Morning Word: Read Our Lips

No new taxes
For the second time in less than five months, voters in Santa Fe have roundly rejected a proposed tax increase. This time around, 70 percent of the nearly 8,000 votes went against a one-sixteenth percent addition to the gross receipts tax in Santa Fe County. In May, city voters defeated the proposed sugary-drink tax increase. It was a tiny turnout—barely more than eight percent. The $2.3 million projected to have been raised each year would have supported public safety and behavioral health programs. They'll still get funding, because the County Commission voted to increase gross receipts tax one-eighth of a percent on their own.

Maestas in for mayor
Joseph Maestas has decided he'll run for mayor. The District 2 city councilor announced his decision yesterday afternoon. Along with Ron Trujillo and Peter Ives, Maestas is the third of the city's eight councilors to run for the seat being vacated by Mayor Javier Gonzales. The announcement by Maestas, who was once mayor of Española, means there are now no candidates running for the District 2 council seat.

Number one, with a tear
New Mexico is far and away leading the nation in the percentage of children living in poverty. More than a third of the state's kids live in homes with incomes below the poverty line, according to US Census Bureau data released this week. New Mexico's 36 percent mark dwarfs even the second place state, Mississippi. State lawmakers are using the numbers to bolster their effort to pull more money from the state's permanent funds to provide for early childhood development programs.

Blinded me with 'science'
Proposed new science standards for New Mexico schools have been altered to replace climate change with "climate fluctuation." Evolution becomes "biological diversity." Critics say it's pandering to the far right wing of the Republican Party. The state has said it's a way to honor "diversity of perspectives." The science community around the state says science doesn't really do that, and the Public Education Department's own advisory groups warned against just such a thing happening.

Meep, meep ... aw, forget it
The Rail Runner Express, New Mexico's commuter train, has really lousy Wi-Fi service. The towers that handle the sometimes fast-moving signal from the sometimes fast-moving train are down between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. The train is desperate for more riders, but as SFR found out this week, the Wi-Fi isn't likely to get better before the end of next year. 

City shutters homeless camp
The city of Santa Fe put the screws to the owner of vacant land just off Cerrillos Road on Fifth Street. The spot had become a homeless camp in recent years and the city eventually started worrying about safety of both the general public and the people who lived from time to time on the property. A private waste-removal company cleared the land yesterday as police watched. The trash is gone, but the concern for the homeless is sticking around.

Suffering for a good story
Kevin Fedarko has seen the Grand Canyon in a way the vast majority of us never will: He's hiked its length. There's no easy way to do that, though. In fact, the trek he took with photographer Peter McBride required the pair to likely walk two and a half times the length of the Colorado River's 277 miles through the canyon. SFR details the cause behind the journey in this week's issue.

Still gorgeous
It continues to be a fantastic fall (well, almost; it starts Friday) here in Santa Fe. Temperatures will keep hitting the high 70s the rest of the week, with plenty of sun and no chance of rain until the weekend, when temperatures will drop a few degrees and you'll be tempted to break out those sweaters.

Thanks for reading! The Word hopes you caught the sunrise today. Damnnnnn.

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Santa Fe Reporter