Department Of The Interior Announces $450 Million Funding Opportunity For Community Parks
USDI News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Department of the Interior has announced an estimated $450 million funding opportunity over the next five years for local communities across the United States to create new parks and trails or renovate existing parks through the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership (ORLP) program.
In September, the Department announced $254 million in grants for 54 projects in 24 states, the single largest grant investment ever from the ORLP program.
“Families and children across the country today have modern and accessible local parks thanks to investments from the Read More
New Mexico Nearing 2025 Climate Goals
NMED News:
SANTA FE — The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) has released two comprehensive reports analyzing greenhouse gas emissions across the state,“ providing the most detailed and accurate inventory of New Mexico’s emissions to date”.
Findings confirm that New Mexico is making significant progress in reducing its greenhouse gas emissions.
The state is projected to achieve a 29% reduction in emissions by 2025 compared to 2005 levels, keeping on track to meet Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s climate goals.
The reports, developed by Eastern Research Group (ERG) and Energy and Environmental Read More
Op-Ed: Israel And Charges Of Genocide
By TERRY HANSEN
Milwaukee, Wisc.
Kudos to Jody Benson for her powerful op-ed in which she declares, “No, I am not antisemitic. I am anti-genocide.”
The human rights organization Amnesty International has issued a nearly 300 page report concluding that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Israel and the United States have both rejected this accusation.
However, Amnesty International is not alone in reaching this determination. Amos Goldberg, a Holocaust and genocide researcher at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has also concluded that Israel’s Read More
Senators Luján And Boozman Introduce Bipartisan Legislation To Increase Organ Donations And Save Lives
U.S. SENATE News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Friday, U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and John Boozman (R-AR) introduced the Honor Our Living Donors (HOLD) Act to expand support for more living donors by allowing more donors compensation to cover wages, travel, child care and caregiver expenses associated with donation.
Each day, 17 Americans die while waiting for an organ transplant, with many of these patients suffering from kidney failure and undergoing costly and painful dialysis treatments.
Dialysis alone costs Medicare more than $50 billion annually. Under the current law, the Living Read More
Op-Ed: I Am Not Antisemitic
By JODY BENSON
Los Alamos
I am not antisemitic.
No, I am not antisemitic even though I stand against Israel’s decimation of Gaza.
I attest to the fact that Hamas, elected in 2006, is a totalitarian regime whose military wing the US has designated a terrorist organization.
I attest Hamas does not recognize Israel, and that since 1993, it has committed suicide bombings on Israel in retribution against the Israeli 1967 occupation of both Gaza and the West Bank.
I attest that on October 7, 2023, Hamas led other Palestinian militant nationalist groups in a terrorist attack in the Gaza Envelope that killed Read More
USACE Announces Increased Release Of Water From Abiquiu Dam Scheduled To Begin Dec. 17, 2024
USACE News:
ALBUQUERQUE — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Albuquerque District, announced Friday it has scheduled an increase in the release of water from Abiquiu Dam to start Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024.
Work is being done to move sediment in the Rio Chama between the 233 Bridge and 285 Bridge to restore some channel capacity and open a pilot channel allowing for the delivery of obligated compact water.
The water release from Abiquiu Dam is 75 cubic-feet per second (cfs). The scheduled water release from Abiquiu Dam will increase flow to 200cfs Tuesday, Dec. 17; increase flow to 400cfs Wednesday, Read More
Los Alamos County Records Office Closed For Floor Repair
COUNTY News:
The Los Alamos County Records and Information Management (RIM) office will be temporarily closed Dec. 17-20 for repairs to the floor. While the office at 1000 Central Ave., Suite 190 in the Municipal Building, is closed to the public, RIM staff continue to work remotely and are available by phone and email.
Records Manager Barbara Ricci confirmed that her team will continue processing records requests in accordance with the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA). Requests can be submitted online at https://lacnm.com/IPRA or by email at inspect-records@lacnm.us Read More
Hampton: Transportation Board Dec. 5 Meeting Update
By DAVID HAMPTON
Chair
Los Alamos County Transportation Board
At our last Transportation Board meeting, Dec. 5, we received a presentation and took public comments on the N.M. 4 Crossing and Multi-Use Trail Improvement Project. While there was general agreement with the HAWK signal crossing and the multi-use trail in and around Pinon Park, T-Board and the public had mixed opinions about the proposed westbound lane reduction and portions of the multi-use trail on the Mirador side, north of N.M. 4. More public meetings will be held in 2025 as the design progresses.
HAWK signals operate in a YELLOW–RED–FLASHING Read More
Robert Doucette Stepping Down As GSA Cabinet Secretary
From the Office of the Governor:
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SANTA FE – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced today that Robert E. Doucette, Jr., cabinet secretary of the New Mexico General Services Department, will step down from his position at the end of the year. Anna Silva will serve as acting cabinet secretary and will work closely with Doucette to ensure a seamless transition.
“Robert Doucette has provided leadership and expertise at several agencies over his long-lasting career in state government, and I thank him for his service to New Mexico,” Lujan Grisham Read More
U.S. Senators Heinrich And Mullin Legislation To Promote Tribal Buffalo Management Passes Senate
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich
U.S. SENATE News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) applauded the Senate passage of their bipartisan Indian Buffalo Management Act, legislation to create a buffalo program at the U.S. Department of the Interior and help promote and develop Tribal capacity to manage buffalo.
The Indian Buffalo Management Act provides secure, consistent funding for Tribes and Tribal organizations that have an established buffalo herd and management program, and provides resources for Tribes that would like to establish new Read More
Luján Joins Colleagues To Introduce ‘End Threat Of Default Act’ Legislation To Permanently Repeal National Debt Ceiling
U.S. SENATE News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) joined U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) Thursday in reintroducing the End the Threat of Default Act, legislation that would permanently remove the threat of a default by repealing the national debt ceiling, an arbitrary limit restricting the amount that the United States Treasury can borrow to pay its debts.
Eliminating the debt limit does not increase spending or raise taxes, it merely allows the government to pay its bills just like Americans do every day. In June 2023, the president signed legislation that suspended Read More
County Lodgers’ Tax Advisory Board To Meet Dec. 17
COUNTY News:
The Los Alamos County Lodgers’ Tax Advisory Board is scheduled to meet 12-1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Room 110 of the Municipal Building at 1000 Central Ave.
The meeting is open to the public in person and via Zoom:
- https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85072848071
Or Telephone:
- Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
- US: +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 669 900 6833 or +1 301 715 8592
- or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 929 205 6099
Webinar ID: 850-7284-8071
Find the Agenda here.
Snapshot of visitors to Los Alamos January through November 2024:
Courtesy/LAC Read More
Sen. Luján Introduces Legislation To Develop, Demonstrate, Deploy Technologies To Accelerate Nuclear Waste Cleanup
U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján
From the Office of U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján:
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- “Luján Bill Would Save Taxpayers Billions and Accelerate Waste Cleanup”
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Washington, D.C. – Thursday, U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) introduced the Combining Laboratory Expertise to Accelerate Novel Solutions for Minimizing Accumulated Radioactive Toxins (CLEAN SMART) Act, legislation that would build on the success of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Network of National Laboratories for Environmental Management and Stewardship (NNLEMS) to accelerate nuclear waste cleanup.
The CLEAN SMART Act would codify and Read More
Governor Releases FY26 Budget Recommendation
From the Office of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham:
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- “Fiscally responsible spending plan balances past, future investments”
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SANTA FE – Today, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham released a FY26 executive budget recommendation that builds on progress made during her first six years in office while boosting investments in health care, child well-being and infrastructure across New Mexico.
The budget recommendation includes $10.9 billion in recurring spending––an increase of 5.3% over current year spending. The budget contains an additional $172 million for state employee pay raises, which includes Read More
New Documents On Disapproval, Drilling Work Plan for Chromium Groundwater Project… Added To LANL Electronic Public Reading Room
LANL News:
Per regulatory requirements, new documents have been added to the Los Alamos Legacy Cleanup Contract Electronic Public Reading Room.
All legacy cleanup documents required to be posted after April 30, 2018, are available on the site linked above.
For legacy cleanup documents that were posted prior to April 30, 2018, visit the LANL electronic public reading room.
- Disapproval, Drilling Work Plan for Chromium Groundwater Project Regional Aquifer Monitoring Well R-73R
https://ext.em-la.doe.gov/GovFTPFiles/api/GetFiles/GetFile?fileName=EMID-703489_NMED_Disapprove_R-73r_DWP_121024.pdf
Council OKs Contract To Continue Assisting Home Owners
By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
The Los Alamos Housing Partnership has ended but the Los Alamos County’s assistance to homebuyers and homeowners will continue.
During its Dec. 3 meeting, County Council unanimously approved for Los Alamos to enter a contract with the Santa Fe Community Housing Trust.
“We were really excited at the Housing Trust when this RFP came out to be able to expand in the Los Alamos area,” Executive Director Roman Abeyta said. “We pride ourselves at the Housing Trust in supporting, educating and advocating for homebuyers to make their Read More
Gibson: Home Energy Conversion Is Not New
By ROBERT GIBSON
Chair
Los Alamos County Board of Public Utilities
My family travelled frequently to my grandparent’s Ohio farm while I was growing up. On colder mornings and evenings, my grandfather would descend to the cellar to shovel coal into the furnace. Quaint though that may seem today, more than half the space heating in the U.S was coal until after WW II. (Much heat in wartime Los Alamos was coal, too.) Stoking a coal furnace was a dirty and physical job. That farmhouse was converted to oil heat in the 1960s.
That was not its first conversion, either. Built in the mid-1800s, it originally Read More
Successful Completion Of State-Mandated Recount And Audit Affirms Election Integrity In Los Alamos County
Election workers perform a recount Dec. 4 of votes cast in the Nov. 5 election for county councilors Denise Derkacs and David Reagor. The recount confirmed the accuracy of the election results. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com
COUNTY News:
The Los Alamos Clerk’s Office has announced the successful completion of the recent state-mandated recount and audit of the 2024 General Election. The recount was mandated due to the County Council contest between David W. Reagor and Denise Derkacs, where the margin of difference is 0.74%, falling below the 1% threshold specified by NMSA 1-14-24 Read More
U.S. Rep. Leger Fernandez Statement On NDAA
U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández
From the Office of U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández issued the following statement after the House vote on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The bill passed the House Wednesday 281-140.
Watch the Congresswoman’s NDAA speech on the floor of the House.
“Much of this year’s NDAA is rooted in improving the quality of life for our service members and their families,” Congresswoman Leger Fernández said. “These measures, like the 14.5 percent pay raise for junior enlisted service members and 4.5 percent Read More
County Parks & Recreation Board November 2024 Update
By JAMES WERNICKE
Parks and Recreation Board
At the November Parks and Recreation Board meeting, Chamisa Elementary Art Teacher Andrea Lynch presented skateboard decks painted by students as appreciation for the new White Rock skatepark which completed construction in September, highlighting a successful collaboration between County staff, contractors, and the public.
The board discussed plans for the 2025 work plan, updates and corrections to the Community Services Division website recommended by the Equine & Livestock Working Group, updates on the Open Space Management Plan Read More
