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COVID-19 by the numbers
New Mexico health officials yesterday reported 876 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the statewide total so far to 226,868. DOH has designated 200,248 of those cases as recovered.
Bernalillo County had 254 new cases, followed by Lea County with 139 and Sandoval County with 58. Santa Fe County had 21 new cases.
The state also announced two additional deaths; there have now been 4,483 total fatalities. As of yesterday, 426 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, an increase of 74 from the day prior.
Currently, 76.2% of New Mexicans 18 years and older have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 66.8% are fully vaccinated. In the 12-17-year-old age group, 57.6% people have had at least one dose and 44.5% are fully inoculated. In Santa Fe County, among those 18 years and older, 87.7% have had at least one dose and 77.2% are fully vaccinated.
Acting Health Secretary Dr. David Scrase, Deputy Secretary Dr. Laura Parajón and State Epidemiologist Dr. Christine Ross will host a remote news conference at 1 pm today on the NMDOH Facebook page to provide a COVID-19 update.
Yesterday, Santa Fe Public Schools released a statement that 16 students and one staff member at 10 schools have tested positive for COVID-19. According to a news release, the individuals were last on campus four to 11 days prior. “Though SFPS is experiencing positive COVID-19 cases, only one of these cases has been contracted in our schools, providing reassurance that our safety protocols are working,” Superintendent Hilario “Larry” Chavez said in a statement. “Thorough contact tracing is occurring in all schools with positive cases, led by our lead nurse and COVID-19 response specialist. We have not seen extensive transmission of COVID-19 between staff and students or between students in our schools.” Chavez also urged parents to “ensure masks are worn when their children are socializing with others away from school…Working together as a community we can keep everyone safe and healthy.”
Finally, need yet another incentive to seek vaccination? As of Sept. 1, Ten Thousand Waves will require diners at renowned (and delicious) Izanami restaurant to be fully vaccinated to be seated indoors, and also require full vaccination to book lodging, spa treatments or the hot tub suites. “We choose to be part of the solution,” the business writes about its decision. “We know that some will disagree with our decision, but we have no greater responsibility than to ensure the safety of our guests and staff.”
You can read all of SFR’s COVID-19 coverage here.
State finalizes rules for cannabis producers
Yesterday, the state Cannabis Control Division of the Regulation and Licensing Department announced the rules for cannabis production are published and officially in effect. Those rules cover the people and businesses that grow and harvest cannabis, and include plant-count limits and licensing fees. The rules follow several months of public hearings, comments and work by an advisory committee. They also come slightly ahead of schedule: The deadline for the CCD to finalize the producer rules and begin accepting applications is Sept. 1; the division will start accepting license applications later this week and has 90 days to approve or deny them. “We are ready for business,” Regulation and Licensing Department Superintendent Linda Trujillo said in a statement. “The Cannabis Control Division is committed to supporting licensees to maximize the economic opportunities that adult-use cannabis sales offer our state.” While the producer rules are now in effect, rules for manufacturers, retailers, testing facilities and other key parts of the supply chain are still in process. Those rules, by law, must be finalized by Jan. 1, and adult-use cannabis sales will start no later than April 2022. “There is more work to do,” Trujillo said, “but an important first step has been completed and we look forward to working with New Mexicans to stand up production facilities in the coming weeks.”
Helping Afghanistan
The Santa Fe-based philanthropic foundation Kindle Project has opened a fund specifically geared at providing support to organizations working with artists, artisans, women and girls who are either at risk inside Afghanistan or have managed to relocate outside of the country. Kindle Project Executive Director Sadaf Rassoul Cameron says the initiative “is an opportunity to move from collector and appreciator of cultural diversity to investor in long-term community healing, which will benefit all of us locally and globally.” Cameron, who was born in Santa Fe after her mother fled Afghanistan following the Russian invasion in 1978, and her cousin, Ariane Mahmud-Ghazi, a somatic psychotherapist, clinical social worker and trauma consultant who has worked with several organizations on the ground in Afghanistan, spoke with SFR about the longstanding relationship between Santa Fe and Afghanistan. Both hope the city can serve as a home for refugees. Last week, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and House Speaker Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, wrote a letter to President Joe Biden offering the state as a resource for resettlement, and this week ABC News reported the US is adding Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo as a fifth domestic military base to house refugees. Cameron and Mahmud-Ghazi remain in contact with family and friends in Afghanistan—their cousin, Mahbouba Seraj, director of the Afghan Women Skills Development Center, also is a former Santa Fe resident; Mahmud-Ghazi also provided a list of other resources to which Santa Feans can contribute.
More feature films in production in NM
The state Film Office yesterday reported two more feature films are in production in New Mexico. Chupa, directed by Jonás Cuarón, will be filming through October in Santa Fe, Estancia, Zia Pueblo, Mesilla and Albuquerque, and employ approximately 300 New Mexico crew members and 650 New Mexico background and extras. The film, from Netflix, “follows a teenager who, while visiting his family in Mexico, gains an unlikely companion when he discovers a mythical creature hiding on his grandfather’s ranch. To save him, Alex, and his cousins must embark on the adventure of a lifetime.” Dead for a Dollar, written and directed by Walter Hill, will film in Santa Fe this month and employ approximately 80 New Mexico crew members, 20 New Mexico principal cast members and 40 New Mexico background and extras. The story “follows a famed bounty hunter who runs into his sworn enemy, a professional gambler and outlaw that he had sent to prison years before, while on a mission to find and return the wife of a successful businessman who is being held hostage in Mexico.” In a statement on the film, its many producers described Hill as “an important figure in American movie history,” and said they are “thrilled to shoot in the #1 western location in the world—New Mexico.”
Listen up
The Santa Fe-based “Artist with Brian” podcast has just entered its third season and its title is fairly descriptive. In each podcast, screenwriter, fledgling indie film producer and Second Street employee Brian Brett interviews artists in an engaging wide-ranging conversation about their work and their ideas. In the case of the most recent episode, he interviews SFR’s Culture Editor Alex De Vore (who, we learned, hates people who don’t care about anything, among other tidbits). Prior interviews run the gamut, from pianist Charles Tichenor to puppet filmmaker Devon Hawkes Ludlow.
Slumber under the stars
If you yearn to sleep among the trees with a view to New Mexico’s night sky canopy a few more times before winter extends its icy fingers, New Mexico Magazine has you covered with stories exploring a variety of ways to immerse in the wilderness. These include a look at the newest in local glamping, KitFox, where the magazine’s managing editor, Kate Nelson, arrived a skeptic: “Do you really need gourmet meals, live music, and over-the-top s’mores to appreciate nature?” she writes. Turns out, they don’t hurt: “I didn’t miss puzzling over a campsite, fumbling with dirty dishes, or undoing the spinal kinks rendered by blow-up mattresses,” she notes. The magazine provides yet more glamping options; a compelling essay on the pleasures of the Riana Campground overlooking Abiquiú Lake, where husband and wife Aaron Gulley and Jen Judge park their Airstream as often as possible; and even more spots to park your RV, should you have one. You’ll also find tips for family-friendly camping at Sugarite Canyon State Park; recs for camping with kids; and an introduction to the amenities—natural and otherwise—available at the Mesa Campground, in the Gila National Forest.
Dolphin tales
Turns out dolphin therapy—in which dolphins purportedly help people with medical issues ranging from autism to strokes—doesn’t have much science behind it. For example, there’s no evidence dolphins can “alter human tissue, cells and brain waves” through ultrasound pulses or “intrinsically communicate with people who have had trouble communicating with others,” reports National Geographic in the story, “Inside the murky world of dolphin therapy.” Even people who run dolphin therapy companies acknowledge the lack of hard science backing the work: “There’s only anecdotal evidence and no way to measure what we do,” Kat Perry, who owns and runs Integrative Intentions, says. Perry’s company offers dolphin-assisted therapy sessions out of the Bahamas, but is based in—wait for it—Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, where it offers services as well. Nonetheless, one mother NatGeo profiles in the story brought her young son—severely injured in a car accident—for the company’s dolphin therapy—and cranial sacral therapy—in July, 2019 and saw lasting improvement from doing so (the five-day treatment cost $4,500 and didn’t include airfare, lodging or food). Still, critics worry both about mis-labeling the practice as therapy, as well as the potential dangers of interactions with non-domesticated animals.
Catch the sun
Today looks like a repeat of yesterday: sunny, with a high near 89 degrees and north wind 5 to 10 mph becoming west in the afternoon. As for those afternoon storms we have come to rely upon, the National Weather Service forecasts a possible return starting tomorrow and straight on through the weekend.
Thanks for reading! The Word would be remiss if she didn’t include an obit for Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts (RIP), and a clip to one of her favorite Stones’ videos.
