Morning Word: Cops and Facebook

Don't post that
Santa Fe police have a new social media policy to consider before taking to Twitter, Facebook or any other medium of the moment. The policy grew—but only in part, the department insists—out of the case of Sgt. Troy Baker, uncovered by SFR. Officers are now prohibited from posts that degrade race, religion, sexual orientation or any other protected class.

SFPS Board gets an earful from community, state

Nobody likes closing schools. Well, probably nobody. Part of the reason is that when you do it, no matter the reason, you hear about it. The state education department

Garcia of fearmongering. The Santa Fe Public Schools' regular board meeting featured a parade of students, parents, teachers and administrators

to avoid a plan to close two elementary schools.

Border biz

Companies that have a business model reliant upon New Mexico's close proximity to, and close relationship with, Mexico are a little anxious these days. As the president promises a renegotiation of NAFTA, US Sen. Tom Udall headed to the area to

worried that the rug is about to get pulled out from under them.

Extraction action

Even as oil giant ConocoPhillips sells its San Juan Basin assets, there's a different kind of action in the southeast's Permian Basin. There, oil and gas drillers are loading up on land and other supplies in what analysts see as a

. New Mexico gets a bunch of money from extractive industries and an uptick would be more than welcome by those who watch the state's bottom line.

2017 could be a great year to sell your house

Multiple offers, higher asking prices and all the things you might dream about when selling your home seem to be more likely than they've been in years in New Mexico. Real estate agents say inventory is tight and this year

.

Heinrich and Rich

Mick Rich thinks US Sen. Martin Heinrich should be looking for another job. The construction entrepreneur announced he'd like his first elected office to be the

in 2018. The Albuquerque Republican is first into the race against Heinrich. He'll face the same steep uphill battle that most challengers face when taking on an incumbent, plus the challenge of having his first name mistyped as "Mike" (It's now been corrected in the link).

NCAA says UNM arena is the pits

The governing body for college athletics has announced the cities that will host championship events from 2019-2022. The Pit, venerable home to Lobos basketball games, is not on the list. That, despite $60 million in improvements. The selection committee

, which mostly said the seats are too close to the playing floor. The university did land other events.

Single stage to glory

KRQE helicopter pilot and science lover Bob Martin takes a close look at a rocket that could be

. No booster to discard means a lot of things for the aerospace industry, including no need for nearby water, which could mean big things for New Mexico's spaceport.

Thanks for reading! The Word wonders when allergy season ends. WHEN DOES IT END?
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