POLICE BLOTTER

The following is a condensed list of events that occurred in the town of Taos.

MARCH 10 Harassment, Paseo del Pueblo Norte

8:07 a.m.

– Caller said a person in a gold 4Runner was trying to pick fights with people as they headed northbound.

9:32 a.m. Breaking and Entering, Ochenta Apartments – Caller said a bald man wearing goggles was trying to break into her apartment. It turned out to be a maintenance worker putting fliers on the doors.

1:24 p.m. Harassment, Don Fernando Street – Caller said he was a lawyer and his client was getting harassing calls from someone she had a restraining order against. 2:32 p.m. Graffiti, Camino de la Placita – Caller said people were writing on her windows with sharpie. 4:58 p.m. Abandoned Vehicle, Paseo del Pueblo Sur – Caller said a woman parked her vehicle in the middle of the road in a turning lane. 6:29 p.m. Battery, State Road 68 – Caller said someone punched her in the face and was trying to steal her clothes.

MARCH 11

6:12 a.m. Harassment, Camino de la Merced – Caller said her boyfriend was calling and texting her, threatening to kill her, and she wanted police presence.

10:34 a.m. Shoplifting, South Plaza – Caller said a woman with a black mask and black beanie had stolen a shirt.

2:37 p.m. Animal Bite, Paseo del Pueblo Sur – Caller said the neighbor’s dog just bit his child and it had happened before.

3:11 p.m. Fraud-Forgery, Paseo del Pueblo Sur – Caller said someone had asked them for a second check saying the first one was torn, but ended up cashing both checks. 6:08 p.m. Overdose, Calle del Sol – Caller said a man was lying in a ditch blue in the face. He was given narcan twice and then became combative.

MARCH 12 Breaking and Entering,

1:38 a.m.

U.S. 64 – Caller said someone had cut into the fence and taken some things from a vehicle.

7:15 a.m. Animal Abuse, Lower Los Colonias – Caller said people had left their dogs for a week without food, water or shelter. There were no dogs at the residence given.

2:12 p.m. Larceny, El Pueblo Lodge – Caller said someone took off with a chop saw heading north. The thief was located, the saw was returned and the man was arrested.

7:18 p.m. Animal Bite, Linda Vista Lane – Caller said a white pit bull had bit his leg and was still loose. 8:43 p.m. Fatal Traffic Accident, Walgreens – A man was hit by a white truck in the area of Walgreens.

He died over an hour later.

MARCH 13

5:05 p.m. Suspicious Circumstances, Maestas Road – A man in camo pants was intoxicated and holding his chest. He had left Holy Cross with a broken shoulder, but was taken back to Holy Cross. 6:54 p.m. Harassment, Herdner Road – Caller said an intoxicated man threatened to hit the employees, and was behind the store dumpsters. 7:49 p.m. Larceny, Albertsons – Caller said a man took two boxes of wine.

9:49 p.m. Domestic Disturbance, Red Willow Lane – Officers responded to a domestic call and arrested one man.

MARCH 14 Suspicious Circumstances, Toaine Street

8:27 a.m.

– Caller said there was a carpet rolled up with feet sticking out of it. It turned out to be a man trying to stay warm.

9:40 a.m. Suspicious Circumstances, Paseo del Pueblo Sur – Caller said there is a man sleeping outside her apartment who occasionally knocks on her door. 10:19 a.m. Alcohol Offense, Super Save – Caller said a man in the store drank a whole bottle of liquor and couldn’t pay for it. He eventually did pay for the liquor.

11:47 a.m. Shoplifting, Walmart – Caller said a man in grey pants with a grey backpack was just in the store shoplifting then took off on foot. The property was recovered and returned to Walmart and the man was told not to return.

8:06 p.m. Unconscious-Fainting, Smiths – Caller said a man collapsed inside the store and was bleeding from the eyes with shallow breathing. He fell down and hit his nose.

Arecent report on the impacts of COVID-19 on Taos County brings home a reality that’s hard to bear:

the pandemic has compounded every one of the lifelong deficits that generations of Taos County

families and their children have suffered. If your dad worked for a business that’s now shuttered, and your mom got COVID, and it’s no longer safe for your grandma to visit, and the refrigerator’s bare, and now the car won’t start, and your family is still in your home just because the government has temporarily halted evictions, and your internet is too flaky to even try to get your school work done, and it’s still not safe to play your favorite sports activities, where do you turn? How do you even hang on at all? Is this the reality facing more and more children in Taos County into the foreseeable future?

But as we’ve watched an enormous Congressional bill make its torturous way to the President’s desk (a bill that’s even a little bit bigger than the $1.5 trillion in tax cuts that corporations and the wealthy got in 2017), many are breathing a sigh of relief. Maybe the worst is behind us. Millions of dollars are arriving in communities like ours, earmarked for suffering like ours. The expectation is that child poverty will diminish by half this year — and continue to drop if funding becomes permanent. The

measure is based on one from the U.K., where it indeed has had those profound effects.

So relief is in sight, right? Then, another But: A friend called. “Guess what the town’s priority is?” My mind was flipping

through the devastating statistics I’d been reading: let’s see ... where would be the best place to start with “building back better” locally?

My thought pause was too long, and my friend blurted out, “The airport! THE AIRPORT?!?!” I fear my poor friend’s hearing will never be the same.

Why was I so surprised? It’s no secret that a very powerful segment of our local government is hell-bent

on keeping our community’s eggs in one basket. Of all the baskets that a town might choose, the

one that powerful segment clings to? Tourism. During a pandemic? If ever there’s been a time when an economic plan that relies on enticing travelers to come visit is clearly a Very Bad Idea, it would have to be the year we’ve just been through. And with COVID variants on the rise, we’re still nowhere near ready to consider beefing up that Tourism basket. To continue touting the trickle-down effect of seeking the tourism dollar is not just dumb. It’s callous. Unconscionable.

We might argue forever about how much “fault” lies with individuals who find themselves struggling, but surely we can all agree that the kids don’t deserve the hand the pandemic and so many economic policies have dealt them. The worst of childhood is supposed to be about dealing with cliques, limbs we don’t yet know how to operate, pimples; without a doubt, my own childhood years set me up for a high school diploma, a college degree, a career and a sense of belonging in society. I earned none of this. I owe society all of it.

Left to the tourism crowd, child poverty will simply not come close to a 50 percent reduction. Just like at the national level, it’s up to We The People to keep our local officials focused on what matters most.

And what matters most is often invisible. Like all those kids huddled in the back seats of cars or on the floor of a relative’s apartment or tent or storage unit, getting only the rarest and barest glimpses of the magic of childhood. The realities I mentioned that are hard to bear? They are not supposed to be borne. They are supposed to be fixed.

The coming days and weeks are full of town and county meetings where the use of the COVID relief funds will be hammered out. Let’s commit to reminding our local government who they work for.

Let’s turn the talk and promise of a diversified economy that truly serves the interests of the people — let’s turn that talk into action. Let’s tell our government officials that We The People declare our very first priority is to give our children the food and shelter and intellectual development that can grow into a future where they can flourish and become active members of society. That is every single person’s best hope and prayer.