Morning Word: Have We Always Filed So Many Lawsuits?

Teacher sues PED over sick leave
A teacher from tiny Logan, New Mexico, is suing the Public Education Department because she says counting the use of contractually promised sick leave against teachers in their annual performance evaluations is illegal. The issue was a big part of the education conversation in the last legislative session. The governor vetoed a bill that would have given teachers more latitude to use their sick leave. By the way, Republican legislative education guru Rep. Dennis Roch is the superintendent of Logan Municipal Schools.

Oil company leaves San Juan Basin with $3 billion

ConocoPhillips has been doing business in northwestern New Mexico for 50 years. But the company has announced plans to

in the San Juan Basin for up to $3 billion. That's a discount from what the company claimed it was worth just last year. Hilcorp Energy Corporation is the parent company that bought everything.

Balderas raises cash from law firms with state contracts

New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas counts out-of-state law firms with big contracts to represent New Mexico as

. Balderas is in his first term as attorney general and has often been mentioned as a man with an eye on higher office. He says there's nothing untoward and that a committee in his office picks the law firms, not him.

Trump doubles arrests of immigrants with no criminal record
Numbers out from Immigration and Customs Enforcement show the agency has stepped up arrests of undocumented immigrants with no other crime on their record. Most of the undocumented immigrants ICE arrests do have a record, but since President Trump took office, the agency has doubled the number of people it takes in who are on its radar only because they're in the country illegally.

Cancel that cab
The turquoise-and-white taxis of Capital City Cab have become a familiar sight around Santa Fe over the past three decades. But the company is parking its fleet and shutting down amid competition from services like Lyft and Uber.

Film pros eye SFUAD campus
The campus of the Santa Fe University of Art and Design will be vacant after May 2018. But the city will still owe roughly $25 million on the property it bought in 2009. The Garson Studios have long been a focal point on campus, and some of the most promising ideas about what to do next involve growing a robust film and television industry in the heart of midtown Santa Fe.

NM case to Supreme Court
Attorney Clinton Marrs woke up in Washington DC this morning a day away from one of the biggest arguments in his life. Marrs represents Charles Kokesh in his fight against the Securities Exchange Commission. SFR highlighted Charles and his (in)famous son, Adam, in a 2013 cover story that touches on the origins of the case and the elder Kokesh's willingness to fight: "Just because it's the federal government doesn't mean that they are right," Charles said.

Baby, it's lovely outside
Today should be a great start to the week—warm and not very windy. In fact, most of the week will be gorgeous before cooling down next weekend.

Thanks for reading! The Word thinks at this point you should just file an extension with the IRS and promise yourself you'll get your taxes done next weekend.

Subscribe to the Morning Word at sfreporter.com/signup.

Santa Fe Reporter