NEW MEXICO

O’Keeffe’s views to be preserved

SANTA FE — A new conservation agreement will preserve land with breathtaking desert vistas that inspired the work of 20th century painter Georgia O’Keeffe and ensure visitors access to an adjacent educational retreat, several partners to the pact announced Dec. 9.

Initial phases of the plan establish a conservation easement across about 10 square miles of land, owned by a charitable arm of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), on the outskirts of the village of Abiquiu.

That easement stretches across reservoir waterfront and native grasslands to the doorstep of a remote home owned by O’Keeffe’s estate, a few miles from her larger home and studio in Abiquiu. Both homes are outside the conservation area and owned and managed separately by the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe.

The view from the rangeland should be familiar to even casual O’Keeffe aficionados — including desert washes, sandstone bluffs and the distant mountain silhouette of Cerro Pedernal.

Jonathan Hayden, executive director of the New Mexico Land Conservancy, said the voluntary plan guards against the potential encroachment of modern development that might subdivide and transform the property, though there are not any imminent proposals.

The state of New Mexico is substantially underwriting the initiative though a trust created by state lawmakers in 2023.

An approved $920,000 state award is being set aside for easement surveys, transaction costs and a financial nest-egg that the Presbyterian Church Foundation will use — while retaining property ownership — to support programming at the adjacent Ghost Ranch Education & Retreat Center and its use of the conservation area.

Minimum wage tied to rents

SANTA FE — Santa Fe has long referred to itself as “The City Different” for its distinct atmosphere and a blending of cultures that stretches back centuries. Now, it’s trying something different — something officials hope will prevent a cultural erosion as residents are priced out of their homes.

It’s the first city in the United States to directly link wages to housing affordability, aiming to counter high rents by tying minimum wage increases to consumer prices as well as fair market rental prices.

Many see the new ordinance as a big step forward for workers, but Mayor Alan Webber also described it as an important tool for addressing an affordability crisis that threatens the very fabric of Santa Fe.

Santa Fe’s minimum wage will increase to $17.50 starting in 2027. The annual increase historically has been tied to consumer prices, but going forward a new blended formula will be used to calculate the annual increase, with the Consumer Price Index making up one half and fair market rent data making up the other.

There’s a 5% cap in case costs skyrocket, and if consumer prices or rents tank in any particular year, the minimum wage will not be reduced.

Santa Fe first adopted a living wage in 2002. The ordinance has been expanded over the years and the mission this time was to deal with median housing prices and rental costs that were far above any other major market in New Mexico.

About 9,000 workers will see a bump in wages once the ordinance kicks in — about 20% of the city’s workforce.

UTAH

Collective bargaining ban repealed

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah has repealed a collective bargaining ban passed earlier this year that prevented labor unions serving teachers, firefighters, police and other public employees from negotiating on behalf of their workers.

Republican Gov. Spencer Cox on Dec. 11 approved the repeal of a policy that experts had called one of the most restrictive labor laws in the country.

The state’s Republican-controlled legislature originally approved the policy in February, saying it was needed to allow employers to engage directly with all employees, instead of communicating through a union representative. Thousands of union members from the public and private sector rallied outside Cox’s office for a week, urging him to veto the bill, which he decided to sign.

Pushback continued in the months after it became law, with the legislature ultimately deciding on a reversal during a special session this month.

Republican state Rep. Jordan Teuscher, the original House sponsor, said the repeal “allows us to step back, to lower the temperature and to create space for a clearer and more constructive conversation.”

State employees were still allowed to join unions under the law, but the unions could not formally negotiate on their behalf for better wages and working conditions.

Many public educators, the state’s most frequent users of collective bargaining, viewed the policy as way for Republicans to weaken teachers unions and clear a path for their own education agenda.

Union leaders celebrated the repeal and the work of their members who rallied opposition to the law.

WYOMING

Frontier Days lineup announced

CHEYENNE – With less than 230 days until the next “Daddy of ’em All,” Cheyenne Frontier Days officials knew they couldn’t leave people in suspense for too long about what changes were to come next year … and what musical acts.

For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, CFD announced the lineup before the new year. The list of 12 artists and groups picked was released on Dec. 2, and it’s anything but “ordinary.”

Starting off on Friday, July 17, is grunge-rock band and CFD newcomers Treaty Oak Revival. Friday also will be the first day of rodeo.

Other newcomers to the annual event this year include Alex Warren, who won Best New Artist at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards in September, Country Music Award winner Riley Green, and country artists Hardy and Zach Top.

Some veteran CFD performers coming back in 2026 are The Red Clay Strays, who opened for the Turnpike Troubadours in 2024, and Blake Shelton, who has performed here five times since 2003.

Opening acts include Jessie Murph (for Treaty Oak Revival on July 17), Wyatt Flores (for The Red Clay Strays on July 19), Trace Adkins (for Riley Green on July 23), Cameron Whitcomb (for Hardy on July 24) and Jo Dee Messina (for Zach Top on July 25).

Headliners without an opener were Alex Warren (July 18) and Blake Shelton (July 23). Wilkinson told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle that Shelton was the last act they secured, and both he and Warren are going to have headliners determined at a later date.

Cheyenne Frontier Days 2026 runs from July 17 through July 26.