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Today's News

  • IG faults payments

    Former U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson collected nearly half a million dollars in questionable payments from four federally funded nuclear labs after she left office, the Energy Department’s inspector general says in a new report.

    Wilson failed to provide documentation for the work she did to earn $20,000 a month from the Los Alamos and Sandia national labs in New Mexico from January 2009 to March 2011, the report said. Officials at the Nevada Test Site and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee acknowledged there “were no deliverables” associated with $30,000 the two labs paid Wilson. Sandia had Wilson lobby for more defense dollars, an apparent violation of her contract, the report said.

    In total, nearly $450,000 in questionable payments were identified, the bulk from Los Alamos and Sandia.
    In a statement, LANL defended Wilson and her work.

    “LANS, LLC has reimbursed the government approximately $195,000 in potentially unallowable costs related to the consulting arrangement with Heather Wilson,” the statement said.

    Click here to read more...
  • Police Beat 06-11-13

    Police Beat items are compiled from public information contained in Los Alamos Police Department Records. Charges or citations listed in Police Beat do not imply innocence or guilt. The Los Alamos Police Department uses the term “arrest” to define anyone who has been physically arrested, served a court summons, or issued a citation.
    June 1

    Jesus Antonio Velasco, 41,, of Los Alamos, was arrested for driving while under the influence of liquor and/or drugs in the 900 block of San Ildefonso Road.

    Julian S. Garcia, 27,, of Santa Fe, was arrested on a magistrate court bench warrant in the 1200 block of Trinity Drive.

    June 2

    Scott McCrory, 18,, of Los Alamos, was cited for possession of marijuana (less than one ounce) at Guaje Pine.

    Steven F. Williams, 18,, of Los Alamos, was cited for possession of marijuana (less than one ounce) at Guaje Pine.

    June 3

    Marion L. Loope, 30, of Los Alamos, was arrested on a district court warrant in the 1600 block of Central Avenue.

    Martin Dominguez, 37,, of Los Alamos, was arrested for driving with a suspended or revoked license at the intersection of Oppenheimer Drive and Trinity Drive.

    June 4

    Jason B. Willis, 33, of Los Alamos, was arrested on a district court warrant in the 2500 block of Trinity Drive.

    Click here to read more...
  • Be There 06-11-13

    Today
    Summer Family Evenings at PEEC, 6:30 p.m. The Los Alamos Geological Society comes to PEEC to share tons of local rocks, and the geological benefits of living in New Mexico. Free for PEEC members, $5 per family for non-members. For more information, visit PajaritoEEC.org, call 662-0460, or email Programs@PajaritoEEC.org.

    Artwork by Richard Swenson. An ongoing exhibit during regular business hours at the Betty Ehart Senior Center, the second floor lobby. For more information call Peggy Pendergast at 412-7223.
    Wednesday
    Elements: Earth. 2-3:30 p.m. Melissa Mackey leads this combination of nature, science, crafts and books at PEEC for kids aged 8-12. Today’s session will feature creating a mini-adobe house and learn history and science of adobe on the Pajarito Plateau. $8 per child, $6.50 PEEC members. Register in advance. For more information and to register, visit PajaritoEEC.org, call 662-0460, or email Programs@PajaritoEEC.org.

    Free performance by “Dances of India” 6 p.m. at the White Rock Town hall. Part of the Los Alamos Library family fun nights and features Kathak, Bharatnatyam, Bollywood and folk dances.

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  • Bradbury hosts Discover Los Alamos night

    Those new to Los Alamos are welcome to a special event … Discover Los Alamos, Friday night at the Bradbury Science Museum.
    The multi-agency collaboration was designed to provide an opportunity for new community members to have a taste of what Los Alamos has to offer in the way of low and no cost activities.
    “Since I didn’t bring a family with me I was keen to meet people and make friends,” Marcus Weigand said. “This event would help me to find clubs and societies where I could get to know new people. In addition, it might allow me to start a new hobby that I hadn’t pursued in the past.”
    Weingand is a post-doctorate in masters of public administration and computerized maintenance management system.
    The Bradbury staff, along with Los Alamos National Laboratory members and Assets In Action have rallied community programs to provide handouts and answer questions about things to keep those new to Los Alamos on the hill and heartily occupied with activities.
    The event will be an open house style that takes place from 5 to
    8 p.m. that residents can visit before heading over to Ashley Pond before the summer concert.

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  • Assets in Action: Words of wisdom from young graduates

    As some of you may know, I graduated from elementary school a few weeks ago.
    After three sons and 12 years, my time at Chamisa Elementary, has formally come to an end.
    So this week, we gain some insight from the view of the graduating sixth grader.
    On May 31, graduation speaker, Anna Lemke captured my interest with her words and then my heart with her perspective of the journey.
    This graduation experience was the first time I heard more than one reference to the Assets-Change of Heart program during the pomp and circumstance.
    Lemke spoke of the relationships with her fellow classmates and how it translates to welcoming new students to the fold.
    “I feel the class of 2013 is unique because of its effort to make others feel welcome,” Lemke said. “We have seen so many children come and go throughout the years. Each time a new student is introduced, there is always at least one person who makes the effort to be their friend. We hope each child that passes by will feel welcomed.”
    We as adults need to embrace the same attitude as our youth role models, when it comes to additions to our community, new ideas to the drawing board, changes to our circumstances, or new lessons in our goal of lifelong learning.

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  • Committee upon committee

    Our legislature is about process. Analogies to producing products, such as writing a computer program, making furniture, or creating and serving a restaurant meal don’t work. That figures.
    The legislature is a big committee consisting of somewhat smaller, but still sizeable committees — the 70-member House and the 42-member Senate. The two chambers in turn break into smaller committees with overlapping membership. Party membership creates two other committees overlaying everything else.
    “The Legislature’s primary job (is) development of the state’s budget,” the Legislative Council Service reminds us in “Highlights 2013,” its policy summary of what is properly called the 51st Legislature, First Session, 2013. The 2013 session was limited to 60 days. Any topic could be considered.
    A session of the legislature has two other functions, both outside the scope of the LCS summary.
    First, the session provides a forum for focusing public attention on the issues of the day. The issues may be substantive, such as gay marriage, or silly, such as the Senate Rules Committee not voting to confirm (or dump) Hanna Skandera as Secretary of the Department of Public Education.

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  • Politics of who does what to whom

    A great many people deem politics to be vile in the extreme. For them it all boils down to endless batteries of charges and counter charges, boasts and balderdash. And there’s something to be said for that point of view, especially the balderdash bit.
    But it’s also true that politics is often about who does what to whom, why and when. Certainly that’s the impression one comes away with these days after witnessing the bumping of important heads in and around the administration of Gov. Susana Martinez.
    Case in point is the erstwhile New Mexico Republican consultant Jamie Estrada, who is expected to be arraigned this week for unlawfully hacking into Martinez’s email account. Martinez reacted to news of Estrada’s indictment with a good deal of huffing and puffing about how she’d been saying all along that someone had wrongfully snooped into her emails.
    Estrada, she opined, is “a man of suspect character.”
    Of course, back when she was simply the district attorney of Doña Ana County, Susana Martinez obviously thought well enough of Estrada’s character to make him the campaign manager of her 2010 race for governor.

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  • Locals take part in GSW regional

    Former Los Alamos High School athletes Laura Wendelberger and Brady Stokes both cracked the top 10 in the multi-discipline events during the Great Southwest Track and Field Classic this weekend.
    The region-wide GSW meet was run in Albuquerque at the UNM Track and Field Complex.
    Wendelberger finished ninth in the heptathlon event, racking up 3,768 points in the seven-event contest, while Stokes finished 10th in the decathlon, earning 4,960 points in 10 events. Both Stokes and Wendelberger graduated from LAHS this spring.
    The top local finisher at the GSW meet was Chelsea Chalacombe. Chalacombe, who finished third in the Class 4A high jump competition in May, tied for seventh place overall in the high jump this weekend, clearing 5 feet, 4-3/4 inches.
    Other Hilltopper athletes taking part included Amanda Mercer in the girls 3200 meters (10th, 12:27.67), Amy Neal in the pole vault (10th, 10-5 1/2), Sean Reardon in the boys 3200 (11th, 9:56.21) and Orion Staples in the boys 2000 meter steeplechase (16th, 6:56.73), an event that isn’t done in New Mexico prep competition.
    Also in the decathlon, Simon Heath finished 13th, grabbing 4,539 points.

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  • Ferrara holds on for win at Tour de Los Alamos

    Local racer Fortunato Ferrara finally got over the hump to win the Tour de Los Alamos top men’s category.
    The 41st Tour de Los Alamos was held Sunday. The Tour, billed as the oldest cycling race in the southwest, followed its traditional loop from the Back Gate down to White Rock and back up the Truck Route.
    Ferrara, who has had several close calls in recent years at the Tour but was nipped several times for the title in the men’s pro/1/2/3 race category.
    This year, Ferrara fended off another tight battle at the front, topping both Damian Calvert, one of the most successful riders in tour history, and Kip Taylor. Ferrara, Calvert and Taylor all finished with a same time 3 hours, 27 minutes, 18 seconds for the 3-lap, 81-mile trek, but Ferrara picked up the championship.
    Mindy Caruso won the top women’s finisher. She finished her two laps, totaling 54 miles, in 2:41:47, although she had a fight to the finish as well, with Irena Ossola finishing less than one second behind.
    Caruso finished with an average speed of 20.03 miles per hour while Ferrara had an average speed of 24.02 mph.
    This year’s race didn’t include either of the top men’s and women’s finishers from 2012, Mark Aasmunstad or Dana Shinn.

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  • IG faults payments to ex-Rep. Wilson

    Former U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson collected nearly half a million dollars in questionable payments from four federally funded nuclear labs after she left office, the Energy Department's inspector general says in a new report.

    Wilson failed to provide documentation for the work she did to earn $20,000 a month from the Los Alamos and Sandia national labs in New Mexico from January 2009 to March 2011, the report said. Officials at the Nevada Test Site and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee acknowledged there "were no deliverables" associated with $30,000 the two labs paid Wilson. Sandia had Wilson lobby for more defense dollars, an apparent violation of her contract, the report said.

    In total, nearly $450,000 in questionable payments were identified, the bulk from Los Alamos and Sandia.

    In a statement, LANL defended Wilson and her work.

    “LANS, LLC has reimbursed the government approximately $195,000 in potentially unallowable costs related to the consulting arrangement with Heather Wilson,” the statement said.

    Click here to read more...