Santa Fe Hotel First To Call For Guests' Vaccine Proof –Associated Press
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that Ten Thousand Waves guests who want to book a room, use the spa or eat indoors will have to be vaccinated or submit a recent negative COVID-19 test.
This new policy starts Wednesday.
Owner Duke Klauck says patrons already have to be vaccinated for any beauty and spa treatments.
In July, Klauck decided to mandate all 150 employees and contractors get vaccinated.
Guests who are only eating outdoors at the hotel's Izanami restaurant, however, don't have to show vaccination status.
Kathy Komoll, CEO of New Mexico Hospitality Association, believes this is the first hotel in the state to enact a vaccination policy.
Klauck said seeing the prevalence of the delta variant was partly behind the decision. He believes for every customer who may go elsewhere, there others who will be supportive.
Since the pandemic started, New Mexico has seen more than 229,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 4,505 deaths.
More than 1 million people age 18 and up in the state have been fully vaccinated — or 67.2% of that population.
New Mexico Panel Considers Future Of Coal-Fired Power Plant – Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press
New Mexico’s largest electric provider wants to transfer its share of a coal-fired power plant to an energy company backed by the Navajo Nation, but environmentalists argue that approving the deal would prolong the life of the plant and run counter to the state's renewable energy goals.
The state Public Regulation Commission will determine whether Public Service Co. of New Mexico's plan for Four Corners Power Plant is in the public interest during a two-week hearing. It heard from the public Monday.
Some tribal members told regulators that all levels of Navajo leadership are behind the proposal. They said allowing the Navajo Transitional Energy Co. — or NTEC — to take over the utility’s stake in Four Corners would provide more time for the tribe to find ways to deal with significant economic consequences that will come when the plant closes in 2031.
If regulators don’t approve PNM's plan, the Navajo Nation could lose up to $60 million annually, said Lorenzo Bates, former speaker of the Navajo Nation Council. The tribe is already struggling to absorb lost jobs and revenues after the closure of a coal-fired power plant in Arizonain 2019.
Four Corners and the mine that feed it employ about 700 mostly Navajo workers. The plant has an annual payroll of nearly $100 million and pays $100 million in taxes, fees and coal royalties, according to Arizona Public Service Co., one of its owners.
Other tribal members and environmental groups are urging the commission not to approve the proposal, saying the plant should be shut down as soon as possible.
PNM wants out of the coal business and has been adding wind and solar resources. The state is requiring it to provide more electricity from emissions-free sources over the next two decades.
PNM also wants to use low-cost bonds that would be paid off by utility customers to recover $300 million it has invested in the power plant.
The utility is hoping to get regulatory approval for the deal as it prepares for a merger with global energy giant Iberdrola.
If regulators don't approve the transfer to NTEC, then PNM would have to figure out a new plan to exit the plant. It can't decide alone to shut down the plant, which has four other owners.
New Mexico Governor Signs Another Declaration For Flooding – Associated Press
Recent heavy rainfall overwhelmed drainage systems and caused damage to roads and infrastructure, including traditional irrigation systems known as acequias.
"Failure to restore the operations of our local acequias will have severe adverse effects on our predominately agricultural communities,” said Alfredo Montoya, the county's fire marshal and emergency services chief.
Similar emergency declarations were made earlier this year for Lincoln, Chaves, Valencia, Eddy, Doña Ana and Mora counties, as many parts of the state have seen more rain during this monsoon than in the past two summers. Climate experts have said some parts of the southwestern U.S. have seen as much as four times their average precipitation levels for this time of year.
Forecasters with the National Weather Service say the potential for flash flooding will increase sharply Wednesday through Friday as more heavy rain is expected across the western half of New Mexico.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Partner Wed In New Mexico – Associated Press
Haaland wore a dress designed and sewn by her sister, said Interior Department spokeswoman Melissa Schwartz. The ceremony incorporated elements honoring her Native American ancestry. The former New Mexico congresswoman is a member of the Laguna Pueblo.
According to Schwartz, guests had to be vaccinated to attend and wear masks per CDC and New Mexico guidelines.
But pictures on social media that show some people, including Haaland, not wearing masks indoors the whole time have drawn criticism. Her office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Albuquerque Purchasing Bernalillo County's Share Of Building - Associated Press
Bernalillo County and the city of Albuquerque have long shared a large government building in downtown Albuquerque but no more.
The city is about to finalize its purchase of the Albuquerque Government Center and the county has moved out to a new facility, enabling the city to consolidate departments in the building that the two governments formerly shared, city officials announced Friday.
The city is paying the county $5 million for the county's share of the building, which the two governments had jointly owned since its construction. The city plans to spend an additional $5.5 million in renovations so the building can house additional workers, a city statement said.
The city has added exterior lights to the building's east face that will have the ability to change colors and that a "City Hall" will be mounted above the top floor, the statement said.
Navajo Nation Reports 24 New COVID-19 Cases, But No Deaths - Associated Press
The Navajo Nation on Sunday reported 24 new COVID-19 cases, but no additional deaths.
The latest numbers pushed the tribe's total to 32,528 coronavirus cases since the pandemic began more than a year ago. The known death total remained at 1,403.
Tribal health officials reported 35 new cases and three deaths Saturday.
The Navajo Nation reservation is the country's largest at 27,000 square miles (70,000 square kilometers) and it covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
Tribal President Jonathan Nez has said all Navajo Nation executive branch employees will need to be fully vaccinated against the virus that causes COVID-19 by the end of September or be required to submit to regular testing.
The new rules apply to full, part-time and temporary employees, including those working for tribal enterprises like utilities, shopping centers and casinos.
Any worker who does not show proof of vaccination by Sept. 29 must be tested every two weeks or face discipline.
1 Man Dead, 1 Wounded In Shooting At Albuquerque Apartment - Associated Press
Police in Albuquerque are investigating a shooting that left one man dead and another injured.
They said officers responded about 1 a.m. Saturday to a report of multiple shots fired outside an apartment complex.
Police arrived one the scene and found multiple casings in the street and multiple impact holes in the apartment complex.
Officers did a welfare check on the tenants and found a man dead in one of the apartments.
Another man was injured at the scene but transported himself to the hospital before police arrived and is in stable condition.
The names and ages of the dead man and wounded man haven't been released yet as police said their investigation was ongoing.
Albuquerque continues to grapple with a record-setting year of deadly violence. Earlier this month, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham dispatched nearly three dozen state police officers to the state’s largest city. The effort is scheduled to last at least another week.
Anxious Tenants Await Assistance As Evictions Resume - By Michael Casey And Michelle Liu Associated Press
Six months after Congress approved spending tens of billions of dollars to bail out renters facing eviction, South Carolina was just reaching its first tenants. All nine of them.
Like most states, it had plenty of money to distribute — $272 million. But it had handed out just over $36,000 by June. The pace has since intensified, but South Carolina still has only distributed $15.5 million in rent and utility payments as of Aug. 20, or about 6% of its funds.
"People are strangling on the red tape," said Sandy Gillis, executive director of the Hilton Head Deep Well Project, which stopped referring tenants to the program and started paying overdue rent through its own private funds instead.
The struggles in South Carolina are emblematic of a program launched at the beginning of the year with the promise of solving the pandemic eviction crisis, only to fall victim in many states to bureaucratic hurdles, political inertia and unclear guidance at the federal level.
The concerns about the slow pace intensified Thursday, after the Supreme Court blocked the Biden administration from enforcing a temporary ban that was put in place because of the coronavirus pandemic. Some 3.5 million people in the U.S. as of Aug. 16 said they face eviction in the next two months, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey.
"The Supreme Court decision undermines historic efforts by Congress and the White House to ensure housing stability during the pandemic," Diane Yentel, CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, said in a statement.
"State and local governments are working to improve programs to distribute emergency rental assistance to those in need, but they need more time; the Supreme Court's decision will lead to many renters, predominantly people of color, losing their homes before the assistance can reach them."
The Treasury Department said this week that just over $5.1 billion of the estimated $46.5 billion in federal rental assistance — only 11% — has been distributed by states and localities through July. This includes some $3 billion handed out by the end of June and another $1.5 billion by May 31.
Nearly a million households have been served and 70 places have gotten at least half their money out, including several states, among them Virginia and Texas, according to Treasury. New York, which hadn't distributed anything through May, has now distributed more than $156 million.
But there are 16 states, according to the latest data, that had distributed less than 5% and nine that spent less than 3%. Most, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, are red states, often with tough-to-reach rural populations. Besides South Carolina, they include Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Iowa, Indiana, Florida, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Mississippi and New Mexico.
There are myriad reasons for the slow distribution, according to the group. Among them is the historic amount of money — more than the Department of Housing and Urban Development's annual budget — which required some 450 localities to create programs from scratch. Getting the money out is also complicated by the fact that checks aren't sent directly to beneficiaries like, for example, the child tax credit.
States and localities have also struggled with technology and staffing, as well as reaching tenants without access to the internet, or small landlords unaware of the help. Some have applications so complicated they scare off prospective applicants or have income documentation and pandemic impact requirements that can be time-consuming.
Efforts to use coronavirus relief money for rental assistance last year faced similar challenges.
"A lot of states are lagging behind," said Emma Foley, a research analyst with the National Low Income Housing Coalition. "The fact that this many states still have distributed so little is worrisome."
In South Carolina, lawmakers were slow to roll out the state's program, waiting until April to charge the state housing authority with distributing the money. It took weeks to set up its program, with the first help not going out until June.
Housing advocates have also criticized the reams of documentation required and the months of waiting for tenants to find out whether they qualify.
Shaquarryah Fraiser applied in May and is still waiting to hear whether she will get help paying months of back rent for the mobile home she rented with her mother for $550 a month in Sumter, South Carolina. Fraiser's mother died of COVID-19 last year, and the 29-year-old fell behind after getting sick herself with pneumonia and losing her phone survey job.
"It'll take a lot of stress off of me. I won't be so anxious about this situation," said Fraiser of the prospect of getting the help.
In Arizona, delays have led to plenty of finger-pointing.
Arizona's House Democrats this month blamed the state for the delays in getting the money out — less than $7 million of its $900 million through July.
Arizona's Department of Economic Security points out the federal money has been allocated to 13 different jurisdictions, not just the state, and blames cities and counties for the slow rollout.
"We have offered to assist overwhelmed jurisdictions with their workloads," the department's director Michael Wisehart wrote in a response to lawmakers. "Regrettably, no jurisdiction has chosen to partner in this way."
Meanwhile, Arizona landlords and housing nonprofits blamed much of the problem on regulatory requirements tied to the money.
Mississippi, which has given out $18.6 million of its $200 million through Aug. 23, has struggled to reach smaller landlords and renters, many of whom live in rural areas without internet access. In addition, the state has no data base of renters — prompting it to hold events statewide to connect with potential applicants.
The Mississippi Home Corporation, which runs the program, also sent a letter to judges asking them not to allow an eviction if someone has applied for help and to inform landlords they won't get help if they evict after the moratorium ends. The agency also relaxed documentation requirements in 50 of its counties. But the program will still require proof of income and other documents in 32 other counties.
"You're trying to walk this line of speed and diligence," said Scott Spivey, executive director of the Mississippi Home Corporation. "We are trying to make sure there is no fraud, waste and abuse and that we're only giving assistance to the people who are entitled to it."
The Treasury Department has repeatedly tweaked its guidance to encourage states and local governments to streamline the distribution of funds. The Biden administration has also asked states to create eviction diversion program s that aim to resolve disputes before they reach the courts.
On Wednesday, Treasury released additional guidance to try to speed up the process. This includes allowing tenants to self-assess their income and risk of becoming homeless among other criteria. Many states and localities, fearing fraud, have measures in place that can take weeks to verify an applicant qualifies for help.
Treasury also said money can be distributed in advance of funds being approved as well as to tenants who have outstanding rental debt in collection, making it easier for them to find new housing.
"There is no question we are seeing a level of excessive caution in getting the money out that does not seem to reflect either the flexibilities Treasury has provided or the fact we are facing a true public health and eviction emergency," said Gene Sperling, who is charged with overseeing implementation of President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus rescue package.
He said the new guidance is "going the extra mile to provide even more clarity and strong encouragement to put getting immediate relief out ahead of unnecessary and time-consuming paperwork."
Anniversary Celebration Of Tourist Railroad Back On Track - By Jessica Pollard Santa Fe New Mexican
On a recent Saturday morning, it looked like the town of Antonito, Colorado, was on fire.
But it was just steam from the Cumbres & Toltec train depot — lots of it.
Four steam engines from the 19th century were running simultaneously in honor of the railroad's 50th anniversary of joint ownership between Colorado and New Mexico. The celebration was to take place last year but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Tickets have been sold out since 2020.
The four "Iron Horses" will be in Chama, New Mexico, for demonstrations and more rides from Aug. 27-29.
"There's nothing quite like this that's ever been done before in rails historic preservation," said Stathi Pappas, chief operations manager and head of restoration at Cumbres and Toltec.
The 64-mile railroad runs on narrow tracks through the Rocky Mountains on ancestral Tewa land.
On Aug. 21, train enthusiasts rode the coal-powered 1883 Rio Grande engine No. 168 and the 1893 Rio Grande engine No. 425 as part of the Victorian Iron Horse Roundup.
The 168 is in Antonito; the 425 in Durango. It took two years to restore each passenger car using state funds, Pappas said.
According to federal transportation regulations, passengers on moving train cars with open windows don't have to wear masks. Windows were open and masks were mostly off last Saturday.
"Instead of going to the zoo and seeing something in captivity, it's like going on a safari and seeing everything in its natural habitat," Pappas said of the locomotives. "They really belong here."
The trains had to be above their original standards of safety to be in compliance with today's laws, he said. Because parts for the old trains are no longer manufactured, restorationists often make them from scratch.
The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad bridged Salt Lake City and Denver in 1870, and the San Juan extension served the mining industry through the mountains of southern Colorado.
In the late 1960s, the narrow gauge of the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad tracks were set for abandonment.
Colorado and New Mexico bought the portion between Chama and Antonito, forming the Cumbres & Toltec railroad.
"This is your railroad, too," Pappas said. "It is something that all of us, as residents and people that are part of these states, should have pride in."
Two other trains were brought in from Nevada for the celebration: the Eureka and Glenbrook locomotives, built in 1875.
The Glenbrook once carried lumber through the Lake Tahoe Basin, and the Eureka rumbled through Nevada's gold-mining district.
"All these locomotives were built to work," Pappas said. "They were built in an era when there was a lot of thought invested in how they look. They're intended to be works of art in their own way."
With wood-powered engines and kerosene-powered headlights, the Glenbrook and Eureka are considerably smaller than those of the later 19th and early 20th centuries.
They took their first test runs on the tracks Saturday morning. The trains will require 80 cords of pine wood and a lot of water to keep them running during the anniversary week, railroad commissioner Scott Gibbs said.
Russ Murphy and his wife Caroline traveled from Tennessee to attend the event.
Russ, 60, has been a fan of railroads since he was 3 years old. Raised in Kansas, he often took rides with his father on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. He's ridden trains from Antonito since the 1970s.
When the couple ride a vintage train, they dress in clothes from the time period — Russ in a full vintage suit, silky red vest and cowboy boots modeled after a pair worn by outlaw Curly Bill with spurs to match.
"It's all authentic and old," he said.
Yasmine Sealy and Carol O'Saben drove from Flagstaff, Arizona, to Antonito for the event. Sealy grew up riding the subway in New York. It sparked a lifetime love of locomotives.
"Trains are amazing feats of engineering," she said. "Trains helped build this country. Just to see something that was built in the 1800s, it's still going. It's still a workhorse to behold."
Sealy said trains can take people to places a car could never go such as densely vegetated areas and narrow natural corridors.
"You're seeing America," she said. "Enjoy it. Take it in. Know this is where you live. This is the beautiful country that you have."
Jim Wrinn, editor of Wisconsin-based Trains magazine, planned to attend the event in Chama.
"It's business, it's geography, it's history, it's politics, it's technology," he said of his love of trains.
"And there's a lot of romance to railroading," he added.
Report: Tipping Point Reached For Defense Technology - By Ryan Boetel Albuquerque Journal
Force fields protecting us from drones and missiles.
Guns that shoot lasers instead of firing bullets.
Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots zapping at each other on the battlefield.
A new report by the Air Force Research Laboratory titled Directed Energy Futures 2060 describes the sorts of "directed energy" weapons that may come to exist in the next 40 years. And the expected technology — much of which may be researched and developed in Albuquerque — is like something out of a science fiction movie.
Officials from multiple Department of Defense entities, partners with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and other experts came together to write the report, which says the world is at a "tipping point," the Albuquerque Journal reported.
Soon, the report says, harnessing directed energy power will be critical for military success. The report's authors make the case that in order for America to stay competitive in the field with rival nations such as China and Russia, more investment in the research and development of directed energy and educating a future directed energy workforce is needed.
"We're seeing a lot more directed energy capabilities in the military space. People are using them for weapons worldwide," said Jeremy Murray-Krezan, the assistant chief scientist of AFRL's Directed Energy Directorate and one of the report's authors. The directorate is based at Kirtland Air Force Base.
Directed energy weapons convert different frequencies of electromagnetic waves and light into a high-power pulse to shoot at a target. And such weapons already exist.
AFRL, for instance, is currently in late-stage testing of the Tactical High-power Operational Responder, or THOR, which can shoot microwaves to destroy drones. The idea is that the weapon can protect military bases.
Murray-Krezan said the Air Force has also developed mounted guns that shoot laser beams instead of bullets.
Similar weapons are being created in other countries. Murray-Krezan noted that all of the top 10 militaries in the world have some sort of directed energy program.
"It may not be at the scale of the Cold War," he said, "but I think we might already be seeing something of an arms race."
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Center of research
If the arms race for directed energy indeed takes off, much of the action could take place in Albuquerque.
Both on and off Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque in the past 40 years has become a mecca of sorts for that type of science, said Edl Schamiloglu, a distinguished professor in the University of New Mexico's School of Engineering, who specializes in directed energy.
UNM is preparing to launch a Directed Energy Center, which will make the university one of a handful in the country with a center dedicated to that type of research and the only one that has expertise in both lasers and microwaves, he said.
"Albuquerque, New Mexico, is the epicenter of directed energy research in the United States," Schamiloglu said. "In addition to the activity that goes on at AFRL internally, AFRL supports research at Sandia National Labs and Los Alamos (National Laboratory). And there are dozens of companies that support directed energy … in town. So I think directed energy research and development will be an important component in economic development in the city and the state for decades, for sure."
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Future technologies
In 1983, President Ronald Reagan proposed a Strategic Defense Initiative, which came to be known as Star Wars. It was the height of the Cold War, and the conservative icon imagined an array of satellites that could shoot X-rays to stop nuclear weapons from reaching the country's borders.
Despite billions of spending on the effort, the project remained science fiction until it was significantly narrowed by President Bill Clinton in 1993, according to Politico.
The recent directed energy report revisits the idea.
Murray-Krezan said technology used in the THOR project could be applied to a fleet of satellites that could, in theory, bring the "Star Wars" defense shield into reality.
"Today we could say that we could make a force field to protect against (drones)," he said in an interview. "The fact that we're seeing these things fielded, these aren't just laboratory experiments anymore. They are making their way out to the military. … In the next 10 years, we might see a huge proliferation of those. Eventually … you might want to get to a whole missile shield, in a sense."
Directed energy also could be used to make a weapon that shoots laser beams. The technology already exists. Schamiloglu said the Navy ship USS Ponce has had a mounted laser weapon for several years.
The advantage of a laser over a missile or other kinetic weapon, such as a traditional gun, is not having to reload as often, Murray-Krezan said.
"Imagine you're a group who's charged to defend a military base, and you have a battery of Patriot missiles," he said. "Instead of having to rearm your battery of 12 Patriot missiles with more missiles, if you had a directed energy weapon you could just keep firing as long as you have power."
There's also a possibility that in the coming decades the military will combine artificial intelligence and directed energy weapons, creating fast-paced battlefields that Murray-Krezan compared to Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots, the classic toy that has players manipulating simple robots to fight one another.
He envisioned some type of mobile robot — perhaps a drone — that is armed with a directed energy weapon that could shoot microwaves at first, which could destroy electronics. But it also has a laser, which could shoot a more lethal pulse if the situation escalates.
"So you might imagine an artificial intelligence behind the robots battling each other — and this isn't such a far-fetched concept. We use electronic warfare in the military today," Murray-Krezan said. "It's definitely taking it a step farther."