Morning Word: Pocket-Sized Booze Bottles Get the Boot

Maybe the city just needs more trash cans

By Peter St. Cyr

W

ith miniature bottles of booze about to be banned in Santa Fe, we can't stop thinking about Big Gulps. That, plus PNM is scrambling to figure out the next step after their power replacement plan gets a big thumbs-down.

It's Thursday, April 9, 2015

Despite the threat of a lawsuit, the Santa Fe City Council has voted to ban the sale of miniature bottles of alcohol. Councilor Ron Trujillo says if the city has a problem with the bottles adding to litter around town, they should simply buy and install more trash cans. Daniel J Chacón has details. The Los Angeles Times spent a few days in Gallup, looking at the rash of exposure deaths blamed on the city’s chronic problem with alcoholism. Read it online.  An independent hearing examiner is recommending that PRC commissioners reject the Public Service Company of New Mexico’s power replacement plan.

Read more at SFR.  While PNM hasn’t announced its own backup plan, Western Energy Partners say they could replace two northwest New Mexico-area coal plants. They want to build a billion-dollar clean-energy hub between Shiprock and Farmington. Devin Neely has details at KOB.  A year after Americans heard about how long veterans were waiting for medical care, it looks like the state’s veteran clinics still have some of the nation’s longest delays.

Read it at the New Mexican.  New Mexico is doing a better job getting children enrolled in preschool.

Read it at the Las Cruces Sun-News.  New Mexico Health Exchange board members have decided to continue using a federal website for enrollment rather than building a custom portal for state residents.

Rosalie Rayburn has details.  An Al Jazeera America documentary about juvenile justice was partially filmed at a detention center in Las Cruces.

The film airs this Sunday at 8 pm. It was filmed before a counselor was indicted for sexually abusing a young offender in Lincoln County. Read more at the Las Cruces Sun-News.  Baseball fans are excited. It’s opening day for the Albuquerque Isotopes. Before the

first pitch

at 6:35 pm, KOB’s Kim Tobin checked out some of Ovation Executive Chef Mario D’Elia’s new food menu. We can’t wait to wash down a new Orbit Dog with a Rocky Rita. Check out the new menu and pics here.  You gotta love America, where everyone gets a second chance, including former Lobo Basketball Coach Dave Bliss. After being disgraced in a scandal at Baylor more than a decade ago, the 71-year-old is preparing for a new opportunity. He’ll take over the helm of Southwestern Christian University men's basketball team.

Read more at the ABQ Journal. 

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