Columns

Op-Ed: Volunteer Firefighters Should Be Included Under New Mexico’s Cancer Presumption Legislation

by

By JONATHAN SHARP
Chief Financial Officer
Environmental Litigation Group, P.C.,

Firefighting remains one of the most hazardous professions. In addition to visible threats such as collapsing structures, poisonous smoke, and thermal injuries, these first responders face prolonged exposure to toxic substances, including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

Often dubbed “forever chemicals” – these synthetic compounds were once praised for their exceptional strength and chemical stability, making them integral to various firefighting products, such as turnout gear and Read More

Robinson: The great land rush of 2025

by

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

We now know which public lands in New Mexico that Congressional Republicans might sell, and it’s quite a list — 61 properties in 20 counties. Authors of the budget reconciliation bill have been secretive, but Sen. Martin Heinrich recently extracted some specifics.

Heinrich, a Democrat who is the ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, released the list on June 18, saying the bill mandates the unprecedented sale of two to three million acres.

We’ve been having this public lands debate for years. Read More

Posts From The Road: Big Sur Coast Of California

by

Big Sur Coastline: Shown is a typical view of the Big Sur coastline from one of many viewpoints along Highway 1. The rugged San Lucia Mountains drop from high peaks to the rocky shores along this section of the California coast. This view is located south of the village of Big Sur, Calif. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com

Coastal Landscape: A view of the coastline, Highway 1, and the iconic Bixby Bridge is seen from a viewpoint about a dozen miles south of Carmel, Calif., and a short distance from the bridge. The late afternoon sunlight gives the scene a warm glow as the sun begins to set. Photo by Read More

Fr. Glenn: Poured Out For You

by

By Fr. Glenn Jones:

This last Saturday—annually on June 21—the Catholic Church celebrates the memorial of St. Aloysius (pronounced “al-oh-IH-shus”) Gonzaga, a remarkable young Italian aristocrat of the latter 1500s who surrendered his lineage and inheritance to join the Jesuit religious order for the service of God and his fellow Man. Aloysius died at the young age of 23 after contracting the plague while serving plague victims. Even though he knew death was imminent, he refused to rest until he could physically work no more, and nearing his end wrote to his mother: “In return for my short and Read More

McQuiston: Does Insurance Cover Your Home If Evacuated?

by

By ALLEN MCQUISTON
Jemez Insurance Agency
Serving Los Alamos Since 1963

          • What every New Mexico homeowner should know before the next alert

If you’ve lived in New Mexico for a while, especially in areas like Los Alamos, the foothills, or near forested canyons, you know that wildfire season is no joke.

And while we hope we’ll never have to evacuate, those emergency alerts can come fast. You grab your family, your pets, maybe a few important papers — and go.

But once you’ve left your home behind, the question starts creeping in:

“Am I covered if something happens while I’m gone? What if we never get to go

Read More

Catch Of The Week: Facebook Grocery Scams

by

By REBECCA RUTHERFORD
Los Alamos

Watch out for the Facebook grocery giveaway scams- making the rounds once again online. What are these scams? Basically, they post in a Facebook group, offering free groceries like the ones below.

In the recent examples I’ve seen in local Facebook groups that advertised grocery distribution events — but with no listed location, organizer, or contact information- clearly a red flag. No contact info or location info should ring some mental alarm bells; this seems sketchy right away.

What’s the point of these scams? Most of the time it seems just to funnel the user Read More

Pages Of Our History: Fuller Lodge’s Older Cousin

by

Owners Linda and Doug Van Berkum in 2022 in a side room of the Rainbow Trout Ranch – Fuller Lodge’s older cousin. Photo by G. Strickfaden

Georgia Strickfaden standing on the south porch of Rainbow Trout Ranch. Courtesy photo

By GERRY STRICKFADEN
Los Alamos

In their essential book about Los Alamos Ranch School buildings, Of Logs and Stone, authors Heather McClenahan and Craig Martin described the selection of a contractor to build the Edward P. Fuller Lodge. As planning and log harvesting proceeded in 1927, Ranch School Director A.J. Connell and architect John Gaw Meem got a letter from George Read More