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Today's News

  • Windstorm rips roof from Barranca gym--Photos/Video

    The gym roof at Barranca Elementary School sustained major wind damage Wednesday in what’s being described as a “major wind event” ripped part of the roof off, scattering insulation and other roofing material throughout the school grounds, including the school parking lot.

    The incident occurred around 1:30 p.m.

    No one was injured during the event, which witnesses said lasted about two minutes. Wednesday is a half day at the school.

    LAFD Battalion Chief Paul Grano said at the scene that there were three minor medical incidents.

    "Some of the victims got dust in their eyes," Grano said.

    Due to the quick efforts by Barranca Mesa Elementary School Principal Pam Miller and others, no one was injured during the brief windstorm.

    “It was like a mini tornado,” Miller said. “We were in the gym having lunch when we heard something like a train going by. You could hear the roof peeling off.” It was then that Miller and others went in to gather the other children playing outside indoors but by that time the wind had stopped.

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  • Trinity Site extension approved

    Los Alamos County Council unanimously approved an amendment to Kroger’s/Smith’s ground lease agreement on the Trinity Site Tuesday night.

    The amendment allows Smith’s two additional 30-day extensions of the feasibility period and adds provisions for Kroger’s to perform additional site work and utilities construction.

    Deputy County Administrator Steven Lynne explained the reasons for the amendments during the council’s meeting.

    “What’s been occurring since we assigned that lease is that Kroger’s/Smith’s have been doing their due diligence. They’ve actually been very busy, very active. They’ve submitted their site plan. It’s been through Planning and Zoning and been approved. They have done all of their construction drawings; and they’ve submitted a full building permit application. That’s currently in the review process. They have done full design and put this out to bid.

    “So unlike previous developers, they have actually been working this and they are expecting this to move ahead.

    “One thing that has slowed them down a little — although I’m very confident that we’re moving toward a good resolution here — has been working with the state on access off of N.M. 502/Trinity Drive.”

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  • Teacher suing district lost previous complaint

    A judgment made earlier this year by the New Mexico Human Rights Division of the State of New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions could affect the outcome of a pending lawsuit filed against the Los Alamos Public School District by a school employee.

    The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court by Mountain Elementary teacher Zeynep Unal, alleges she was forced out of her teaching position at Aspen Elementary through the use of trumped up disciplinary actions allegedly used to intimidate, harass and discriminate against her.

    “Defendants unlawfully discriminated against the plaintiff through their repeated and continued harassment of her,” a statement in the lawsuit read. “The repeated and continuous harassment included unfounded disciplinary actions, an attempted improper termination and other adverse actions and unequal terms and conditions of employment.

    The Defendants engaged in this repeated and continuous harassment because of the plaintiff’s national origin in violation of her rights under federal and state law.”

    Unal is from Turkey. The lawsuit was filed April 18. Besides the Los Alamos School District, Unal also named Superintendent of Schools Dr. Gene Schmidt and Aspen Elementary School principal Kathryn Vandenkieboom as defendants.

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  • On The Docket: Local Courts 05-22-13

    May 15

    Matthias Jaramillo was found guilty in Los Alamos Municipal Court of speeding 11 to 15 miles an hour over the posted speed limit. He was fined $75 and ordered to pay $46 in court costs.

    Shawn Tornga was found guilty in Los Alamos Municipal Court of driving with an expired registration. He was fined $100 and ordered to pay $46 in court costs.
    May 16

    Lonny Wood was found guilty in Los Alamos Municipal Court of speeding six to 10 miles an hour over the posted speed limit. He was fined $50 and ordered to pay $46 in court costs.

    Ashley Sullivan was found guilty in Los Alamos Municipal Court of having an expired license plate while parked. She was fined $25.

    Martin Cooper was found guilty in Los Alamos Municipal Court of speeding 11 to 15 miles an hour over the posted speed limit. He was fined $75 and ordered to pay $46 in court costs.

    Anthony Balmes was found guilty in Los Alamos Municipal Court of having an expired license plate while parked. He was fined $25.
    May 20

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  • McMillan echoes concerns on cybersecurity

    Los Alamos National Laboratory Director Charlie McMillan told a gathering of energy executives Tuesday that securing the electrical grid is a major concern right now and it’s only going to become more serious.
    “If you look back at the last year, there were several hundred attacks on critical infrastructure,” McMillan said, addressing attendees at the Deloitte Energy Conference near Washington, D.C. “More than 40 percent of those attacks were on the energy sector.”
    Resilience and reliability of the electrical grid have become key energy security concerns at the Laboratory and are important focus areas in global security. Experience with massive amounts of data, complex systems and security technology involved in nuclear weapons research are now providing insights for grid security, McMillan said.
    “In the time it takes me to say this sentence, the external firewalls of Los Alamos will be challenged hundreds of times by adversaries. Our systems, and yours, are very attractive.” McMillan said. “But encrypting control signals on the grid is particularly challenging because any encryption scheme must be able to meet competing standards for very rapid response and high security.”

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  • Field Day Fun at Sullivan Field

    The Los Alamos Public School District had a field day for its fifth and sixth graders at Sullivan field today. The students participated in many physical activities, including relay races, tug of war and other activities that tested coordination and balance.

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  • Update 05-22-13

    Author Series

    Steve Sheinkin, who recently wrote “Bomb: The Race to Build – and Steal – the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon,” will be at Mesa Library from 7-8:30 p.m. Thursday.

    Have a news tip?

    Send press releases, photos and videos to laeditor@lamonitor.com or contact the newsroom at 662-4185.

    County Council

    Los Alamos County Council will meet in a regular session at 7 p.m. June 4 in council chambers.

    Arts board

    The Arts in Public Places Board has just discovered technical difficulties with the email address associated with its “Open Call for Art.” (ArtProposals@lacnm.us). All proposals must be resent and the deadline has been extended to June 7.

    Trash pickup

    In observance of Memorial Day there will be no trash or recycling collection on Monday. Put roll carts out on Wednesday.

    BPU meeting

    The Board of Public Utilities will hold a special meeting at the White Rock Town Hall at 5 p.m. Thursday.

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  • Funding error snags school districts

    ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — A problem with a computer form’s alphabetical listing caused dozens of New Mexico school districts and charter schools to get too much state funding and others not enough.
    Television station KRQE reports that the state Public Education Department acknowledged its error resulted in 25 districts and charters being shorted a total of roughly $830,000 while 26 others got more than $2.5 million too much. The error occurred when the West Las Vegas district was mistakenly listed as “Las Vegas West.” The result was that funding amounts for districts and charters in the bottom half of the alphabet were off by one line.

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  • LA airport incoming flight schedules to be changed

    Los Alamos County Airport Manager Peter Soderquist is reporting steady growth for bookings on the new air service with New Mexico Airlines. Air passenger flights between Los Alamos and Albuquerque began April 8.
    “It has grown every week since we’ve been here,” Soderquist said. “I personally wish we had more traffic, but people I’ve talked to are happy to see the service that we have.”
    Soderquist and the airlines have been analyzing the data collected so far and listening to feedback from travelers. Based on what they have learned, new schedules for flights from Albuquerque to Los Alamos are being implemented next month. Flights leaving Los Alamos will remain unchanged.
    All three flights leaving the Albuquerque Sunport will have later departure times. The goal is to increase passenger counts by including more “banks” of arrivals. A bank is a period when a concentration of flights arrives at an airport.

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  • Tornado damage could top $2 billion

     MOORE, Okla. (AP) — The cost of a massive tornado that battered an Oklahoma City suburb could be more than $2 billion, according to a preliminary official estimate announced Wednesday. State authorities meanwhile said two infants were among the 24 people who perished in the twister.
    Oklahoma Insurance Department spokeswoman Calley Herth told The Associated Press that the early damage tally is based on visual assessments of the extensive disaster zone that stretches more than 17 miles and the fact that Monday’s tornado was on the ground for 40 minutes.
    The financial cost of the tornado in Moore could be greater than the $2 billion in damage from the 2011 tornado that killed 158 people in Joplin, Mo., Herth said, adding that the Joplin twister left a smaller trail of destruction.
    Authorities have yet to say how many homes were damaged or destroyed, but an aerial view of the site shows whole neighborhoods obliterated, with gouged earth littered with splintered wood and pulverized cars.
    Dan Ramsey, president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Oklahoma, said a damage estimate in the low billions is “not surprising.”

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