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Cashing in
New campaign finance reports show a whole lot of cash being spent in New Mexico's primary contests ahead of the June 5 election. Early voting starts this weekend (absentee voting is already underway) and candidates are working hard ($) to create buzz and name recognition.
Sainted
Lillian Montoya, who's occupied top positions at all sorts of non-profits, businesses and government organizations, is the new CEO at Christus St. Vincent hospital. She's the first woman to lead the hospital and is credited with helping build the consensus needed to expand into the hospital's new wing. The medical center is the largest private employer in Santa Fe, but faces perhaps its biggest challenge yet, as Presbyterian is set to open a new hospital in the coming months.
Warehoused?
Once upon a time, Santa Fe boasted an amazing teen center. Warehouse 21 was bursting with kids who were learning graphic arts, computer skills, music and more. Strains of guitar-driven rock would spill into the evening air around what would become the Railyard. Now, of course, Warehouse 21 is called Studio Center of Santa Fe. And not much is going on. In fact, the place is in danger of being closed as an internal battle over the center's direction threatens to heave it onto the railroad tracks next door.
The color green
New Mexico's medical cannabis program boasts of being tightly managed, but as SFR's Aaron Cantú discovered, quarterly reports contain troubling holes. For instance, because of New Mexico's restrictions on how many plants providers can grow, they buy and sell between themselves. But there's a big discrepancy between what medical marijuana facilities say they buy and what they claim they've sold.
Gut-wrenching
Testimony from an Albuquerque school teacher who knew something was wrong with the 7-year-old girl in her class is hard to read about. The teacher provided clean clothes, food, naps and a steady stream of calls to the Children, Youth and Families Department. Prosecutors and police think the girl was prostituted by her relatives. A judge is considering a request to keep the pair of relatives in jail until trial. Meanwhile, the department and Secretary Monique Jacobson are under fire for botching the case.
Presby & the pancreas transplants
It's not just one of the worst band names you've ever heard, it's a medical procedure. A team at Presbyterian Hospital completed the transplant, which can save lives for people who have Type 1 diabetes. Until now, the transplant has been on a list of medical things for which New Mexicans have had to travel out of state. Of course, when just one place is doing it, that may mean a really long wait, prompting that out-of-state trip anyway.
City Hall shakeup
The heads of Santa Fe's Land Use and Parks and Recreation departments are out. Mayor Alan Webber and acting city manager Erik Litzenberg made the announcement yesterday. Litzenberg said the decision to ask Lisa Martinez and Rob Carter to leave was based partly on past performance and partly out of a desire to inject new energy into city government.
Debate
State Rep. Carl Trujillo and Andrea Romero debated last night. The two are vying for Trujillo's seat in House District 46 and the race has been fraught with controversy. Because of ground rules that kept the focus off sexual misconduct allegations against Trujillo and an audit of travel and entertainment spending in Romero's old job, the exchange was mostly civil ($).
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