Politics

Letter To The Editor: How Does Los Alamos Compare In Supporting Higher Education? We’re The Cheapest!

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By MORRIE PONGRATZ
Former County Councilor and former School Board member

How does Los Alamos compare to other New Mexico communities in their support for local higher education? We’re the cheapest.

You can go to the website: https:////nmdfa.state.nm.us/Certificate_of_Property_Tax.aspx and double check my research. I examined the percentage of a resident’s property tax bill that went to support the college in their city.

Here’s the list of the cities and the percentage of their property taxes that goes to support their local college:

  • Gallup (16.9 percent for UNM-G);
  • Farmington (16.9
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Letter To The Editor: Straight Fact – LAPS Bond Election DOES NOT INCREASE TAX RATE

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By DAVE FOX
Los Alamos

DOES NOT INCREASE TAX RATE is the straight fact about the Los Alamos Public Schools bond election.

We bring this up because as business people we figure a good many other people would be interested in our take regarding what I think of as “this no-question-about-its-importance bond”.

Because we also care about the health of CB FOX itself, we’ve double-checked, and again the fact is passage of the bond DOES NOT INCREASE THE TAX RATE.

IT JUST DOESN’T.

With great respect for this remarkable community,

Dave Fox Read More

Common Cause Priorities For 2017 Session

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Viki Harrison, executive director of Common Cause New Mexico

POLITICAL News:

Disclosing information about ever-more powerful PACS, creation of an independent ethics commission and better monitoring of the activities and expenditures of lobbyists will be top priorities of Common Cause New Mexico in the 2017 legislative session. 

The non-partisan good government group will also continue its drive to increase voter participation in elections through measures to ease registration and open primaries to those who decline to state a party preference. 

“Sometimes it feels like Read More

League of Women Voters Candidate Forum Jan. 18

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LWVLA News:

The League of Women Voters of Los Alamos invites the community to attend its Candidate Forum scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 18, at Piñon Elementary School, 90 Grand Canyon Dr., in White Rock.

Candidates include:

LAPS School Board Candidates:

  • District 1: Ellen Ben-Naim, Jim Hall
  • District 2: Darryl Sugar, Stephen Boerigter
  • (Both districts are in White Rock)

UNM-LA Advisory Board Candidates:

  • Position 1: Michael Redondo, David Sutton
  • Position 2: Michelle Hall
  • Position 5: James Robinson, Sheila Schiferl
  • (All County residents can vote for all positions)

 

Refreshments Read More

Despite Mounting Tensions, Hecker Holds On To Rational View Of Nuclear Context

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Former LANL Director Sig Hecker speaks at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Fuller Lodge. Photo by Roger Snodgrass/ladailypost.com
 
Audience members listen as Sig Hecker speaks Friday evening in Santa Fe. Photo by Roger Snodgrass
 
By ROGER SNODGRASS
Los Alamos Daily Post

As a president-elect tweets cryptic notions about nuclear weapons and appears to embrace a former adversary of the Cold War, tens and perhaps hundreds of thousands of Americans are discussing national security uncertainties in the global nuclear arena.

“We are entering uncharted territory,” said Sig Hecker, former Los Alamos Read More

Los Alamos Daily Post Endorses Mil Levy, LAPS Bond

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By CAROL A. CLARK, Publisher
Los Alamos Daily Post

After much review and careful consideration, the Los Alamos Daily Post is endorsing the UNM-LA Mil Levy and LAPS School Bond and we strongly encourage the community to vote for both.

Education is vitally important to this community, now and in the future, in terms of opportunities for our young people as well as economic development benefits for the entire community.

UNM-LA has provided important educational opportunities to local students, first responders, healthcare workers and lifelong learners. However, with the never ending cuts Read More

Sen. Udall On Official Reopening Of WIPP

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From the Office of U.S. Sen. Tom Udall:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Sen. Tom Udall offered his congratulations and ongoing support for workers, the Department of Energy and the nation’s important nuclear waste cleanup mission as Carlsbad’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) was officially reopened for waste storage.

“Today’s official reopening of WIPP is a tremendous accomplishment for the employees and members of the Carlsbad community, who play a vitally important role in our nation’s security and nuclear cleanup effort. I know that many people worked long hours and extra shifts in Read More

NMPED: Data Shows More Than 96 Percent Of 3rd Graders Who Cannot Read Are Passed To Next Grade

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NMPED News:

  • Parents Aren’t Informed Even Though State Law Requires It

SANTA FE – According to data submitted by New Mexico school districts last year, at least 96 percent of third graders who cannot read and are performing at the lowest level are being passed onto the next grade.

Furthermore, less than 5 percent of parents were informed that their child wasn’t proficient in reading, even though state law requires schools to do so.

“This confirms what we’ve long suspected: New Mexico’s parents aren’t getting the information they need to support their kids. Instead of telling parents that their Read More

NMDOH And NMDVS Propose Streamlining State Veterans Home To Improve Services For NM’s Vets

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NMDOH News:
 
SANTA FE ― The Department of Veterans Services (DVS) and the Department of Health (DOH) have proposed streamlining the State Veterans Home in Truth or Consequences to improve services for New Mexico’s veterans.
 
The proposal, if approved by the legislature, will move management of the State Veterans Home from DOH to DVS, aligning both state and federal resources to better serve our veterans.
 
“The Department of Health and Department of Veterans Services have had a long-standing working relationship and have developed this plan to serve our veterans and their
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Udall Joins Senators In Authoring Bill To Require Trump And Future Presidential Nominees To Release Tax Returns

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U.S. Sen. Tom Udall
 
U.S. SENATE News:
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. ― U.S. Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) announced that he has co-sponsored a bill authored by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) that will require President-elect Trump to release his recent tax returns in order to provide the public with more transparency on matters related to the President-elect’s actions, values and foreign business dealings.
 
“President-elect Trump has defied decades of bipartisan tradition in refusing to release his tax returns. New Mexicans and folks throughout the nation
Read More