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It's Thursday, July 9, 2015
Heavy rains and flash floods have caused some serious structural damage at Ghost Ranch west of Abiquiú. No one was injured, but three dozen people had to be relocated to higher ground on the ranch. Read it at the Albuquerque Journal. Two inches of rain in Santa Fe caused flooding and road closures on Wednesday, and more monsoon storms and flash floods are in today's and Friday’s forecast. Read more at the Santa Fe New Mexican. On Wednesday, some 800 people showed up in Sacramento to remember Alden Brock, the 13-year-old Boy Scout who was killed in a flash flood at Philmont Scout Ranch, near Cimarron, earlier this summer.
Read it at the Sacramento Bee. A controversial assisted living senior center development planned for Santa Fe is moving forward after Mayor Javier Gonzales cast a tie-breaking vote just after midnight. The 104-bed facility has folks from the Southeast Neighborhood Association upset.
Read it in the Journal North. Nearly a third of New Mexicans think the state is economically worse off than it was two years ago, according to the results of the 5th Annual Garrity Perception Survey. But thinking ahead two years, 42 percent of people are more optimistic that New Mexico will be in better shape.
The survey also shows New Mexicans are increasing their trust of police officers. It also reveals something we all figured out awhile ago: Digital news sites are gaining on traditional news sources like newspapers and television stations. Read more at ABQ Business First. Not sure how this will impact the economy in southern New Mexico, but it looks like Ft. Bliss will lose around 1,200 soldiers under the military's new reduction plan.
Read more at the Las Cruces Sun-News.
Environmentalists at Amigos Bravos are criticizing the state’s decision to join a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency. KUNM’s Ed Williams reports the watchdogs favor federal pollution regulations for New Mexico’s waterways.
Listen to more of the Public Health New Mexico story here. The EPA has fined the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority $25,000 for discharging pollutants into a dry creek bed in Arizona.
Read more at the Santa Fe New Mexican.
Fed up with New Mexico’s reliance on coal- and nuclear-generated electricity, the Sierra Club is buying commercial radio airtime to push back against PNM’s proposed power plans. Steve Terrell has the script. A renewable energy firm that specializes in biofuel production in New Mexico just got a $40 million cash infusion. Joule Unlimited plans to start construction on a commercial-scale plant near Hobbs in 2017.
Richard Metcalf has the details.
New Mexico is making strides to modernize its election management and voter registration systems, but some planned changes won’t be fully implemented until after next year’s general election. The AP has details. Political blogger Joe Monahan has the results of his contest asking people to submit their ideas of what they'd do if they were "Governor for a Day."
See some of the other submissions here.
Alamogordo Police Officer Warren Whittington isn’t having a good week after being arrested twice.
After being released on his own recognizance, Whitting was arrested again on Monday for battery against a household member, criminal damage to property and interference with communications. See it at KOB.com. Former New Mexico Supreme Court Justice Harry Stowers, who wore the black robe from 1982 to 1989, has died after battling cancer. He was 89. Ryan Boetel has more on his legacy. It’s nowhere near the scale of what’s happening in Greece, but the Navajo Nation Council has agreed to refinance a $60 million debt rather than default on a bank loan it got five years ago.
We're taking a three-day weekend and will be off tomorrow, but SFR Editor Julie Ann Grimm has kindly agreed to fill in for us tomorrow, so check your email around 8 am for Friday's Morning Word.
Santa Fe Reporter