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Wilson dies in Santa Fe
Ambassador Joe Wilson, former husband of Valerie Plame, has died at age 69. Wilson wrote a New York Times op-ed in 2003 that attacked the Bush administration's justification for the US going to war with Iraq; in retribution, the Bush administration leaked that Wilson's then-spouse, Plame, was an undercover CIA operative. After the political firestorm that ensued, the Plame-Wilson household relocated to Santa Fe; the pair later quietly divorced, and Plame is now running for Congress.
Aviation mystery
A four-seater single-engine plane disappeared after taking off from the Santa Fe airport last week, and crews are still searching for it ($ TNM) in the Pecos Wilderness. New Mexico State Police said the plane took off at 5:49 pm Thursday, and air traffic controllers lost radar contact with it at 6:01 pm. Over the weekend a helicopter located what some thought was this crash, but it was a different one, likely years old.
The trial must go on
Regarding the case in which Christopher Garcia, 28, is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery, aggravated burglary and tampering with evidence relating to the death of 21-year-old Selena Valencia in June 2017, a crime scene tech dropped the bombshell that the SFPD didn't adhere to its own policies and, as a result, lost 11 pieces of evidence. The defense asked Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer to dismiss the charges as a result. She denied the motion.
Man bites dog
A man in Rio Rancho is accused of attacking a woman with an ax during the wee hours on Thursday, and upon being surrounded by police, he barricaded himself in his house. Cops sent a police dog into the home, and the dog emerged with a human bite. The man is now being charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon for the ax attack, and charges regarding his chomp of the police dog could still be coming.
Come again?
Many folks were quite pleased to see the governor choose to fly a rainbow flag outside the Capitol, but some staffers were not so much… And the latter crowd seems to have gotten its way, as the rainbow flag was removed after flying for about 30 days ($ TNM). While the governor called it "an expression of the inherent dignity and worth of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer individuals," the Legislative Council Service declared that the flag was inappropriate because it "constitutes political advocacy and violates building policy."
The acequias’ struggle is a human struggle
An intern over at the Rio Grande Sun punches above her weight with a story about the effects of climate change on Northern New Mexico's acequias (both the environmental aspects and their utterly human consequences), and brings us some beautiful photos to boot.
Listen up
Another reminder that SFR now has a podcast you can tune into, if reading is not your bag so much as listening. Reported this week features the high-profile climate strike that went down in Santa Fe and across the globe on Sept. 20. You can find it and subscribe on both iTunes and Spotify.
If you’re only happy when it rains, you’re in luck
A northeastern-bound stream of moisture passes over the state today and tomorrow, bringing what could be heavy rains to some areas of eastern New Mexico. Keep an eye out for flash flooding if you're much farther east than Santa Fe; judging from this map, our town will see some rain, but perhaps nothing too intense.
Thanks for reading! And with today's newsletter, this Word bids you adieu. It has been a pleasure bringing you your news for the last few months. Get ready for a new Word on the morrow, and please cheer 'em on, as you all are wont to do.