Izraelevitz: Circles Within Circles
By DAVID IZRAELEVITZ
Los Alamos
In the Jewish tradition, Rosh Hashanah is not only the yearly observance of the beginning of our world, but also when God performs a conditional assessment of our behavior during the most recent year. However, the Heavenly verdict is not final until ten days hence, on Yom Kippur, and for year 5784, the final opportunity of Yom Kippur begins tonight. This holiest day of the Jewish calendar, a day of prayer and fasting, is also the date of final introspection, atonement and forgiveness, when, according to one tradition, God forgave the Israelites for the sin of the Read More
Tales Of Our Times: Popcorn Pops When People And Nature Get It Right
Tales of our Times
By JOHN BARTLIT
New Mexico Citizens for Clean Air & Water
Popcorn Pops When People And Nature Get It Right
Popcorn is a marvel of engineering, both nature’s kind and the human way. Corn (or “maize”) has four varied forms that are native to the Americas—flint, dent, popcorn, and sweet. Popcorn dates back some 5,000 years. The Mayans knew about popcorn, but the oldest remains of popcorn came to be found in the “Bat Cave” in west central New Mexico in the late 1940s.
The secrets behind popcorn’s glorious popping are stored in its little world of synergy. The forces and the stuff for Read More
McQuiston: Four Auto Insurance Myths Busted
By ALLEN MCQUISTON
Jemez Insurance Agency
Serving Los Alamos Since 1963
When it comes to auto insurance, there are many myths floating around. Throughout the years, I have heard a lot of reasons why someone believes their insurance rates should be lower (or higher), and many of them are untrue. Regardless of how these misconceptions started, they are deeply ingrained into insurance lore. Below, I bust four of the most common myths about car insurance that I come across on a regular basis.
I have a red car so I know it will cost more money. You can have a red car, green car, or magenta car – the color has Read More
Mangeng: Comment On Flood Plain Assessment
By CAROLYN MANGENG
Los Alamos
I am providing you (Kristen Dors, NNSA/DOE) commentary on the Los Alamos Canyon Sediment Reduction and Restoration Project on behalf of the many hikers, bird watchers, and nature lovers who cherish walking up Los Alamos Canyon.
The plan for restoring vegetation is woefully minimalist. Please incorporate a greater variety of plants than willows and cottonwoods, which admittedly are native riparian plants and suitable for this habitat. However, there is a greater diversity of vegetation in our canyons than just willows and cottonwoods. The NMSU Extension Read More
Skolnik: Fall Vaccine Season – Valuable Summary Information
Courtesy/Skolnik
By RICHARD SKOLNIK
White Rock
Ideally, members of our local community would already have had a chance to discuss with their primary care providers the recommendations for who should get the RSV, COVID, and influenza vaccines and when. However, this is highly unlikely. In addition, some people do not have a primary care provider or lack the financial resources to seek such advice on this matter.
In this light, please see the graphic above that summarizes information about who is eligible for the RSV, influenza, and COVID vaccines, the “protection” they provide, and what the Read More
Pearce: Celebrating School Attendance Awareness Month
By KELLY PEARCE
Teach Plus
When Michael was in my media literacy class, he was quick to contribute his perspectives to our discussions, lended a hand when his peers had glitchy computers, and always had a joke at the ready.
But Michael wasn’t in school as often as I would have liked. He was absent an average of twice a week. Sometimes he would be gone days at a time.
I often told him that he was my 7th-grade teaching assistant, and I needed him there for our class to function at its best. He did not like to talk about his mounting absences and correspondence home to share how much I enjoyed having him in class Read More
Open Book: Ex Libris – Encyclopedia Britannica
By DAVID IZRAELIVITZ
Los Alamos
Note to Reader: This Open Book column is part of my occasional “Ex Libris” series about books that have made a difference in my life. Hope you enjoy it.
I don’t know whether future generations will put any value or prestige on personal knowledge. Everything that you want to know is already out there on your smartphone. Want to replace some plumbing? Someone on YouTube will show you how. Can’t remember the name of a song playing at the coffee shop? Turn to Shazam. Need to solve a nasty mathematical expression, go to Wolfram Alpha. Want to know the details of a mid-19th-century Read More
