One of Our 50 Is Missing: July 2022

Insurance Adjustment

After Carol Krausman moved from Washington State to Santa Fe, she received a notice that her insurance had been canceled. When she called to inquire why, an agent informed her she could not be insured if she lived out of the country. “No, no,” she replied, “I live in New Mexico.” The representative doubled down: “Old Mexico, New Mexico, it makes no difference.” Following a lengthy lesson on United States geography, the insurance policy was eventually reinstated.

One of Our Veggies Is Missing

Mike Faber, a resident of Parker, Colorado, tries to get to “Genius” level on the New York Times Spelling Bee puzzle every day. He reports that while the folks at the Gray Lady may know where New Mexico is, they don’t recognize “chile” as a word, only as a proper noun that refers to the South American country. After Faber notified the newspaper of this error, he received a form response but no solution. Apparently the paper has “All the News That’s Fit to Print,” but no room for red or green.

Where’s the Fire?

Recent coverage of wildfires in New Mexico has been, well, all over the place. Keith Moore shared a web screenshot from BBC News. The headline? “New Mexico wildfire: Huge blaze could worsen this weekend.” The dateline? “Latin America & Caribbean.” Several readers also sent a  Good Morning America map showing drought conditions in the Southwest. Just one problem: New Mexico is mislabeled as Arizona. Finally, Nature World News wrote about the Hermits Peak /Calf Canyon wildfire, referring to Las Vegas, New Mexico, as “Sin City.” Fake news, indeed.

Read More: Unfortunately, we could go on and on. Here's more One of Our 50 Is Missing moments.