Opinion

Lauritzen: An Open Letter To New Mexico

by

By BERNADETTE LAURITZEN
Executive Director
Los Alamos Retired and Senior Organization

My name is Bernadette Lauritzen and I am the Executive Director of the Los Alamos Retired and Senior Organization. This month we will celebrate 25 years, providing services to the Betty Ehart and White Rock Senior Centers.

While I certainly don’t speak for all senior centers, I implore the residents of New Mexico who know, use or value their senior centers to call or email your legislators and ask them to support during this session all senior centers.

Senior centers have been assisting our community elders Read More

Galer: Big Tech Uses Journalism; Big Tech Should Pay For It

by

By JOHN GALER
The Journal-News Publisher 
National Newspaper Association Chair

The powers that Google and Facebook have over economic and political power in society – especially over the news industry—has caught the attention of lawmakers in Washington, D.C. 

After a close election and many worries over the quality of public debate, many ask if social media have played a role in the misinformation that erodes our free press and plagues our democracy.

Nowhere is this power more daunting than in the social media giants’ use of news organizations’ reporting, which the platforms use without Read More

Tom’s 2022 Thankful List

by

By TOM GARRISON 
Special to the Los Alamos Daily Post
St. George, Utah

The end of each year is a good time to compose a “Thankful List” for the preceding year. My wife, Deb, and I enjoy our life in red rock southern Utah and have many things for which we are thankful. I hope sharing them brings a smile and acknowledgement that even the seldom thought of can be a source of thankfulness.

Below is my 2022 list:

  • I’m thankful for whipped cream. Nothing tops off a delightful Christmas dinner like having a small piece of pumpkin pie on my plate of whipped cream. Of course, whipped cream goes with many foods—pie,
Read More

Op-Ed: Golf Course Improvement Effort – Path forward

by

By KURT ANAST, KEVIN HOLSAPPLE and REID PRIEDHORSKY
Los Alamos

As this year comes to a close, the golf course improvement effort continues to be unresolved, but hopefully Council will provide the guidance necessary to remedy this at their Dec. 13 meeting.

In an effort to provide concise guidance from a cross section of the community, members from golfing, hiking and open space have examined the project, discussed the various options and elements of the project and we would like to suggest the following path forward to Council.

  1. Phase I: Take Care of what you have.

Fund all of the deferred maintenance Read More

Op-Ed: Answers, Background On Proposed Tennis Courts

by

By Board of Directors
Los Alamos Tennis Club
Los Alamos Pickleball Club

The proposed new complex of 8 tennis courts at Overlook Park, which the Parks and Rec Board recently voted to deliver to County Council for their consideration, may cause some citizens to have questions, like “why now?” or “why do we need more tennis courts?” or “what about pickleball?” or “why is Overlook Park the right place?’’

Hopefully this letter can answer those questions and provide some background to explain the proposal.

We are blessed to have a variety of sporting activities in town and engaged community members Read More

Kiesling: We Should Teach Cursive To All Our Students

by

By ANDREA KIESLING 
Teach Plus New Mexico

In our home, we have a framed letter written by a Civil War soldier to his mother. That letter has been passed down for generations in my mother-in-law‘s family. In it, the soldier talks about the hardships of war and describes the fields around him near Riley Knob in North Carolina, telling his mother that “there is lots of pine and cedar and some of the clearest streams of water [sic] I ever saw.”

The soldier goes on to say that he‘s tired of marching and wishes the war would close. It’s a mundane letter—no juicy gossip about a spy in the ranks or harrowing journeys Read More

Regarding County Nuisance Code: ‘Physician, Heal Yourself’

by

Weeds on Canyon Drive median between the Aquatic Center and IHM Catholic Church. Courtesy/Wayne Hardie

R. WAYNE HARDIE
Los Alamos

Regarding LA County’s discussion of updating the Nuisance Code, which addresses weeds, refuse and rubbish, etc., I am reminded of Luke 4:23: “Physician, heal yourself”.

Here is what the current Weeds Ordinance says:

From the Los Alamos County Code of Ordinances Sec. 18-42. – Weeds, brush piles, refuse and rubbish:

All premises and exterior property shall be maintained free from weeds or plant growth in excess of 18 inches. Weeds shall be defined as all grasses,
Read More

On Veterans Day, Remember The Veterans Of COVID

by

By JODY BENSON
Los Alamos

Thank you for not forgetting the horrors of COVID!

With the decision that SARS-CoV-2 is just an endemic killing only about 500 Americans a day; as we no longer mask while shopping or gathering as friends and family in enclosed spaces despite the onset of the “triple threat” of COVID, flu and RSV, let us not forget the horrible isolation and lost months (and lives) suffered by those living in care facilities.

We need to remember what happened and use that hard-won experience to ensure we’re prepared for the next epidemic. Lest we forget:

On Friday, March 13, the nation shut Read More

Ozment: Our Obligation To Vote

by

By CAT OZMENT
Chair
Democratic Party of Los Alamos

In these last hours of the 2022 midterm election, I make a final plea to the thousands of voters in our county who have not yet cast a ballot: please vote. It does not take long, and it is essential to our democracy that you not let other people decide for you.

Did you know that one of the primary causes of low voter turnout on Election Day is the weather? If it snows or rains or is cold, people are less likely to vote. We are, on net, less likely to exercise our precious right to democracy if the weather is unpleasant.

Luckily, it is 60 degrees and sunny in Los Alamos. Read More

Stradling: Great Campaign Experience! Developers Influencing The Election?

by

By GARY STRADLING
Republican candidate
Los Alamos County Council

My campaign for county councilor has been a delight. Who could have known?! I have met so many enthusiastic and supportive people, knocking doors across the neighborhoods of Los Alamos and White Rock. Everyone “gets it”: Sufficient housing is the key to both business rejuvenation and the explosive hiring of LANL!

I believe that our county government should better plan, cultivate, encourage, and facilitate local business development. I want a local government that listens to and serves its citizens, not rules over them. LAC Read More