$250K in parking tickets forgiven

Just ignore it, it goes away

Did you know that if you wait long enough to pay off your parking tickets, they vanish? Well, okay, that isn't really true, but it did happen to some folks with unpaid parking tickets dating as far back to 1999 in Santa Fe, totaling over $250,000. Santa Fe City Council's Public Works Committee took into mind the new parking system that the city just borrowed around $1.5 million to pay for, and which they expect to earn more money and reduce expenses.

At last

Construction has finally begun for real on Bishop's Lodge. SFR looked at the situation near Tesuque back in the spring, and now The New Mexican reports that the companies have cleared hurdles and are getting to work ($).

Them’s fightin’ words

The organizers of a hot air balloon festival in France have made a lofty claim: that it's the biggest gathering of its kind in the world. Needless to say, Albuquerque prickled at that language, and has politely told the The Grand Est Mondial Air Ballons festival to slow its roll. The French fest launched 433 balloons (or should we say ballons) in 2017; ABQ smugly reminded them that 2018 saw 567 balloons launched.

Test scores show pattern

A look at test scores for Santa Fe's schoolchildren shows that schools with more poor students and English-language learners generally perform worse on standardized tests ($ TNM) than those that serve affluent areas. Downtown's Wood Gormley Elementary School has the highest reading proficiency rate (over 70%), and the Southside's El Camino Real has the lowest, at less than 10%.

Yes, it is necessary

After eight years of a gubernatorial administration that said regulations were "unnecessary," Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is tackling the often-dangerous environments in New Mexico's boarding homes for folks who have serious mental illness. Rep. Liz Thomson, D-Albuquerque, said, "People have died literally because of our lack of oversight," and thanked the gov for stepping in.

Back for more, I see

New Mexico has a new-old political hopeful for 2020: Republican Mick Rich is running again, after his defeat for US Senate by Martin Heinrich in 2018. Rich has now set his eye on the Senate seat held by Tom Udall, who's opted not to run again in 2020; Rich will face off against Gavin Clarkson in the Republican primary next year.

Hot Hot Hot

We'll get up to about 86 today, which is a bit toasty but is in line with what we've been experiencing lately. But on this day in 1934, temps in Clayton, New Mexico, hit a record 105, so it could be worse.

Thanks for reading! The Word sure does love a good caftan in the summertime.