Columns

Catch Of The Week: CDK Global Ransomware Attack

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By REBECCA RUTHERFORD
For the Los Alamos Daily Post

Trying to buy a car from a dealership or get repair work done at a dealership? If you tried within the past two weeks, you might have been told they were unable to provide services … CDK Global, a provider of integrated information technology and digital marketing to the automotive, heavy truck, recreation, and heavy equipment industries, was hit by a massive ransomware attack in June.

What is CDK Global? They are a major provider of “computer-driven” dealership management systems, basically the auto dealership version of the EHR (electronic Read More

Theophan: The Art Of Raku

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View of raku firing. Photo by Father Theophan

View of finished plate. Photo by Father Theophan

By Father Theophan
Saint Job of Pochaiv Orthodox Church
Los Alamos

A few weeks ago, for a friend’s birthday, we hosted a raku party and cook-out. It was pouring rain which dampened the cook-out a bit, but also mitigated the effects of the heat during the raku firings.

“Raku” is a variation of a Japanese ceramic firing technique that consists of preheating ceramic pots, firing them quickly to glaze maturity, and then removing them from the kiln and placing them in a post-fire reduction vessel. Now, granted, Read More

Amateur Naturalist: Small And Large Geologic Bands

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By ROBERT DRYJA
Los Alamos

Summer provides a good time for exploring and observing many aspects of the natural world around us. There are variations between the large and the small in geology. The canyons in the Pajarito Plateau provide parallel patterns on a large scale.

Picture 1 below is of Pueblo Canyon. It is about 3.5 miles from it upper to lower end of Los Alamos mesa. It is nearly a half mile wide at this lower end and 400 feet deep from mesa top to canyon bottom.

There are parallel layers that form the wall of Pueblo Canyon. These layers are called members. These are named the Tshirege member, the Read More

Blair: The Strength Of Our Center

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By DONALD BLAIR
Political Commentator

The 4th of July has an All-American reputation as a communal day of cookouts, parades and fireworks. We view the holiday with a touch of nostalgia for a time when we could all celebrate together with a sense of national unity and shared pride in our country. But its origins may have more in common with our modern fractured time than we think.

The Declaration of Independence was actually controversial within Colonial America. John Adams himself reckoned that only one-third of the population supported independence. Historian Thomas Slaughter from the University Read More

Liddie’s Traditional New Mexican Dishes: Green Chile Scalloped Potatoes

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Green chile scalloped potatoes. Photo by Liddie Martinez

By LIDDIE MARTINEZ
Española Valley

I have been making scalloped potatoes for many years, a dish I learned to make with my mother, but I did not think about adding green chile to the dish until years ago when I found myself with freshly roasted green chile left over from a batch prepped for chile rellenos.

I chopped the chile and thought I would add it as a topping to the baked potato bar as we were grilling steaks the following day.

Instead, I opted to make scalloped potatoes because I could make them ahead to serve later and that was when the recipe Read More

Weekly Fishing Report: July 3, 2024  

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By GEORGE MORSE
Sports and Outdoors
Los Alamos Daily Post 

There has been extensive flooding in the Las Vegas area, especially along the Gallinas River. It is best to avoid this area as crews clean up after the floods. 

Recent rainfall has changed conditions on several rivers. The Pecos River and the Jemez River are running much higher than last week. Streamflows are above normal for this time of year. 

Lakes and reservoirs are starting to warm up. Early mornings and evenings will soon be the best times to be out on the water. 

The format has changed a bit, and the focus will be on waters close to Los Alamos Read More

Los Alamos County Health: Reaching Out To The Community

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By LORI PADILLA
Chair
Los Alamos County Health Council

Health Connection:

Back in April, Los Alamos Daily Post reporter Kirsten Laskey wrote a very detailed piece  on the presentation Social Services Manager Jessica Strong gave on preliminary results and short-term recommendations identified in the interim Los Alamos County Comprehensive Health Plan. (https://ladptest2.ortizaudio.net/los-alamos-county-comprehensive-health-plan-update-identifies-challenges-and-offers-short-term-solutions/).

The actual presentation can be found at the following link under the Read More

Wernicke: Parks & Recreation Board Update For June 2024

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The bottom of Ranch School Trail after an early June rainstorm. Courtesy photo

By James Wernicke
Chair
Los Alamos Parks and Recreation Board

Here are the June Parks and Recreation Board (PRB) meeting highlights:

Public Comment on Aquatic Center Maintenance

We first heard public concerns that conducting aquatic center maintenance from September to April could negatively impact swim teams and other users. While contractor availability will play a role in scheduling, the PRB is committed to working with the Community Services Department (CSD) to minimize disruptions. Public comments Read More

Life After 50: Basal Cell Carcinoma

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Courtesy photo

By BERNADETTE LAURITZEN
Los Alamos

I read the words, before I heard them. I know what the last word means, yet I googled it the second I read it. I do wait for the time when someone might say, “it’s just skin cancer,” unsure if my response would be surly.

I do believe that if you learn a lesson, you should share it to save someone from learning it the hard way.

I’m not sure we ever bought sunscreen as a child … it would have been a rare luxury. If we did it was the white kind you put on your nose and it never rubbed into the skin, like diaper cream. Oh, did I mention that until I moved to New Mexico 30 years Read More

Powell: Let’s Honor Our Ranch School History

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By IRENE POWELL
Concerned Citizens for the Segler Painting
Los Alamos

Several concerned community members attended the Art in Public Places Advisory Board (APPAB) meeting Thursday night to support the County’s acquisition of The Boys of the Pajarito Plateau, a painting by renowned artist Jeff Segler depicting three young men on horseback during the Los Alamos Ranch School (LARSO) era.

Mr. Segler, formerly of Los Alamos, was also in attendance. Six of us spoke during public comment urging the APPAB to vote to advise the County Council to purchase the painting.

After a great deal of discussion, Read More