Columns

McQuiston: Mastering Winter Roads … Drive Smart, Stay Safe

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By ALLEN MCQUISTON
Jemez Insurance Agency
Serving Los Alamos Since 1963

Winter driving isn’t just about getting from point A to point B—it’s about surviving the battlefield of black ice, snowdrifts, and the occasional overconfident driver who thinks speed limits don’t apply in a blizzard. If you want to avoid spinning out like a figure skater on ice, here’s what you need to know.

1. Winter-Proof Your Ride

Your car isn’t invincible. Treat it like a winter warrior and prepare it for battle:

  • Tires Matter – All-season tires are okay, but winter tires? They’re like strapping snow boots on your car instead
Read More

Cinema Cindy Reviews Oscar Nominations

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By CYNTHIA BIDDLECOMB
Los Alamos

Nominations for the Oscars were announced Feb. 23, the announcement delayed by a week due to the fires raging around Los Angeles County. The delay gave more time to local members, dealing with the fires and their aftermath, to view and nominate their favorite films of the year. The Academy noted that this year’s Oscar ceremony will honor Los Angeles area residents for their resilience, and local services for their support, in the wake of the wildfires.

In case you are unfamiliar with the annual buzz, let me note here that the Oscars are the long-awaited and much debated Read More

Disappointing Conditions On Display At Smith’s Marketplace

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Conditions found in an aisle around 11 a.m. on a recent Monday at Smith’s Marketplace. Photo by Ann McLaughlin

Conditions found in an aisle around 11 a.m. on a recent Monday at Smith’s Marketplace. Photo by Ann McLaughlin

Conditions found in an aisle around 11 a.m. on a recent Monday at Smith’s Marketplace. Photo by Ann McLaughlin

By ANN MCLAUGHLIN
Los Alamos

When it opened ten years ago, Smith’s Marketplace was a huge, almost glittering, improvement over its predecessors. There were understandable problems during the pandemic, but conditions in the store have not improved. In some ways they Read More

Salute To Rep. Christine Chandler For Developing And Sponsoring HB11 – Paid Family Medical Leave Act

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By BILL WADT
Los Alamos

We are so fortunate to have Christine Chandler represent us in the NM House. Her combination of compassionate, incisive thinking with extensive legal knowledge and experience as a County Councilor and State Representative makes her an ideal chair of the House Judiciary Committee as they consider legislation to improve public safety. 

Chris looks at the big picture and long-term consequences of legislation. Research has repeatedly shown that investment in early childhood and enabling positive social-emotional relationships between primary caregivers and children Read More

Senate Bill 176 Introduced To Reform Medical Malpractice Law To Center Patient Needs And Safety In New Mexico

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From Think New Mexico:

Senate Bill 176 has been introduced by Senator Martin Hickey (D-Albuquerque and the only doctor in the legislature) and Senate Minority Whip Pat Woods (R-Curry, Harding, Quay & Union Counties).

The bill would reform New Mexico’s medical malpractice system by:

          • capping attorney’s fees in medical malpractice attorney lawsuits;
          • ending lump-sum payouts from the Patient Compensation Fund (PCF); and
          • sending 75% of any punitive damages awarded in a medical malpractice cases to a new public fund designed to improve patient safety.

The bill was drafted by the nonpartisan Read More

Robinson: Future Disaster Costs Shadow State Tax Bills

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By SHERRY ROBINSON
All She Wrote
© 2024 New Mexico News Services

Republicans want to get rid of personal income taxes in the state, and they’ve made it their priority for the current legislative session. It’s a big step, but in recent years a surge in oil and gas revenues have fattened state coffers so much that we can think about it.

“Eliminating the personal income tax will return more than $2 billion a year to New Mexico’s families, without disrupting our public services or tax credits that many families rely on,” wrote House Minority Leader Gail Armstrong, R-Magdalena, in an op-ed.

Freshman Rep. Read More

Ringside Seat: Senator Again Pitches Prohibition At Capitol

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By MILAN SIMONICH
The Santa Fe New Mexican

Legislating under the influence of booze isn’t a crime.

State Sen. Harold Pope continues campaigning for what he believes is the next-best option. Pope, D-Albuquerque, wants a prohibition against members of his chamber drinking alcohol while they are working.

Pope for the third consecutive year has introduced Senate Resolution 1. It contains a single sobering sentence: “No senator shall consume alcohol before or during any floor session or meeting of a committee to which a member has been appointed.”

Beginning his fifth year in office, Pope said Read More

Weekly Fishing Report: Jan. 26, 2025 

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By GEORGE MORSE
Sports and Outdoors 
Los Alamos Daily Post

The snowpack in Northern New Mexico is 47-percent of normal. The weather forecast for this coming week includes some much-needed snow.

The Arctic Blast last week appears to be over. Temperatures can still  plunge well-below zero in some of our high mountain valleys.

The Moreno Valley where Eagle Nest Lake is located is a prime example. Temperatures here can reach minus-15 or even lower. Angel Fire hit a low of -30 last week. Please dress warmly.

The record low temperature for New Mexico is -50 degrees in 1951 at Gavilan, a small community Read More

Tales Of Our Times: Optimizing The Use Of Low Cost Air Sensors

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Tales Of Our Times

By JOHN BARTLIT
New Mexico Citizens
for Clean Air & Water

Optimizing The Use Of Low Cost Air Sensors

Notable remedies for public conflicts begin with new information. New approaches lead to better answers to perennial problems.

Yet, contentious times bring all manner of outcomes when we choose a topic and line up two speakers from different entities for a public program. Legions of talks set out to dispute contradictory facts. At the end, the dispute stands where it began. Loads of talks are pep talks for one side of an issue, which offer nothing new.

Talks that help a breadth Read More

Fr. Glenn: Extreme Data Points

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By Fr. Glenn Jones:

Well … it’s been an interesting week, don’t you think? President Trump inaugurated, subsequently resulting in a flurry of executive actions. Love him or not, you have to admit that he’s definitely made his mark in the world during his life—certainly more than most people. Yep … definitely way off the average, and at 78 years old already, apparently not going quietly into the night.

As has J.D. Vance. Again, like him or not, it’s hard not to be impressed by his story. In his childhood he had almost nothing going for him—raised in poverty and with myriad disadvantages, he nonetheless Read More