Features

Op-Ed: Zero Childcare Copays … A Lifeline For NM Parents

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By PATRICIA BUSTILLOS 
OLÉ

I became a mom when I was 15 years old, which is the same age when I first began to struggle to access childcare. I was born in Chihuahua, México and later immigrated to the United States.

Being a young mother is a huge challenge, and being undocumented and having language barriers made it even more difficult for me, especially when it came to accessing childcare. I didn’t understand what was available to me and my children because I didn’t understand what my rights were. I raised five kids on my single income, and there were times where finding childcare for my children felt Read More

LAPS Foundation: 2023 Kristin Kosiewicz Substance Abuse Awareness Scholarship Recipients Norah Gartz, Logan Perez

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Los Alamos High School graduating seniors Norah Gartz and Logan Perez are recipients of a 2023 Kristin Kosiewicz Substance Abuse Awareness Scholarship. Courtesy/LAPS Foundation

LAPS FOUNDATION News:

LAPS Foundation announces Norah Gartz and Logan Perez as the Los Alamos High School graduating seniors selected for the 2023 Kristin Kosiewicz Substance Abuse Awareness Scholarship this year.

This is the second year for the scholarship, which is awarded in memory of Kristin Kosiewicz, a 1993 graduate of Los Alamos High School who passed away Sept. 26, 2021.

The scholarship’s purpose is to Read More

MANNM Is Now Accepting New Patients

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Jason Hayes, CFNP

MANNM News:

Medical Associates of Northern New Mexico (MANNM) announces Family Nurse Practitioner Jason Hayes, CFNP, has joined their medical team.

Hayes earned his Master’s degree in Nursing from Hawaii Pacific University. He has been a Family Nurse Practitioner for 9 years and is now accepting new patients at MANNM. MANNM is at 3917 West Road # A at the Los Alamos Medical Center.

 

Susan Skelton, CFNP

Susan Skelton, CFNP, has been a Family Nurse Practitioner provider in MANNM’s Walk-In Clinic since 2018. She is now accepting primary care patients.

MANNM also announced Read More

Sen. Heinrich Cosponsors ‘Convenient Contraception Act’

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U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Friday, U.S. Sen. Heinrich (D-N.M.) joined U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and more than a dozen of his Senate colleagues, along with U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.), to introduce the Convenient Contraception Act, legislation that would improve access to contraceptive products, including over-the-counter contraceptives. 

The bill provides individuals covered by private health insurance with the option to receive up to a full year of contraception at the time their prescription is issued instead of the current three-month supply or less that Read More

Heinrich, Markey, Capito Applaud Centers For Medicare & Medicaid Services For Heeding Call To Expand PET Scan Coverage For Alzheimer’s Patients

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U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.) applauded the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Wednesday(CMS) for heeding their call to provide more comprehensive coverage for amyloid PET scans, a critical tool in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

If finalized, this week’s announcement by CMS would mark an important step toward ensuring patients with Medicare coverage can access the best medical services available in the course of their treatment without Read More

Los Alamos First Responders Rescue Female Juvenile From Fall Off Cliff At Overlook Point In White Rock

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Los Alamos first responders on the scene of a rescue early Monday evening of a female juvenile from a fall off a cliff ledge at Overlook Point in White Rock. First responders extracted the juvenile after several hours in a treacherous location and Classic Air Medical transported her to Albuquerque for treatment. Courtesy/LAPD

LAPD News:

Los Alamos Police Department (LAPD), Los Alamos Fire Department and Classic Air Medical staff responded at approximately 6:33 p.m. Monday, July 17, to Overlook Park in White Rock in reference to a female juvenile falling from a cliff ledge at Overlook Point. Read More

Senators Ben Ray Luján, Susan Collins Reintroduce Legislation to Protect Native American Children

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U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) reintroduced the Native American Child Protection Act (NACPA), bipartisan legislation that authorizes three programs that ensure Tribes have the tools needed to treat, prevent, investigate and prosecute Native American child abuse and neglect.

These programs were originally authorized in 1990 as part of the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act to fill funding gaps in Tribal child welfare services, but the programs were never truly funded and have not been reauthorized Read More

Skolnik: Open Letter To LAPS School Board On Its July 11, 2023 Meeting

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RICHARD SKOLNIK
White Rock

During the last school year, the LAPS faced an exceptionally high rate of absenteeism, at least an important part of which appears to have been due to health issues, such as COVID, RSV, and a range of other viruses.

In addition, COVID is not over, much of the US population has waning immunity to COVID, and the latest studies make clear that children are major spreaders of COVID and can suffer both short-run and long-run consequences from it.

Moreover, Los Alamos seems to be in the grip of a fentanyl epidemic, which has led to the tragic deaths of a number of young people.

In Read More

LAHS Student Emily McLaughlin Completes Girl Scout Gold Award Project … ‘Being Human: A Down Syndrome Story’

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Cover of ‘Being Human: A Down Syndrome Story’, written & illustrated by Emily McLaughlin. Courtesy photo

COMMUNITY News:

Emily McLaughlin, an incoming senior at Los Alamos High School, has just completed her Girl Scout Gold Award Project, which includes the writing, illustrating and publishing of her children’s book “Being Human: A Down Syndrome Story”.

The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest award a Girl Scout can achieve with only 5.4 percent of eligible Girl Scouts fully achieving their award. To be eligible for the Gold Award, scouts must be of the senior or ambassador level (11th-12th Read More

Dannemann: It’s Our Meat And Our Safety

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By MERILEE DANNEMANN
Triple Spaced Again
© 2023 New Mexico News Services

Is it better to have meat inspections conducted by a state agency or a federal agency? What do you think?

Some New Mexicans who understand the economics of cattle growing and meat processing want to reinstate the state program. Legislation has been introduced a few times, most recently in this year’s legislative session. The previous program was terminated in 2007 after negative reports by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Federal law requires that meat sold to the public must be inspected by a government inspector to Read More