City Council Approves Controversial Streetlight Plan

COVID-19 by the numbers

New Mexico health officials yesterday reported 167 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the statewide total so far to 202,570. The health department has designated 188,333 of those cases as recovered.

Bernalillo County had 33 new cases, followed closely by the Torrance County Detention Facility, which added another 32 cases among federal inmates (on Tuesday, 78 cases were reported at the facility). Doña Ana County had 21 cases yesterday, followed by San Juan County with 19. Santa Fe County had 13, six from the Southside 87507 ZIP code, which ranked sixth in the state for most new cases.

The state also announced three additional deaths, two recent and one from more than 30 days prior; DOH says some death certificates, required for COVID-related deaths, have been delayed due to insufficient information. There have now been 4,254 fatalities. As of yesterday, 130 people were hospitalized with COVID-19.

Currently, 64.4% of New Mexicans have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 54.2% are fully vaccinated. In Santa Fe County, 73.5% have had at least one dose and 62.5% are fully inoculated. However, DOH yesterday said it was experiencing technical issues preventing the update of the state vaccination dashboard and was working to fix them “as soon as possible.”

A May 24 epidemiology case report from DOH’s epidemiology department accesses COVID-19 variants in the state, attributing one death to a COVID-19 variant of concern: the B.1.429 variant, first discovered in California. The report also provides a county-level breakdown for variants of concern (defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention here); Santa Fe County has had 26 B.1.17 cases; eight B.1.427; 16 B.1.429 and no instances of P.1.

You can read all of SFR’s COVID-19 coverage here. If you’ve had experiences with COVID-19, we would like to hear from you.

City Council approves streetlight plan

After months of debate, feedback and in the face of ongoing concerns, the Santa Fe City Council last night approved a lighting plan that will convert 5,600 streetlights to LED bulbs. The vote followed hours of debate about a rejected amendment proposed by Councilor Mike Garcia that would have temporarily halted the project and required the city to hire an independent lighting engineer to review potential merits or problems of installing lights with a slightly lower color temperature—measured in kelvins—than those in the revised plan. Dalkia Energy Solutions’ proposal calls for lights with 2,700 kelvin on residential roads and 3,000 kelvin on major streets. The switch will cost the city $2.75 million and is part of a $17.2 million project to install energy efficiency upgrades across all government operations as part of the effort to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040. In addition to replacing streetlights, the city also plans to install 2.75 megawatts of solar, replace indoor lighting in city buildings with LEDs, and retrofit water fixtures to save an estimated 2 million gallons a year. “The question is not what’s the rush, the question is what’s the case for further delay?... We have a chance to speak out about climate change and do something about global warming right here, right now,” Mayor Alan Webber said toward the end of the evening, urging approval of the plan to move forward with the installation of the lights.

SFPD arrests train station shooting suspect

The Santa Fe Police Department announced yesterday it had taken custody of Jeremiah “Blue” Quillmann, accused in the April 12 shooting at the Rail Runner station at NM 599. A 73-year-old man was shot in the face during the incident, as well as carjacked. According to an SFPD news release, the victim is still recovering from his injuries, but has been released from the hospital. Police were able to locate Quillmann when the victim’s 2020 Chrysler 300 was identified at Extend-a-Suites on Menaul NE in Albuquerque after an employee called police and informed them a Chrysler with bullet holes in the passenger window was parked there. According to the Albuquerque Journal, police then detained people at the motel associated with the car and learned from them that Quillmann, whom they described as a friend, was homeless. From there, they located photos of Quillmann on Facebook and matched those with footage from the incident. Albuquerque police subsequently arrested him at a Motel 6. He has been charged with intent to commit murder, armed robbery and the unlawful taking of a motor vehicle. The case (#2021-003372) remains under active investigation and anyone with additional information should contact Detective Rebecca Hilderbrandt at 505-955-5265.

Protections proposed for lesser prairie chicken

Yesterday, the US Fish and Wildlife Service proposed federal protection for the lesser prairie chicken across the five states it calls habitat: New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. The proposed designation would designate the southern population in eastern New Mexico as well as the southern reaches of the Texas Panhandle as endangered, with the birds in the northern part of the species’ range as threatened. A public process will take place before a decision is made, including 60 days for public comments and two virtual public meetings, scheduled for July. The proposal arrives with both support and opposition. Environmental groups have pushed and sued for years to reinstate the species as endangered after it was de-listed. A group of US senators last week sent a letter to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland saying such a designation would send “the wrong message” to those investing in conservation work for the species in their respective states.

Listen up

Anyone who has ventured downtown in the last few weeks may have noticed a significant uptick in activity and, yes, tourists. KSFR’s Dennis J. Carroll recently spoke with Tourism Santa Fe Executive Director Randy Randall about the huge hit the city took on the visitor front during the pandemic lockdowns—between a 60% to 70% drop in lodgers revenue alone—and the resurgence now taking place. “The message basically is we’re open and we have enough going on in the city for you to come and have an enjoyable visit,” Randall says, noting that “the demand to come in is very strong,” with hotels filling up. Rick Blyth, La Fonda general manager and lodgers chairman on the city’s Occupancy Tax Advisory Board, confirms hotel occupancy “started coming back very strong a couple of weeks ago,” particularly on the weekends.

Marcy Street renaissance

SFR may no longer be on Marcy Street, but new businesses in the area give us plenty of reasons to brave downtown without free parking (sob). Among them: new restaurant Horno at 95 W Marcy St. (the old Il Piatto digs, RIP), which is slated for an opening on or around June 20. Chef David Sellars took over the space in December and has since been renovating and developing a menu. “We’re calling it an Italian-leaning gastropub,” Sellars tells SFR. “It’s hard to put it in a box, but we want it to be casual and fun and not a fine dining atmosphere—my wife has coined the term ‘fine food, but not fine dining.’ The gastropub thing lets you do anything.” Anything means house-made pasta and a Mediterranean flavor, along with sandwiches for lunch and “a quarter of the menu has some Asian aspects to it.” Former executive chef at the now-defunct Amavi, Sellars will also be self-curating the wine list at Horno. As we wait for Horno to open, be sure to visit recently opened The Mud Hut (105 E Marcy St.), which inhabits the former Madame Matisse outpost across from the old SFR offices, run by Agapao Coffee’s Dave Black.

Animal house

As you plan your three-day weekend, consider bringing home a new friend for summer hikes and hijinks. The Santa Fe Animal Shelter and Humane Society will be waiving all fees on all animals, regardless of age and breed, starting tomorrow, May 28 through Sunday, May 30. The shelter will be open from 11 am to 5 pm and no appointments are necessary. The waived fees come due to overcrowding at the shelter. According to a news release, more than 100 animals are currently available for adoption, with additional animals arriving daily. “June is historically our busiest month, and we are hoping the community can help reduce our overcrowded conditions now by adding another member to their family,” shelter spokesperson Murad Kirdar said in a statement. “For anyone considering adopting a pet into your home, this weekend is the absolute perfect time with all adoption fees waived for puppies, dogs, kittens and cats.” While fees are waived, the shelter’s adoption process remains in place, which includes in-person counseling.

But wait! There’s more.

More warm sunny weather today with a high near 81 degrees and north wind 5 to 15 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon. Looking ahead, though, chances for rain may return tomorrow.

Thanks for reading! Prior to the pandemic, The Word probably would not have followed an Instagram account for house plants, but so it goes (if you are also now following it, you may appreciate this recent NYT story: “Can This Houseplant Be Saved?”)