You know what? Forget it

Friday afternoon shenanigans

In case you missed it over the weekend, on Friday, state Rep. Andrea Romero proposed legislation that would require private companies with a web presence to remove "damaging" information about individuals, or else face a fine of $250 per day. Romero claimed the bill was intended to help victims of revenge porn and cyberbullying, but it didn't take long for critics to pile on, calling it a violation of the First Amendment. Romero tabled it herself ($) before the day was over.

A new chapter for the charter

After some drama with the school's Highway 14 campus, Turquoise Trail Charter School not only came to a compromise with the Santa Fe school district to keep its building, but it's opening a middle school on the Southside to cater to tech-centric studies. SFR intern Leah Cantor has the story. Parents can enter kids in the enrollment lottery until March 5, and the school hosts an info night and an open house tomorrow, Tuesday Feb. 5.

Speaking of which …

On the subject of education, there's some movement in the Roundhouse over pre-K: Two bills suggest different ways of handling the unwieldy challenge at the government level. One adds an an entirely new state department to handle schooling for kids up to the age of 5, the other splits management and funding responsibility depending on age, making 4-year-olds' education the responsibility of the state Public Education Department. Both bills have their pluses and minuses, but one thing everyone can agree on is that pre-K needs more funding.  Other bills that would aid pre-K in both funding and data-gathering are on the table, too.

Ganging up on the sun

With a little help from the state Office of International Trade at the Economic Development Department, representatives from New Mexico are headed to Germany to talk about guns and to Mexico City to talk about solar power. The aim is to get international companies to open up shop here. Economic activity in Southern New Mexico has aided the potential rise to the global stage.

Headed to the candy shop

Lovers of toffee and candy apples, weep no more: Beloved confectioner CG Higgins returns to Santa Fe (sort of). Chuck Higgins, whose chocolates were a staple of downtown snacks for 13 years, closed his businesses in 2016, but now three of his former candy-makers are rebranding and reopening as Sweet Santa Fe ($). It'll be in the Fashion Outlets.

Bubblin’ crude

We all know the Permian Basin in Southern New Mexico and Texas is a behemoth of production, but for some reason it feels like a bigger deal when the New York Times says so ($). Writer Clifford Kraus mostly concentrates on its economic effect in Texas but, as we also know, samesies for us. And if you don't want to read about oil, at least look at the pictures in that NYT story; they're nice.

The Bowl to end all Bowls

Some folks here like football, but overall, Santa Fe tends to get most excited about food. We figure that once you get to the water cooler today, more people will probably talking about Chef Nath's chicken red curry soup than about the Patriots' win. Nath's Inspired Khmer Cuisine took home top honors at The Food Depot's Souper Bowl fundraiser on Saturday, an event that sees hundreds of eaters and thousands of dollars raised for feeding hungry New Mexicans.

Spectacular skies

If you were outside around sunset-ish on either Saturday or Sunday, you were treated to some truly spectacular displays, not to mention weather nice enough to watch them without freezing. It's supposed to be pretty warm again today, topping out around 50 degrees. Send a screenshot of today's temps to your friends in Polar Vortex-ville, they won't hate you at all.

Thanks for reading! The Word wants to know if you saw WashPo's Superbowl ad. The Word did not watch the sportsball, but it was only a matter of moments before our friends were all asking if we'd seen the ad. It's a good'un.

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