Columns

Gessing: Shutdown Highlights New Mexico Dependence

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By PAUL J. GESSING
President
Rio Grande Foundation

Among other things, the recent federal shutdown highlighted just how dependent New Mexico is on the federal government. According to the website Virtual Capitalist New Mexico is the most dependent state in the nation on federal dollars.

There are some good reasons for this. Our state has three major Air Force bases plus White Sands testing range. We also have two major national nuclear labs, Los Alamos and Sandia.

Forty one percent of our state is managed by the federal government and a significant portion of that includes tribal lands.

But, Read More

Blackwell On Grief: Cultivating Presence And Honoring Loss During The Holidays

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Leah Blackwell, Visiting Nurses Chaplain. Courtesy photo

By LEAH BLACKWELL
Member
Los Alamos County Health Council

Grief is one of the most profound and universal human experiences. Though it is something most associated with the death of a loved one, grief can also come from the loss of anything that was deeply cherished, like the end of a relationship, the loss of a job, or changes in health or mobility. Though intensely painful, grief is not an illness or a weakness.

Rather, it is a natural, necessary process of healing and adjustment. At its core, it’s how the heart and mind respond to the absence Read More

Amateur Naturalist: The Ranch School Trail

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Picture 1: There are three sections to the Ranch School trail. The bottom section (1) is built into a canyon wall.  The middle section (2) crosses relatively level land with dispersed woodlands.  The upper section (3) passes through forested land next to the Acid Canyon creek. It merges with Pueblo Canyon. Photo by Robert Dryja

By Robert Dryja
Los Alamos 

The PEEC Nature Center has two hiking trails adjacent to it. The Acid Canyon trail forms a loop into the upper stream section of Acid Canyon. The Ranch School trail forms a single path into the downstream section. Both trails have a common starting Read More

Shin: Los Alamos County MRA Review Committee Subject To New Mexico Open Meetings Act

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By LISA SHIN
Los Alamos Family Eyecare

Last July 2024, I submitted an editorial, “Los Alamos Metropolitan Redevelopment Area Commission Necessary for an Open and Transparent Government.” In compliance with the New Mexico Redevelopment Code, this Commission would not include County Councilors or County employees, but rather key members from the community with experience in commercial property development, affordable housing, finances/banking and environmental sustainability. The MRA Commission would make recommendations to our County Council and would reflect a diverse and broad Read More

Travel: Discover ‘Gibraltar Of The Pacific’ When You Visit Morro Bay In California

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Morro Rock in Morro Bay State Park in California. Photo by Debbie Stone

By DEBBIE STONE
Santa Fe
For the Los Alamos Daily Post

It’s big, bold and beautiful. And it’s hard to miss. It’s Morro Rock, also known as the “Gibraltar of the Pacific” for its distinctive crown-shape. Standing over 580 feet tall, this formation is ginormous, the size of an island, and it’s a top attraction on the central California coast in Morro Bay.

This State Historic Landmark, which is situated within Morro Bay State Park, has a lengthy geological history, as it was formed about 23 million years ago. It’s a remnant of a once-live Read More

Heinrich: Thank You For Your Courage

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By U.S. SEN. MARTIN HEINRICH:

In New Mexico, the tradition of serving our nation runs deep. Time and again, New Mexican service members and military veterans have put our country first. They have served at home and abroad, and they have fought for what it means to be American.

We owe our service members and their families more than lip service. They put their lives on the line to fight for America’s promise of freedom. Just like they fought for us, we must honor and fight for them here at home.

Honoring that service means rehiring fired workers at the Department of Veterans Affairs. It means telling Read More

Catch Of The Week: When The Watchers Get Watched – Cybersecurity Firm F5 Confirms Nation-State Breach

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By REBECCA RUTHERFORD
Los Alamos
For the Los Alamos Daily Post

When a cybersecurity company gets hacked, it feels a bit like hearing your locksmith’s house was broken into. This week, F5—one of the world’s largest providers of network security and load balancing technology—confirmed that it had been breached by a nation-state actor, according to federal officials. Yikes!

The firm reported that while some internal systems and source code were accessed, its operations and customer-facing products remain unaffected.

Still, both U.S. and U.K. cybersecurity agencies issued urgent alerts Read More

Weekly Fishing Report: Nov. 9, 2025 

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By GEORGE MORSE
Sports and Outdoors
Los Alamos Daily Post 

The State Game and Fish Department stocked Nov. 5 a total of 7,160 Gila trout in the East Fork, Middle Fork and West Fork of the Gila River. The fish averaged four inches in size.

Gila trout are raised at the Federal Fish Hatchery in Mora. They are one of two species of trout native to New Mexico. The other is the Rio Grande cutthroat trout. Gila trout inhabit the Gila River drainage in Southwestern New  Mexico.

At one time, Gila trout were considered an endangered species due to habitat loss and interbreeding with rainbow trout. Limited angling Read More

Duplicate Bridge In Los Alamos: Oct. 29, 2025

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BRIDGE News:

Jenny Sprinkle played for the first time in one of our games on Nov. 3. Julie Goltz played for the first time here on November 5. John Courtright played for the the first time in a long while, also on November 5. Steve Kemic and Jennifer Young were 1st overall in the Monday game.

In flight B both days, the winners were Alan Wadlinger and Randy Baker. In the open game on Wednesday, there was a 3-way tie with Helen Butler-Joyce Goltz, Martin Cooper-Sam Borkowsky, and Jerry Morzinski-Beth Schaefer.

This was an amazing game in that 5 slam hands were possible! 

This is one of them, Board 14.  South Read More

Robinson: Pearce Can Bring His Best Self To BLM Post

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By SHERRY ROBINSON
All She Wrote
© 2025 New Mexico News Services

During the Vietnam War former congressman Steve Pearce flew C-130 transport planes when the enemy was trying hard to shoot them down. As the president’s newly appointed director of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Pearce may feel like he’s still in the cockpit.

He’s got a great deal of relevant experience for the job – “at least he’s not a Fox News host,” grouses one BLM retiree I know – but the environmental community is already warming its legal engines. The BLM oversees about half of all federal land in New Mexico and some 245 million Read More