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Opinion

  • Look, Hawaii makes some real news

    SANTA FE – Barack Obama’s victory produced many firsts, most of which have been discussed to death by national analysts.

    One first that hasn’t been discussed is the election of a president from our 50th state of Hawaii.

    President-elect Obama is more closely identified with Illinois now but he grew up in Hawaii and, appropriately enough, he used a 50-state strategy to win his election.

  • Where’s money coming from?

    It was good to hear state Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez (D-Valencia) say that he supports education funding in spite of a daunting budget shortfall facing existing and future state budgets.

  • Rowing in same direction

    Dear Editor,

    Economic tumult – gas pump, real estate, recession, gnashing political teeth and all – has taken its toll on Los Alamos County homeowners, customers and local businesses alike.  

    Talk about being in the same boat! – this boat ride is no joke for any of us.

    Retail in Los Alamos of course has never been exactly a ride on a cupcake.

    And in just three months the voyage has caused many of us to start taking on serious water.

  • Endless possibilities

    Dear Editor,

    Los Alamos is a small town in a small county on an isolated plateau in a sparsely populated region of a sparsely populated state that most folks have either never heard of or think is a foreign country.  

    Los Alamos is a highly specialized single-industry economy with a dominant employer which was responsible for the founding of a town in a location that otherwise would be a lousy place to put a town. Historically, the only towns with those parameters are mining boomtowns.

    And yet there are possibilites.

  • Skate park real plus!

    Dear Editor,

    Amidst all the build-up to the elections we had a glorious moment in Los Alamos. It took place on Oct. 29th right in the middle of our community with quite a few onlookers and quite a lot of participants. That moment happened when a ribbon was cut and a mass of our residents, ages 4 to 40, poured onto the sculptured curves and smooth surfaces of our new skateboard park. Instantaneously, there was a tsunami wave of joy washing over those on wheels AND those on the sidelines.

  • Be safe and smart on a bike

    Dear Editor,

    Returning from a road trip on Monday evening, I was waiting cued up behind another car about to make a right on red from Central onto Diamond. At the last minute, the lead driver stopped short, and I saw two dark shadows zip past on Diamond heading north – bicyclists riding in the dark. The lead cyclist had no lights at all, and the second one had a tiny, nearly worthless and dim light.

    Frankly, I’ve been keeping a mental tally lately of nighttime cyclists and have seen about ten lightless cyclists for every one I’ve seen lit up.

  • Language and words do matter

    Post election concentration in the media and at coffee klatches around the state has centered on New Mexico turning a deep shade of blue and our chances of pork barrel opportunities now that we have five congressional seniority rookies.

     Then, of course, there is the constant speculation about where Bill Richardson is going and why did he shave his beard. My theory on the latter is Barbara told him to shave it or else, if you get my drift.

  • Title insurance reform vitally...

    In “Block, Lass Share a Forum,” published Oct. 22 in the Los Alamos Monitor, Public Regulation Commissioner elect Jerome Block Jr., a former title insurance executive, is quoted as saying  that he does not “have a personal opinion” about the need for title insurance  reform in New Mexico.

    Allow me to explain why Commissioner Block needs to back reform instead of  remaining neutral and allowing the out of state title insurance underwriters to continue to take daily advantage of New Mexico homebuyers.

  • Shameful actions

    Generally we don’t question voters, the will of the electorate is how the wind blows. But this year, we have to.

    The election of Jerome Block Jr. to the Public Regulation Commission is nothing short of disgusting. And we believe it is due in part to the fact that people can straight party vote in this state – something that should be as out-dated as voter tests.

  • Taking signs is stealing

    Dear Editor,

    It seems that the share the wealth plans are already in operation a day after the election.

    I was out early Wednesday to pick up my political signs held up with steel posts. Lo and behold the signs were on the ground but the posts were gone. Someone decided to “share” my posts by stealing them. I check with my Republican leader and it wasn’t a Republican making an early retrieval. These steel fence posts are worth $2 to $3 each, so this is petty larceny sharing.

    Vernon N. Keer

    Los Alamos

  • New sense of self ... possibly

    Dear Editor,

  • New Mexico addresses climate change

    It is an established fact that as a result of the green house gases (GHG) we are putting into the atmosphere we are warming the planet, and that unless we take steps now to reduce these emissions, the global consequences will be severe.

    To avoid the worst consequences of global warming we need to reduce our emissions nationally by about 80 percent by 2050.  

  • Opinion way off base

    Dear Editor,

    In response to Ed Grothus’ declaration that Socialism and Communism promote the common good, brotherhood and comradeship.

    Please remind me again; the Berlin Wall was built to prevent people from escaping in which direction? It seems that those who wanted to escape did not fully experience brotherhood and comradeship. How could the almighty State have failed them? Also remind me again; under which governmental system were millions of Ukranians murdered or starved?

     

  • Hospital staff the best

    Dear Editor,

    You will rarely find me expressing my personal opinions in a letter to the editor – but today I feel I must.

    Improving quality of care, patient safety, customer service and registration wait times and ease of scheduling is my priority. For example, regular wait times improved by more than an average seven minutes, even with increased volumes, in the past year. I acknowledge that potential for more improvement remains. I am personally and professionally committed to continuing to improve in all areas again in 2009.

  • Truly, we need unity

    Dear Editor,

    I’m sure we’re all happy it’s over – the incessant commercials and phone calls.

    Here we can be thankful about no more complaints about stolen yard signs, or rude or vandalous behavior. No more partisan  letters in this column for awhile perhaps. No more self-congratulatory op-eds by our local political leaders.

    Nice to sit back now, or...

    A major tone of the national election spoken by our president-elect is “It’s about us.”

  • More bailouts not the answer

    Dear Editor,

    The problems of the financial system have started to affect the “real” economy. But the medicine for Wall Street may become the poison of Main Street.

    As an example, there is serious talk of giving $10 billion to General Motors to fix their financial situation. They are short of cash and losing more every day. If granted, they propose to merge with Chrysler, and the combined operation by making economies will become profitable. That’s good for the companies, but is it good for the country?

  • Some thoughts on local vote

    It is time to take a moment and look at the recent county council election and ask if there is a statement in the vote. We think there is.

    First, however, we would like to take a moment to give our congratulations to both the voters and the candidates.

    We had such a great voter turnout and that is always a good thing to see in a democracy. Secondly, those voters had a choice of some very good people and that fact should not be overlooked.

  • Should we begin the countdown?

    While Gov. Bill Richardson is not saying anything, Barack Obama’s victory suits him just fine. See, it seems very clear that he is in line to be part of that administration – the only question is when?

    Our Democratic governor refused to discuss the subject, saying: “I’m happy as governor of New Mexico, I’m planning my legislative agenda and I don’t want to comment any further.”

    But this is only skin deep, as they say. He cannot seek re-election to his favorite job and he is far too ambitious to just fade away in two years.

  • Medical Moment: Urology for the...

    I am very excited about joining the medical center and the wonderful community of Los Alamos. I would like to introduce myself and give a brief overview of how modern urology uses many new techniques and technology to provide better, safer and less painful treatment for a variety of diseases.

    And I am pleased be able to offer all of them right here at Los Alamos Medical Center.

    Urology goes a long way back in time. Descriptions of operations for bladder stones were found in ancient Egyptian, Greek and Hindu writings.

  • What now?

    With the rejection by the general membership of the Elks Club of a proposal to purchase their land along Trinity Drive, it looks like the county’s plans to build the Municipal Building there seems to be dead.

    So now what?

    If the Elks hold to their position – and it is their land remember – then it seems that the county will be forced back to the drawing board. But just what does that mean?

    When asked, County Administrator Max Baker said that the county would have to meet with the developer to see where they will go from here.