Opinion

Leonard: Hydrogen Can Work – But N.M. Needs A Plan

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By DANIEL LEONARD
Los Alamos

The tabling of the hydrogen hub plan presents a fantastic opportunity for a real discussion about what the hydrogen economy could look like in New Mexico.

The failed legislative effort focused on perks for the oil and gas industry at taxpayer expense. Discussion was long on rhetoric about jobs and short on details to ensure real emissions reductions. There was little mention of the value of hydrogen in a carbon-free future.

However, this legislative effort has brought the idea of a hydrogen economy to the forefront. Those concerned about climate change need to understand Read More

Pajarito Astronomers Club: On County Lighting Ordinance

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View of the Whirpool Galaxy taken from Pajarito Acres in White Rock. Photo by Glen Wurden

By Pajarito Astronomers Club
Los Alamos

We are grateful to those of you working on the lighting ordinance for Los Alamos County. It’s a privilege to live in a community with strong ties to its history and a commitment to preserving its natural beauty. From the times of the Ancestral Pueblo people, the remote Ranch School, the Secret City and to the present day our home has a special appeal to visitors and residents alike.

Part of that appeal lies in the night sky, and we ask the county council to be guided in preserving Read More

Letter To The Editor: Private Home Weed Sales In Los Alamos An Insane Recipe For Disaster

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By MIKE DEMPSEY
White Rock

Retail sales of weed at private homes in Los Alamos is insane and a recipe for disaster.

What do TA-55, the Device Assembly Facility at the Test Site, many Banks and all retail sales of marijuana in Colorado and Nevada have in common? They have at least one Sally Port.

What is a Sally Port? That is two secure (typically steel) doors where the guard gets a look at you before he/she opens the outer door, then gets a real good look at you before he/she opens the inner door. That way maybe it can be determined that you don’t have a pistol shoved down your pants and are going to rob the business Read More

DALA’s ‘Ratcracker On The Hill’ Opens Tonight!

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Dance Arts Los Alamos ballerina Isabella Bailey as Sugar Plum of Grace. Courtesy/DALA

Review by KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com

Sometimes you just need to throw the guidebook away and make your own story. This sentiment is certainly true with Dance Arts Los Alamos’ (DALA) most recent production of “The Nutcracker”. Even the name has changed; “Ratcracker on the Hill” begins at 7 p.m. today at Duane Smith Auditorium and continues at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

How many versions of “The Nutcracker” have been performed? No doubt countless but there has never been one Read More

Zhen Huang: The Los Alamos China Moon Eclipse

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China Moon restaurant in Los Alamos. Photo by Zhen Huang

By ZHEN HUANG
Los Alamos

May is Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month.

While celebrating the AANHPI Heritage Month of 2021, we observed a Lunar Eclipse of the Flower Moon. As a Chinese American, while observing the Lunar Eclipse, I thought of the “China Moon”, a Chinese restaurant in Los Alamos, that was “Eclipsed” during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the proclamation on the AANHPI Heritage Month of 2021, President Biden stated:

“Present-day inequities faced by AANHPI communities are rooted in our Read More

Lopez: What Could Have Been For New Mexico Kids

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By EDWIN AYBAR LOPEZ
Director of Education Coalitions
OAK New Mexico

Another year, another 50th ranking for New Mexico in the annual Kids Count report. And this dismal ranking doesn’t even take into account the negative impact of COVID 19 and Gov. Lujan Grisham’s harsh lockdowns and over a year of lost in-person schooling.

The average U.S. child has lost the equivalent of five to nine months of learning during the pandemic, according to a report from McKinsey & Company. With New Mexico’s high poverty rates and lack of broadband access relative to other states (combined with more lost classroom Read More

Carmack-Altwies: The Case For Restorative Justice

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By MARY CARMACK-ALTWIES
Democratic Candidate
District Attorney, Dist. 1

The destruction of the Plaza obelisk was a crime. Criminals damaged public property and damaged the fabric of trust in our community. No matter what you believe about the obelisk, we will never forget the images of it being torn down in a way that was chaotic, violent and caused so many hearts to break.

Last week, after months of careful investigation and negotiation between the defendants, their attorneys and my office, a resolution was reached that, I believe, ensures justice for those who committed the crime, while working Read More

Reilly: War And Peace

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By DOUGLAS REILLY
Los Alamos

General Dwight David Eisenhower commanded the European Theater of Operations in WWII; he later served two terms as President of the United States. My favorite quote of Ike’s is, “the people of the world want peace, and they want it so badly that eventually the governments will have to stand back and let them have it”.

This states an interesting truth; namely, that people all over want peace, but the governments continue to fight wars. Is anarchy the answer? I think not. What is the answer? Is there an answer? I’m not sure there is.

Consider the present. There are wars in Read More

New Mexico State Ethics Commission Seeks Independent Or Minor-Party Applicants For Redistricting Committee

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By SONNY HAQUANI 
Director of Communications
State Ethics Commission

Following each decennial Census, the Legislature redraws the districts for New Mexico’s delegation to the United States House of Representatives, the state House of Representatives, the state Senate, and other state bodies requiring districting.

In this redistricting cycle, New Mexico is trying something new: an independent public body tasked to draw fair maps and to recommend those maps to the Legislature.

The newly created Citizen Redistricting Committee was established earlier this year through the  Legislature’s Read More

McQuiston: Increased Storms Yield Contractor Fraud Surge

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By ALLEN MCQUISTON
The Jemez Agency

2020 was a year of extremes on many fronts. But just focusing on storm fronts, experts tell us the U.S. experienced 22 separate billion-dollar weather-related disasters last year.

At this writing, the Insurance Council of Texas anticipated that the state’s February 2021 extreme weather will result in the largest claim event in Texas history.

The only sectors to see this as anything but tragic? Shady contractors and outright scammers.

Following extreme weather events, dubious contractors descend on affected communities, offering quick, cheap fixes Read More