Friday morning crash kills fourth-grader
Many Santa Feans started their Friday morning in a snarl of traffic last week as first responders blocked off a chunk of St. Francis Drive near Hickox due to a deadly accident. Nine-year-old Jeremiah Archuletta was killed in the crash. A GoFundMe has been set up for funeral services. His father, Dominic, is still in the hospital ($). Police have not yet released any information about a possible cause of the crash.
Bright futures
Last night was the biggest night in movies, and it was also a big night for the Santa Fe Opera, indirectly. Ruth E Carter, who made history as the first African American to win a Best Costume Design Oscar for Black Panther, started her career as a costume apprentice at SFO.
New laws cookin’: a Roundhouse Roundup
Committees advanced a few very divergent bills to legalize marijuana ($), but it seems unlikely that HB 356 or SB 577 will make it all the way to law before the legislative session ends on March 16. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has proposed a few ideas to get more doctors to New Mexico (which anyone who's had either a broken arm or a mental break understands is sorely needed), but the Leg would have to sign off on her ideas, which include raising Medicaid payments for doctors and increasing funding for graduate medical residencies. A Senate committee advanced the renewable energy-focused Energy Transition Act (which you can read more about in SFR's current cover story), and that controversial minimum wage bill advanced, though lawmakers are backing off the contentious elimination of a tipped wage credit. Oh, the House passed a bill to continue to tax Los Alamos National Labs, despite its tax-exempt status. Stopping would lose the state $25-$30 mil a year, and that's just wack.
Helping hand warmers
The Santa Fe Fire Department has a new initiative to help homeless folks in town: Code Blue ($) sees department members driving around in an ambulance with sleeping bags and hand warmers, offering rides to shelters or supplies for those who decline. The program is modeled after others in larger cities, including New York City, and is based on the idea that unsheltered people tend to be more trusting of the fire department or ambulances than they are of police.
Clearly they’ve never been to court
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has responded to Gov. Lujan Grisham's letter admonishing the agency for detaining immigrants near the ABQ Metro Court. ICE says that it doesn't arrest people in "sensitive locations" like churches or schools, and that courthouses are not considered "sensitive."
God bless us, every tree
The Questa Ranger District of Carson National Forest has been chosen as the source site for the 2019 White House Christmas tree ($). We hope it gets hamberders.
My arms hurt
Now that you've shoveled out from Friday's snow dump, it should warm up this week; maybe even into the 50s on Thursday. (That link is to Albuquerque temps, which are always a bit warmer than those in Santa Fe, which of course makes us jealous of them in winter, but keeps us smug in summer.)
Thanks for reading! Despite telling you about Restaurant Week on Friday morning, the Word totally forgot it was happening by Friday evening … And was thus pleasantly surprised by a delicious prixe fixe at The Ranch House. Zing!
