Free Parking!

Parking Division Offering Holiday Incentives

First Two Hours Free Over Three Weekends; 20% Off of CashKey Reloads

The city’s Parking Division is helping shoppers ease their holiday stress by offering the first two hours of parking free at three city-owned garages and the Water St. parking lot, over three weekends: December 10 and 11; December 17 and 18; and December 24 and 25. Interim Parking Division Director Sevastian Gurule said, “The Parking Division plays an important role in the downtown area as it contributes to public safety and the success of downtown businesses. Our pervious parking promotions have been successful, and it just makes the holiday shopping experience a little nicer; to be able to park for free for a couple of hours in a secure covered garage located in the heart of our beautiful city.” The first-two-hours-free holiday parking promotion is valid at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center parking garage, 119 S. Federal Place; the Sandoval parking garage, 216 E. San Francisco St.; the Railyard parking garage, 503 Camino de la Familia; and the lot on Water St., 102 E. Water St.

Shoppers who want to park for two hours at a meter on those three weekends will find the meters hooded—courtesy of the Downtown Merchants Association and the city’s Parking Division. In an effort to ensure that all customers have an opportunity to partake in this holiday promotion, patrons are asked to adhere to the two-hour time limit.

For the gift that keeps on giving, the Parking Division is offering a 20% discount on all CashKey reloads beginning Monday, December 5 through Friday, December 30 except for December 8 and 9, when the office will be closed for staff training on the new Parking Management System. Reload the keys at the Parking Division office in the main post office, 120 S. Federal Place, third floor, Suite 321, from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.

For more information, contact the Parking Division administrative office at 505-955-6581.

13th Annual Recycle Santa Fe Art Festival

Friday - Sunday, November 11-13
El Museo Cultural de Santa Fe
555 Camino de la Familia
in the Railyard District

Friday November 11
5:00 - 9:00 pm
Fashion Show and Art Opening
Admission on Friday is $5
Fashion Show: separate $5 admission

Saturday, November 12
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Free Admission

Sunday, November 13
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Free Admission

The Recycle Santa Fe Art Festival is held in conjunction with America Recycles Day on November 15. Activities continue over the weekend with 68 artists selling wares made out of at least 75 percent recycled or reused material. During this nationwide event citizens are encouraged to complete a pledge form and commit to recycling.

Sponsored by Keep Santa Fe Beautiful and the City of Santa Fe.

For more information call Gilda Montaño at 955-2215, or email gjmontano@santafenm.gov. Visit Keep Santa Fe Beautiful at http://keepsantafebeautiful.org/ and on Facebook.

El Día de Los Muertos Procession

Giant Puppets! Music! Fun! Costumed Characters! Outdoor Community Altar dedicated to Air, Water, Food and Energy! Bring Families and Friends!

Create something artful and political (in the spirit of the season) to carry in the Procession, dealing with the Serious Issues of Air, Water, Food and Energy: (like) The Tar Sands (and Pipeline)! Fracking! Nuclear Power! Genetic Engineering! Coal! Corporate Control of Air, Water, Food, Energy and Everything! You Know What The Issues Are! Think in images or poetry. Come in costume — wear your best calavera (skeleton) gear.

Can't think of anything to make? Don't want to wear a costume? No problem! Just come on out and join the procession!

Bring a candle to carry (protected in some way from wind, etc) and water from your home to place on the altar (label it with where it is from). You may also bring offerings : food that a loved one who has passed on was fond of, a poem, an image — please do not bring anything valuable, as this altar will be outdoors.

The Procession will start at the old Borders parking lot at Sanbusco (look for the big puppets). Please arrive by 5:45PM. The Procession starts at 6PM.

We will wind through the Railyard and end up at El Museo Cultural at the site of the community altar (taking about 30 minutes).

Questions? Need more information? Call Bobbe at 505-988-9244

2011 State of the City Address

Preparing for a Prosperous Future

Wednesday, October 19
6 p.m. in Ballroom F
Santa Fe Community Convention Center

Join Mayor Coss for the annual State of the City Address. There will be entertainment beforehand and a reception afterwards.

Places and Faces

Technological issues have been causing a lot of headaches lately. So it's nice and headache-erasing when a tool comes along that reminds me of how cool, unique, and useful technological advances, such as The Internet, can be. Last week I came across such a tool: WhatWasThere, a site that matches Google Maps to uploaded historical or personal photos.

We're often getting patrons, both locals and visitors, who want photos of how things in our ancient city used to look. WhatWasThere is a good place to start before heading to the Santa Fe history books or the Palace of the Governors Photo Archive. What's also neat about this site is that it doesn't differentiate between personal and "official" history. Locales are made by the memories of those who inhabit them, so you can upload your pictures of family and friends enjoying the Fourth of July Pancakes on the Plaza and bring the personal touch to the pictorial history.

So far, there are only 4 photos when you search for "Santa Fe, NM". It's great that none of them are newer than the 1950s, but let's get uploading. Santa Fe is a photogenic city, and a memorable city, and a website like WhatWasThere seems made for us.

Literary Cat Bench Dedication

Saturday, October 1
10:30 am
Southside Library
6599 Jaguar Drive

This Caturday, um, we mean, Saturday, you're invited to the dedication of The Vanity Bench honoring the sophisticated literary calico cat, Vanity, with Peggy and David van Hulsteyn. This sunny bench at the Southside Library is a tribute to the feisty feline’s literary accomplishments. A reception will follow the dedication.

Vanity,the Eloise of the Cat World, produced two classics, Diary of a Santa Fe Cat and Vanity in Washington. The van Hulsteyns hope you can join them to celebrate Vanity’s felicitous life and to commemorate her tireless quest for a good nap and a good book.

Peggy Van Hulsteyn won the Southwest Writers Workshop Storyteller Award for Best Novel for her murder mystery in-progress. She was awarded first place for non-fiction by The New Mexico Press Women for her book, Mind Your Own Business, and she won a Certificate of Excellence in Humor for Vanity in Washington from the Cat Writers Association. Van Hulsteyn, who attended the University of Missouri Journalism School, holds a degree in English and journalism from Indiana University. She now lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with her physicist husband and two literary and bird-friendly cats.

Sponsored by the Friends of the Santa Fe Public Library.

Artists & Poets Collaborative Call

The City of Santa Fe Community Gallery is seeking artists to participate in the upcoming “Odes and Offerings” exhibit. “Odes and Offerings” will be an exhibition in collaboration with City of Santa Fe Poet Laureate, Joan Logghe, and is intended as a rare opportunity for local artists working in all media to create original works in response to the written work of a local poet.

The Community Gallery is inviting artists to apply who are interested in the collaboration of their visual medium with the written word. All selected artists will be partnered with a local poet and given two works from that person’s poetry collection. Artists will then be asked to choose a line, phrase, stanza or the entire poem to incorporate into their final piece. "The idea is not a poetry-inspired piece, but a piece where the text becomes part of the work of art," states Logghe.

The Community Gallery is planning the exhibit for the spring of 2012 and it is tentatively scheduled to run from April through June 2012. Artists are asked to provide portfolios of previous work for review no later than October 28, 2011. Artists will be notified of their participation by the middle of November 2011 and asked to submit digital images of their work to the Community Gallery by the end of February 2012. Approximately 35 artists from a variety of media will be selected to offer a full range of work that expresses the breadth and depth of work being created in New Mexico.

Any interested artists should submit an artist portfolio of their work to Rod Lambert, the Community Gallery Manager. Portfolios should consist of 5-10 printed images of the artist’s work on standard digital print paper and an artist statement, resume and/or bio. Portfolios should be addressed to Community Gallery, PO Box 909, Santa Fe, NM 87504. Please specify that you would like to be considered for the ODES & OFFERINGS Exhibit. Portfolios must be received by October 28, 2011 for inclusion.

Arts Commission Community Gallery
201 W. Marcy St. at Sheridan
In the Santa Fe Community Convention Center

Community Gallery Hours of Operation:
Tuesday through Saturday: 10 am to 5 pm
Public parking is available in the Center garage, located off Federal Avenue.

For more information:
Rod Lambert, Gallery Manager
Call (505) 955-6705
Email rdlambert@santafenm.gov
Visit The Arts Commission Website.

Water on the Mind

Journey SantaFe and The Travel Bug are resuming their Sunday morning presentation series. Each one begins at 11:00 am. There's no admission, but a $3-5 contribution is encouraged.

September's presentations are part of "A Continuing Conversation with David Bacon, host of KSFR's Living On The Edge, on Who Controls Water in the Bio Region." So show up at The Travel Bug, grab some coffee, and feast your mind!

Upcoming events are:

September 11
Book Signing & Discussion
On: Rio Arriba: A New Mexico County –
A Look At Land Usage, Irrigation, Land Grants & Water Issues
with Robert J. Tórrez & Robert Trapp, Co-Authors

September 18
William DeBuys
Author, Historian and Conservationist
Discusses Water and Climate Change In the Bio Region

September 25
Steve Klinger
will unveil the newspaper The Light of New Mexico

The Travel Bug Bookstore is located at 839 Paseo de Peralta between Palace and Alameda. You can call them at 992-0418 for more information.

Rio Grande Gorge photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Labor Day and Fiestas Closings

All Branches of the Santa Fe Public Library will be closed on Monday, September 5 for Labor Day.

All libraries will be open regular hours, 10 am - 6 pm, on Saturday, September 3.

The Main Library will be open regular hours, 1 pm - 5 pm, on Sunday, September 4.

The Santa Fe Public Library will have the following hours for Fiestas:

Thursday, September 8:
All libraries Closed at 6:00 pm

Friday, September 9:
All libraries Closed at 1:00 pm

Saturday, September 10:
Main Library Closed
La Farge and Southside Open: 10:00 am - 6:00 pm

Sunday, September 11:
All libraries Closed.

¡Qué Viva La Fiesta!

Keeping Score

The moment you've been waiting for all year has arrived! We've updated our Facts & Statistics page with the numbers from the most recent fiscal year ending on June 30, 2011.

Some highlights:

Over half-a-million visitors to Main Library, with almost a million visitors among the three branches

726,408 items checked out!

About 20,000 people attended our programs

173,592 used our public computers, and that doesn't count the popular wireless access

83,397 folks have a Santa Fe Public Library card

Our website had 304,343 hits and 84,573 visitors

Icarus had 21,538 hits and 15,994 visitors

Are you dying to know more? Check out the Facts & Statistics page today!

Yup, the economy

It seems as if, besides the weather, it's all anyone talks about anymore! While we can't do much to affect either, we can minimize how they affect us. We can carry an umbrella during monsoon season, and we can make use of money-saving opportunities.

In 2008, public libraries in the US spent $36.36 per capita to serve you and your community. To find out what a bargain we are, try our Library Value Calculator. Compare how much money you save each month by using us! I'll bet you that just the resources you use each month are worth more than what you pay.

Libraries are a great investment, and a great way to save money. Get your money's worth today!

Dollar symbol by Svilen.milev, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Progressive Arts Fair Appeal

Santa Fe is renowned for its incredible arts community and events. Canyon Road, Spanish Market, Indian Market, and more galleries per capita than any other city in the US, make this place a mecca for artists and art-lovers. However, sometimes this high profile means that lesser-known or younger artists need a little boost to get their work seen.

Enter the After Hours Alliance and the first-ever Progressive Arts Fair. On September 18, the Railyard will be turned into a showcase for artists and musicians who are the future incarnate of creativity in the City Different. 35 artists have been selected through an application process that reached out to less established artists whose work is gallery quality. The fair will also feature a dozen live local music acts that represent the future of Santa Fe’s music scene.

Like many start-ups, the Progressive Arts Fair needs community support ahead of time. Enter the Kickstarter campaign. If you're familiar with Kiva or Vittana, Kickstarter is a similar resource for creative and experimental endeavors. You can donate money to a project and become a backer, and different projects yield varying types of dividends. Many projects allow you to donate as little as one dollar, so you can contribute even if you're pinching pennies.

If you contribute to the Progressive Art Fair's Kickstarter campaign this week until August 27, an anonymous donor will match your dollars. So keep the arts alive and vibrant in Santa Fe by supporting the next generation of creators. And don't forget to check out the Railyard on September 18!

Special Indian Market Rate at Railyard Parking Garage

This weekend:

The August 20th and 21st SWAIA Santa Fe Indian Market is bringing scores of visitors and locals to the downtown area. In order to alleviate parking challenges, the City of Santa Fe is offering a special Indian Market rate of $5.00 at the Railyard parking garage. The cost at all other city parking garages and lots is $10.00.

Park at the Railyard garage for only $5, and catch the free Santa Fe Pickup shuttle near the garage entrance on Camino la Familia. The Santa Fe Pickup shuttles will run every 15 minutes (depending on traffic) from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, August 20 and 21.

The Santa Fe Pickup shuttles will drop off on Cathedral Place, on Marcy Street near the Main downtown Library, and on South Federal near the entrance to the Santa Fe Community Convention Center Parking garage.

The Santa Fe Indian Market hosts over 1100 artists from 100 tribes and is the largest cultural event in New Mexico, attracting 100,000 visitors per year.

It's that season again

The new season of the Lannan Foundation's Readings & Conversations series is out. This series features world-class writers discussing their craft with other world-class writers, and at six dollars, the ticket prices are practically free. This year's highlights include Tariq Ali, John Sayles, Michael Ondaatje, and Ann Beattie. Also this year, some of the events are at The Lensic, but others are at the James A. Little Theater at the New Mexico School for the Deaf. The events often sell out, so make sure to check the schedule and get your tickets early!

Rebroadcasts of Readings & Conversations events can be heard on KSFR 101.1 FM at 2:00 pm on the Sunday immediately after each event. Audio and video of most programs is available on the site generally within a week of the event and also in our podcast feed.

Call for Artists

The Southside Branch Library, at 6599 Jaguar Drive, is accepting applications from artists interested in displaying their work for one month. Applicants must live in the City of Santa Fe or Santa Fe County and be eligible for a Santa Fe Public Library card.

Please pick up and return applications at the Southside Library reference desk. The Art Committee will meet with artists to select and schedule art displays to begin in October of 2011. Applicants should be prepared to present their work on Friday, September 9, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon in the café meeting room at Southside.

For more information, call John Pinkston at 955-2824.

Santa Fe 400 and Still Counting

A Presentation By
City of Santa Fe Historian José Garcia

Thursday, August 25
6:30 - 7:30 pm
Main Library Community Room
145 Washington Ave.

Santa Fe has recently finished the formal commemoration of its founding and, to continue the theme of the Culture, History and Traditions, Santa Fe's first ever City Historian will present a special approach to these three elements that make the City Different a choice destination for visitors from all over.

José Garcia will mention persons that were active during the Colonial, Territorial and present era along with events that helped form the character of today's Santa Fe.

As a Northern New Mexico historian and genealogist, Mr. Garcia has researched the history of New Mexico extensively. He is particularly well-versed in the history of Santa Fe from the colonial era to the present and has completed research in local archives as well as archives in Spain.

This program is free and open to the public.

Cut Down on Catalogs

I just signed up for Catalog Choice, a program supported by the Santa Fe Solid Waste Management Agency and the City of Santa Fe to cut down on unwanted mail. While the junk mail is merely a nuisance to me and my mouse-sized post office box, it adds up in the community, costing the City thousands of dollars each year, about $10 per household, in waste disposal. Signing up for this service is free, and you can add several addresses to ensure that [business name redacted] stops sending you unsolicited ads or the annual phone books.

The one drawback to Catalog Choice is, unlike the National Do Not Call Registry that blocks phone calls from telemarketers across the board, you need to actually know the names of the businesses and organizations that are sending you unwanted mail and request for each one to be blocked individually. This part of the service is free. Also, not all companies can be "blocked" in this manner. If you want to be across-the-board "unlisted", meaning that some of the biggest marketers will not have access to your mailing address, that type of membership costs a minimum of $20 per year.

So while it's a step in the right direction, staving off the onslaught of commercial mail still requires an investment of time and/or money. Perhaps I'm just spoiled by over a decade of clicking a button that reads "Spam" to keep this sort of thing out of my e-mail. But even if we just cut down on some of the unwanted mail that take up a lot of time, attention, and taxpayer resources, the savings in money and environment will help us all.

A Bright Sunshiny Day!

No, this isn't referring to long glorious summer weather. As budgets, personal and municipal, around the country get tighter, it helps to see where every dollar goes. Both the State of New Mexico and Santa Fe County have come up with Sunshine Portals, to encourage transparency and accountability in governance. Such portals supply information about public employee salaries, contracts with outside businesses, and how much money various programs are allotted. It's great to be able to access all this information in one place for each government agency.

However, as an information user, having these portals as separate sites can sometimes be a disadvantage. Several months ago I spent some time looking for salary information on the state site, before finding the separate link to the Sunshine Portal. The County has improved the design by including this data within the site itself, but the link to it is a sun icon. I'm used to that icon telling me that it's going to be good hiking or gardening weather. It's also possible that many citizens won't know to check a separate site for essential budget information.

But, it's still a good step forward that this information is readily available to anyone with computer and internet access. It's an improvement on the time and expense of public records requests. In addition to the links on their respective homepages, the State's Sunshine Portal can be found here, and the County's Sunshine Portal can be found here. Bookmark these links, and remember to check them the next time you have questions about how your tax dollars are spent.

Sun in Celestia with Addon by Runar Thorvaldsen, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Honor Parading Past our Front Door

Congratulations to Sgt. 1st Class Leroy A. Petry, Santa Fe’s Medal of Honor winner! This past Monday, the parade came down Washington Street right in front of the Main Library, so some of us were able to run out to whoop and cheer and show our enthusiasm for our hometown hero. It was a good day to feel proud to be a New Mexican, especially a Santa Fean!










by AA @Main

Speaking of school supplies...

From Santa Fe Public Schools:

This week, our community lost “Faith At Work” — a non-profit that provided school clothing and school supplies, among many other necessities. They annually filled backpacks for approximately 200 students in the public schools. Our school district statistics tell us that 74% of Santa Fe's children need free or reduced price lunch — this is dramatic increase from last year. So more families than ever are needing this assistance. Thankfully, ¡Youthworks! has volunteered to sponsor a school supply drive for needy families. Please take any donations of school supplies to the new location of ¡Youthworks! for sorting and distribution. Its entrance is next to KSWV (Que Suave) Radio Station parking lot on Taos Street.

The most needed supplies:

· 3-inch binders, 1 ½-inch binders
· Sturdy backpacks
· Packages of 10 thick markers
· Packages of 10 thin markers
· Glue and glue sticks
· Wide lined notebook paper
· Wide lined spiral notebooks
· Composition books
· Colored pencils
· Rulers
· Two-pocket folders
· Compass and protractor

AND more:

Santa Fe Public Schools and Boys and Girls Clubs of Santa Fe have partnered in a Back to School Clothing Drive. Beginning Monday, August 1st, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Santa Fe will accept your donation of all clothing, including clothes that meet the uniform code. Donations may be dropped off at the Alto Street location of the Boys and Girls Clubs. The clothing distribution to families will begin on Monday, August 8th at 8:00 a.m. at the same Alto Street location. With strong community support, we hope to continue the drive throughout the school year. If you have any questions, please call the Boys and Girls Clubs at 983-6632. There is also a link on the Santa Fe Public Schools website for further information. Thank you for helping the children of Santa Fe. All contributions are tax deductible.

Santa Fe Escuelas Públicas y Boys and Girls Clubs de Santa Fe se han unido en un disco Volver a la Escuela de ropa. A partir del lunes 1 de agosto, el Boys and Girls Club de Santa Fe aceptará la donación de ropa, incluyendo ropa que cumplan con el código de uniforme. Las donaciones pueden ser dejados en el lugar de la calle Alto de los Boys and Girls Clubs. La distribución de ropa a las familias comenzarán el lunes, 8 de agosto a las 8:00 am en la misma ubicación Alto Street. Con un fuerte apoyo comunitario, esperamos mantener este impulso durante el año escolar. Si usted tiene alguna pregunta, por favor llame al Boys and Girls Clubs en 983-6632. También hay un enlace en la página web de la Escuela Pública de Santa Fe para más información. Gracias por ayudar a los niños de Santa Fe. Todas las contribuciones son deducibles de impuestos.