Stradling: Punitive Water Rates! Thinking Of The Children
By GARY STRADLING
Republican Candidate
Los Alamos County Council
I appreciate my old friend David Israelevitz’s attempt to legitimize the County’s punitive water rates (Link) in quantitative terms that our math-minded residents can appreciate.
However, it does not take a rocket scientist to see through his argument. Most of us understand rate increases of 6.3 percent and 27.1 percent per gallon for higher usage levels and find them to be outrageous.
Any mom or dad in our community would rightly be up in arms if Smiths grocery store increased prices by 27 percent depending on whether we were Read More
Op-Ed: Water Rates, Cost Recovery, And Fairness
By DAVID IZRAELEVITZ
Los Alamos County Councilor
Over the last few years, most recently last September, a tiered residential water rate was approved by the Board of Public Utilities and subsequently affirmed by the County Council.
There will be upcoming public hearings by the two bodies about revising these rates given increased costs, and the issue of cost recovery vs. financial impact and fairness is a recurring and appropriate concern. Utilities should pay for themselves in some way; if utilities cost X, we should collect a total of X from its user base. The issue of fairness is more difficult Read More
Chandler: The Los Alamos Underground
By GEORGE CHANDLER
Los Alamos
When I wrote about the proposed new nuisance code the other day, I referred to its impact on the owners and renters of older residences on difficult lots, especially in the government-built sections of town and the mobile home communities. These areas are by no means slums or candidates for urban renewal; many homes in these areas have been renovated or carefully maintained. But many lower income residents live there.
I’ve lived in the Elk Ridge mobile home park or in government-built homes in Eastern Area or North Community for most of the 48 years since I came to Los Read More
Toersbijns: New Mexico Workforce Participation Challenge
By BRENDYN TOERSBIJNS
Rio Grande Foundation
One of the most important, yet underreported issues in New Mexico is our State’s poor workforce participation rate.
Currently, New Mexico has plenty of jobs, yet too many New Mexicans remain outside the workforce. Workforce participation in New Mexico first dipped during the global recession of 2008-2009 but it took another big dip during the COVID 19 pandemic and unlike most of our neighboring states, it has not recovered.
Our Governor’s strict COVID lockdowns played a role in pushing New Mexico’s workforce participation rate downward. In January Read More
Rotary: Bob Loy Discusses Hummingbirds Of Bandelier
Bob Loy, certified hummingbird bander, speaks about the hummingbirds of Bandelier during a meeting of the Rotary Club of Los Alamos at Cottonwood of the Greens. Photo by Linda Hull
By LINDA HULL
Vice President
Rotary Club of Los Alamos
Sporting a tee shirt with an image of a swordbill hummingbird, native to the Andes Mountains of South America, Bob Loy, only one of two certified hummingbird banders in New Mexico, presented The Hummingbirds of Bandelier to members of the Rotary Club of Los Alamos in late May, just as the seasonal migration of hummingbirds began in our part of the world.
With an informative Read More
Op-Ed: Response To Mr. Warren’s Column
By JOHN STAM
Secretary
Los Alamos Golf Association Board (LAGA)
I would like to respond to Mr. Warren’s column (link) and perhaps clear up some of the misinformation he has provided the community.
First let me speak about the mysterious and powerful group called the LAGA that Mr. Warren refers to. As a lifetime member of the LAGA and currently a board member of this group, I feel qualified to do this.
The LAGA is a volunteer group that has no official standing within the County Government. The LAGA has been in existence for all of the 75 years of the golf course. Currently we have 156 members. What we Read More
Devolder: Discrimination In Los Alamos County
By MARK DEVOLDER
Los Alamos
Los Alamos County is really big on recreational activities and various kinds of “Fests.”
Personally, my recreational activity or Fest is working on my vehicles. This is particularly the case as automotive shops typically charge $125 per hour for repair work.
The folks in Community Development (that is, Nuisance Code Enforcement) have suggested that automobiles need to be repaired in residential garages. As has been pointed out previously, not everyone has a garage or even a carport (this applies to apartments, too). Therefore, vehicle owners may resort to repairing Read More
