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NNSA: Lab contract could be...

The contract worth more than $2 billion annually to operate and manage the Los Alamos National Laboratory could be awarded as soon as April or May, according to publicly available documents from the National Nuclear Security Administration. 

All bids are now finalized for the contract, according to press reports. 

The University of California announced  it had finalized its bid for the contract Friday, according to University of California Media Specialist Stephanie Beechem. 

“We have submitted our final bid, just like the other teams,” Beechem said. 

“It’s my understanding that all teams have submitted their final bids at this time,” a spokesperson for the University of California wrote in an email to Weapons Complex Morning Briefing earlier this week.

Beechem could not reveal any background information on the nature of their bid. 

Plutonium pit misplaced at LANL...

Los Alamos National Laboratory officials said Monday lab personnel have taken corrective actions in the wake of a March incident involving a misplaced plutonium pit. 

The pit was placed in a glovebox inside the lab’s plutonium pit manufacturing facility that was not designed to hold it, according to a March 23 Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board inspection report. 

A laboratory spokesman said Monday that the pit has since been removed and workers have received additional training because of the incident. 

No one was hurt, and the report also noted that there were no other radioactive materials in the box the plutonium pit could have reacted with, which could have caused a nuclear criticality event.

Plutonium pits, manufactured at the laboratory, are about the size of a softball and are used as triggering mechanisms for nuclear weapons. 

LA Gun Show remains popular...

The Los Alamos Gun Show went off without a hitch this weekend as gun sellers, gun buyers, gun traders and a few political candidates stopped by the event. 

The gun show has been a steadfast county tradition that has successfully withstood the tides of politics in the 10-plus years of its existence. 

The show’s founders speculated that the reason it is so popular is that there aren’t a lot of places nearby where people can purchase a firearm.

“This is a great family event, and we have a lot of active sportsmen in here,” said one of the founders of the event. “There’s not a lot of options to buy guns, so we enjoy being able to bring this to the enthusiasts in the area. It’s very popular event.”

The organizer also had an opinion about the recent attempts to add more regulation to gun shows and protests against the gun show in general that have cropped up through the years. 

PED heralds new options for...

New Mexico Public Education Department Secretary Christopher Ruszkowski couldn’t have picked a better place to make an important announcement Tuesday.

Ruszkowski made an appearance at the annual Supercomputing Challenge Awards ceremony at the Church of Christ in Los Alamos, announcing that a series of computer science courses can now count toward high school graduation credits. 

“Historically, when we talk about math credits, and science credits, that you have to earn, courses focused on things like computer science were not allowed to count toward that high school graduation requirement,” Ruszkowski said. “What I’m announcing today is that ends today.” 

When the applause and cheers coming from middle and high school students that came from all over the region faded, he explained further what that exactly meant.

“Scientific Technologies, mathematical modeling, fractal math AP (Advanced Placement) Computer Science and AP Computer Science Principles may be utilized in some cases for math credit, in some cases for science credit, in some cases for either or,” Ruszkowski said.

Judge to decide county email,...

Santa Fe District Judge Gregory Shaffer said Wednesday he would issue a decision soon as to whether emails authored by Los Alamos County Council member Susan O’Leary can remain private.

“The court is going to take the matter under advisement,” Schaffer said. “I’ll issue my own written opinion on the emails at issue on or before May 7.” 

State ed officials pursue school...

SANTA FE (AP) — New Mexico education officials are proceeding with a proposal that would require public schools to administer improvement and intervention plans and in some cases hold back students who have literacy skills below grade level.

Education Secretary-designate Christopher Ruszkowski is proposing the new rules that would apply to students in kindergarten through third grade.

Under the measure, schools would be required to hold back students who are struggling with reading proficiency based on a state assessment.

The proposal would allow exemptions in certain circumstances. Parents could also sign a waiver to allow the student to move on to the next grade level, but retention would be mandatory if the student’s reading is still below proficiency at the end of the following year.

“It seeks to codify that which is already found in state statute – which already includes language requiring additional instruction for students who can’t read,” Ruszkowski told the Albuquerque Journal.