Opinion

Letter to the Editor: Public Vote On Charter Amendment 2 Should Focus On Who Bears Ultimate Responsibility, Accountability

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By HARRY ETTINGER
Former member of the Utilities Board.
Member CRC-1
 
Since the Oct. 14 letter to the Los Alamos Daily Post and Monitor from Morris Pongratz mentioned my name, I feel it is appropriate to comment.

First I have already voted YES, and encourage others to vote YES.

I believe that the proposed Charter Amendment is far from perfect. I would have worded some parts differently. But it is an improvement over the existing Charter. It places ultimate responsibility and accountability, in the event of a dispute between the Council and the Utilities Board, in the hands of the Council,

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Letter to the Editor: ‘Leave it to George’

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By R. WAYNE HARDIE
Los Alamos
 
Wow — congratulations to George Chandler for somehow connecting 9/11, the BP oil spill, the W-88 “theft,” and damage from Katrina to why we should vote “yes” on Charter Amendment 2! He forgot the Ebola outbreak in Africa, but maybe he is saving that for a later letter.
 
Let me just respond to the 9/11 claim. If you think the billions and billions of dollars spent on an ill-conceived Department of Homeland Security because of 9/11 is a good use of our tax dollars, then maybe you agree with George that it is OK for utility
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Letter to the Editor: Charter Amendment 2 Puts In Failsafes And Backstops Not In Place Now

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By KRISTIN HENDERSON, Vice Chair
Los Alamos County Council

I am voting FOR Amendment 2 on the upcoming ballot about our Utilities Board. 

Contrary to the opponent’s dire depictions, it does not give unchecked power to Council, or radically change the government structure established in the 1960s. It does, however, put in some failsafes and backstops that I think most of us would actually assume are in place now.

Our local government has two parts. One is the Department of Public Utilities, which provides water, sewer, gas and electric. It is managed by a Utility Manager, policy decisions Read More

Letter to the Editor: Sheriff Marco Lucero Superbly Qualified

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By PETE SHEEHEY
Los Alamos Councilor

I support re-election of Sheriff Marco Lucero because he’s superbly qualified for the job, and he’s a committed and active member of our community. 

Being retired from his full-time job, he has the time and energy to be our sheriff without distraction. Although the county charter specifies a limited number of duties for our sheriff, state law requires him to investigate all lawbreaking, which comes to his attention. With the experience and respect he has earned in 26 years of law enforcement, he knows how to do this in a legal, safe, and effective Read More

Letter to the Editor: Disgusted With Intermittent Comcast Internet Service In White Rock

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By GEORGE KYRALA and TRISH MYLET
White Rock

We are disgusted with the poor intermittent Comcast Internet service in White Rock.

For the last three months we have had intermittent Internet service from Comcast in White Rock. With the local office closed, and the one in Santa Fe non responsive and unreachable by phone, we had to contact their service numbers at least a few times a month.

The operators on the phone are nice, keep repeating verbatim the same lines, do not connect us to higher ups, keep saying they can only send line-people, refuse to give us a technical support beyond the first levels, Read More

Letter to the Editor: Utilities Charter Change Is Not In Our Interest

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By CHRIS ORTEGA
Retired Los Alamos County Utilities Manager

As a retired Los Alamos County Utilities Manager, 10-year member of the Board of Public Utilities (Board), and a utilities customer, I urge voters to vote Against Ballot Question #2 – Utilities. I am  concerned about the potential negative effects the proposed re-write of Article V of the Los Alamos County Charter will have on Utilities customers. 

Unless a voter digs deeply into the background he/she may not realize that Article V, which was ratified in 1968 and has effectively guided Utilities operations since, will Read More

Letter to the Editor: Pass Or Fail, Charter Amendment 2 Is No Guarantee Against Folly

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By KHALIL SPENCER
Los Alamos

Along with all the meaningless B.S. I’ve been getting in the mail from various special interest political groups, there is a constant influx of mostly thoughtful letters to the Los Alamos Daily Post about the Charter Amendments, particularly Amendment 2, regarding the relationship between the Board of Public Utilities and County Council.

I’ve not got the strong feelings others have about it although on balance, I remain skeptical, especially in light of Council trying to run around and brand our backsides with e^x. But either way, good governance Read More

Letter to the Editor: If It Ain’t Broke, Fix It ‘Til It Is

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By GILBERT MIRANDA
Los Alamos

The advocates of Charter Amendment 2 are now claiming that it is preventive maintenance for the Utilities Department. This type of maintenance is based on the principle:

“If it ain’t broke, fix it ’til it is.”

Don’t let them politicize our utilities. Vote NO on Charter Amendment 2. Read More

Letter to the Editor: More Than/Before Anything, Let’s Handle Dog Barking Issues As Community Members

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By Concerned Citizen
Los Alamos

In response to the original letter titled, Please Address Failure to Control or Enforce Nuisance Dog Barking, I too would like to comment on the issue with barking dogs in Los Alamos.

For many months now I have been trying to relieve barking dog issues in my neighborhood. To all who may read this, I understand, dogs bark. That is what they do. They have been historically bred to do so, and to reference one letter, titled “City Dogs, Country Dogs”, it is part of their sentinel network to protect their area. However, this issue is not the protection of a domain, it is being Read More

Letter to the Editor: Charter Article V Is Broken … It’s Time To Fix It … Vote YES On Charter Amendment #2

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By MIKE WHEELER
Los Alamos
 
Let’s see if I’ve got this right:
  • We don’t trust the County Council that we elected; we do trust the Utility Board appointed by the council. 
  • We can recall elected officials but not the utility board. The Council can appoint but not remove Utility Board members.
  • Council meetings are televised. Utility Board meetings are not. 
Everyone has a boss. Private utility companies are held accountable by state regulatory agencies and boards of directors. Our public utility needs to be accountable to the council. The fundamental issue that charter amendment
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