Fired Elder Advocate Claims Quarter-Million

Gov. Susana Martinez' administration fired Sondra Everhart in June 2016 from her job as the chief advocate for people who live in nursing homes and assisted-living homes. The administration said she illegally released records to a newspaper about squalid conditions at boarding homes in Las Vegas. That information was part of a bombshell series of stories from investigative reporter Thom Cole. But Everhart sued, and one year after firing her from the $81,000-a-year job, the governor's administration settled ($) and paid her more than a quarter million dollars and three and a half times her salary in a settlement. Under the terms of the settlement, Everhart can reapply for a job with the state after Martinez leaves office.

Dustin Bingham faced a 25-year prison sentence for several felony counts of molesting two relatives under age 13 and another teenage girl to whom he wasn't related. His relatives asked for leniency, the unrelated teen asked for the maximum sentence. Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer chose five years of prison followed by 10 years of probation. District Attorney Marco Serna decried the sentence, calling the ex-Santa Fe sheriff's deputy a "wolf in sheep's clothing."

Santa Fe's upstart arts collective is building a bigger, different immersive art experience in the Mile High City. The new project is set to break ground in the fall and be three times the size of the House of Eternal Return here in town. CEO Vince Kadlubek says it will likely cost $50 million ($) and be located next to the Denver Broncos' stadium in downtown Denver.

In an email around Thanksgiving last year, the chair of the anesthesiology department at UNM's Health Sciences Center told his colleagues that because the school settled at the last minute with a former doctor who sued the institution for mishandling her rape report, there would be no retention bonuses. Dr. Cynthia Herald said that she had been raped by a colleague. She was later fired by UNM. Dr. Hugh Martin told his department that he had to reallocate money "due to the recent legal settlement with the former dismissed problem resident, Cyndi Herald."

State Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn says he's putting the contract to develop the Garrett's Desert Inn property out for bid again after the winning company couldn't come up with needed funds by the end of last year. The property, which the state now owns after a land swap for the old Dixon Apple Orchard acreage, is thought to be prime territory for development. Dunn expects the winning bidder will refurbish the throwback motor inn, rather than tear it down and build from the ground up. While the state doesn't have to abide by the city's strict historic design codes, Dunn says that's what he's asking of bidders.

The City of Santa Fe is reconsidering a longstanding policy of waiving usage fees for some groups at the Community Convention Center and the downtown Plaza. Each city councilor is allowed to waive fees for one event at each venue each year. That's 16 potential waivers. Some councilors want to get a handle on how much revenue the city is forgoing and what it gets in return.

Smith's grocery stores will revisit their shelving policy after complaints to customers lead to a KOB-TV report about the store selling questionable food. The station's secret shoppers found expired mayonnaise and Apple Jacks (no satisfying crunch?) and viewers say they bought rotten fruit and ketchup that expired years earlier and turned black.

Raymond Twinhorse of San Felipe Pueblo is the man who left the dog outside Santa Fe's Dunkin Donuts last month. The mutt had a sign on her that read "I'm free. I'm having babies." After the story made newspapers and local TV news, Twinhorse reported himself. Because of that, he's been cited with animal neglect instead of the more serious animal cruelty charge. He also paid the intake fee for the dog, who's been named Jackie, at the Santa Fe Animal Shelter.

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