OP/ED

Hunt: Senate Bill 17 A Win-Win For All New Mexicans

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By JESSIE HUNT
Rio Strategies

Kudos to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham for signing SB-17, a bill sponsored by Sen. Liz Stefanics and me during the 2024 30-day session. Kudos also to my colleagues in the House and Senate for overwhelmingly passing this bill.

All of us realized that New Mexicans across the state – rural and urban –  experience one universal truth when it comes to healthcare access: It is hard to find a provider.

Since the start of COVID-19 epidemic, hospitals have had to transform operations to meet increasing demands of an aging population. Baby boomers are in their critical healthcare Read More

DeVolder: America For Sale – Cheap Part VII Lack Of Precision

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By MARK DEVOLDER
Los Alamos

What I find troubling in America today is that we as a people put too much emphasis on tearing everything to pieces – consumer goods, machines, other people, the environment – you name it. Tearing things to pieces is often meant to save time, save money (make money), or demonstrate some kind of power over something/someone. Tearing things to pieces is a sign of destruction/demolition and is opposite to building, fabrication or constructive behavior. Building or making something often requires planning and implementation in a “precise” manner. Almost Read More

Dixson: Thank You, Governor Lujan Grisham For Your Leadership On Clean Fuels

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By BRIDGET DIXSON, IOM
President and CEO
Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce

Earlier this month, Governor Lujan Grisham took a bold step toward creating a cleaner energy future for New Mexico by signing House Bill 41, Clean Transportation Fuel Standards, into law. This innovative legislation is essential to reducing our state’s transportation emissions and reinforces New Mexico as a leader in the energy transition.

Thanks to Governor Lujan Grisham’s support, New Mexico is now the fourth state in the nation to enact these fuel standards that promise to create both an environmentally and economically Read More

DeVolder: Dead Trees On Bathtub Row

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By MARK DEVOLDER
Los Alamos

Recently, I had an opportunity to look over the $5.5 million dollar “trail” running northward from Central. The wide concrete trail winds through some old-growth pine trees east of Bathtub Row. Given the size of the trees, I figure that they pre-date the Manhattan Project.

I began to wonder how the root system for the trees is going to collect water underneath the concrete trail.

In previous trips up to the Jemez Mountains, I have noticed pine trees along the road which were blown over by the wind. The exposed root ball on the trees is approximately 5 to 7 feet in diameter. Read More

DeVolder: LAPD Needs To Start Impounding Vehicles

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By MARK DEVOLDER
Los Alamos

Driving in Los Alamos in the last couple of days has been miserable – drivers tailgating half car length behind my vehicle as well as behind other vehicles, drivers can’t stay in their own lane, small cars weave in and out of traffic, drivers speed, etc. Hurry, hurry, hurry. Every day in Los Alamos is getting to be worse than driving on a Chicago freeway on a Friday night. Vehicles there routinely weave across five traffic lanes. Enough is enough. Safety is out the window.

It is apparent to me that automobiles in Los Alamos County are the real weapons of mass destruction and Read More

DeVolder: Oxygen

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By MARK DEVOLDER
Los Alamos

Probably to the relief of climate change deniers, I am not particularly worried about carbon emissions. 

Instead, I have greater concerns about oxygen levels in the atmosphere. The typical oxygen level in the atmosphere is approximately 21 percent. The minimum level required to sustain human life is 19.5 percent. In the last century, oxygen levels have decreased by approximately 0.1 percent. This would lead one to believe that there is no problem.

I began to think about combustion processes (that is, combustion of coal, oil, natural gas, wood, paper, plastic, garbage, Read More

Op/Ed: Ending 4-Day School Week An Attack Against Democracy

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By REBECCA DOW
Project Manager
Opportunity for All Kids

In 2023, the Legislature passed HB 130, a bipartisan bill signed by Gov. Lujan Grisham to extend classroom time for New Mexico students. The idea of enforcing 5-day school weeks was considered during discussions yet rejected.

During this year’s budget debates (HB 2), an amendment prohibiting the Government from allocating funds to mandate 5-day school weeks was introduced and approved on a bipartisan basis in the House, then the Senate.

Despite these efforts, Gov. Lujan Grisham quickly acted to disregard the Legislature and enforce Read More

Op/Ed: State Parks Fees Study

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Selena Connealy, Chair
NM State Parks Advisory Board
Albuquerque

More than five million people visit New Mexico’s State Parks in an average year, a testament to the integral role that parks play in the state’s outdoor recreation economy and their essential contribution to our quality of life. Our 35 State Parks give New Mexicans—and out-of-state visitors—a matchless opportunity to experience the beauty, adventure, and unique character of New Mexico’s landscapes.

For the State Parks system to continue providing the best experience for New Mexicans and visitors alike, we must invest in Read More

DeVolder: America For Sale – Cheap / Part V

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By MARK DEVOLDER
Los Alamos

Note: I had a very difficult time writing Part V because something was eluding me.

Recently, I began to consider how people use their time. I concluded that most people spend the majority of their time on work, family, sleep and entertainment. I can understand the need for the first three activities; however, the last category puzzled me.

Americans spend quite a bit of time on entertainment. We have machines/utilities that make life easier and permit us to complete chores quickly – automobiles, appliances, calculators, I-phones, electric lighting and computer-based Read More

Op/Ed: Shared Grief

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By DAVID CREMER
Los Alamos

My wonderful wife is a hospice nurse who has had the profound privilege of taking care of and comforting hundreds of patients as their journey on this earth came to an end. She often heard very poignant stories from her patients during their last days. She heard one of those stories from a retired Los Alamos police officer she was taking care of. It was a story that brought heartfelt tears to both her and the old officer as they talked.

Her relationship with her new patient began in the normal way. She came into his home, introduced herself, and started assessing the health Read More