Gun Advocates Rally, Sue Over NM’s New Public Health Order

Gun group sues over new health order

In the wake of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s new public health order aimed at reducing gun and drug violence in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County, the National Association for Gun Rights and NAGR member and Albuquerque resident Foster Haines over the weekend announced a US District Court lawsuit against Lujan Grisham and Secretary of Health Patrick Allen. The plaintiffs also are asking for a temporary restraining order and a repeal of the public health order, which includes a 30-day suspension of concealed and open carry in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County. As outlined in a news release, the plaintiffs say the order is unconstitutional based on the US Supreme Court ruling last summer in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen, which struck down a concealed carry law in New York. The governor, National Association for Gun Rights President Dudley Brown says in a statement, “is throwing up a middle finger to the Constitution and the Supreme Court. Her Executive Order is in blatant disregard for Bruen. She needs to be held accountable for stripping the God-given rights of millions away with the stroke of a pen.” Brown also said the governor’s actions were “exactly what we warned about during COVID. It’s a tale as old as time, give emergency powers, lose fundamental rights. Google ‘Caesar’ if you want to know how that turns out.” The governor in a Friday news release cited the shooting deaths of three children since July—including an 11-year-old boy last week—as well as two mass shootings in the state this year in Farmington and Red River as the impetus for the new health order. The governor on Friday also signed an executive order declaring illegal drugs a public health emergency. As the Albuquerque Journal notes, Lujan Grisham’s temporary open-carry ban drew: immediate national attention; consternation from the state GOP; threats of additional lawsuits; and a call for impeachment from two state Republican representatives. Gun advocates, the Journal also reports, held a rally yesterday at Albuquerque’s Old Town Plaza.

Senate committee OKs Culture Secretary reappointment

The state Senate Rules Committee on Friday voted to recommend embattled Department of Cultural Affairs Secretary Debra Garcia y Griego be reappointed by the full Senate when the Legislature convenes next year. The vote followed nearly two hours of testimony from both supporters and critics. “I am grateful to state leadership for their clear demonstration of support today,” Garcia y Griego said in a statement issued following the 7-2 vote. “Equally important is their ongoing confidence in the work our agency unceasingly delivers. In the last four and a half years, New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs has more effectively utilized and shared our resources, increased return on the investment made by New Mexico’s taxpayers, and improved services to every county and Tribal community across the state. I look forward to my continued work with the talented individuals who support this agency through their hard work. Their dedicated service to the entire state as a resource for all New Mexicans truly inspires me.” Close to 120 museum professionals and public citizens in February sent a letter to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham raising concerns about Garcia y Griego’s management style in the wake of the termination of Eric Blinman as director of the New Mexico Office of Archaeological Studies, Blinman, in turn, in May filed a federal lawsuit against Garcia y Griego, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and numerous other departments and members of her administration, alleging gender and race discrimination, as well as illegal retaliation.

Farewell Fire & Hops

The popular, delicious and always welcoming North Guadalupe bar and eatery Fire & Hops closed its doors this weekend after nearly a decade in business. “It just goes back to labor issues,” co-founder and owner Josh Johns told SFR Saturday afternoon, shortly after notifying customers, friends and fans via social media. In addition to labor issues, Johns cited fluctuating post-pandemic food costs and incoming construction on Guadalupe Street as factors in the decision to close. “There’s a chance for us to get out now,” he explains, “and I’m really proud that everyone got paid and we never bounced a check—that all the employees are going to be paid. But these small places are feeling the crunch.” Indeed, as SFR has reported, Second Street Brewery closed its original location last year; Loyal Hound Pub closed just last month, citing payroll concerns and crime; and hard kombucha business HoneyMoon Brewery shuttered last June. Fire & Hops’ patrons over the weekend responded to the news quickly and with a combination of gratitude and sorrow. “THANK YOU for adding a unique safe harbor in SF for both adults and kids, both locals and visitors and foodies and non-foodies,” wrote one person on Facebook. “Crushed,” wrote another. “Thanks for all the wonderful memories and laughs. You made that place SPECIAL. There’s nothing else like Fire and Hops in town and you will be missed.” And on Instagram from fellow gastropub Rowley Farmhouse Ales: “Best wishes in your next chapter. You guys rocked it.”

Rep. Leger Fernandez draws 3CD challenger

Former Republican state Rep. Sharon Clahchischilliage on Friday announced her bid for the Republican nomination for the 3rd Congressional District, currently represented by Democrat US Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández and which includes Santa Fe and much of Northern New Mexico. Clahchischilliage, a member of the Navajo Nation and the state Public Education Commission, in a news release described her would-be opponent as “an absent member of Congress who prioritizes a radical agenda over the people of New Mexico.” Last year, Leger Fernández faced Republican Alexis Martinez Johnson in the general election and won the race with 58% of the vote after redistricting incorporated portions of more conservative southeastern New Mexico areas into the district (she also beat Martinez Johnson in her initial run for the office in 2020 with 59% of the vote). “Teresa Leger Fernández has promised a lot and delivered on none of it, probably because she’s too busy playing politics and pushing President Biden’s failed agenda on us,” Clahchischilliage said in a statement. “It’s time for Congress to hear a voice like mine, someone who has served our country, taught in the classroom, raised on the family farm, and fought against the radicals in Santa Fe.”

Listen up

This will be a week filled with remembrances of former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who died Sept. 1 at the age of 75. Richardson will lie in state at the New Mexico Capitol Rotunda on Wednesday, followed by a mass on Thursday at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi and a reception back at the Capitol hosted by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. Every journalist who covered the Richardson administration (including this one) has their stories about the larger-than-life pol turned diplomat. On the most recent episode of New Mexico In Focus, veteran retired reporter Steve Terrell shares his observations, as does former Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, who served alongside Richardson, and Martha Burk, author and host of the Equal Time with Martha Burk podcast.

Schooled

The University of New Mexico ranks in the top 10 (ninth) in terms of economic diversity among the United States’ most selective schools, according to the College-Access Index, published in interactive form by the New York Times magazine as part of its Education issue. The Times previously published the index in 2014 and 2017. In the newest version, it measures “economic diversity by analyzing the share of students receiving Pell Grants, which typically go to students from the bottom half of the income distribution. The list covers the 286 most-selective colleges in the country, defined by Barron’s Profiles of American Colleges and other metrics.” In UNM’s case, 42% of its freshmen received Pell Grants, “subsidies from the federal government for low-income students to pay for college—in the 2020-21 school year, a 4 percentage-point increase since 2011.” The index also shows each school’s endowment per student—$43,000 in the case of UNM. All in all, the Times writes, “The data show that over the past decade, some of these selective colleges, especially those with large endowments, have enrolled more students who are economically disadvantaged; at the same time, however, most schools have seen their number of these students decrease.”

These figures become “particularly important in the wake of two important developments this year in higher education: the Supreme Court’s decision to do away with race-based affirmative action and the decision by some schools to abandon or reduce legacy admissions.” Two other New Mexico higher education institutions appear on the list: New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology at #28, with a 34% share of freshmen with Pell grants, a 5 percentage-point increase since 2011 and a $71,000 endowment per student; and St. John’s College at #71, with a 25% freshmen share of Pell grant recipients; a 19 percentage-point decrease since 2011; and $337,000 endowment per student. St. John’s College last July announced the successful completion of its Freeing Minds capital campaign, raising more than $326 million for a campaign described in a news release as “designed to shift St. John’s from a tuition-based model to one centered on philanthropy.”

Best of the West

As promised, we perused Sunset magazine’s 2023 travel award winners. Santa Fe County, as we mentioned in Friday’s newsletter, ranked as one of the competition’s “best destinations,” and Bishop’s Lodge appears in the “best luxury resorts” category. Albuquerque’s Hotel Chaco made the “best city hotels” list and is described as a “sleek addition” to Albuquerque’s lodging scene that is “architecturally inspired by the Chaco Canyon UNESCO World Heritage Site,” combining “cutting-edge design and sustainability.” Hotel Chaco also sits conveniently near one of the Sunset award-winners for “best tasting experiences”: Sawmill Market, where diners can sample dishes ranging from “tapas and tacos to smoothies and churros, making for a culinary experience that celebrates the diversity of New Mexican culture.” According to the magazine, this year’s contest saw the largest number of entrants in history, all of whom can be found in Sunset’s Western travel directory (if we missed any winners, let us know).

Umbrella weather

The National Weather Service forecasts a 70% chance for precipitation today and tonight, with showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 3 pm today and before 9 pm this evening. Otherwise, it will be partly sunny, with a high temperature near 74 degrees and east wind 5 to 15 mph becoming west in the afternoon.

Thanks for reading! The Word can easily imagine a newsletter in an alternative universe in which all of her end notes link to a song from Paul’s Boutique. In this universe, watching Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz and Michael “Mike D” Diamond christen the new Beastie Boys Square over the weekend will have to suffice.