Opinion

Letter to the Editor: In Defense of a Lone Soldier

September 11, 2014 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

By VALERIE HARRIS

Denver, Colo.

In response to Khalil Spencer’s recent letter on idealism, I find his comparison of ISIS and the IDF to be offensive. To associate the militant terrorism of ISIS and the protective efforts of the Israeli Defense Force is not only ignorant, but abhorrent and this comparison should not be dignified.

The request by Los Alamos native, Jon Miller is for protective equipment—armored vests, not weapons, for him and other lone soldiers in the IDF like him (those with families that do not live in Israel). Donations to his GoFundMe request (https:////www.gofundme.com/e45s40

Letter to the Editor: On the ‘Full Functioning’ of the Los Alamos Board of Public Utilities

September 11, 2014 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

By FELICIA ORTH

Citizens to Preserve Sound Utilities

Thank you to the Los Alamos Republican Party for hosting a Forum on August 21 on the merits of Question 2 on the November ballot: Should Article V of the County Charter be repealed in its entirety and replaced to reconfigure the relationship between the Board of Public Utilities and the County Council?

Proponents of the new Charter provision stated that it is critical that the Board be “fully functional,” given its important role in County governance. Their focus was on Board members as individuals who might become impaired. On Read More

‘Turbul3nc3’ Thanks Los Alamos Community

September 10, 2014 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

By BRIAN JOHNSON

Aka Turbul3nc3

I wanted to take time to thank the community for the support they gave me during the recent DJ competition I entered. My fans, friends, family and the Los Alamos community came together to help me win the competition.

I won the privilege to represent New Mexico at the Sun City Music Festival in El Paso, Texas. On Aug. 30, I traveled to El Paso and opened the whole festival, playing on the same stage as some of the largest DJs in the country. The experience was life changing and I will carry the experience with me forever. Thank you to everyone who took the time to listen Read More

Letter to the Editor: Who should be believed?–Utilities, Chandler vs. Gibson et al

September 10, 2014 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

By KEI DAVIS

Los Alamos resident of 20 years

Title: Who should be believed?–Utilities, Chandler vs. Gibson et al.

Who should you believe, Chandler, a long-time veteran of such affairs, or the current county council?

Why would county council so desperately want this new control? After all, they have an excellent record of (cough!) not spending many millions of dollars here and there on woefully unnecessary boondoggles, trying to cram a roundabout on every intersection on Trinity, and otherwise jacking up our property taxes on a regular basis (but only temporarily,

Letter to the Editor: Guided By Something Jefferson Wrote With Regard To Amendments

September 10, 2014 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

By RICHARD HANNEMANN

Los Alamos

I have yet to see a solid reason presented as to the need for the currently proposed Charter amendment.

I didn’t see any good reason for any of the previous amendments either. But perhaps this is because in all matters of this nature I am guided by something Jefferson wrote, “It is the natural propensity for the functionaries of every government to gather unto themselves the rights and property of their constituents.”

Seems to me that charter amendments can be one means toward that end.

Yang: Sometimes It Seems Easier To Donate ($ or goods) Than To Be Gracious

September 9, 2014 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

Sometimes It Seems Easier To Donate ($ or goods) Than To Be Gracious

By ELENA YANG

Los Alamos

When I first ran across this article, “The Lesson of Grace in Teaching, I was moved by the story behind the title, but didn’t think it had direct bearing on business or management.

Then, I remembered my own principle: Everything is connected in system perspective. Indeed, “grace” is useful in teaching, and there are many principles in the teaching profession from which management can learn.

After Francis Edward Su’s award speech for teaching mathematics, he received so many requests for Read More

Letter to the Editor: Caveat Civis LosAlamosum

September 9, 2014 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

By GEORGE CHANDLER
Los Alamos

Regarding the letter from Gibson et al:

Q.E.D.!!

Take note of the cognitive dissonance that runs through all the arguments against the charter changes. In a rhetorical sleight of hand, Gibson et al appear to deny my point that they are firmly and wrongly convinced that the council inappropriately intends to seize the utilities revenues.

In the next paragraph they promise to produce proof that councils everywhere lust after and if given the opportunity will seize the utilities revenues. And only the unaccountable and unelected Utilities Board and the ambiguities Read More

Letter to the Editor: Schools Please Take Precautions to Avoid Spread of Enterovirus 68

September 9, 2014 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

By Liviu Popa-Simil, PhD.

A concerned parent

In a talk with my sons with respect to the Human Enterovirus 68 (a respiratory virus infecting and hospitalizing children across 10 states including nearby Colorado), about staying away from crowded places, I have identified some very sensitive points in schools where kids are forced to crawl like “chickens in a non-ecological chicken farm” (animal protection groups call that animal cruelty).

These are the locker spaces where all students come at once during almost every break, crawling one over another, spreading spit and vapors

Letter to the Editor: Heat, But No Light, in Chandler’s Letter

September 9, 2014 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

By Robert Gibson, Ken Milder, Lawry Mann, John Arrowsmith, Chris Ortega and Felicia Orth

Citizens to Preserve Sound Utilities

The letter from George Chandler of Sept. 6 has prompted requests for further information regarding Charter Question 2 on the November ballot to the group of us organized in opposition. We have prepared several letters to share for informational purposes, and will participate in the Forum on this issue Oct. 7.

For now, we will note that there are a number of erroneous statements in the letter, and that each of the errors will be addressed in upcoming letters.

One Read More

Letter to the Editor: Response to Milder Letter on Utilities Article V Charter Vote in November

September 8, 2014 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

By ED BIRNBAUM

Los Alamos

Ken Milder’s letter encouraging voters to vote down Question 2 on the November ballot has some incorrect and/or misleading statements regarding the revisions proposed to Article V of the Los Alamos County Charter that address the operation and oversight of the Department of Public Utilities (DPU).

Although it is true that the language in Question 2 appears to be completely new, the text of roughly half of Article V is actually not new, but rather just rearranged for clarity and to separate fundamental issues so that they are not co-mingled, as they are in the current Article Read More