Opinion

Letter to the Editor: Where the Word ‘Bride’ Came From

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By RHETA MOAZZAMI
Los Alamos

Congratulations to Sharon Stovall for deciding, albeit belatedly, to uphold the court order, i.e. the law, regarding the granting of marriage licenses to same sex couples.

 
Her problem seemed to be with the words “bride” and “groom” referring to gender on the form. I looked on Wikipedia for the origin of the word “bride.” Here’s what it said: “The word may come from the Proto-Germanic verb root *brū-, meaning ‘to cook, brew, or make a broth,’ which was the role of the daughter-in-law in primitive
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Letter to the Editor: The Next Big Idea Might Tackle Ignorance

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By JUDITH STAUBER and DANIEL COOPER
Los Alamos

It should be brought to the attention of the entire Los Alamos community that the 2013 Next Big Idea is scheduled on Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement and most important day of the Jewish calendar.

We understand that the event organizers have been aware of this conflict since January but decided to maintain the regularly scheduled plan for the 2nd Saturday in September. That decision is something that many members of the Jewish community in Los Alamos take to heart.

We realize not all people are aware of when Jewish holidays take place and since Read More

Letter to the Editor: Danger on the Main Hill Road

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By JULIE SMITH
Los Alamos

I am writing in serious concern of all the big trucks using the Main Hill Road.

When are we going to put the trucks onto the Truck Route, where they belong?

Despite my frustration at being behind a big truck (or seven) creeping up the Main Hill Road, my main concern is their reckless descent: several times over the last two weeks I’ve been forced to hug the guardrail because of trucks coming down, faster than they should and crossing the center line, coming into my lane. 

One morning I counted seven trucks coming down and five of them were over the center line and in my lane. Read More

‘Blue Jasmine’ is Humorous and Heartwrenching

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Movie Review by KIRSTEN LASKEY

“Blue Jasmine” might make you feel blue. This doesn’t mean the movie is not good, but rather that it stirs up a mixture of emotions. You could be chuckling, yet feel pings of sympathy all in one moment.

Woody Allen’s movie is set in the present, but feels like it could have jumped out of  a Tennessee Williams play. “A Street Car Named Desire,” has a similar plot.

Like Blanche DuBois, Jasmine (Cate Blanchett) is a woman who is unraveling. Her upscale lifestyle vanishes after her husband, Hal (Alec Baldwin) is imprisoned for his many white-collar crimes, then Hal Read More

Letter to the Editor: Concern Over Large Trucks on Main Hill Road

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By PATRICIA MEDINA
Los Alamos

I would like to voice my concerns over the use of the Main Hill Road by large construction trucks. 

Part of my exasperation comes from the delays these trucks are creating by using the road and traveling at 20 miles per hour. I don’t travel the road that much so my concerns center around the safety impacts.

I remember an incident that occurred 24-26 years ago when a large truck jackknifed on the Main Hill, killing a young man who left behind a wife and two small children. I question the probability of reoccurrence of this event on the Main Hill Road, with the added variable Read More

Letter to the Editor: Concern Over Suspicious Activity

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By ERICA WISSINGER
Los Alamos

I am hoping I make it through the week. If I don’t, here’s what may have happened.

Last weekend, the people upstairs installed a small fan that blows air into my bathroom through my bathroom fan vent. I could hear their motor humming when I used my bathroom.

The air would make me cough and made my chest congested. I was concerned, so I took action by blocking my vent with a plastic bag and taping that vent closed with packing tape.

Today (Aug. 31, 3013) at 12:30 p.m. (MST), I heard people enter upstairs and their footsteps cross over above my bathroom. I heard the Read More

Letter to the Editor: Perhaps it’s Time for an External Investigation of Los Alamos Police Department

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By LORI ZIRPEL
Los Alamos

With respect to the recent letter “Should Los Alamos Police Unionize?” (Los Alamos Daily Post Aug. 30, 2013) there are a lot of concerns raised.

 
However when I looked at the salaries of the commanders listed, there seems to be an error. The actual salaries were already at $78,808 in 2012 as listed by the Rio Grande Foundation: (https:////www.riograndefoundation.org) and would now apparently be 10 percent or more above that number or about $86K per commander.
 
I heard a rumor around town that one or more of the promoted commanders did not meet the minimum qualifications
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Letter to the Editor: Should Los Alamos Police Department Unionize?

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By John Smith
Concerned Citizen for Los Alamos

What is going on at the Los Alamos Police Department? I have read recent articles that state that officers are suing their own department for an “unsafe working environment.”

Now obviously our officers wouldn’t claim that the risk of being shot at, or the risk of being hit while in the roadway, or any other on the job hazard would be unusually unsafe – so what do they mean?

Just last October Randy Foster and Brian Schamber joined Chief (Wayne) Torpy in briefing our County Council on the Master Career Plan. The Master Career Plan was designed to achieve goals

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Letter to the Editor: Open Letter to Middle School Parents

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By  Dr. Gene Schmidt
LAPS Superintendent

I am pleased to share the exciting news that middle school students and staff will move into their new school on Tuesday, Sept. 17. In sharing this wonderful and long anticipated news, I begin by thanking voters for approving the 2009 construction bond that funded our beautiful new school.

I also thank taxpayers throughout New Mexico for providing an additional $5.2 million in Public School Capital Outlay Council matching funds. But most of all, I thank our community for its patience during the construction of the building. The completion of the Read More

Letter to the Editor: NO! to the Mil Tax Increase

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By BRADY BURKE
Los Alamos

Every year, one organization or another posts the day of the year that we all work to just to pay our taxes. With the proposed Mil Tax, property owners can add another two days of work to that date to pay the Mil Tax increase. That’s two days you work and pay taxes on that income, just to send the rest to your local government in the form of another tax. I, for one, am tired of government organizations overspending and otherwise mismanaging their monies and then putting their hand in my pocket to make up for it.

The University of New Mexico has many channels for raising money. They Read More