COVID-19 in numbers
New Mexico health officials reported 1,786 new COVID-19 cases yesterday for the three-day period September 11-13, bringing the total to 241,663; DOH has designated 210,189 of these as recovered. Bernalillo County had 491 new cases, followed by Doña Ana County with 145 and Sandoval County with 139. Santa Fe County had 61 new cases.
The state also announced 14 more deaths between the ages of 30 and 80; there were now a total of 4,619 fatalities. As of yesterday, 320 people with COVID-19 had been hospitalized – 50 fewer than on Friday.
Currently, 78.8% of New Mexicans aged 18 and over have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 69% are fully vaccinated. In the 12 to 17 age group, 62.3% of people received at least one dose and 51.2% are fully vaccinated. In Santa Fe County, 90% of people 18 years old and older have received at least one dose and 79.7% are fully vaccinated.
You can read all of SFR’s COVID-19 coverage here.
Candidates for mayoral fight for obelisks, city services
While both housing and the economy remain pressing issues for the city of Santa Fe, cultural tensions quickly arose on a key issue during the virtual forum between the mayoral candidates in the November 2 local elections last night. Both Councilor JoAnne Vigil Coppler and Alexis Martinez Johnson criticized the role of incumbent Mayor Alan Webber in the destruction of the obelisk in the plaza last year. “This information came directly from the police. I have no reason not to believe them, ”said Vigil Coppler. Denying Vigil Coppler’s characterization, Webber said, “I would expect Councilor Vigil Coppler to know more about how the city works than to say something so obviously wrong.” He continued to take a more positive view of the events that took place in the plaza on Indigenous Day, saying a police union official told him after the event, “We lost the obelisk, but no one was injured, no one was killed. Everyone went home safe and sound. ‘”
For her part, Martinez Johnson, who entered the 3rd district race on the Republican ticket last year, cited the destruction of the obelisk by a “mob” as an example of the city’s crime. In response to a question from David Fresquez, President of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Santa Fe, which hosted the forum, she named this issue as her most pressing social problem. In response to the same question, Vigil Coppler cited the city’s growing uninhabited population, while Webber noted the growing inequality: “We’re seeing the rich get richer and the poor keep falling behind,” he said. The candidates discussed issues such as unemployment and urban services. The Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce and the Santa Fe Housing Action Coalition will host another public forum for the mayoral candidates on October 4th and 5th at the Lensic Performing Arts Center and through Zoom. For more information on elections, see the SFR Santa Fe Election FAQ.
Lightbulb moment
In news likely to be celebrated across New Mexico, the state Supreme Court ruled yesterday that vehicle taillights do not need to be fully functional to meet the requirements of the Motor Vehicle Code that the equipment of cars, trucks, trailers, and others Vehicles in “good” condition are functioning and adapting. ”The ruling overturns an earlier state appeals court ruling on an Albuquerque man’s appeal against convictions for drunk driving and driving a vehicle with defective equipment. According to a press release announcing the decision, defendant John Farish alleged that “a sheriff’s deputy stopped him because of a blown taillight bulb. The top light bulb did not work, but the bottom light bulb was emitting light. ”In an opinion by Judge C. Shannon Bacon, the court wrote that“ This case is a reminder that not all vehicles on New Mexico’s streets and highways are in good working order .” As a matter of fact. The Supreme Court therefore concluded that as long as a vehicle’s tail light meets the specific equipment requirements of state law – including emitting sufficient light to be visible from a distance of at least 150 feet – the more general requirement, ” to be in good condition ”- even if a lightbulb has burned out.
Groundbreaking for the city at the Southside Teen Center
The City of Santa Fe will hold a groundbreaking ceremony today at 10 a.m. on the grounds of the new Southside Teen Center, approved by the City Council last week. The city expects to begin construction on the $ 9.2 million facility next month and will open the center to the public in May 2023 – about six months later than originally planned. Across Country Club Road from the Southside Public Library and next to the Boys & Girls Club, architectural plans presented to the community in May show a three-story stucco building with a small courtyard, gym, playroom, kitchen, and several multi-purpose rooms. According to a city press release, the center’s space allocation is based on surveys of teenagers who were asked what they want and need, where their main “motivations for making decisions” were: places to relieve stress, stay healthy and build relationships Peers. The center will also promote educational and career opportunities; Health and wellness; After school and childcare programs; and providing outreach services for the benefit of the community as a whole, the city says. District 3 councilor Roman “Tiger” Abeyta, a long-time supporter of the center, says it will address a notable lack of resources for the youth in his area. “There’s no room for teenagers on the Southside,” he says. “District 4 has the Chavez Center, District 1 has Fort Marcy, District 2 has Salvador Perez. There is nothing in District 3. “Now, the youth center will be a place where youth can not only come and hang out, but hopefully get the services they need.” Christopher Rivera, a District 3 colleague, affirmed in a statement also the milestone: “A lot of people have worked on it, including many of our youngsters, so I’m happy for them and can’t wait to see how they make the youth center their own.”
Listen
The latest episode of New Mexico PBS ‘Our Land is inspired by Carl Sagan, who wrote about “Cosmic Isolationism” in his 1985 novel Contact. Correspondent Laura Paskus travels to Capulin Volcano National Monument in northeast New Mexico to explore what it means to connect with guests and protect the night sky: Kelly Ricks, Capulin Volcano National Monument Astronomy Volunteer; Guide of the National Park Capulin Volcano National Monument Bernard Poskus; and retired physics and astronomy professor Sam Finn.
Before the game
Esquire magazine features an excerpt from New Mexico author Abe Streep’s new book, Brothers On Three: A True Story of Family, Resistance, and Hope on a Reservation in Montana, published last week and received excellent reviews. For Streep, the story began with an article in the New York Times about the Arlee Warrior High School basketball team in Montana. In March 2017, the team brought home the high school basketball state championship on the Flathead Indian Reservation. But the book, according to the publisher, “is not just a story about high school basketball, state championships and a winning team. It’s a book about community and it’s about boys on the cusp of growing up who find their way through the intersecting worlds in which they live and forge their own personal path. ”Streep has worked for The New York, among others Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Outside, The California Sunday Magazine, WIRED, and Harper’s. He also wrote one of our all-time favorites in journalism, The Legends of Last Place, about the Santa Fe Fuego. See Streep talking to Kai-t LV Blue-Sky at the Collected Works Bookstore (202 Galisteo St) tonight at 6 p.m. The event will also be broadcast simultaneously via Zoom; register here. Pre-order signed copies of CW’s Brothers on Three online here or call the store at 505-988-4226.
O’Keeffe in Paris
We may have taken our closeness to Georgia O’Keeffe’s legacy and work for granted. Apparently the artist is less well known in France and the first retrospective of her work in that country opened just last week at the Center Pompidou. According to French public radio station RFI, the Center Pompidou has loaned 100 paintings and drawings by O’Keeffe from major US institutions like the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Chicago Art Institute and of course the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum here in Santa Fe , as well as from other private collections. Exhibition curator Didier Ottinger describes O’Keeffe to RFI as “during her long and illustrious career at the forefront of several modern art movements”. Nevertheless, even the Tate only organized the first major exhibition of their work in 2016. “It is elusive for us,” says Ottinger. “Rather,“ we thought for a long time that American modern art began in 1947 with Jackson Pollock’s drops of color ”. The Pompidou Center itself owns only one O’Keeffe painting Red, Yellow and Black Streak, 1924, but RFI says, “Through this retrospective (through December 6), French museum-goers will now have the chance to make serious high catches.” Très bien!
let the sun shine
Prepare for another sunny day, Santa Fe, with a high of around 86 degrees and a northeast wind of 5 to 15 mph that turns west in the afternoon. Our forecast remains clear throughout the week, according to the National Weather Service.
Thank you for reading! With the overwhelming winners of the 47.
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