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News

PHOTO STORY: Prickly Pear Festival teaches locals about beneficial fruit

Amanda Britt and Kristina Tanberg | November 13

Foragers in the Albuquerque community were given the opportunity to taste and learn about the prickly pear cactus, a native plant to Mexico and the surrounding southwest, with an interactive and hands-on experience at the Kiwanis Learning Center. The fourth annual Prickly Pear Harvest allowed members of the community to pick, juice and taste the fresh fruit, all while learning about different prickly recipes and the health benefits of eating the local fruit.

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Culture

Students go head-to-head in 'Cards Adjacent Humanity' tournament

Daniel Ward | November 13

The crowd was small, but the laughs were loud in the University of New Mexico's Student Union Building Ballroom during the first-ever Cards Adjacent Humanity Tournament hosted by the student organization Tabletop Tavern on Nov. 9, 2019. Students were welcome to hang out, enjoy the food and play the popular adult card game Cards Against Humanity, or other games, during the four-hour event. It was $5 to get in, and everyone had the chance to win one of three prizes: the Cards Against Humanity Green Box extension pack, Monopoly for Millennials or a $21 gift card to Spencer’s.  As for the tournament itself, 18 players were divided into three tables. The groups played until only two people remained from each table. The six winners then joined for a final game where the first person to get five black cards won the main prize. The players continued until someone else won second place, and then again until someone won third.  Whenever a winner was declared, everyone in the room applauded them energetically with a standing ovation. 

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Music

'The Lighthouse' bends time as the leads slowly drift into madness

Andrew Gunn | November 13

In retrospect, Ephraim Winslow shouldn’t have spilled his beans. But, if that were the case, the world would be without a whirlwind cinematic portrayal of a working-class bromance and unraveling conceptions of reality that promises to be an awards circuit darling. Watching someone else’s descent into madness, after all, is a schadenfreude that’s tough to resist.

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News

Campus observatory opened to public as Mercury transited the Sun

Amanda Britt | November 13

Mercury —  the innermost planet in our solar system —  crossed the sun’s path, a rare celestial event. This occurrence won’t happen again until 2032. Students, staff and the surrounding University of New Mexico community gathered at the University Campus Observatory Monday morning to witness the event.  Although the time between Mercury's transits across the sun varies, it only happens 13 times in a century, according to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at NASA. Mercury is only 1/194 the size of the Sun when observed from Earth. Observers need binoculars or a telescope with a certified sun filter to see it.

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Sports

UNM women's soccer ends 2019 season strong

Angelina Pompeo | November 13

A strong record continues for the University of New Mexico women’s soccer team. They managed to secure another win against San Jose State during the week’s tournament play but couldn’t overcome Boise State.  In Boise, Idaho, the Mountain West Conference tournament took place with New Mexico (11-7-1, 7-4-1) playing both the Spartans (7-9-4, 5-5-2) and the Boise Broncos (17-4-0, 9-3-0) in the quarter and semi-final games.

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Opinion

'The Outer Worlds' offers the soulfulness 'Fallout' lacked

Caitlin Scott | November 11

Placing you in a galaxy run by private corporations, "The Outer Worlds" is a first-person sci-fi role-playing game. On Oct. 25, game developer Obsidian Entertainment released "The Outer Worlds" for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Microsoft Windows. The game starts off with your character being lost in transit while a colonist ship is on its way to the farthest edge of the galaxy. Your character wakes up years later only to find themselves in the middle of a conspiracy threatening a colony that is important to the game's story.

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Opinion

Ode to oft-misunderstood weeds

Alex Hiett | November 11

Earlier this year, I received a letter from the City of Albuquerque informing me that the property I share with three other units was in violation of the "Weed, Litter, and Snow Removal Ordinance." It stated that if we didn’t remove our weeds, we would be fined by the city. Personally, I’ve always found it difficult to distinguish between "weeds" and plants. The delineation between the two appears to stem from a plant’s perceived friendliness to humans and our ability to control its growth — this line is blurry.

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News

Cannabis legalization working group issues recommendations

Beatrice Nisoli | November 11

It has been nearly seven months since New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed Senate Bill 406 into law. The bill allowed for medical cannabis in schools and licensed manufacturers to process home-grown medical cannabis. Now, the governor’s office announced they will introduce legalization legislation during the second session of the 54th Legislature in January 2020.

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News

Democracy Dollars failed in ABQ but money continues to be heavy influence in elections

Alyssa Martinez and Lissa Knudsen | November 11

Albuquerque voters weighed in on a ballot initiative designed to allow every Albuquerque resident a $25 “coupon” to donate to a local candidate of during 2019 municipal elections. The proposition ultimately failed by just 2,039 votes — approximately 2.5%.  The goal of the “Democracy Dollars” proposition was straightforward — to increase minority electoral participation, to incentivize candidates to connect with the communities they serve, to pave the way for a more diverse candidate pool and to limit the influence of private funding in politics. The path to attaining these goals, however, was a bit more convoluted. 

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News

Photo Story: The cars rusting on the West Mesa

Kristina Tanberg | November 11

For years, the Albuquerque West Mesa area has been an illegal dumpsite for unwanted items. These items range anywhere from bags of trash to furniture to old car skeletons. Stretching from just south of Albuquerque to Bernalillo, and located west of the Rio Grande, the West Mesa spans dozens of miles. Residents from surrounding areas have been issuing complaints about the trash buildup for years. "You cannot drive a single mile without seeing old beds, sofas or even car parts. It’s like there is no respect for this land," said local resident Jennifer Walters.

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News

Paul Roth announces retirement

Bianca Hoops | November 11

Paul Roth is planning to retire from the University of New Mexico after serving for 14 years as Chancellor for the UNM Health Sciences Center. Roth has also been the Dean for the School of Medicine for the past 26 years and the CEO of the UNM Health System. Roth has made several achievements during his time with UNMH, including helping set UNM’s emergency medicine residency program in motion. According to the Albuquerque Journal, Roth created a disaster relief team for the attacks on 9/11 and natural disasters. Roth is a board member of the Association of Academic Health Centers and the Liaison Committee on Medical Education. He also served as chair of the Association of American Medical Colleges Council of Deans. Roth is the highest-paid employee at UNM with a salary of $676,127 for this year, according to the UNM sunshine portal. 

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Culture

New Downtown mural dedicated to United

Alex Hiett | November 11

A new mural in Downtown Albuquerque showcases the enthusiasm, spirit and spectator lifestyles of New Mexico United fans. Hundreds of photos taken at United games mesh together to create a huge black-and-white collage, completely covering a wall on the corner of 2nd Street and Coal Avenue.  Noé Barnett is the artist behind the piece, an Albuquerque native and graduate of Volcano Vista. He told the Daily Lobo he worked at the Albuquerque Police Department for a couple of years before leaving to follow a career in the arts, which included attending art school at the University of New Mexico (UNM). 

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News

UNM Hospital expansion gains traction

Lissa Knudsen | November 10

Although it has been the works for over a decade, a University of New Mexico Hospital (UNMH) expansion may finally have the momentum it needs to become a reality. HDR Architects and FBT Architects, the firms selected to design the project, posted an announcement on their website which stated the "Replacement Hospital Master Development Plan" is "part of a multi-phase, multi-year project to design, construct and operate a new Modern Medical Facility."

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News

ART buses to begin service on November 30

Justin Garcia | November 10

The Albuquerque Rapid Transit (ART) bus system will begin running on Nov. 30, according to a City of Albuquerque announcement made on Friday. The controversial ART bus lines — which Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller previously called a “lemon” — runs from Unser Boulevard on the west side of the city to Tramway Boulevard near the foothills of the Sandia Mountains. The bus line is set to run buses seven to eight minutes apart from stations placed a half mile apart, according to the City of Albuquerque.

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Sports

Lobo offense looks strong despite defensive concerns in opening night victory

Joe Rull | November 7

The University of New Mexico Lobos came away with a 92-71 opening night victory against Eastern New Mexico University at Dreamstyle Arena on Wednesday . UNM’s (1-0, 0-0 MWC) highly touted offensive talent made its presence known as the Lobos geared up for what many project to be a successful season.  UNM’s offense featured double-digit scoring efforts from five players as the Lobos flaunted a pass-first approach that produced an impressive 22 assists on 33 made shots. 

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News

All general obligation bonds pass in city election

Colin Peña | November 7

During the Nov. 5 Albuquerque municipal election earlier this week, 12 general obligation bonds and two propositions on the ballot.  In unofficial results — with all precincts reporting — all of the bonds passed by a 58% or greater margin. The results keep with past Albuquerque election trends that pass most General Obligation bonds. The bonds total $128.5 million towards services provided by the city.  The bonds go towards various city maintenance and improvement projects for public transportation, parks, libraries and public safety buildings.

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Culture

BioPark volunteers explain traditional healing plants

Lissa Knudsen | November 7

It was a sunny autumn morning, just a few hours after the second freeze of the season. The leaves had started to change color but hadn’t yet fallen, and the ABQ Botanic Garden was especially quiet — the summer tourists had subsided for the season, and the mid-morning hour catered mostly to retirees and parents with small children. Some days, the docents explained, they have to go out into the park to cajole people into listening to their talk but, on this day, that wasn’t the case. Nine people, including a couple of cooing toddlers with their parents, a collection of retirees and a UNM graduate student listened to the docents as they made their way around the looped curandera garden path. The Spanish word curandera refers to a traditional healer that practices a combination of traditional Indigenous and Catholic remedies. Curanderas are called on to provide treatments for physical, mental, emotional and spiritual illnesses.

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Music

A contemporary spin on Henry V: The King movie review

Daniel Ward | November 7

David Michôd and Joel Edgerton’s “The King” breaks free from the poetic iambic pentameter Shakespearian style it’s based on and recreates the plot with more detail than many past cinematical versions of the play.  “The King” is a historical drama based on Shakespeare’s play, “Henry V,” and was released Nov. 1, 2019, on Netflix. Set in 15th century England, King Henry IV (played by Ben Mendelsohn) is dying from sickness and must choose one of his sons to succeed his throne. He is left with two choices: Prince Hal (Timothee Chalamet,) the firstborn with a reputation of avoiding his responsibilities, or Prince Thomas (Dean-Charles Chapman,) who is eager to be king, but is soft and thirsty for war. 

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News

Life along the Rio Grande

Amanda Britt and Alex Hiett | November 7

Over the last century, human development and water diversion from the Rio Grande bosque to the Albuquerque community has greatly changed and diminished its natural ecosystem. Historically, the bosque has been a vast riparian forest of cottonwoods and wetlands — an oasis in the arid climate of New Mexico. The ecosystem was in a constant state of flux, and riverbanks could shift or separate within a single season. Periodic flooding reshaped and reinvigorated the environment, creating a dynamic and unique habitat for the plants and animals that called it home, according to National Geographic. The bosque used to stretch as far up as Old Town in Albuquerque, but human development in the river valley during the 20th century thinned the ecosystem. Water diversion projects in the post-war period, like the Cochiti and Abiquiú dams, further decimated the bosque’s vitality, the National Geographic article continued.

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News

ASUNM elects 10 new senators

Alyssa Martinez and Alex Hiett | November 7

1,053 students cast their votes during the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico’s (ASUNM) fall Senate election. Of the 20 candidates that ran, 10 first-time senators and one incumbent senator will take their seats in the Senate next semester. Constitutional Amendment 1 — which clarifies senate vacancy appointments — also passed. ASUNM President Adam Biederwolf said the highlight of the night was that they “diversified ASUNM.” “This incoming group of senators is going to be a lot different from the senators we’ve seen from years past,” Biederwolf said. “So many people talk about how ASUNM is so greek-oriented, and I think the numbers show for themselves that this incoming group really does impact every population on campus — and that’s all I really wanted going into this year (as President).”