Morning Word: Martinez' Washington-Style War of Words

Nice Zing. What's it Worth?
Gov. Susana Martinez' annual State of the State address can seem like the one day each year she speaks about coming together with lawmakers to solve New Mexico's problems. The speech is full of hopeful talk. Is it a lot of sound and fury, signifying nothing? The rest of the legislative session can sound pretty salty, as we've just seen. Andrew Oxford examines the impact of Martinez' feisty rhetoric.

Trump Budget Cuts Water Assistance

Westerners like to think of themselves as fiercely independent. And they are. But almost all of us rely on the government to get us at least some of the water we use each day. In the last five years, a USDA loan and grant program for water

for assorted projects—many of them in rural New Mexico—to keep the lifeblood of the the West flowing. The White House budget would zero it out.

'You Feel Like Crap'

Ziggy Rzig has lived in the US for almost two decades. On Saturday, the owner of Santa Fe's Pyramid Cafe says he agreed to give two meals to a man who asked if he could fix his door. The fix didn't take, and police think the man, whom they believe to be living with mental illness, got angry and

on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant. Rzig, who is from Tunisia, says the whole thing made him feel like crap.

UNM Regents Want New Prez Finalists on Campus by May
There's no guarantee they'll pick someone by the time school's out, but the search committee formed by the Board of Regents hopes to at least have the finalists visit by mid-May. It's been two decades since a UNM president held office for more than five years.

New Mexico Leads Nation in Medicaid Births
In 2015, nearly three out of every four births—72 percent—in the state were financed by Medicaid. That figure, compiled by the Kaiser Family Foundation, beats Arkansas by five percentage points and can be compared to New Hampshire, where about a quarter of all births are paid for by the federal healthcare program.

All Aboard on Zia
The long-fenced, seemingly mythical Zia stop for the Rail Runner commuter train will start serving Santa Fe next month, according to transportation officials. The scaled down "kiss and ride" station doesn't have parking spaces, but is within walking distance for thousands of residents.

Nambe Falls Opens Amid Fire Recovery
Ultimately, wildfire is restorative, but the 2011 Pacheco Canyon Fire scorched the land that forms the verdant oasis of Nambe Falls. It's been a slow path to rehabilitation, but the tribal government is encouraged by progress as they opened the recreation area for the season.

March Madness
Ah ha! Not the basketball kind; the weather kind. Our local National Weather Service office in Albuquerque comes up with some pretty cool ways to understand what's happening outside. We know March was warm, but Santa Fe set six record highs in barely two and a half weeks. It's the seventh above-normal March in a row for Albuquerque. But as you may have noticed, we're finally getting some precipitation. We're apparently in the midst of a "wave train." All aboard.

Thanks for reading! The Word thinks that all the blossoming trees around town are nature's way of making up for spring wind.

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Santa Fe Reporter