Local News

A three-vehicle accident at Anderson Lookout created traffic problems on the Main Hill and one of the drivers was arrested because of an outstanding warrant Tuesday afternoon.

The driver of the pickup truck, Alejandro Ramos, 20, of Santa Fe, was arrested and placed in handcuffs by the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Department. He was arrested on a warrant for failure to appear in a compliance hearing after being found guilty of DUI. Ramos also  may be charged with careless driving. Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Deputy Tai Chan said Ramos was driving at a high rate of speed and likely hydroplaned into the oncoming vehicles.

Los Alamos Police Capt. Randy Foster said there were no injuries. LAPD was originally on the scene and then assisted with traffic control when the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department arrived.

By 4 p.m., the accident was cleared and traffic returned to a normal flow just in time for afternoon commuters to trek down the Hill.

One of the vehicles in the accident was driven by Ken Johnson, a former Los Alamos Board of Education member and a former Democratic candidate for county council.

Johnson said in a phone interview that he was driving his Subaru Outback and was following a Volvo.

Councilor Vincent Chiravalle caused consternation among his fellow council members when he used an interview on a local radio station to spell out particulars of an agreement between North American Development Group (NADG) and Smith’s/Kroger which had been discussed in a closed session.

Council Chair Sharon Stover had announced a special council session to discuss the Trinity Site during a council meeting the previous evening. But details about NADG’s desire to assign its lease to Smith’s/Kroger were not to be released until the Los Alamos Public School (LAPS) board and administration had been informed. LAPS will be the main beneficiary of the Trinity Site lease revenue.

In a statement, Chiravalle claimed he had not breached confidentiality and defended his actions.

“The council chair announced publicly on Sept. 11 that there would be a special public meeting on Sept. 24 for the council to take action on the Trinity site, and only then did I speak about the agenda of this special public meeting. If the council was not ready for a public discussion then it should not have scheduled a special public meeting. Why was the agenda of this special public meeting a secret?”

Stover issued a statement responding to Chiravalle’s claims. It reads,

Here are two essays written about Los Alamos. The first was written by Keanna Cohen and the second by Jin Park. The essays were written as part of the "100 Best Communities" competition in which Los Alamos was honored.
 

Hello, my name is Keanna Cohen and I am currently a first-year student at the University of California, Santa Barbara where I am studying Political Science and Psychology.  Though Santa Barbara is my current place of residence, it is by no means my home.  I am a small town girl from Los Alamos, New Mexico, a community  I consider to be one of the best communities to grow up in. Raised in Los Alamos herself, my mother returned from Santa Barbara, California after graduating from college to raise her daughter in a safe community.  Just as it was her home, it became mine .