SFR changes hands
For the first time in nearly 30 years, the Santa Fe Reporter is under new ownership. Ctrl+P Publishing, which also runs The Paper in Albuquerque, City Desk ABQ, the Corrales Comment, Sandoval Signpost and The Independent out of Edgewood now operates SFR as well. Ctrl+P is only the Reporter’s fourth owner in its 50-year history. Richard Meeker and Mark Zusman, publisher and editor of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Willamette Week in Portland, Oregon, bought the paper from Hope Aldrich in 1997, who bought the paper from its original owners, the late Richard McCord and his then-wife Laurie Knowles. Ctrl+P President and Publisher Pat Davis, a former Albuquerque city councilor, will become SFR’s publisher. “Unlike the other papers that we’ve picked up, the Santa Fe Reporter is a 50-year institution, and it is really important to me that it gets to have another generation serving Santa Fe,” Davis says. Meeker notes that several interested parties approached him after the sale was announced in the spring, but only Davis appeared to have the same understanding of and commitment to the Reporter’s brand of journalism. “I’m comfortable saying we’re leaving the Reporter in far better shape than we found it, and I’m thrilled we’ve found the person to take the helm of this civic treasure,” Meeker says.
Former Meow Wolf CEO named chief vision officer
Vince Kadlubek, a Meow Wolf co-founder and early CEO, has returned to the business as its first “chief vision officer,” the company announced yesterday. According to a news release, Kadlubek, who stepped down as CEO in 2019 and took on an advisory role for the arts corporation, will now join its Meow Wolf Creative Studio, a “unified team that will develop the Meow Wolf Universe across all platforms.” Kadlubek tells SFR he was able to accept the new position because Escondido, the restaurant he co-owns with chef Fernando Ruiz, has now opened, thus freeing up more of his time to focus on Meow Wolf. Moreover, “The few years I was more distant [from the company], I got to have a better understanding...I got to see myself more clearly, which is a really important part,” he says. “I got to see my own shortcomings and the things I’m good and bad at; I got to see Meow Wolf from this other perspective—an audience perspective, a fan perspective—and walking into Vegas having not been a part of that team, and walking into Denver...I kept having these thoughts that this is one of the greatest creative efforts in the world, how can I bring value without having to be the one running the show? And I’m so thankful I’m not running the show.”
Santa Fe officials to consider obelisk next steps
A resolution scheduled for introduction at tonight’s City of Santa Fe Governing Body meeting would “establish the next steps” to investigate the possibility of moving the controversial Soldier’s Monument—aka the obelisk that has been shrouded in a box on the Plaza since its toppling by activists in 2020—to the Santa Fe National Cemetery. Specifically, the resolution directs the city manager’s office to investigate the feasibility of doing so and, if relocation turns out to be feasible, propose a budget and plan for moving the monument, as well as for removing the plaque that originally stated “To the heroes who have fallen in the various battles with savage Indians in the Territory of New Mexico.” As noted in an accompanying memo from City Attorney Erin K McSherry, a 2022 report from the city’s Culture, History, Art, Reconciliation and Truth process recommended more public discourse to work through entrenched division on the issue of the obelisk’s fate. City councilors previously backed and then withdrew a proposal to reassemble the monument on the Plaza. City Councilor Carol Romero-Wirth, a co-sponsor of tonight’s resolution, tells SFR the current idea to move the statue to the cemetery originated with constituents.
Downwinders, delegation decry RECA inaction
All three Democratic members of New Mexico’s delegation to the US House of Representatives yesterday joined downwinders at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque to denounce US House Speaker Mike Johnson’s failure to schedule for a vote a bill to expand and extend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. In statements provided by the office of US Rep. Gabe Vasquez, who represents the state’s 2nd Congressional delegation, Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium co-founder Tina Cordova notes that while Johnson “refuses to allow a vote on the House floor for the expansion of RECA, people are dying from cancer and being diagnosed regularly. When he says no to a vote, he says no to the more than 52 Republican House districts versus 10 Democrats that would benefit from the expansion of RECA. He doesn’t seem to understand that this is a bipartisan issue and that far more Republicans have been negatively affected than Democrats. I hope voters in those Republican districts understand that he has shut the door on them when they most need him.” The entire state delegation has pushed for RECA’s expansion and extension repeatedly. “We will continue the fight,” US Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, who represents the 3rd Congressional District, says in a statement. “We will not give up on justice for New Mexicans and everyone affected by radiation poisoning across the country who has been left out.” A film documenting Cordova and other New Mexico Downwinders’ fight for justice, Lois Lipman’s First We Bombed New Mexico, will screen at this weekend’s Oppenheimer Festival in Los Alamos, and be followed by a panel discussion.
Listen up
This coming weekend is all about Santa Fe Indian Market, including for the Native America Calling radio show, which will broadcast a special live show in Santa Fe from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm on Friday, Aug. 16 at the Eldorado Hotel and Spa. Tune in on KUNM, 89.9 FM, listen online or show up in person to meet host Shawn Spruce (Laguna Pueblo), with refreshments served on a first-come, first-served basis, and a lively conversation about Native arts and culture. Don’t forget, Santa Fe Indian Market isn’t just about art and fashion; you can preview the weekend’s musical acts on Instagram.
Make a splash
Following Jeff Burns’ Bullwhip Capital’s purchase of The Lodge at Santa Fe at the end of last year, he told the Santa Fe New Mexican he and his partner intended to offer swim passes at The Lodge as they do at their other hotel, El Rey Court. The pool renovations at The Lodge are now finished, Directing of Marketing Mo Elliott tells SFR, and pool passes can be had: $25 for a day pass (book online) or $300 plus tax for the rest of the 2024 season (the pool and hot tub are open seven days a week from 9 am to 10 pm through mid-October, weather permitting; the pool bar stays open until 9 pm). Children 3 years old or younger are free. Passes include free parking and use of pool towels. Loungers are available on a first-come, first-serve basis; please note reservations do not guarantee a chair. “Another pool is open in Santa Fe,” Elliott says, “Get those last couple of water days.”
Zuh-ZOH-bruh
The Smithsonian magazine delves into the history of Santa Fe’s favorite and—in our opinion—greatest tradition: Zozobra, even providing a phonetic pronunciation for the uninitiated. Zozobra’s Aug. 30th burn will be its 100th, a chance for thousands of locals and visitors to burn away their gloom (you can even send your gloom remotely and it will be printed out and stuffed into the puppet). The story traces Zozobra’s evolution from its conception in 1923 by William Howard “Will” Shuster Jr. and the art collective known as Los Cinco Pintores during a gathering at La Fonda Hotel, to the first burn the following year. Shuster oversaw the tradition until 1964, when he bequeathed it to the Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe. Proceeds from Zozobra benefit local children’s programs. The Smithsonian talks to Ray Sandoval, Zozobra event chair, about Zozobra’s impact, as well as its reflection of Santa Fe’s unique nature. “To take a group of volunteers and spend basically an entire year planning, building and constructing this big 50-foot monster only to destroy it, that’s pretty City Different,” Sandoval says. Speaking of Zozobra, the Kiwanis and Kakawa Chocolate House yesterday announced limited edition Zozobra truffles and chocolate bars, with a golden ticket hidden in one of the bars granting VIP access to the Aug. 30 burn. “Our team has poured their hearts into creating these special truffles and chocolate bars as part of this historic collaboration,” Kakawa owner Bonnie Bennett says in a statement. “We can’t wait for everyone to taste and enjoy them.” Find them at all three of Kakawa’s locations.
High and dry
The National Weather Service forecasts a sunny day, with a high temperature near 88 degrees and north wind 5 to 15 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Expect hotter, drier conditions through the rest of the week.
Thanks for reading! The Word has enjoyed spending the last five-plus years waking you up with a slew of news (she is departing voluntarily in the hopes of sleeping later). This newsletter will return—probably next week—with a new scribe. She leaves you with Wu-Tang Clan’s Tiny Desk concert from five years ago because…why not?