Back to School Tax Tips
IRS News:
Going to college can be a stressful time for students and parents. The IRS offers these tips about education tax benefits that can help offset some college costs and maybe relieve some of that stress.
- American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC). This credit can be up to $2,500 per eligible student. The AOTC is available for the first four years of post-secondary education. Forty percent of the credit is refundable. That means that you may be able to receive up to $1,000 of the credit as a refund, even if you don’t owe any taxes. Qualified expenses include tuition and fees, course related
Fee Free Day at Bandelier Aug. 25 for Founders Day
Courtesy/BNMThe National Park Service (NPS) was established Aug. 25, 1916, to protect and preserve the then-young system of park areas being designated for the benefit and enjoyment of people throughout the country and visitors from around the world.
Now, in 2013, there are more than 400 areas that are administered by the NPS, ranging from battlefields to coral reefs, Yosemite to the Washington Monument, Everglades to Bandelier National Monument. The anniversary of that date is celebrated by having a Fee Free day, when there is no entrance fee to any National Park Service Read More
Micah Jay Andersen Awarded Purple Heart
LAHS graduate First Lt. Micah Jay Andersen receives the Purple Heart. Courtesy photo
Staff Report
First Lieutenant Micah Jay Andersen received the Purple Heart Aug. 13 from 4-star General Daniel B. Allyn, Commanding General U.S. Army Forces Command.
The Los Alamos High School graduate was serving as an Armor Officer in Afghanistan June 1 and suffered severe combat injuries when an improvised explosive device detonated while he was conducting a combined dismounted patrol.
The Purple Heart award ceremony was attended by members of his family including his father Skip Andersen who works at Read More
Congressional Delegation Urges Increased Oversite of New Mexico’s Behavioral Health Crisis
STATE News:
New Mexico’s Congressional Delegation sent the following letter Wednesday to U.S. Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Department of Health & Human Services regarding the state’s behavioral health crisis:
Dear Secretary Sebelius,
As you are aware, the State of New Mexico is in the process of investigating allegations of fraud against 15 behavioral health providers that offer Medicaid services and has suspended payments to those organizations. We want to thank you for your ongoing involvement to protect the integrity of the process and the needs of beneficiaries. Read More
DoD Shuts Down Burn Pits at Camp Leatherneck
Burn pit in Afghanistan. Courtesy photo
U.S. SENATE News:
- Senators applaud measure, say more work still needs to be done
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Tom Udall, D-N.M. and Bob Corker, R-Tenn., announced today that the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has ceased burn pit operations at one of two camp sites supporting Operating Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.
Its closure follows Udall and Corker’s recent call for immediate action to halt the use of open-air burn pits after findings by Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) that found Read More
The Dogs Claim Summer League Championship!
Dog Members: Front row from left, Cedric Patterson, Josh Esquibel, Scotty Alexander, Jevon Montoya, DeAndre Lawrence and Daniel Gallegos. Back row from left, Alejandro Quintana, Jordan Valdez, Coach Mel Montoya, Michael Naranjo, Coach Scott Alexander, Austin Martinez, Brandon Bustos, Cameron Martinez, Coach Mark Lopez. Courtesy photo
SPORTS News:
The Dogs are an AAU Basketball Team comprised of players from Los Alamos Middle School, McCurdy Charter School, Carlos F. Vigil Middle School, Cleveland Middle School and Sombrillo Elementary.
The Dogs basketball members and staff Read More
Udall Unveils Bill to Help Turn Innovative Ideas into Successful Businesses
SENATE News:- Launched at Udall-hosted conference with labs, educators, entrepreneurs and investors called, “Tech Transfer: Key to New Mexico’s Future”
SANTA FE – U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M. announced legislation to help create high-tech jobs and industries in New Mexico by streamlining the process for getting cutting-edge research and development from our state’s universities and national labs to the marketplace.
Udall unveiled the bill during a half-day conference and workshop he organized at Santa Fe Community College called, “Technology Transfer: Key to New Mexico’s Read More
Valles Caldera Trust Releases Landscape and Restoration Stewardship Plan Draft EIS
Valles Caldera Trust Releases Landscape and Restoration Stewardship Plan Draft EIS
- Public Input Requested
JEMEZ SPRINGS — The Valles Caldera Trust (Trust) has released a 10-year plan for the proposed stewardship of the Valles Caldera National Preserve (preserve.)
The Landscape Restoration and Stewardship Plan (Stewardship Plan) Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) details a number of actions aimed at reducing the potential for severe burning and moving the forest to a more sustainable and resilient condition. Proposed actions include forest thinning, wildland fire Read More
LANL Scientists Show Muon Imaging May Offer Hope of Assessing Damaged Reactor Cores
LANL News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. ─ Critical to the recovery efforts following the devastating effects of the 2011 tsunami on Japan’s Fukushima reactor is the ability to assess damage within the reactor’s core.
A study in the journal AIP Advances by a team of scientists from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) shows that muon imaging may offer the best hope of assessing damage to the reactor cores and locating the melted fuel.
Muon imaging, which utilizes naturally occurring muons created in the atmosphere by cosmic rays to image dense objects, should solve the problem of determining Read More
Governor Announces Awards to Seven Rural Communities
Gov. Susana Martinez
STATE News:
SANTA FE – Gov. Susana Martinez has announced that seven rural communities in New Mexico have been awarded technical assistance and services from the newly-created Frontier Communities Initiative.
Signed into law by Martinez in April, the initiative is a community economic development partnership coordinated through the Economic Development Department’s MainStreet Program. The following communities were selected to receive assistance from the Frontier Communities Initiative:
- Carrizozo;
- Columbus;
- Hurley;
- Madrid;
- Historic Route 66 (Moriarity
