ALBUQUERQUE—New Mexico Voices for Children has extended the deadline for nominations for the 2013 Amy Biehl Youth Spirit Award. The award honors New Mexico youths, ages 13 through 26, who are making a difference in their communities through service work or outreach.

The annual award was created to honor Amy Biehl, a graduate of Santa Fe High School. Amy went to South Africa in 1993 at the age of 26 as a Fulbright Scholar to help that country’s leaders develop a new constitution. While conducting voter registration for South Africa’s first all-race election – which ended the policies of apartheid – she was killed in a race riot.

Over the years, hundreds of New Mexico youths from all over the state have been honored for their work to make the world a better place. “It’s really inspiring to read about what these young people accomplish and the amount of time and dedication they put into their volunteer work,” said Veronica C. García, Ed.D., Executive Director of NM Voices. “We encourage teachers, coaches, employers, and other adults who mentor youths to nominate a young person who’s making a difference in their community.”

Nominees are split into two age categories – 13-18 and 19-26 – and are evaluated on their vision, initiative and dedication in service to others. A committee of community members will name one winner and one honoree from each age category. These four will receive cash awards. All nominees will be honored at the 2013 Inaugural New Mexico KIDS COUNT Conference in June.

The nomination deadline is 5pm, Friday, May 31. To request a nomination packet call 505-244-9505, or download the forms at www.nmvoices.org.

The 2013 Inaugural New Mexico KIDS COUNT Conference, June 24 at the Albuquerque Marriott Pyramid, is made possible by the following sponsors: St. Joseph Community Health, Brindle Foundation, New Mexico Educators Federal Credit Union, Molina Healthcare of New Mexico, YDI, NEA-NM, and New Mexico Pediatric Society.

Print PDF

Other 2013 Nautilus winners include Barbara Kingsolver, Louis Erdrich, Terry Tempest Williams, Jean Houston, Deepak Chopra, Rodolfo Anaya, Kenny Ausubel, Marianne Williamson, Rosemary Zibart and Hedrick Smith.

What’s next for Bella Coola: The Rainforest Brought Them Home? A screenplay adaptation, now underway! Stay tuned.

Read excerpts from the novel, and order paperback or ebook at www.earldjames.com/books. Earl James is also a frequent contributor to Green Fire Times.

Print PDF

This Sunday
May 19, 11 am
@Collected Works Bookstore

Author Dennis Marker, on the National Sequester and Santa Fe’s Recent Decision to Rescind the Community Workforce Agreement, both of which will serve to eliminate the U.S. middle class

Local Author Dennis Marker will discuss steps three (Destroying the Unions) and fifteen (Bankrupting the United States) from his book Fifteen Steps to Corporate Feudalism: How the Rich Convinced America’s Middle Class to Eliminate Themselves.

During his career in Washington, DC, Dennis worked on Capitol Hill, served as in-house consultant to US Environmental Protection Agency administrator Doug Costle, and was special assistant to Jim Wallis at Sojourners magazine. He also helped launch and direct progressive nonprofits, including Witness for Peace and The Pledge of Resistance.

Visit: www.JourneySantaFe.com

Contact Information
Zelie Pollon, Program Coordinator:
zpollon@gmail.com
John McAndrew, Moderator:
phidippides26@mac.com
Kate Rollins, Web Designer:
kate@katewebdesign.com

Print PDF

“I implore all city residents to abide by these fire restrictions,” said Reynaldo Gonzales, Fire Marshal for the City of Santa Fe. “It only takes a spark to ignite a fire in these dry conditions. These restrictions are in place to protect people, property and our city.”

In order to preserve lives and property during these emergency conditions, the City of Santa Fe Fire Department shall prohibit the following activities until further notice:

• Open Burning – All open burning, including camp fires, bonfires, pit barbecues, and the burning of weeds, trash, or other vegetation is prohibited.
• All burn permit requests are being rejected until weather conditions improve and the fire danger has been reduced significantly.
• Smoking – No smoking in public parks, recreation areas, or on any public trail.
• Motorized ATV’s or Motorcycles –The use of any motorized ATV’s or motorcycles on City owned open space, parks, trails, or other recreational areas is prohibited.
• Barbecue Grills – The use of charcoal barbecue grills in public parks and recreation areas is prohibited.

Charcoal barbecuing at home will be permitted providing the fire is closely monitored and fire-extinguishing equipment, such as a garden hose or fire extinguisher, is readily available.
All fireworks that fall in the dangerous firework category are prohibited:
Dangerous fireworks means any firecracker, roman candle, skyrocket, torpedo, bomb, blank cartridge, cone-shape fountain, bottle rocket and flyer or any other type or form of explosive; any item that is self-propelling or the effect of which extends above fifteen feet (15′) in height from the ground; or any article which produces a report by combustion, explosion or detonation.

Fireworks that fall in the safe and sane fireworks firework category are permitted for sale and use.
Safe and sane fireworks means all fireworks that have no report, that are not self-propelling and the effect of which does not extend above fifteen feet (15′) in height from the ground, including the following:

• Snakes, total pyrotechnic composition not to exceed twenty (20) grams each in weight;
• Smoke devices and spray balls, total pyrotechnic composition not to exceed twenty-five (25) grams each in weight;
• Wheels, total pyrotechnic composition not to exceed sixty (60) grams in weight per driver unit, but any number of drivers may be on any one wheel. The inside bore of driver tubes shall not be over one-half inch (1/2″);
• Illuminating torches and colored fire in any form, total pyrotechnic composition of illuminating torches not to exceed one hundred (100) grams each in weight;
• Sparklers and dipped sticks, total pyrotechnic composition not to exceed one hundred (100) gains in weight. Pyrotechnic composition containing any chlorate or perchlorate shall not exceed five (5) grams;
• Cylindrical fountains, total pyrotechnic composition not to exceed seventy-five (75) grams each in weight. ‘Me inside tube diameter shall not exceed three-fourths inch (3/4″);
• Railway fuses, fuses, truck flares, hardship distress signals, smoke candles, smoke signals and smoke pots; and
• All other fireworks similar to the above provided they are tested and approved by the chief of the fire department.

The City of Santa Fe Fire Department has the authority to impose additional fire restrictions as per the International Fire Code® as adopted by § 12-2.1 of the Santa Fe City Code (SFCC). Penalties for violating these restrictions may include fines up to $500 and/or up to 90 days in jail as specified in SFCC 1-3.1(A).

Print PDF

Where: Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Pavilion

Time: 7:00pm

Admission: $12.00 for the general public, $10.00 for Institute Members, seniors, students.
“Edible City is a fun, fast-paced journey through the Local Good Food movement that’s taking root in the San Francisco Bay Area, across the nation and around the world.” – trueactivist.com

Edible City takes viewers on a journey through the local urban farming movement, a trend that began in 2008 by following farmers, cooks, and activists. The conversion of empty lots into organic gardens is a natural and practical response not only to Big Ag, but also to urban problems like food scarcity and obesity. “We have been eating oil for 40 years.” Chemicals, fertilizers and pesticides have given us more food, but at what price? Food issues ranging from obesity to food costs and shortages are escalating in the U.S. Edible City tells the stories of the pioneers who are digging their hands into the dirt, working to transform their communities and do something truly revolutionary: grow local Good Food Systems that are socially just, environmentally sound, economically viable and resilient to climate change and market collapse.  It highlights the success of a San Francisco Bay Area neighborhood that grows organic food on city plots to benefit local inhabitants. An inspiring, practical model for a healthy, local food system that is environmentally sound and cost effective, Edible City is a must for fresh food lovers.

Running Time: 70 minutes

Jannine Cabossel will be at the discussion after the movie.  She is on the board of Home Grown New Mexico and a Master Gardener.  Watch her blog at giantveggiegardener.com for garden updates.

Print PDF

The chile pepper breeding program at NMSU began in the late 1800s with famed agriculturalist Fabian Garcia. Today, it specifically works with New Mexico chile growers to help them produce what they need for the state. The program also makes seed available for home gardeners, too, especially rare seeds not carried by the big seed companies.

“We really do get requests for seed from all over the world,” said Danise Coon, an agriculture research scientist at the Chile Pepper Institute. “We’ve heard from people anywhere from Okinawa, Japan, to Hamburg, Germany.

The Chile Pepper Institute was founded 21 years ago. Since that time, Coon estimates they have sold around 50,000 chile seed packets, including rare varieties and ones developed by NMSU. With 15 seeds per packet, that adds up to 750,000 seeds, and untold numbers of jalapenos, Bhut Jolokias and New Mexico green chiles.

The institute’s director, Paul Bosland, said whether it is an existing variety, or a new one they are trying to develop, a lot of research and scientific procedures are needed to develop the seeds and get them to growers.

“We listen to the growers and they make suggestions as to traits they would like to see in their chiles,” Bosland said. “One thing that people don’t realize is that chile peppers cross-pollinate. Insects will come, grab pollen from one plant and take it to the next. So we can get some mixture in the seed. We don’t want that; we want the variety to stay pure.”

He said once chile plants begin growing in the field, cloth screens are placed over the plants to keep the insects from pollinating them. Once the fruit sets and matures, it is harvested and the seeds are extracted.

“Extracting the seed can be a process unto itself,” he said. “If we have a mild chile, we just do it in the lab. But for the super-hots, like Trinidad Moruga Scorpion or Bhut Jolokia, we have to put on protective suits, masks and goggles to extract the seeds from the pods. The pungency of those chiles just overwhelms the laboratory.”

One variety that will be available next year from the Chile Pepper Institute is NuMex Sandia Select. It was originally grown as a red chile, which typically has a thin wall. To make it work as a green chile, researchers selected plants for a thicker fruit wall. Then they began replicating trials to ensure the chiles were statistically better.

“Sometimes there is a hybridization process,” Bosland said. “There, we use pollen from two different parents to develop offspring with new traits. The fastest time to finish from the first hybridization to releasing it to the public is five years; normally it takes a decade. It’s a very long process. We’re making hybridizations today that farmers won’t see for a decade.”

The institute will ship seeds to anywhere in the country and proceeds from seed sales fund future chile pepper research. The institute now sells 50 different varieties of rare and unusual seeds, not to mention the NuMex varieties, which were developed at NMSU.

For more information: Danise Coon, 575-646-3028, hotchile@nmsu.edu

Print PDF

A contemporary and fellow civil rights leader and organizer along side Martin Luther King, Jr., LaFayette began using the nonviolent techniques for social change in the late 1950s and early 60s in the segregated South.

Besides his civil rights activism, Lafayette has been a minister, educator, lecturer, and is an authority on the strategy on nonviolent social change. He co-founded the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in 1960. He was a leader of the Nashville Movement, 1960 and on the Freedom Rides, 1961 and the 1965 Selma Movement. He directed the Alabama Voter Registration Project in 1962, and he was appointed National Program Administrator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and National Coordinator of the 1968 Poor Peoples’ Campaign by Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. LaFayette is recognized as one of the leading experts and exponents of nonviolent direct action in the world. Some of his publications include the Curriculum and Training Manual for the Martin Luther King, Jr., Nonviolent Community Leadership Training Program, his doctoral thesis, Pedagogy for Peace and Nonviolence, and Campus Ministries and Social Change in the ’6os (Duke Divinity Review) and The Leaders Manual: A Structured Guide and Introduction to Kingian Nonviolence with David Jehnsen.

Dr. LaFayette has traveled extensively to many countries as a lecturer and consultant on peace and nonviolence.

WHAT: An evening presentation on Strategic Nonviolent Social Change by Dr. Bernard LaFayette, Jr., sponsored by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of New Mexico, the Santa Fe Branch of the NAACP and We Are People Here!

WHERE: Unitarian Universalist Church, 107 W Barcelona Road, Santa Fe

WHEN: Saturday, May 18, 2013, 7:15p.m.

ADMISSION: Free will offering

FURTHER INFO: Go to www.wearepeoplehere.org or call Gershon Siegel @ 505 466-8557.

Print PDF

Community Organizer Kathleen Dudley on the NM Coalition for Community Rights, Drilling Mora County, and Democracy Schools

Over the past five and one half years, Kathleen has been working as a community organizer in Mora County to proactively help educate the people about the threats of “big oil” in her community. She spearheaded the organizing campaign in New Mexico that led to the first community in the Southwest to adopt a CELDF- (Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund) drafted Community Bill of Rights banning shale gas drilling and fracking.

Today, Kathleen wears three hats: as a founder of the local grassroots organization, Drilling Mora County (DMC), as secretary of the Mora Democracy School Committee, and most recently, as the New Mexico Community Organizer for CELDF.

Kathleen collaborates with a number of other organizations, including the Committee for Clear Water, Air, and Earth, We Are People Here!, and the Alliance for Real Democracy, to expand this work. She will discuss What is a Community Rights Approach, Who is CELDF and What is the Democracy School? She will describe ongoing initiatives in Mora, San Miguel, Taos, Santa Fe, Catron and Rio Arriba Counties, and how we can join and support their efforts.

Full story at: www.JourneySantaFe.com

Print PDF

The program is presented by the Santa Fe-Pojoaque Soil and Water Conservation District.

Guest speaker George Duda will present “The Trees are Killing our Forests,” a frank discussion about the state of the forests, drought, insects and the implications this holds for New Mexicans.

Other topics included in the program are a fire season advisory by Mike Feulner, Santa Fe County Fire Department, wildland fire division; discussion on defensible space by Todd Haines, New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department’s Bernalillo County Forester; and information about U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service cost share programs by Liz Beth Walker, USDA NRCS district conservationist.

Print PDF