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Dropped
SFR writer Aaron Cantú had a big old smile plastered across his disbelieving face on Friday. You might, too, if you'd just received word you no longer faced eight charges that could result in 60 years in federal prison. Cantú was covering protests as a freelance journalist at the presidential inauguration. When a few unruly protesters broke a store window and damaged a car, police corraled everyone nearby into a corner and started making arrests. Over the next year and a half, DC prosecutor Jessie Liu filed charges on over 200 people for things like felony rioting. There was precious little evidence against anyone, and all those who went to trial were acquitted.
Opened
At 8 this morning, the Santa Fe National Forest reopens. Recent storms haven't extinguished fire danger, but they've raised moisture levels enough to let humans back in. The Carson National Forest and Cibola National Forest are still under closure orders for large parts of their domain. The Santa Fe National Forest is also lifting stage two fire restrictions, which means visitors can have campfires. Forest managers expect a good monsoon season ($). There's still forest burning in New Mexico and Southern Colorado. KRQE-TV recently rolled out an interactive map that's kind of cool.
Dashed
The hopes of the families of missing women suspected to have fallen victim to the West Mesa serial killer were dashed as remains found by a construction crew a week ago near another burial site were determined to be historic and not criminal. An investigation after the discovery of the first burial site in 2009, which contained 11 women, determined another group may of women taken around 2005 might be buried somewhere else.
Hail to the victor
Jockey Mike Smith trotted into Ruidoso to bask in the adulation of his home-state fans. Smith was atop Justify as he rode the colt to the Triple Crown earlier this spring. Smith was raising money at Ruidoso Downs this weekend ($) for a disabled jockey fund, too.
Park it
Saturday marked the first day of Santa Fe's two-month summer parking sale, where downtown meters will be $1 an hour on Saturdays. A price hike by former mayor Javier Gonzales to raise parking rates was unpopular, and Mayor Alan Webber is experimenting with lower prices on one of downtown's busiest days to see if there's more to come.
On the way
The National Governors Association conference begins in less than two weeks, and while the secret of Zozobra … er, Tio Coco … burning for the festival is out, there's still some mystery as to what kind of headache the 1,500-person, high-profile, high-security event will bring to Santa Fe. Dan Boyd at the Albuqureque Journal previews the conference.
Native opera
The Santa Fe Opera's Pueblo Opera Program has proven popular. Just a handful of free tickets remain for Native residents to see one of the four dress rehearsals that make up the program. The perspective-broadening series wraps up later this month.
More please
Thirsty landscapes and gardens are digging the afternoon rain pattern that set up over the weekend. There's better news: The monsoon kicks in for much of the state later this week. Santa Fe can expect highs in the low 80s and Albuquerque will cool into the upper 80s. Wednesday's the day. Thank goodness.
Thanks for reading! The Word has noticed a number of people re-watching old TV shows lately. The Sopranos and The Wire are most popular. Nostalgia for better times through gangster stories? Perhaps.
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