Opinion

Letter To The Editor: Here We Go Again

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By Concerned Citizen
Los Alamos
 
Another letter regarding the highly debated Sheriff in LA County. Many letters have quoted state statute. Many have quoted the Charter. Many have referred to the Supreme Court decision that validates the Charter. Let’s get down to the meat of the subject.
 
By election, the citizens of this County voted to retain the Office of the Sheriff, but it was a narrow margin (+/- 500). This town is as divided on the subject as the rest of the country is on other political fronts.
 
However nowhere in that election did it indicate that the duties of the Sheriff
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Letter To The Editor: Three Ideas, Two Concerns On Rec Projects

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By LISA BRENNER
Los Alamos

Dear County Councilors,

 

With the upcoming discussion tonight of the continued want for recreational projects in Los Alamos I have three suggestions:
 
1)  Any LANL contract could incorporate an item from the bidder toward community development. LANL is just as interested in attracting the best and the brightest and, if it’s true that adding recreational facilities will accomplish this, then it’s appropriate for them to have some skin in the game.  It is not a “punishment” as I’ve heard a Councilor say, but
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Letter To The Editor: No Means No

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By GRAHAM MARK
Los Alamos
 
Dear Council,
 
Please do not continue planning or funding county projects that were voted down in the last election. Incredibly, the “No” vote is being re-interpreted by believers in alternative facts to mean “OK.” Funding was one issue in that election, and financing seems the only issue being considered today, as if that’s all that matters. But there are other things in life than money—for example, representative democracy.
 
You, the council, should not get to override the voting population. The county as a whole spoke last fall. It is dishonest
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Letter To The Editor: Follow Up On Rec Projects Issue

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By ROBERT PELAK
Los Alamos
 
In recent letters to the Los Alamos Daily Post, Joyce Anderson, Stephanie Nakhleh and Megan Fox have each suggested that a subset of the recreation bond projects should be undertaken despite the rejection by the public of the bond needed to finance them. They each offer slightly different interpretations on the meaning of the “no” vote. Did it mean that people only wanted one or some but not all of the projects? Did they want none of the projects because of the increase in future maintenance costs? Did they just not want to finance the projects with a
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Letter To The Editor: Timing Of Proposal Divisive

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By ELLEN WALTON
Los Alamos

 

The recent defeated recreation bond issue and subsequent proposal by Councilors O’Leary and Chrobocinski to go ahead with some of the projects in that bond has become unnecessarily divisive. It is impossible for anyone to interpret exactly what that bond election said about the voters’ view on each project. The outcome of the vote on the ballot issue presented to us said that we reject a tax increase to fund a large group of recreation projects.

 

We also know that the bond issue for the proposed leisure pool or now alternatively named multi-generational Read More

Letter To The Editor: Responsible Local Government Listens To Their Voters

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By MEGAN FOX
Los Alamos

I’d like to weigh in from the “other side” on this Rec Bond topic.

To say the Rec Bond was “defeated” last year is a bit of a stretch. It was nearly a tie, 47 percent of those who voted were in favor of proceeding with all Rec Bond projects and the associated costs, and 53 percent of those who voted were opposed, for a variety of reasons. Many of those who opposed were in favor of improving or building some of the proposed Rec Bond projects, but were opposed to the huge bundle of all the projects together.

Some voters who voted against the Rec Bond were in favor of all the projects, but didn’t

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Letter To The Editor: Clearing Up Confusion On Rec Projects

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By STEPHANIE NAKHLEH
Los Alamos

Recent letters to the editor reveal some confusion about the results of the May 2017 Rec Bond election. To be clear, the Rec Bond question was whether to raise property taxes to proceed with five recreation projects. By a narrow vote, the town declined to support a property-tax increase. However, many citizens—those who voted for the bond and quite a few who voted against it—made it very clear that they want to see individual projects move forward.

Some of the most vocal critics of the Rec Bond pleaded with Council to find “a better way” to fund the projects, in fact—they Read More

Letter To The Editor: Before Voting Thursday … Read Ski Club President’s Memo

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By VALERIE WOOD, Vice President
Los Alamos Ski Club

Before voting on Thursday, Aug. 10, current members of Los Alamos Ski Club should take the time to read the memo sent to them by Ski Club President Susan Brockway-Hahn. This information has been compiled and analyzed extensively by multiple members of the LASC Boards of Directors over the last three years.

 
The current proposal by Pajarito Recreation Limited Partnership is being drafted into a contract that protects Pajarito Mountain as a multiple-use year-round recreational area that will remain open to the public. This path has the
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Spencer: Is ‘Bombs For Profits’ A Good Model For A Nuclear Weapons Lab?

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By KHALIL SPENCER
Los Alamos

“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists, and will persist.” –Dwight Eisenhower

The County Manager and Council Chair have both submitted comments to NNSA regarding the draft solicitation for the LANL M&O Request for Proposals. The letters sent to NNSA can be found in this Daily Post article. There is a lot there, but the parts that I find objectionable are the statements “The Read More

Letter To The Editor: Questions On Rec Project Funding

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By JOYCE ANDERSON
Los Alamos
 

In the past few days there has been a lot of uproar here in the Los Alamos Daily Post and on social media about the County Council’s efforts to move forward and fund some of the recreation projects that would have been funded had the Rec Bond passed in May.

 
Cries of ignoring the will of the people are hanging in the air this morning as people slug it out on social media, and members of the County Council are being excoriated for their efforts to make much needed improvements to the town. I’m as frustrated with this as the next person, so I’m asking
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