New Mexico Senator Tom Udall plan to announce legislation aimed at compensating communities affected by the torrent of toxic wastewater from a Colorado mine that fouled two Southwestern rivers. The Democrats’ bill is expected to be the topic of discussion today in a conference call that’ll be covered by KSFR News. A cleanup team contracted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency accidentally triggered the spill of millions of gallons of wastewater as it was doing excavation work on the inactive Gold King mine near Silverton, Colorado. The plume turned the Animas a sickly yellow color as the pollution tainted with heavy metals flowed downstream to New Mexico and Utah. The spill also has reignited efforts to reform federal mining laws.
Albuquerque’s city council has voted five-to-four in favor of de-criminalizing the possession of one ounce or less of cannabis. Instead of an arrest, those caught with that amount would get at ticket. Mayor Richard Berry has said he plans to veto the council’s vote. Last year more than 50 percent of voters said the city should decriminalize the use and possession of small amounts of marijuana. Councilors Isaac Benton and Rey Garduno said it would be a way to keep the jail population down. They don’t believe minor drug offenses should carry criminal charges.
New government data shows that in most states, the rate of adult obesity is not moving. Except New Mexico and four other states, which recorded small increases last year. Results from a telephone survey show obesity rates stayed about the same in 45 states. The 2014 survey found that in 22 states, 30 percent or more of the population was obese. The government Monday released the rates, which were analyzed in a separate report by the advocacy group, Trust for America's Health. Some experts said they are glad, overall, that obesity rates aren't getting worse.
Seven New Mexicans have been honored for their artistic excellence. Governor Susana Martinez handing out this year's Awards for Excellence in the Arts during a recent ceremony in Santa Fe. The honorees included William Clark of Las Cruces for music, Catalina Delgado-Trunk of Albuquerque for her folk art paper designs, Vincent Figiola (fig-lee-oh-la) of Las Cruces for painting, Cochiti Pueblo's Virgil Ortiz for ceramics and Irvin Trujillo of Chimayo for weaving. Edgar Foster Daniels of Santa Fe and Eric Renner and Nancy Spencer of San Lorenzo were recognized as major contributors to the arts. The governor says art is woven into New Mexico's fabric and the artists honored this year represent the best the state has to offer. Martinez chose the artists from recommendations submitted by the New Mexico Arts Commission's selection committee.
Title IX (Nine), passed in 1972, is the federal law that bans discrimination on the basis of gender in any federally funded education program or activity. The law among the topics during a recent discussion at the LensicTheatre in Santa Fe that included Law Professor Anita Hill of Brandeis University’s Heller School for Social Policy and Management. Yes, the same Anita Hill who became a national figure in 1991 during the Supreme Court nomination of Clarence Thomas. Hill and feminist-activist-scholar Professor Beverly Guy-Sheftall led the conversation.
KSFR’s Ellen Berkovitch caught-up with Hill at the event.
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Santa Fe Weather: Cloudy, with a high near 73, with a 70-percent chance for showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after noon. Tonight: Mostly cloudy with a 50-percent chance for scattered showers and thunderstorms and the overnight low, 53. Tomorrow: Partly sunny with a 40-percent chance for showers and thunderstorms, tomorrow’s high, 74.