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Today's Opinions

  • Bad timing for a pool

    Why would the county want to bring forth a bond issue, especially a property tax (general obligation) bond in the middle of a recession? Property taxes are a real burden since they never go down but always up.
    As a landlord, I have seen the taxes go up in the face of falling property values. Once upon a time, capital gains were a source of retirement income but now they are no longer a prime source.
    The prospect of federal increases in capital gains really socks it to the landlords and increases rent. Any new tax now is a negative influence on the economy — the leisure pool can wait.

    Vernon Kerr
    White Rock

     

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  • Lujan's silence sparks voter remorse

    As an independent conservative, I voted for Ben Ray Lujan because I thought he represented the greatest chance that something would actually be done in Washington. It is hard for me to admit it, but I was wrong.
    If we as a species ever hope to  become civilized, we must learn to solve all of our problems without the use of force. For every problem we face, from the smallest family to the largest government, we must learn to talk openly about the problem with those with whom we disagree, find a reasonable solution where all win, make an agreement, and then keep our word.  I would suggest that when we won’t even talk to each other, there is no further chance to become civilized.

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  • ISO: A bridge to modern self regulation

     Rainfall is like regulation. Too little or too much of either is bad news for the economy.
    The flood of bad news these days begs for new paths to take.
    One prospect is self-regulation with a modern twist. The task is for an industry to regulate itself and self-enforce effective rules on all of its members. Experience says the task fights against human nature.
    More human nature says that camps fight against anything from outside their camp that restricts how things are done.
    Human nature will never change, so how can regulation be made effective and efficient?
    One way is by changes that make different use of human nature. How might industry really self-enforce its own regulations and why might it work for a large problem?

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  • Live up to your ideals

    Dear Occupy Los Alamos Skate Park Movement, PLEASE CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELVES!
    My family just spent an hour removing 20 gallons of trash from the skate park parking lot.
    While I appreciate the opportunity you afforded me to demonstrate true concern for the environment, please live up to the ideals your movement expounds.

    James J. Kuropatwinski (and Family)
    Los Alamos

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  • Call for council to rein in sheriff

    I see by Carol Clark’s story in Sunday’s paper that our “Cowboy Sheriff” is at it again. It’s time the council reined him in.
    All law enforcement duties in the county are assigned by the charter and by council resolution to the Los Alamos Police Department.  
    The Los Alamos County Sheriff is limited to those duties assigned by statute to the sheriff that are not duplicated by the police department, which are civil duties such as serving process, evictions, debt collection and so forth.  

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  • Leisure pool logic

    I have been on the Los Alamos County Council for just over 100 days. I have to admit that it sometimes seems like 100 years, and that each council meeting, 100 hours long.
     I have learned much in this time about county operations and those challenges and opportunities facing us.
    It is my duty to be responsive to your queries and comments and to follow-up with staff, but I have also learned that my main task on council is not to be the investigative reporter for the Los Alamos Monitor; my main obligation, my “real job,”  is to think hard about and to help set long-term direction for the county.

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  • Wilson on spending, healthcare, regulation and national security

    This is the second of two columns sharing my mid-October conversation in Albuquerque with Heather Wilson, former congresswoman and Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate.
    Morgan: What are your observations about the financial challenges facing the country?
    Wilson: (President Obama has) chosen to make this a political issue rather than trying to figure out what’s right to do for the country and start working to figure out how we’re going to bridge these gaps and get back on the right path to something that’s fiscally sustainable.
    I just found that tremendously disappointing. So it does require the political will to say we will do what is best for the country.

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  • Behind the U.S. Senate race scenes

    Any visible action still is sparse in New Mexico’s congressional races. It is surprising because U.S. Senate contests without an incumbent usually happen only once every 30 years or so.
    House districts #2 and #3 are slam dunks but Congressional District 1 will be lively because Rep. Martin Heinrich is leaving it to make a run at the U.S. Senate.
    Labor Day is the usual kickoff for such races but it didn’t happen this time. Neither did the kickoff of nomination petition signing in early October create a stir. But much has been happening behind the scenes. Here is a run-down of the action there.

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