ABQJOURNAL NORTH: Around Northern New Mexico

Friday, November 13, 2009

Around Northern New Mexico

Journal Staff Reports
      SF County Man, 42, Dies of H1N1 Flu
A 42-year-old Santa Fe County man was among three people who died of H1N1 influenza during the last weekly period, according to the state Department of Health. The man had a chronic medical condition that put him more at risk of complications.
       The other deaths were a 66-year-old woman and an 18-year-old man in Bernalillo County. So far this year, 29 deaths in the state have been related to H1N1.
       Disease activity continues to decline however, with visits to health care providers for influenza-like illness dropping for the third week in a row. However, medical visits are still higher than would be expected for this time of year.
       H1N1 influenza is still the predominant strain of flu in New Mexico at this time.
       People at priority for vaccination include pregnant women, household members/caretakers of infants less than 6 months old, children 6 to 59 months of age, children 5 to 18 years with certain chronic health conditions that increase their risk of complications from flu, and health care workers and emergency medical service personnel with direct patient care.

       LULAC, Others To Protest Whitten Inn
The League of United Latin American Citizens and several other civil rights groups will be in Taos on Saturday to continue protests against treatment of employees at the Whitten Inn, 615 Paseo del Sur.
       The groups will hold a 1:30 p.m. news conference in support of former Hispanic employees who were fired allegedly for refusing to Anglicize their names and questioning the owner's policies.
       LULAC will demand hotel owner Larry Whitten change his labor practices and policies, and issue a public apology to the employees and community.

       Movie Shoots To Cause Road Delays
Santa Fe drivers will be affected by some film-related road closures this weekend.
       Traffic will be stopped for up to two minutes at a time on Cerrillos Road in front of the Cottonwood Court Motel today between 8 p.m. and midnight for work on the movie “The Loop.” The lanes nearest the curbs, in both directions, will be closed. Access will be maintained to working businesses along the route.
       During the same time period, Third and Fourth streets between Cerrillos Road and Berry Avenue will be closed. Residents will be allowed access to their homes.
       Also, traffic will be stopped for up to 10 minutes at a time on Airport Road from 10 p.m. today to 6 a.m. Saturday. During this time, the outside lanes all the way to the curb, in both directions between Country Club Road and Paseo del Sur, will be closed. The center lanes in both directions will remain open, although a detour will be provided during the delay periods.

       RainbowVision SF Gets National Award
RainbowVision Santa Fe has been named Wells Fargo LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) Business of the Year by the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.
       The award was given in Washington, D.C., at the national dinner Nov. 6.
       RainbowVision Properties Inc. is a family of companies that develop and operate communities to serve a growing LGBT and allied population. RainbowVision Santa Fe offers a blend of services from dining, fitness center, spa, salon, lounge and cabaret, all surrounding 146 residences of rentals, condominiums and six levels of assisted living care.
       Three planned expansions include Palm Springs, Calif., the Bay Area of California and Vancouver, Canada. RainbowVision Properties Inc. founder Joy Silver this year received the Vincent R. Johnson, Albuquerque, Model of Hope Award and was named one of the 18 Red Hot Lesbian Entrepreneurs of the Year (2009) by GO Magazine.
       Fourth Distribution Location for CSA
Food from Beneficial Farms CSA is now available Downtown at the Santa Fe Complex, 632 Agua Fria St., the fourth location where members can pick up their food share each Thursday.
       The CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) shares are being offered through the winter. Members can sign up anytime in the six-month period for which shares are sold. The winter shares began Nov. 1.
       Founded in 1994, Beneficial Farms CSA works with more than 30 farms throughout New Mexico and Colorado as a cooperative CSA.
       Members complete online polls on regional food items so that CSA receives feedback before adding the food to weekly shares.
       Key farms in New Mexico include Mesa Top Farm on Glorieta Mesa near Santa Fe, Shiroz Vineyard in La Luz, Desert Gardens in Hatch and Garden Hers Farm in Doña Ana. The key farms use sustainable and organic methods.
       The CSA operates with weekly food share distributions each Thursday to members at Kitchen Angels, Eldorado, Santa Fe Complex and remote locations at St. Johns College and in Madrid. A bike courier service for home delivery in Santa Fe is also available for a weekly or monthly fee.
       Members pay for the CSA season in advance or have the option of electronic billing. For more information on membership, visit www.beneficialfarm.com and click on the blog link in the top left menu on the Web site.
       Scholar To Discuss Iranian Situation
Haleh Esfandiari, a journalist and scholar who was imprisoned in Iran in 2007, will speak on the current situation in Iran and her outlook for the future.
       Her lecture will be 5:30-7:30 p.m. today at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 107 W. Barcelona St.
       She is an Iranian-American academic and director of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. Her areas of expertise include Middle Eastern women's issues, contemporary Iranian intellectual currents and politics, and democratic developments in the Middle East.
       In 2007, she was detained in solitary confinement in Iran's Evin Prison for more than 110 days, between May 8 and Aug. 21.
       Cost of the talk and book signing of “My Prison, My Home” is $20 for nonmembers and $15 for Center for International Relations members. There is no charge for qualified students. Books will be available for $25.99.
       For more information on registering, go to www.sfcir.org or call 982-4931.

       Cambodian Nurse Presents Lecture
Manila Prak, nursing education coordinator for the Angkor Hospital for Children in Siem Reap, Cambodia, will give a free public lecture today on the importance of volunteer health care programs and service.
       Her presentation will be from 12:30 to 3 p.m. inside Jemez Rooms 1 and 2 of the Santa Fe Community College, 6401 Richards Ave.
       Born in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in 1970, Prak spent her youth under duress from the Khmer Rouge regime, the Vietnam War and the Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia.
       Angkor Hospital for Children, serving between 400 to 600 outpatients daily, is often cited as the best pediatric hospital in Cambodia. Prak graduated from nursing school as a midwife in 1989 and worked for eight years in a government health clinic before joining the hospital, which is funded by donations under the sponsorship of the New York-based organization Friends Without a Border.
       The visit to Santa Fe is one of seven stops for Prak, who is also lecturing in New Jersey, New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland and Indianapolis. The talks are geared toward nurses, student nurses, health care workers and community members interested in volunteer health care issues on both global and local levels.
       The lecture is sponsored by SFCC's Department of Nursing Education. Light refreshments will be served.
       Book Arts Group's Flea Market Returns
The Santa Fe Book Arts Group brings its flea market back to the New Mexico History Museum's John Gaw Meem Room from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
       This free, family event features materials of interest to printers, bookbinders, writers, artists and crafters.
       At the Palace Press, visitors can see the history of publishing in New Mexico in the context of a working press shop. Newly renovated, the Palace Press includes a re-creation of Santa Fe artist Gustave Baumann's print studio.
       The John Gaw Meem Room is part of the New Mexico History Museum campus. Enter at 110 Washington Ave.

       Archaeology Friends Sets Annual Party
The Friends of Archaeology is holding its annual holiday party from 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday at the Hotel Santa Fe.
       The event will highlight four projects of the Office of Archaeological Studies in New Mexico. There will be a first look at the new Center for New Mexico Archaeology, which is under construction south of town, and an update on the findings in test excavations at the old St. Vincent Hospital. The $20 entry fee includes a light buffet and a beverage. A no-host bar will also be available. Tickets are available at the door.

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