A year in hyperdrive

So much unfolded on the world's stage in 2008 that the happenings of our city and state shrink in comparison.

At first, it all seemed to come together beautifully, a near-miracle of synchronicity: President-elect Obama picked Bill Richardson for a cabinet post in the new administration. When our governor agreed to become the next U.S. secretary of commerce, we all assumed he’d quickly leave the governor’s position two years before the end of his term, just as a new year, a new Legislature and a new budget crisis would all turn up in Santa Fe, ready to confront a new governor.

Dateline: Saudi Arabia—An 8-year-old girl who was married off by her father to a 58-year-old man has been told by a Saudi court she’s too young to get a divorce. Lawyer Abdu Jtili said the divorce petition was filed by the unnamed girl’s divorced mother in August after the marriage contract was signed by her father and the groom. The judge dismissed the plea because the mother did not have the right to file. He recommended the girl refile the petition herself once she reaches puberty. Relatives of the girl said the marriage had not been consummated and that the girl was still living with her mother. The case was handled by a court in Qasim province, north of the Saudi capital Riyadh. Mr. Jtili told the AFP news agency that he would appeal the judge’s decision.

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