Letters to the Editor

By GEORGIA STRICKFADEN

Sunday afternoon a couple of weeks ago was gorgeous, so after working with my horses in the Stable Area, I walked into where FEMAville had been 25 years ago, an area being master planned as North Mesa Park.

Thanks to community action a generation ago, the area is a park. The far east end of North Mesa Park is a remnant of native mesa top grasses, forbs, and trees, encircled by a well-used hard-surface trail (first photo) frequented by residents of adjacent neighborhoods. An official small sign says it is a “Natural Habitat Area”, but the new North Mesa Park Master Plan has a bike Read More

By MATTHEW SNOWBALL
Los Alamos

Until now, I have sat quietly on the sidelines watching the discussion of the healthcare provider crisis in this state play out on social media and the news. I’ve watched as lawmakers tell us they have the ‘golden ticket’ solution to a crisis that has been building for decades, and all we have to do is ram through a few bills with less than 4 weeks of debate. I have felt more and more anxious, with an internal dialogue that grows in disgust and even anger while watching as the pleas of victims of medical malpractice are drowned out by the shouting on all sides.

Malpractice Read More

By KAY GRADY
Los Alamos

Well done Los Alamos County for initiating a lease with Piñon Pool to help while the County Pool is out of commission. 

First, I am pleased you are using a facility already in the community. I am also excited to see White Rock have access to a community pool in their neighborhood. 

So many memories from my girls growing up in White Rock. As soon as chores were done, they would pack a lunch or find some way to buy snacks at the pool. They were off on their bikes and so excited to go to the pool, visit with friends, or just swim to their heart’s content. 

I remember sitting at the pool Read More

By BRUCE WARREN
Los Alamos

I joined the protest march staged by Los Alamos High School students on Jan. 30 and was very impressed. The march was well organized by students, and was orderly and peaceful. All of the student speeches were excellent: Well thought out, to the point, well delivered and passionate. Congratulations to all the students who worked on and attended the event.

However, I was disappointed in the Los Alamos Schools response to the event (link). It is true that students have a responsibility to attend classes. It is also true that they have a wider civic responsibility to be Read More

By GREGORY BUNTAIN
Los Alamos

Alarm bells immediately went off while reading Daymon Ely’s February 3, 2026, opinion piece in the Los Alamos Daily Post, “Reasonable malpractice reform benefits every New Mexican” (link). Mr. Ely asserts that the amendment weakening House Bill 99—inserted by Rep. Liz Thomson, one of the top ten recipients of contributions from the New Mexico Trial Lawyers PAC—“benefits every New Mexican.” That claim deserves skepticism. It certainly benefits Mr. Ely.

Mr. Ely is not a neutral observer. He is a longtime malpractice trial lawyer and a direct beneficiary of the Read More

By ANTONIO MAGGIORE
Los Alamos

I’m writing this letter in support of our youth.

I congratulate them on seeing through the lies that the current administration is peddling. Good on them for recognizing a cold-blooded murder when it floods their social media feeds for the second time in three weeks.

I want to encourage them to engage and exercise their First Amendment right to protest. 

That being said, times are dangerous. I am confident, and yet I put this out preemptively to ensure that our local government and our local police department will be present and vigilant at any and every local protest Read More

By KEVIN HOLSAPPLE
Los Alamos

Councilors – Please take action to support the establishment of an MRA Commission that will evaluate MRA proposals in the light of day, operate in a manner that is transparent to the public, and make recommendations on proposals prior to the County Council about funding them.

In my experience, the County staff is inexperienced in the kinds of proposals that may come forth, is not committed to true transparency or public participation, and lacks a good grasp of local business community priorities.

The Council seems to lack the bandwidth to conduct in-depth evaluation Read More

By BRUCE WARREN
Los Alamos

I was sorting out some old paperwork recently and came upon this essay, which I wrote when I was 13 and a student in the Freshman Class at Sutherland, Nebraska.

The America it describes is no longer recognizable today. All of the freedoms it mentions are under attack by the current administration.

The Constitution is being shredded in order to give Trump authoritarian powers.

In 1956, memories of World War II and its epic battle to defend democracy were still very strong.

Today, we need to fight the internal enemies of democracy that are running our government.

Essay: What Read More

By LESLIE LINKE
Los Alamos

I implore Los Alamos County to install streetlights on Diamond Drive along the golf course.  It is a very dangerous stretch of road.  Instead of spending millions of dollars to reconfigure our children’s baseball and soccer fields and install AstroTurf at exorbitant cost, this money would be MUCH better spent on making our community safer.

About 6:40 p.m. on January 15, 2026, I hit a deer.  I’m the most careful driver I know, and I always go through that stretch of road slowly, watching for the deer.  He was not there, then he was two inches from my front left bumper.  There Read More

By GARTH READER
Los Alamos

Hey Los Alamos, how would you feel if development of public lands occurred with:

• No/limited input from the surrounding community
• No/limited input from user groups
• No approval from oversight entities
• No environmental or engineering reviews
• No consideration of the long-term impacts of the development

Now, how would you feel if this occurred in Los Alamos County and our surrounding Federal public lands? Well guess what, it is happening right here, right now.

There has been an explosion of “user defined” trails being carved out of your public lands. These trails are Read More

By GEORGIA STRICKFADEN
Los Alamos

Dear County Council and Los Alamos Citizens,

As an advocate for Open Spaces, I find that the North Mesa Park Master Plan contains an encroachment into an already “heavily used” natural amenity on the eastern canyon edge. Please keep reading. At the end I have a suggestion for an alternative.

Quoting from the Introduction in the North Mesa Master Plan, 

“SITE ANALYSIS AND INVENTORY
COMMUNITY CONTEXT & CURRENT USES

The North Mesa Recreation Area encompasses approximately 26 acres of County-owned land on the northern edge of Los Alamos. The site is zoned Read More

By LYNN HANRAHAN
Los Alamos

A nice Sunday afternoon walk in mid-January around North Mesa. Not much happening. Said hello to all the horses and goats at the stables. Sort of worried when I saw a young dad pulling a wagon with two toddlers down North Mesa Road but it wasn’t really any of my business.

Kept going past the Picnic Grounds toward the Roundabout – the final stretch back up the mesa home.  Got to the last little crosswalk segment and was on the cusp of crossing when a car going easily 60 or 70 maybe, appeared out of nowhere coming from the direction of the Golf Course and blew the crosswalk. I thanked Read More

By RICK NEBEL
Los Alamos

This is a response to Dr. Prisca Tiasse’s recent op-ed on innovation. Although I’m not a policy person, I think what she said made a lot of sense. Low cost and overhead are important for making your company resilient. Startup companies usually don’t have a lot of resources.

Right now, there are 10 acres of undeveloped land at the old, cleaned up nuclear waste dump on DP Road. Utilities have just recently been installed, and 480 three phase power is available. My understanding is that the cleanup level isn’t high enough to build housing on it. Recreational facilities may also Read More

By GEORGIA STRICKFADEN
Los Alamos

After many planning and tweaking sessions, which were primarily dominated by an exuberant bicycling crowd, the North Mesa Park Master Plan was approved by the Parks and Recreation Board on Dec. 11, with very little discussion. The plan now will go before the County Council.

See for yourselves the North Mesa Park Master Plan here.

Neighborhoods adjacent to the park include Tsikumu Village, La Mesa Mobile Home Park, Pueblo Canyon Cliffs, Broadview Estates, and two apartment complexes. These residents will be most affected by the developments proposed in this Read More

By SANDY CHARLES
Los Alamos 

There certainly has been much written about a duplicate bridge for Los Alamos. It makes the Los Alamos Daily Post headlines at least once a week (They play weekly).

Actually, we could greatly use two duplicates to the Omega Bridge—one from the end of Los Pueblos on Barranca Mesa to the Los Alamos Middle School on North Mesa, and another from the Los Alamos Middle School over to downtown. (I believe there is room to attach one near the Masonic Lodge.)

It seems this project will be commencing quite soon. Now is the time to offer all your great ideas on the construction, Read More

By RICK NEBEL
Los Alamos

I own 3 “nostalgic cars”: a 1928 Model A with a rumble seat, a 1955 Chevrolet Pickup truck street rod, and a 1966 Mustang GT. The best thing about them is driving them down the street and watching all of the smiles they put on people’s faces, both the passengers and the people on the street. 

All three of my vehicles have been restored to “as new” condition, and they are a joy to drive. When I drive the Mustang into a gas station, I usually have someone come over who wants to take a look at it.  Unlike Corvettes, Mustangs were affordable in the late 60s and a lot of us drove them in high school.  Read More

By BILL HEINMILLER
Los Alamos

Alan McQuiston raised a very good question in his September 7 article, “Would You Survive A Car Crash From the 1970s vs Today?” There are three answers to that question: Yes, No and Barely. Each one is dependent on factors such as speed, direction and whether the rudimentary safety features in 1970s cars were used or not.

Back then, mostly they were not. And of course, it depends on just what constitutes ‘survival’ to a particular individual. Fortunately, there are very few cars from the 1970s or earlier on the road anymore. And today, nearly all of us fasten the seatbelt Read More

By FELICIA ORTH
(LWV) President

Earlier this month, the League of Women Voters of Los Alamos (LWV) Board had an opportunity to explain in a Letter to the Editor (link) our practical reasons for opposing requirements that a voter show government-issued proof of U.S. citizenship before casting a vote. We might have added that the attempt to impose that requirement was being pursued in contravention of the U.S. Constitution.

The Constitution gives the president no authority to regulate any aspect of elections. It is the states and the legislative branch that decide what election rules shall be, Read More

By ANTONIO R. JAURIGUE
Los Alamos

I am deeply honored and grateful to have been elected to the Los Alamos School Board. This is not just a victory, but a reflection of the trust, care, and dedication of our entire community. I want to thank every voter who believed in our shared vision for stronger and more inclusive schools.

Throughout this campaign, I’ve been inspired by the stories and hopes of so many families, students, and educators. Together, we’ve shown that when we prioritize our students’ well-being and growth, we build a brighter future for everyone. I remain committed to transparency, Read More