Today's News

Los Alamos County Council took a hard look at property maintenance standards during Tuesday’s work session in White Rock and gave Community and Economic Development Department staff the go-ahead to develop a new ordinance.

CEDD Director Anne Laurent introduced the proposal and explained why it was necessary.

“Certain people have ideas of what the county should be able to do when there is a problem,” Laurent said.
“And with certain complaints that come in we say, ‘unless it gets worse, we’re not going to step in.’ And that’s frustrating.”

Those complaints have to do with exterior property maintenance. CEDD staff is unable to address those problems because the county has no ordinance regarding upkeep.

Current code has guidelines regarding weeds, rubbish, parking inoperable vehicles and structural failure.

Exterior issues that fall short of structural failure, such as loose siding or roofing materials, holes in exterior walls, broken or missing windows and fences in disrepair are not addressed in the county code.

Laurent stressed that aside from affecting property values in a neighborhood, the issue affects the community as a whole.

In 2013, the Los Alamos Hilltopper girls track and field team has a chance to cement its place as one of the elite programs of all time.

Leading up to this season, that move was led by one of the most charismatic athletes the program had ever seen, Chase Ealey. But now, the responsibility of leading the charge toward state-level immortality falls on a much more low-key team captain.

The Hilltoppers’ efforts heading into the final two weeks of the season are being guided by senior Laura Wendelberger. Wendelberger has carved her own niche in Hilltopper history, but unlike her predecessor, has done so with considerably less flair and with good ol’ fashioned sweat.

But even though Wendelberger is set to make her fourth appearance at the state meet for Los Alamos, the pre-championship jitters have already begun to set in.

“It’s kind of nerve-wracking,” she said. “But all I can do is run my best. I won’t let people’s expectations change my mindset.”

With Ealey, the two-time high-point athlete at the state meet now having a standout freshman year for Oklahoma State University, those looking to see if Los Alamos can pull off the 5-peat will have their eyes set squarely on Wendelberger.

History has shown, however, that she should be up to the challenge.

Video captured from the helmet of a worker shows the scaffolding being topped off at the Washington Monument on Monday. The scaffolding is needed to repair the 555-foot marble obelisk damaged in a 2011 earthquake. Video silent from source.