We’ll always have Paris

Climate change change

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed an executive order on climate change yesterday that commits the state to the goals laid out in the 2015 Paris agreement to limit global warming. The order says her administration will look for ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, boost renewable energy standards and a host of other goals. President Trump pulled the US out of the accord in 2017. Governors from 19 states have since signed similar orders as Lujan Grisham.

Tax plan

After a pair of proposals floated just before the legislative session rearranged taxes, but didn't raise them overall, Republicans were skeptical. Now they're angry. Democrats have announced a proposal to raise the gas tax (and dedicate revenue to road improvements), raise income tax on families making more than a quarter of a million dollars, and tax online sales. The plan hasn't been unveiled yet.

The cannabis plan

It's not just a rejected supermarket-line, paperback thriller name, Democrats do have a cannabis plan. HB 356 would legalize recreational marijuana, but the ins and outs of how to do it take 140 pages to explain. Those pages include some interesting provisions to protect the medical cannabis industry from being overrun, and to expunge certain drug-related convictions. SFR's cannabis expert Aaron Cantú breaks it down.

No second chance

A legislative committee has killed a bill that would have allowed animal control agencies to determine if dogs could be rehabilitated after killing livestock ($). The House panel voted unanimously against the measure, which is heavily favored by rural lawmakers who say packs of dogs can decimate herds of animals.

Puttin’ on the Ritz

After selling three works last year for nearly $20 million, Santa Fe's O'Keeffe Museum has added to its collection with a purchase from a private collector. The museum bought the 1928 "Ritz Tower" painting by O'Keeffe, which showcases her transition toward American Modernism. Probably. The Word is not an art historian. The museum didn't disclose the purchase price.

‘Stranger repeatedly delivers unwanted bologna’

The Word is here so you don't have to seek out headlines like that yourself. An Albuquerque woman and her neighbors are perplexed by a man who has been leaving plastic bags of bologna and sandwich bread and urine on their front doorknobs. And who wouldn't be? She's also understandably grossed out by the situation. The police say there's nothing they can do short of staking him out and catching him during a delivery.

Hazen infused

Take a break tonight. Calvin Hazen plays classical and flamenco guitar at El Mesón starting at 7 pm. It'll cost you a drink and maybe some food, but SFR thinks it'll be worth it.

No forecast

When a Jan. 17 inbounds avalanche killed two skiers at Taos, there was no avalanche center open to forecast conditions in New Mexico's mountains. New Mexico's only such facility closed early last year after a dismal season and lack of funding made it impossible to go forward. Could a renewed effort to open one save lives, or are ski areas and backcountry travelers on their own? Elizabeth Miller reports for SFR.

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