Latest news with #TheNewMexican
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Yahoo
Public records watch: City reports from private security contractors
Editor's note: The Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA) 'enables access to public records of governmental entities in New Mexico,' according to the New Mexico Department of Justice. Public Records Watch is an occasional series from The Santa Fe New Mexican that documents how public agencies respond to IPRA requests. The city of Santa Fe has provided some, but not all, of the records requested by The New Mexican more than six months ago related to the city's contracted security services. The newspaper requested receipts, incident logs and reports, certificates of insurance, training manuals, policies and procedures and copies of the licenses of security guards authorized to patrol the streets, many of them armed. The Santa Fe City Council approved a measure in August to allocate $750,000 for a contract with Condor Security of America for the company's services in downtown Santa Fe. So far, the city has provided receipts and invoices for payments through November, the company's contract, post orders and some incident logs filed by security guards who patrolled the Railyard area last year. Incident reports, training materials, guard licenses and policies and procedures have not been provided. City records staff closed the request in January without providing any incident logs or reports from the first six months of the downtown security program, but the request was reopened after an inquiry into whether any such logs or reports have been filed, as is laid out in the contract.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Shanahan's death, major mall addition and Guadalupe Street update top busy week in business news
It was a busy week on the business front in Santa Fe in recent days, with several noteworthy developments taking place. To begin with, there was the death of green-building and affordable-housing advocate Kim Shanahan, who also wrote a popular weekly column for The New Mexican. Shanahan managed to remain one of the more important figures in the Santa Fe homebuilding community even after moving to Costa Rica a few years ago, and to hear his friends and admirers tell it, his death is likely to leave a significant leadership void in that arena. Everyone I spoke with about Shanahan for the story I wrote about his passing expressed respect and admiration for him, making me regret the fact I never got to meet him. The task of resolving Santa Fe's burgeoning affordable-housing crisis likely has become more difficult now with his passing, and the loss of his experience and perspective. On the positive side, there was the news of a large national retailer, Dunham's Sports, taking up residence at Santa Fe Place. The Michigan-based company will open a store occupying nearly 60,000 square feet at the mall later this year and already has been holding hiring events to staff the enterprise. The addition of such a large company helps the city offset the loss of a handful of other national retailers earlier this year. It also comes at a time when there are increasing fears of a national economic slowdown because of the effects of the Trump administration's tariffs, so that makes the entry of Dunham's into the local market doubly important. Finally, there is news that city officials hope to have work on the Guadalupe Street corridor done this summer. That comes as welcome news to anyone who has tried to drive through the area since work on the $11 million project began a year and a half ago and especially to the merchants who are trying to survive the disruptions caused by the undertaking, which city officials have promised will result in a major improvement to the streetscape. With the start of tourist season just weeks away, it seems like every day counts in terms of how soon the work wraps up.
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
State head of special education departs for role in Maryland
As New Mexico still struggles to educate students with disabilities up to the same standards as their peers, the state's inaugural head of special education has left after less than two years on the job. Margaret Cage, who was selected in October 2023 as the inaugural director and deputy secretary of the Public Education Department's much-touted Office of Special Education, has departed for a new role in Maryland. Her last day of work at the department was Tuesday. Deputy Director of the Office of Special Education Tyre' Jenkins will serve as interim deputy secretary as a national search is underway to find Cage's replacement, Public Education Department spokesperson Janelle Taylor García wrote in an email to The New Mexican. 'Dr. Jenkins has been with PED since January of 2024 and has been a close partner with Dr. Cage throughout her tenure in creating and managing the Office of Special Education,' Taylor García wrote. Cage's departure from the new office comes as the state's more than 50,000 public school students with disabilities continues to face a persistent gap in achievement relative to their nondisabled peers. The Public Education Department's standardized testing data from the 2023-24 school year shows just 13% of students with disabilities were proficient in reading and 7.5% in math, compared to statewide averages for all students of 39% and 23%, respectively. In 2018, a judge in the landmark Yazzie/Martinez lawsuit decision against the state determined the state had failed to provide sufficient education to several groups of students, including those in special education. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham created the Office of Special Education by executive order in May 2023, arguing the office — located within the Public Education Department — would serve as a primary point of contact for students and their families to get the special education services they need while improving recruitment, retention and training for teachers specializing in special education. By the time it was established, the office had been on lawmakers' and advocates' minds for years. During this year's legislative session, Senate President Pro Tempore Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, proposed Senate Bill 38 to officially codify the Office of Special Education in state statute, but the bill stalled after passing the Senate. When she was selected as the Office of Special Education's first top official, Cage brought 25 years of experience as a teacher, instructional coach, school leader and school system administrator to the role, plus a doctorate and master's degree in educational leadership. Prior to her departure, Cage earned an annual salary of $160,000, according to the New Mexico Sunshine Portal. She arrived in New Mexico from Assumption Parish Schools in Louisiana — a district of just under 3,000 students west of New Orleans — where she supervised special education services. Cage declined The New Mexican's interview requests upon her arrival in the role. Minutes from the Feb. 2 meeting of the Montgomery County Board of Education in Rockville, Md., indicate board voted unanimously to appoint Cage as the district's new chief student support officer. Cage continued her job duties until her last day Tuesday, Taylor García said, including providing insight during the legislative session. 'The Office of Special Education continues to be staffed with a number of highly qualified individuals dedicated to advancing the mission of the OSE,' Taylor García wrote in an email.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
New Mexico health officials: Santa Fe County dog diagnosed with plague
A dog in Santa Fe County has been diagnosed with plague but has recovered from the illness, the New Mexico Department of Health reported Friday. The agency raised the alarm about the diagnosis because plague can pass to humans through flea bites or contact with infected animals. 'Plague is a bacterial disease in wildlife that pets can be exposed to by eating an infected animal or through bites of infected fleas,' Erin Phipps, New Mexico's public health veterinarian, said in a statement. 'Humans can also contract it through flea bites but also risk getting plague through direct contact with infected animals, including rodents, wildlife and pets.' The agency is recommending precautions including ensuring pet food and water bowls are kept away from rodents and other wildlife; keeping hay, wood and compost piles away from homes; and getting flea control for any pets. The dog has recovered, the Health Department said in a news release announcing the illness. The agency noted the risk of death can be decreased by quick diagnosis and treatment. Last year, there was one human plague case in the state. The last time an animal was diagnosed with plague was 2021, when a cat in Los Alamos County contracted the disease. While plague is more prevalent in the summer months, Health Department spokesperson David Morgan said the bacteria is present in the state year-round. Wildlife — and the fleas hitching a ride on them — are more active during the summer. Humans and pets also typically spend more time outside during the summer months. 'Put those together and you have more opportunities for plague exposure,' Morgan wrote in an email to The New Mexican. Between 1977 and 2023, the majority of feline plague cases have been in Bernalillo and Santa Fe counties. Over the past two decades, plague diagnoses in cats have been decreasing. After a spike in the 1980s, human cases also have dropped. Between 2020 and 2023, there were only five human cases in the state: one in Rio Arriba County, one in Santa Fe County and three in Torrance County. There's an association between rain and plague cases. 'For example, a large spike in the 1980s is correlated with El Niño climate patterns causing above average precipitation in New Mexico,' Morgan wrote.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Santa Fe builder remembered as tireless advocate for affordable, green housing
A longtime Santa Fe contractor, green building code expert and affordable housing proponent died last week in Costa Rica, where he and his longtime partner lived for the past few years, according to his family. Kim Shanahan, 68, died Friday of a heart attack while at home near the Costa Rican town of Uvita, according to his children, Isabel and Lyle Shanahan. Kim Shanahan had moved to Uvita, a community near the Pacific Coast, 2½ years ago with his partner, Lisa Boegl, they said. Miles Conway, executive officer of the Santa Fe Area Home Builders Association, said Shanahan led with his heart when it came to the issues that were most important to him: green building and energy efficiency. 'He told it straight. When he spoke and he wrote, he didn't pull any punches,' Conway said. 'His voice will be deeply missed.' According to information from his family and the Construction Dispute Resolution Services website, Shanahan, who studied at Michigan State University from 1975 to 1979, spent 35 years as a general contractor building luxury custom homes while remodeling others and helping craft affordable housing subdivisions. For many years, he was the executive officer of the Santa Fe Area Home Builders Association, a position he took after serving as the organization's board president in the early 2000s. After leaving the association at the end of 2018, Shanahan became a private sustainability consultant focusing on water conservation, indoor air quality, energy efficiency and affordable housing. That's when he began writing a weekly column for The New Mexican's Sunday real estate section called Building Santa Fe, which covered a variety of homebuilding issues. His final submission for the paper, which ran in Sunday's edition, focused on an effort by City Councilor Carol Romero-Wirth to get revisions to the city's green building codes approved by the council before the end of her term this year. 'Resourceful creativity' Lyle Shanahan recalled watching — and sometimes helping — his father build the family cabin on Cow Creek when he was a child during the summer of 2003. 'He instilled a sense of resourceful creativity in building in me that I will forever cherish,' Lyle Shanahan wrote in an email to The New Mexican, also recalling that his father gave him his first set of power tools when he was 7. 'Perhaps a questionable age to receive such a gift these days, but it was the '90s, man,' he wrote. IMG_4374.JPG Kim Shanahan at Cow Creek, where the family has a cabin he built years ago from leftover materials from other projects. That cabin became a popular gathering spot for members of the Shanahan clan and their friends from all over the world. Built from leftover materials from other projects, Lyle Shanahan said it represents his father's ingenuity. 'His resourcefulness, skill and creativity shines through in his building details, and he was proud to share his work with the community at large,' Lyle Shanahan wrote. He said he was fortunate enough to get to spend time with his father just last month. 'Though my dad has been very far away in Costa Rica for the last couple years, I recently got to see him in NYC for my birthday in late March,' he wrote. 'Being able to play one last round of golf with the old man while his brand new grandson was swaddled on my sister's chest sitting next to him in the cart will always be a special memory for me.' Both Lyle and Isabel Shanahan credited their father with instilling a 'feral curiosity' and '505 attitude' in them through the adventures and hikes he led them on around the state when they were children. They said they have carried those characteristics with them well into adulthood — 'including knowing how to get through barbed wire fences in style.' 'He told it straight' Conway, of the homebuilders association, said he and Kim Shanahan regularly worked together on energy-efficiency issues. He recalled they had spoken on the phone just last week. 'He was deeply involved in some policy changes going before the City Council now,' Conway said. Conway said he got no indication from the conversation Shanahan might have been experiencing health issues. 'He seemed like himself,' Conway said. 'He was on it.' That conversation was typical of how the two men communicated over the years, he said. 'We talked, we conspired about what we were going to do next, and we commiserated,' Conway said, laughing. He described Shanahan as the 'most-involved community member in Santa Fe living on foreign soil.' Conway said Shanahan seemed to be enjoying his life in Costa Rica, adding with a chuckle his friend often could be seen scrambling to put a shirt on at the start of virtual meetings after coming straight from the beach. Christine Chavez, water conservation manager for the city of Santa Fe, said she was shocked and saddened by the news of Shanahan's death, especially as the two of them had just spoken Friday as they continued making plans for the 2025 Next Generation Water Summit to be held June 5-6 in Santa Fe. Chavez described him as a mentor who was passionate about water and sustainability issues. 'I feel so honored to have worked so closely with him,' she said. Chavez said when she began writing a column for a local magazine, she asked Shanahan for his feedback. Even though the two didn't know each other well at that point, Shanahan was gracious and generous with his time, she said. 'If you asked him, he definitely would lend his ear,' she said. 'I just really admired him and the work he did.' Tireless advocate Retired homebuilder and longtime friend Bruce Thompson said he met Shanahan nearly 30 years ago when Shanahan came to work for him as a subcontractor. Thompson eventually hired Shanahan as a project manager and superintendent. 'He was just an all-around great guy,' Thompson said. 'He got along with people extremely well.' Thompson said it had been as long as two and a half years since he had spoken to Shanahan, but that didn't ease the pain of the loss. 'We were very close,' Thompson said. 'I miss him.' Thompson said Shanahan will be remembered as a tireless advocate for green building codes and as one of the most familiar faces in the Santa Fe homebuilding community. IMG_4371.JPG Kim Shanahan with his partner, Lisa Boegl. The Santa Fe home contractor, who moved to Costa Rica, died Friday at 68. He wrote a weekly column for The New Mexican, with his last one running Sunday. Glenn Schiffbauer, executive director of the Santa Fe Green Chamber of Commerce, said he met Shanahan when he was hired for the position and Shanahan was on the organization's board. 'I had never worked in the nonprofit world,' Schiffbauer said. 'He was my mentor. He knew a lot more of the ropes than I did.' Eventually, the two became very close, he said. While Shanahan was a talented and eloquent writer, Schiffbauer said, he also had an edge to him that people didn't always respond well to, especially when it came to sustainability and environmental issues. 'I would like people to remember him all warm and fuzzy,' Schiffbauer said, chuckling. 'But he was opinionated.' Nevertheless, Shanahan never put forth an argument that wasn't well reasoned, he said. On the flip side of his personality, Schiffbauer said, Shanahan was a huge reggae fan, even using a reggae tune for the introductory music for the radio program he hosted in Santa Fe. Contrarian and dreamer Daniel Werwath, who served as the housing policy adviser for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham until earlier this month, said he worked closely with Shanahan on several housing issues over the last 20-plus years. 'There was hardly anybody in our community more passionate about housing and how we could be better at housing, especially affordable housing,' Werwath said. It was their first meeting that really stuck in Werwath's mind as he pondered Shanahan's death Monday. Shanahan was serving on the Santa Fe Planning Commission and when Werwath appeared before the body to make a presentation on behalf of an affordable housing organization he represented, Shanahan immediately put him on the spot, he recalled. 'He asked this really pointed question,' Werwath said, chuckling as he recalled how the question made him squirm. 'He asked me, 'What makes nonprofits best suited to deliver affordable housing, especially since the private sector has all this experience?' ' Werwath said that always struck him as a great question, one that demonstrated Shanahan's penchant for digging below the surface and his unwillingness to accept the status quo. It also made clear to Werwath that no one has all the answers when it comes to solving the affordable housing crisis. 'Housing is always a collaborative effort,' he said. Werwath characterized his friend as a contrarian and a bit of a dreamer. 'He was always very captivated by big ideas on how to move things forward,' he said. Shanahan also was a board member at Santa Fe Habitat for Humanity. Rob Lochner, the organization's construction director, described him as a good friend and said the two of them worked closely together on various issues. 'He was always super active in the community,' Lochner said, adding Shanahan will be missed by a lot of people. IMG_4369.JPG Kim Shanahan died Friday of a heart attack at age 68. Brian Barker, the deputy managing editor of The New Mexican, said Shanahan's columns were a valued contribution to the paper. 'It's not easy to find a knowledgeable, engaging voice on housing and development,' he said. 'Kim gave readers that and more every Sunday for years, drawing on his personal and professional experiences to provide valuable insight on the homebuilding industry, energy efficiency and the future of Santa Fe. Even after he moved to Costa Rica, it was obvious Northern New Mexico was never far from his mind.' In addition to Lyle and Isabel Shanahan, and Boegl, Kim Shanahan is survived by his grandson, Elio Kim Guarascio Shanahan. The family said no memorial service has been planned. In lieu of flowers, well-wishers are asked to make donations in Kim Shanahan's name to Santa Fe Habitat for Humanity.
