The Sixth annual “Small Business Saturday” shopping event—in between “Black Friday” and today’s “Cyber Monday”—means big business nationwide and locally. Forbes Magazine reports the Small Business Saturday event, created in 2010 by American Express to help small businesses attract more customers—has seen dramatic results for local firms.
And in Santa Fe, this year’s event attracted New Mexico Senator Tom Udall to The Big Adventure Comics shop on Cerrillos Road. The Shop’s owner, Kevin Drennan, says he purchased the store five years ago after working alongside the previous owners.
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Drennan says Big Adventure Comics has been built on local comic book readers and collectors.
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For his part, Senator Udall annually selects a New Mexico small business to highlight on Small Business Saturday. This year the Democrat says he chose Drennan’s Big Adventure Comics based on the recommendation of one of his Santa Fe staff members who frequents the shop. Udall praised Drennan’s entrepreneurial spirit in taking the businesses’ helm.
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Santa Fe Mayor Javier Gonzales—on hand with Senator Udall for the Small Business Saturday event along with his kids—says Big Adventure Comics is a fun place to be in.
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Senator Udall agrees with the Mayor. And he’s been hearing from New Mexico small businesses on one of their major complaints: different rules for online retailers, including some that don’t assess local and state gross receipts taxes. Small firms say it represents unfair business practices. Udall says he’s sympathetic.
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Big Adventure Comics owner Kevin Drennan agrees that big-box stores and online retailers pose a major challenge, but he says small businesses meet local consumers’ needs and build success through very standard means.
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In Albuquerque, three people are dead in what police are calling a drunken driving crash. Albuquerque Police say 23-year old Jacob Jaramillo was driving on the I-25 Frontage Road at 12:30 a.m., approaching the I-40 Frontage Road, when he ran a red light and struck another vehicle with three people in it. All three of those people were killed. They have been identified as Roberto Mendez, 27, Sergio Mendez-Aguirre, 23, and Grace Sinfield, 20. Police say Jaramillo was driving while “extremely intoxicated at the time of the crash which is a contributing factor to the crash.” He will be booked on three counts of vehicular homicide, aggravated DWI, and red light violation.
A former northern New Mexico city councilor charged with pistol-whipping a man and shooting at his vehicle will avoid jail. The New Mexican reported Saturday that Eric Radosevich (rah-DOH-SEH-vich) was sentenced to three years' probation back in September after pleading no contest to aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. The former Espanola city councilor was initially also charged with shooting at a motor vehicle but that was dropped under a plea agreement. Authorities say Radosevich was part of a group that got into an argument in June 2014 with David Perez at a gas station after someone was "flirting" with the Perez's wife. Deputies say Radosevich followed Perez and struck him several times with a handgun. Perez slammed Radosevich's sentence as "a slap on the wrist."
Santa Fe Weather: Sunny skies today and tomorrow… the high today, 36, rising to 41 tomorrow. Tonight: Mostly clear skies and cold, with the overnight low dropping to 17.