Changes come to solitary confinement rules

Solitary no more?

Insufficient data has clouded the public's ability to understand the scale at which solitary confinement is used in New Mexico's jails and prisons, but a recent change in policy could start clearing the way for more transparency. New Mexico In Depth reports that pregnant women and children can no longer be held in solitary, and beginning in November, prisons and jails around the state will start publicly reporting how many people are being held in solitary. This is a huge shift that advocates say will lead to better management of the controversial practice.

We’re on it

A few months ago, the Word told you about a case in which a Los Alamos newspaper editor reported an assault at Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center in September, in which someone she assumed was a hospital employee used her hand, while her arms were immobilized, to fondle himself as she laid face-down on a table. After a prod from a Journal reporter about the case, Santa Fe Police Department says that the investigation is now back at the top of its to-do list.

Bought out

A British manufacturer has purchased decor company Nambé, but The New Mexican reports ($) that this shouldn't change anything for the company or its employees. Lawrence Bryan, the new owner, has a company called Portmeirion that has seen an 8% to 12% annual growth rate over the past 15 years, and he believes he can bring Nambé to that level as well.

What to do with nuclear?

Whether nuclear energy should factor in to New Mexico's energy future is a complicated question, as a public meeting this afternoon will make clear. Advocacy group New Energy Economy is encouraging the Public Utility Company of New Mexico (PNM) to divest from nuclear energy at the San Juan Generating Station, but PNM and some environmental nonprofits say using nuclear energy is actually a good thing. It gets complicated; SFR takes a look.

Speaking of nuclear energy

US Rep. Ben Ray Luján has introduced legislation that would expand compensation for individuals sickened by high levels of radiation related to the Trinity Site in Southern New Mexico. The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act was first passed in 1990, but didn't include New Mexicans.

Didn’t we, like, JUST do this?

Even though it feels like we just had an election, we are getting ready for the June 2020 primary now. So it goes. Looking at fundraising, US Reps. Ben Ray Luján, Xochitl Torres Small and Deb Haaland all have more money than their potential rivals for primary races next year. Looking at the CD1 House seat (to replace aforementioned Luján, who's bouncing to try for a Senate seat), former CIA operative Valerie Plame has raised just over $236,000 so far, compared to rival Marco Serna's $232,940. Santa Fe attorney Teresa Leger Fernandez is next in the crowded field with $193,122.

Fish problems

Wet weather has led to a local proliferation of mosquitoes (seriously, the Word has gotten, like, four mosquito bites this summer! That's a lot for New Mexico, even if her fellow native New Jerseyans are laughing right now). Thankfully, there is a guppy-like creature called the mosquitofish, which folks can put in their ponds and birdbaths to eat mosquito eggs. Everyone's happy, right? Not so fast. The mosquitofish is one of the world's top 50 worst invaders, and could cause serious problems in the Rio Grande if they make it to the river. Ruh roh.

That’s enough of that

Hope you enjoyed that glorious rain last night, 'cause it's just going to be hot and dry for a few days now. We're looking at 93 degrees today. Puke. (Sorry we're not sorry for all the editorializing around the heat; it is just that unpleasant.)
Thanks for reading! The Word sure does love those Del Charro cheeseburgers.