Whether Santa Fe gets a movie complex for the railyard may depend on who pays for the parking for theater-goers. The nonprofit that operates the railyard on the city's behalf has proposed that it offer free parking for patrons but keep records on the expense and begin reimbursing the city 15 years from now. The city council's Public Works Committee approved that proposal last night but it may not get to a vote by the full city council end the end of June. The Violet Crown Cinema of Austin, Texas has signed a letter of intent to build an 11-screen movie complex but says its schedule calls for having its plans approved by the city in early August.
The move of the district courthouse from Catron (KAT-truhn) Street to the new complex on Montezuma has gotten underway. The courts will be closed at the end of next week, reopening in the new space on Monday, June 10.
When Santa Fe City Council meets this evening, the executive session will address formal approval of Brian K. Snyder as the new city manager. Robert Romero announced earlier this month he would be leaving the $130,000 a year post. Snyder has worked for the City since 2004 and has most recently been serving as the city’s Public Utilities director. Also at tonight’s meeting, there’ll be further discussion of the proposed ordinance that would ban firearm ammunition magazines of more than 10 rounds within Santa Fe. A public hearing on the matter could be set for June 26th.
Mexico is becoming an increasingly important trade partner with the state of New Mexico. But that could be curtailed by a trade dispute getting started on both sides of the border. The United States is proposing new rules that meat products carry labels specifying its country of origin. Mexico says it may impose retaliatory measures on trade between the two countries.
Governor Susana Martinez has announced a $1 million investment by the non-profit College Board that will more than doubles state spending on the Advanced Placement (AP) program for high school students in New Mexico. New data released by the College Board shows that only 40% of some 11,000 students in the Class of 2012 actually took AP courses, placing New Mexico 36th in the nation. Students who are successful in AP courses are given college credit for the same course at nearly every university in the country.
The US Bureau of Reclamation is cautioning that the Colorado River Basin could be in serious water deficit by 2016, with shortages initially impacting Arizona and Nevada but possibly later threatening New Mexico. Today's Albuquerque Journal says those impacts would be most severe for the San Juan River, whose waters are diverted to the Rio Grande for use by Santa Fe and Albuquerque. Water managers from western states are in San Diego this week for a conference on declining Colorado water supplies.
Weather for Santa Fe – A Red Flag Warning over all of central and northern New Mexico today with critical fire weather expected due to strong winds and very low humidity readings. Highs in the upper 70s with winds this afternoon and evening gusting to 35 miles per hour. Overnight lows near 50. Tomorrow and Friday should be much the same.