Morning-Word-Covid
COVID-19 by the numbers
New Mexico health officials on Friday reported 331 new COVID-19 cases. There have now been a total of 210,416 cases; the health department has designated 196,851 of those cases as recovered.
Bernalillo County had 93 cases, followed by Eddy County with 34 and Doña Ana County with 31. Santa Fe County had 11 new cases.
The state also announced two additional deaths, one recent and one from more than 30 days ago; there have now been 4,410 total fatalities. Hospitalizations continued to rise on Friday, with 148 people hospitalized with COVID-19.DOH is expected to provide a three-day update on cases, deaths and hospitalizations this afternoon.
Currently, 73% of New Mexicans 18 years and older have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 64.8% are fully vaccinated. In the 12-17-year-old age group, 48.7% have had at least one dose and 38.4% have been fully vaccinated. In Santa Fe County, among those 18 years and older, 82.9% have had at least one dose and 74.2% are fully inoculated.
You can read all of SFR’s COVID-19 coverage here.
Stapleton resigns from Legislature
Albuquerque Democrat Sheryl Williams Stapleton, first elected to the Legislature in 1995, on Friday resigned from the state House of Representatives, and from her position as majority floor leader, following news of an ongoing criminal investigation of her potential involvement in an illegal scheme worth millions of dollars of public money. In a letter resigning from her seat in the state House, Stapleton “unequivocally” denies wrongdoing (and she has not been charged), but says she will need to “devote a significant amount of time and energy to fully defend” herself against the allegations and, in the best interest of both the state and House, she should be replaced with someone “who can fully and competently resume the tasks and duties that are necessary.” The Bernalillo County Commission will now be responsible for appointing a new member to carry out the remainder of Stapleton’s current term representing District 19. On Saturday, the New Mexico House Democratic Caucus announced it will hold elections in the coming weeks to select a new House majority floor leader. “We are fortunate to have a number of highly-qualified and capable members who would serve as excellent additions to leadership,” House Speaker Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, said in a statement. “Given the serious responsibilities of this position, we want to ensure that potential candidates and caucus members have the time needed before a careful selection is made.” In the interim, House Majority Whip Doreen Gallegos, D-Las Cruces, will serve as acting majority floor leader.
SF County passes cannabis ordinance
Following four hours of discussion and debate on Friday, the Santa Fe Board of County Commissioners passed a cannabis ordinance that details the zoning regulations for producers, retailers and consumers. The move comes in the wake of the state’s new Cannabis Regulation Act; follows criticisms that both Santa Fe’s city and county governments lagged behind addressing zoning issues in their jurisdictions; and just one month before New Mexico starts processing applications from cannabis producers. Among other provisions, Santa Fe County’s new ordinance allows outdoor cannabis in agricultural, ranching and rural zones (see the zoning map here), but doesn’t limit growers to those areas as initially proposed by the county’s Planning Commission. Rather, the ordinance creates a mechanism for producers to apply to grow in other types of zoned areas. While commissioners passed the ordinance unanimously, some expressed uncertainty nonetheless. “I’m just struggling with this,” Commissioner Anna Hansen said. “I don’t want to be too loose and I don’t want to be too tight. I want to make it easy for the micro-grower, and I don’t know if we’re doing that by what we have just done…so I’m just struggling.” The Santa Fe City Council had asked for public comment at a meeting Wednesday ahead of releasing its own draft zoning rules, but technical trouble stalled that until 7 pm tonight.
City extends Midtown shelter contract
The City of Santa Fe will continue paying for the Midtown Shelter for another year, city councilors decided last week, and pay $965,000 to extend its contract with the nonprofit New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness. The city opened the shelter on the former Santa Fe University of Art and Design campus in March 2020 to provide housing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Coalition Associate Director Mark Oldknow says the facility has “set a foundation for accommodating our growing homeless population and offering different doors so people can come into the system, stabilize, settle down...and then hopefully move them onto more permanent solutions.” Officials say the shelter was able to offer vaccinations to its residents, as well as provide on-site case management. “It can be really challenging, especially for the homeless population, with cell phones, with having WiFi connecting, maintaining those schedules...remotely,” shelter manager Korina Lopez says.
Listen up
Today, the Santa Fe Opera and 95.5 KHFM Classical Public Radio launch Monday presentations of live performances of this season’s operas: The Marriage of Figaro, The Lord of Cries, Eugene Onegin and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, all recorded live on opening nights at The John Crosby Theater. Soprano and KHFM host Kathlene Ritch and co-host, tenor and Santa Fe Opera Chief Artistic Officer David Lomelí will present the broadcasts at 6 pm MDT on Aug. 2, 9, 16 and 23, starting this evening with The Marriage of Figaro. Santa Fe and Albuquerque residents can tune in to 95.5 KHFM or stream live on at KHFM.org. Commentary will be offered in English and Spanish.
NM Indigenous women project granted $10 mil
The Future is Indigenous Womxn, an initiative from New Mexico Community Capital and Native Women Lead, was one of four recipients granted $10 million from The Equality Can’t Wait Challenge (hosted by Pivotal Ventures, Melinda French Gates’ investment company). Described by the New York Times as a “groundbreaking competition for gender equality,” the challenge chose the four grantees from 550 applications. “We hope this sends a clear signal that philanthropy has a role to play in supporting these projects,” Nicole Bates, director of strategic partnerships and initiatives at Pivotal Ventures, said via NYT. “It’s the first competition centered on gender with an award of this magnitude, and our hope is that this is now the baseline.” A fact sheet for The Future is Indigenous Womxn’s project describes its vision to help Native women “use entrepreneurship as one pathway to healing, safety, stability, self-determination, and sovereignty.” Elizabeth Gamboa, executive director of New Mexico Community Capital, tells the Times the project will help show the value of investing in Native women entrepreneurs, as well as address the chronic underpayment they experience. “We see business as a way for women to not only reclaim their values and worth, but also assert the need to have economic stability in their communities,” she said.
GMA visits the Land of Enchantment
ICYMI, Good Morning America’s Rise & Shine tour visited New Mexico on Friday, with What Would You Do host John Quiñones kicking off the tour on the Santa Fe Plaza. “New Mexico is known as the Land of Enchantment,” Quiñones says, surrounded by a crowd near the spot where there used to be an obelisk. “Clearly it’s because of all the beauty in this state.” That beauty, he notes, goes hand in hand with the state’s diverse culture. From there, Quiñones visits Albuquerque and talks to Queneesha Meyers, owner of Q’s Cakes and Sweets Boutique, and Sheila McVeigh, owner of Weems Gallery and Framing; takes a ride in the Sandia Tram; chats with former Pojoaque Pueblo Gov. George Rivera about hoop dancing and the Lightning Boy Foundation; cruises through an arroyo discussing the state’s natural beauty with Santa Fe Mountain Adventures owner Georges Mally; and extols the charm of riding Route 66 in a classic car.
Drop in the bucket
Happy August! From here, it’s just a couple of monsoon storms until Christmas. As for today, the National Weather Service forecasts a 60% chance for showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 3 pm. Otherwise, it will mostly be sunny with a high near 79 degrees and southeast wind of 5 to 10 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon. Looking ahead, expect more of the same at least through Wednesday, with the possibility of warming up and drying out toward the end of the week. And, yes, all this rain is helping the state’s drought in the short term, although Santa Fe appears to remain in so-called “exceptional drought,” according to the US Drought Monitor.
Thanks for reading! The Word reads recipes more than she actually cooks, but the Food52 roundup of August dishes looks pretty tempting.
