Fifteen minutes into what began as a relatively run-of-the-mill interview, Kenny Ausubel drops a bombshell. “I don’t usually make predictions,” he says—the type of statement interviewees consider a cautionary disclaimer, but which reporters tend to gleefully exploit—“but I think probably the next six or so years are the six most important years in the history of human civilization.”

 On a plane bound for the Midwest from an East Coast city, a lanky 55-year-old woman sits in the 12th row window seat, knitting a sweater. Her waist-length, wavy white-blonde hair is held up in a bun behind her head by a pair of silver knitting needles, while another set clacks away at a gray top. Knitting is her way of keeping busy on this and the many other flights she must take for her unusual, and these days much in-demand job as a traveling abortion doctor, or as she puts it, a “fly-in abortionista.”

On Aug. 11, a dozen members of the press crammed into a Public Regulation Commission meeting to follow a juicy lead. Jerome Block Jr.—the embattled commissioner facing allegations of charging $8,000 worth of gas to his government-issued credit card in six months, stealing a car and misusing public campaign funds—had been in the news for weeks. Block’s fellow commissioners were set to remove him as PRC vice chairman, leading to speculations of either his impeachment or resignation. Block had also been hammered in the headlines for missing one-third of his PRC meetings. Predictably, he was a no-show.

Test scores aren’t the only indicator of SFPS’ deficiency relative to the rest of the state. Last year, its high school graduation rate—53 percent—was the second-worst out of all 89 New Mexico school districts.

This week, SFR offers a look at New Mexico’s political climate: the races to watch, the rhetoric to consider (or reject) and the tools needed to research the candidates. It may be almost fall in Santa Fe, but that doesn’t mean there will be any less hot air to contend with in 2012.

This summer, Block’s life began to unravel again with another series of absurd, but completely plausible, allegations of malfeasance. Of them, the most disgusting is evidence indicating Block may have improperly charged thousands of dollars to government credit cards.

Though city elections won’t be held until March, candidates for the four open Santa Fe City Council seats are already signing up for what promises to be a horse race. So far, District 1, where Councilor Patti Bushee faces re-election, has been drawing the most attention.

New Mexico’s next big election isn’t until November 2012, but the primary is less than a year away—and candidates are already out there hustling for money and votes.

These days, it’s fashionable to rant about “the media”—a somewhat ironic concept, given that it’s also the age of “citizen journalism” and crowdsourcing. If in fact the media is flawed, then each of us is flawed by association.

The best and brightest get their tweet on.