VP Harris vetted NM Gov for ticket
Politico reports Vice President Kamala Harris’ vetting team assessed Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham as a potential running mate on the Democratic presidential ticket, along with eight other contenders, before choosing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (the governor’s office confirms the report). On Twitter, Lujan Grisham—who is in India this week—praised Harris’ choice, noting she and Walz had served in Congress together, and worked together as governors. Walz, she writes, is “smart, effective dedicated and—just as importantly—a kind, compassionate and decent man. His previous experience as an educator, and his ongoing work to improve the lives of veterans, has helped improve countless lives.” Democratic members of the state’s congressional delegation also praised the pick on social media, “I know @Tim_Walz,” US Sen. Ben Ray Luján writes. “He’s served our country in the classroom, in military uniform, on the floor as a member of the House, & as the down-to-earth Governor we all know and love. As our next VP, I know he’ll continue to be our teacher, fighter & unifier. Nice pick, @KamalaHarris.” US Sen. Martin Heinrich expressed similar thoughts, writing: “@Tim_Walz is the real deal. Whether it’s standing up for our rights and freedoms or championing working families, he embodies the values that make our country strong. Proud to stand with him and @KamalaHarris as they fight for all Americans, from the heartland to the mesas.” The state Republican Party, meanwhile, released a scathing critique of Harris’ choice, writing in a news release, “This choice reveals that the Democratic Party prefers blind allegiance to their radical agenda over competence in leadership.”
SFPD seeks homicide suspect
As of press time, the Santa Fe Police Department had yet to apprehend a suspect in a fatal shooting yesterday at the Best Buy on Zafarano Drive. According to SFPD, police were dispatched to the store at approximately 10:25 am where they learned at least one man had been shot in the parking lot. The victim, 83-year-old Gordan Peter Wilson of Santa Fe, died from his injuries. The suspect stole Wilson’s 2020 blue Jeep Grand Cherokee, bearing New Mexico registration plate CRM142, and fled the area before police arrived. Police describe the suspect as a Hispanic male with a goatee, tattoos on his arms, wearing black jeans and a bright blue shirt with button up shirt underneath, and a white baseball cap (photos available at prior links). If seen, do not approach and call 911 immediately. Santa Fe Police are asking anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of the suspect or the victim’s vehicle to contact Detective Rebecca Hilderbrandt at (505) 955-5265, or rrhilderbrandt@santafenm.gov. People can also upload evidence here.
Feds announce Permian Basin flyover
Following a July report in which federal and state agencies found potential air quality violations at 60% of Permian Basin oil and gas facilities inspected, the US Environmental Protection Agency announced yesterday it would be conducting another round of helicopter flyovers to survey facilities in the region. The flyovers, the agency says in a news release, help identify emissions such as the greenhouse gas methane and volatile organic compounds that lead to health problems. “EPA is taking to the skies to protect the people who live and work in the Permian Basin from pollution that contributes to climate change and smog,” Region 6 Administrator Earthea Nance says in a statement. “By focusing on the largest leaks in the basin, our efforts can make a big difference in improving air quality and public health as we ensure that oil and gas facilities return to compliance as quickly as possible.” The EPA says it has issued 48 enforcement orders based on flyovers in the Permian Basin, leading to nearly $5 million in penalties, as well as other measures for violating operations, such as enhanced monitoring systems. New Mexico already has some of the toughest regulations in the country related to methane issues, as Jerry Redfern reported last month, but nonetheless the number of wells needing inspection keeps growing, and those rules have not yet been codified into law.
DOH reports first West Nile Virus case of the year
Those end-of-summer mosquitoes aren’t just buzzing bloodsucking pests, they also carry the West Nile virus, with the state health department reporting the first confirmed infection yesterday. A Union County individual did not require hospitalization and is recovering a home, according to a news release. The state has had the third highest number of infections in the US since tracking began in 2022, with 80 infections and eight deaths last year. Over the last five years, New Mexico has averaged 35 cases per year. “Preventing mosquito bites is our first line of defense against West Nile Virus,” Chief Medical Officer Dr. Miranda Durham advises in a statement. “Protect yourself and your loved ones by using insect repellent and eliminating standing water.” Insect repellent; wearing long sleeves and pants at dawn and dusk; and eliminating water-holding containers remain the top advice for avoiding mosquitoes, along with keeping unscreened windows and doors closed. Symptoms, when they occur, are usually mild (fever, headache, body aches). A small number of cases, mostly among the elderly, can impact the central nervous system and become life-threatening.Horse owners can vaccinate their animals to prevent them from contracting both West Nile Virus and Western Equine Encephalitis, also carried by mosquitoes; 19 horses contracted West Nile Virus here last year, and six of them died. “Don’t wait until it’s too late,” state Public Health Veterinarian Erin Phipps says in a statement. “A single vaccine can make a difference and protect your horses from West Nile virus and other mosquito-borne diseases.”
Listen Up
¡Colores! features Santa Fe author Hampton Sides—in an episode that aired Aug. 3 on New Mexico PBS—focusing on his recent book The Wide Wide Sea, which explores the “dramatic events of Captain James Cook’s third and final voyage.” The book kept him “very busy” for five years, Sides says. As for Cook himself, “Americans, I think get him mixed up with other captains, both real and imaginary, like, uh, Captain Kirk from Star Trek,” he notes. The book, Sides emphasizes, is not a biography. “It is an account of a single voyage, beginning to end,” he says. “I think the main character of the book is the voyage.”
Free art
The Spanish Colonial Art Society’s recently re-named Nuevo Mexicano Heritage Arts Museum (formerly the Spanish Colonial Arts Museum) is now free for all visitors, as are its basic memberships. The move comes as the museum heads toward its 100th anniversary next year and works to remove barriers to entry to its extensive collection of art of Hispano New Mexico from the 20th and 21st centuries far and wide. “The impetus is that it’s a cultural site with a really amazing collection that reflects New Mexico, and it should be accessible,” Curator Jana Gottshalk tells SFR. “I felt like when we did the Lowrider bike exhibit—Lowrider Bike Club—and how it incorporated the community, it switched something in my head about how it had to be. This is also pretty personal for me because I grew up in a large family, and I know affording to bring a large family can be a significant cost, so in that spirit, I thought…I want whole families to be able to come in any day, feel welcome, see their art and their neighbor’s art and experience their culture.” Museum leadership looked at other models of organizations offering free admission and membership “and we took the approach that it needed to happen and we’ll figure out how to make it work,” Gottshalk says. “We’ll look for sponsorships to make sure it’s ongoing, but it felt like it needed to happen now. Once we realized how important free admission was to us, it became—how quickly can we make it happen?” According to a news release, prior members who joined at any level will be automatically renewed as Friends of the Nuevo Mexicano Heritage Arts Museum and the Spanish Colonial Arts Society. Membership dues will no longer be required when both an email and mailing address are provided.
Judging a book by its cover
Natalia Olbinski’s LitHub essay on designing the cover for Ruby Todd’s novel Bright Objects would be worth a read even if it had zero New Mexico connection. But fortunately, it has a thread connecting this riveting, weird story to the state. First, Todd’s novel, set in Australia, which Olbinski describes as the story of an astronomer who has discovered that a large comet is heading toward the Earth, “a celestial event with both practical and mystical implications,” through which “Todd explores themes of grief, existential meaning, and the search for truth.” The book’s themes and imagery gave Olbinski plenty of inspiration, and the author also told her she “envisioned the cover with a comet as the central motif, and also suggested evoking old newspaper headlines from historical comets and cosmic events.” Olbinski shows several of the options she considered, but one image struck everyone involved in the process: a 1965 painting by Emil Bisttram, a Hungarian-born artist based in New Mexico and one of the cofounders of the state’s Transcendentalist Painting Group. “The image was perfect, and so was its context,” Olbinski writes. “I imagined a connection between the otherworldly desert landscapes of New Mexico and the remote town in Australia where the story takes place, both ideal for stargazing.” Both author and agent overwhelmingly approved the image, which should have been the end of the story. It wasn’t, although it all worked out in the end.
Ready for rain
The National Weather Service forecasts a 40% chance for precipitation today, with scattered showers and thunderstorms after 3 pm, and a 30% chance for more of them tonight before 9 pm. Otherwise, today will be mostly sunny, with a high temperature near 88 degrees, but chances for rain increase tomorrow.
Thanks for reading! The Word has been laughing a little too long over this octopus cartoon.