a news release from the company, more than 300 “creatives” are working on the project, expected to open this fall. “Fasten your seatbelts, Meow Wolf Denver is our most ambitious project to date! With hundreds of creatives working on this massive endeavor, including overwhelming talent from local Denver-based artists, we can’t wait for guests to experience the magic confined within these uniquely shaped walls,” Ali Rubinstein, Meow Wolf’s CCO and Co-CEO, said in a statement. Denver Westword co-founder and Editor Patricia Calhoun describes the lineup as a “who’s who of local talent,” with a few shout-outs for “Wheelchair Space Kitchen” from former Denver mayoral candidate and Westword MasterMind Kalyn Heffernan and musician Gregg Ziemba, along with “Indigenous Futurist Dreamscape Lounge,” by Molina Speaks (another Westword MasterMind).
Smells like rain
Thunderstorms have a 50% chance of continuing today after 9 am, says the National Weather Service, which forecasts slight showers and thunderstorms through Wednesday before a return to sunny skies Thursday. Today’s high is predicted at 61 degrees. New rainfall amounts could range between a tenth and quarter of an inch.
Thanks for reading! From this article on famous writers and punctuation, The Word learned she loves semi-colons just like Abraham Lincoln and hates exclamation points as did Scott Fitzgerald (and don’t miss this linked story that strips novels down to just their punctuation).
