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Morning Word
Gov reviews Santa Fe mag court applicants
Ten residents have applied to replace Santa Fe County Magistrate Dev Atma Khalsa, the Santa Fe New Mexican reports. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office has been interviewing the candidates and expects to finish doing so this week, with a final decision expected by July 7. Khalsa formally agreed last month to step down from his position following his arrest Feb. 26 on charges of drunken driving. According to the agreement, the state’s Judicial Standards Commission dropped its disciplinary case against Khalsa in exchange for his resignation and disqualification from holding judicial office in the state again. The state Supreme Court suspended Khalsa the day following his arrest, at which point he had been serving for only a few months. All three of Khalsa’s opponents from the June 2022 primary election—John Baca, Melissa Mascareñas and Michael Roybal—have applied to replace him, as have seven others. As for Khalsa’s criminal case, Santa Fe Municipal Court records indicate he is next scheduled for a status hearing on July 12.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story gave the wrong date for when Khalsa took office. After Khalsa won the November 2022 general election, the governor appointed him to the bench to replace retiring Magistrate George Anaya. He began hearing cases in mid-December.
NMSU settles hazing lawsuit
New Mexico State University has settled a lawsuit brought last April by former basketball players for the school alleging sexual assault and hazing, among other crimes. The Albuquerque Journal reports the school settled the suit brought by former Aggie William Benjamin, his son William “Deuce” Benjamin Jr. and Shakiru Odunewu. Benjamin Jr. and Odunewu alleged assault in the suit filed against NMSU regents, former coaching staff and three teammates. According to Joleen Youngers, the Benjamins’ lawyer, claims against individual defendants were dismissed as part of the settlement. The Las Cruces Sun reports a lawyer for former head coach Greg Heiar says allegations against his client were dismissed prior to any discovery in the case and that his client is “pleased to have this chapter behind him and looks forward to returning to coaching.” The school fired Heiar last February following the hazing allegations. Financial settlement terms of the lawsuit were not disclosed yesterday. “We’re pleased this situation has now come to a resolution and all parties are able to move forward,” NMSU spokesman Justin Bannister said in a statement. “Our university has more than 400 student-athletes who are making a positive difference each day in the classroom, on their teams and in our community.”
Southside teen center delayed again
A long-awaited Southside teen center likely won’t open this summer and missed its projected May opening date, which already represented a six-month delay. The city broke ground in the fall of 2021 on the site, which has been in the works for years, with discussions stretching back into the early 2000s, according to former city councilor and current school board member and Santa Fe Community Housing Trust Executive Director Roman “Tiger” Abeyta. “It’s unfortunate the center’s not being opened in the summer,” Abeyta tells SFR. “When teens don’t have something to do they’re going to find something to do, and that’s not always healthy. That’s why this has always been important to me.” Santa Fe contracted with Jaynes Corp. of Albuquerque to build the $9.2-million facility at Valentine Way across Country Club Road from the Southside Branch of the Santa Fe Public Library. While construction was expected to take 18 months, Community Services Director Maria Sanchez-Tucker says COVID-related delays in materials have delayed the opening to late summer or early fall.
Higher ed to teachers: Apply for loan relief
State education leaders continue to encourage teachers to apply in advance of an Aug. 1 deadline for student debt forgiveness through a $5 million teacher loan repayment program. According to a June 5 Higher Education Department news release reissued yesterday, teachers licensed in New Mexico and working in high-need fields—such as special and bilingual education—and schools statewide may be eligible for up to $6,000 per year for two years toward principal debt and interest on federal student loans related to teacher education. Last year, more than 950 teachers received support through the program, which received a record number of applications; awards can be renewed for additional two-year cycles if the recipient continues to fulfill the teaching commitment. “The Teacher Loan Repayment Program is one of New Mexico’s most successful student debt relief programs and an essential tool for supporting our hardworking educators, who have chosen to further their education for the benefit of students,” Higher Education Secretary Stephanie M. Rodriguez said in a statement. According to the news release, the average amount of debt held by teachers participating in the program this year is more than $50,000. Learn more and apply here.
Listen up
By 2030, experts anticipate 50% of humans will be allergic to something. This statistic barely scratches the surface of the allergy predicament, which Theresa MacPhail tackles in her book Allergic: Our Irritated Bodies in a Changing World. A medical anthropologist, former journalist and associate professor of science and technology studies, MacPhail takes on the topic from every angle, producing a work described as “the story of allergies: what they are, why we have them, and what that might mean about the fate of humanity in a rapidly changing world.” She will discuss her book at 2 pm today with Santa Fe’s School for Advanced Research President Michael F. Brown. Register for the online event here.
Picturing Los Alamos
Christopher Nolan’s film Oppenheimer opens in less than a month and, as we’ve noted, continues to inspire coverage of the events and places depicted in the movie. Case in point: Smithsonian Magazine offers a “behind the scenes” look at Los Alamos, with photos alongside a history of the events that brought J. Robert Oppenheimer to town. Santa Fe-based photographer Minesh Bacrania’s pictures include ones of Pajarito Canyon, the inside of a research building at Gun Site and the Slotin Building, named after Louis Alexander Slotin, “the Canadian physicist who assembled the plutonium core for the Trinity test weapon in July 1945. He died less than a year later, at the age of 35, after an accident at Los Alamos exposed him to a lethal dose of radiation.” Bacrania, a former Los Alamos National Laboratory physicist who worked in LANL’s nonproliferation division from 2006 to 2012, reportedly received special permission to photograph restricted historic sites that are no longer in operation. “You can trace so many discoveries back to the work done at Los Alamos,” Bacrania says in the story. “That iPhone in your pocket can be traced all the way back to a little shed in a canyon.”
Cheers!
The 1960s-era Chimayó Cocktail continues to garner attention in present-day. Earlier this month, chef/cookbook author and podcast host Cheryl Alters Jamison highlighted the drink and shared a recipe for it in Table magazine. Now, online drinks website VinePair chooses the Chimayó Cocktail as the personification of the state in its mapped roundup of every state as a drink. Created in 1965 by Arturo Jaramillo, owner of Rancho de Chimayó restaurant, the cocktail “mixes the unlikely ingredients of tequila with apple cider, lemon juice and crème de cassis into a surprisingly balanced blend.” For those looking to imbibe with less mixology, WineSpectator has just announced the 2023 Restaurant Awards, honoring the world’s best restaurants for wine. This year’s included 3,505 US and international dining destinations, including 24 in New Mexico—half of which are in Santa Fe. However, only one New Mexico restaurant received the magazine’s highest Grand Award: Billy Crews Fine Dining in Santa Teresa. Four New Mexico restaurants received the second-highest honor, the Best of Award of Excellence, including: La Casa Sena, Anasazi Restaurant, Bar & Lounge and The Compound Restaurant. “In a time of technological innovation, restaurants offer the human experience diners are hungry for—listening to their customers and offering personalized experience,” Wine Spectator Editor and Publisher Marvin R. Shanken says in a statement. “This annual issue celebrates the places where wine is at the top of that conversation.”
That’s not cool
The National Weather Service forecasts a slight chance—20%—for precipitation today in Santa Fe, with the possibility of rain before noon, followed by showers and thunderstorms after noon—some of which could produce gusty winds. Otherwise, today will be mostly sunny, with a high temperature near 88 degrees and northeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming southwest 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon. The eastern and southern regions of the state face significantly higher temperatures this week, with the state health department yesterday issuing recommendations on avoiding and recognizing heat-related illnesses.
Thanks for reading! The Word has a soft spot for Cat Stevens/Yusuf and thoroughly enjoyed his performance this week from Glastonbury.
