Letter To The Editor: Response To Betty Jacob
By GANAPATHYSUBRAMANIAN GOPINATHAN
Los Alamos
This refers to the anguish expressed on the “non-following of traffic rules” and “likely threat to safety” expressed by Ms. Betty Jacob in her letter “Homicide By Motor Vehicle” (link), a long time resident and “concerned” citizen in Los Alamos.
She hinted that such a situation is also due to “finding police only after accidents”.
She also questioned the “driving license control”…
She expresses “more concern” when the city turns to a “tourist paradise” and additional apartments are thrown open.
All these concerns are true as observed Read More
Letter To The Editor: Homicide By Motor Vehicle
By BETTY JACOB
Longtime resident in Los Alamos
Concerned citizen
Our little mountain town is undergoing an influx of people that have no respect for Rules of the Road, if it even exists anymore in order to obtain a driver’s license.
If I had a nickel for every time I saw a driver disregarding warning signs, stop signs, stop lights etc. in these past two years I’d be able to pay my mortgage for the next two months!
How come one never sees a police vehicle until AFTER an accident?
What are the already overtaxed roads in this town going to be like when all the new apartment complexes are occupied with new arrivals Read More
Letter To The Editor: We Need To Get Rid Of Business-To-Business Part Of GRT
This is a response to a recent article in the Los Alamos Daily Post (link) on Chris Chandler’s and Leo Jaramillo’s briefing on the recent legislative session. In particular I want to address Ms. Chandler’s comment on economic development.
Let’s say that my New Mexico company has a contract with LANL. First of all, when the money comes in to LANL from the government, LANL pays Gross Receipts Tax (GRT) on it. When we receive money from LANL, we pay GRT on it. Finally, if we spend the money on goods and services in NM, then we pay GRT on that as well.
Now suppose that an out-of-state Read More
Letter To The Editor: Thank You Council For Action On Middle Mile
By ANDREW M. FRASER
Los Alamos
At their March 5 meeting the Los Alamos County Council passed a motion
that could lead to a fiber connection between Los Alamos and REDINET.
I wrote a report about that meeting on my blog.
The outage on Dec. 8, 2022 demonstrated the failure of the telecom businesses that operate here to provide or plan for reliability. That failure is a threat to public safety, and the current Council is taking action to address it.
Thanks to the Los Alamos County Council for their action. Read More
Letter To The Editor: Hoping This Starts That Conversation
I am glad to see Dr. Rakov’s article in the Los Alamos Daily Post (link), reminding people of the importance of having colonoscopies. My father had colon cancer when he was 32 years old. Luckily for our family, he lived an active life until he was 75.
I recently had a colonoscopy at age 77—my third or fourth. I was told when I left that it would be my last one. While I can’t believe I felt anything but relief at hearing that, after the unpleasantness of the night before, I did feel something. I felt devalued.
Apparently, they were telling me that Medicare considered that they Read More
Letter To The Editor: Thanking David Cremer
By TOM HILL
Los Alamos
I would like to thank David Cremer for his recent Op/Ed (Shared Grief) on his wife’s caring for a former LAPD officer who had dealt with his Dad’s death long ago. It was spoken from the heart and has a lot of important points worth pondering. It is worth everyone taking the time to read and thinking about.
Charlie Cremer was the group leader of secondary design in the early ‘70’s, which included the design of the W76. I was just a recent hire into T-1, worked on the same floor, and we’d pass each other in the hall once or twice a day. He always had this very friendly greeting and a smile that Read More
Letter To The Editor: In Support Of Sam LeDoux For Española City Council
By BEN GOLD-MATEJKA
Los Alamos
I have had the pleasure of knowing Sam LeDoux for the past 7 years, and I believe through his ability to listen, learn, and lead, he will do amazing things for the people of Española as City Councilor.
Throughout my time knowing Sam he would often talk about how he loved Española.
During our conversations he would often speak about the amazing qualities of Española; its fascinating native and Spanish history, its wonderful people, and its pristine natural beauty.
However, he would also explain how much has gone wrong in Española. He spoke with passion when he would Read More
Letter To The Editor: Response To President’s Age
By RICK NEBEL
Los Alamos
The best response on the age of the president was the one Ronald Reagan gave in the 1984 presidential debates. It was so good, that it even cracked up Walter Mondale.
Here is the link to it.
Is age discrimination a problem in Los Alamos? 17 years ago when I worked in X-Division they were very hesitant to hire anyone who was within 10 years of retirement. The rationale was that it took 5 years to train people in nuclear weapons and they didn’t want to train people and then have them retire. That’s understandable, but I suspect that it is also age discrimination.
At Tibbar we presently Read More
Letter To The Editor: Proposed Minimum Wage Hike
By ANNA DILLANE
Owner
Boomerang Consignment and Gaia Gifts
Los Alamos
To the members of the County Council,
I do not have time to attend meetings to voice my opinion about raising the minimum wage in Los Alamos. As one of the few retail business owners in this town, I am very busy just trying to run my business and survive with very little help from the County or the Council.
I am opposed to raising the minimum wage in Los Alamos County for either students or non-students. The competitive job market drives what I offer as a starting wage. I absolutely do not need Los Alamos County Council to tell me what Read More
Letter To The Editor: Reply To Rabbi Jack Shlachter
I am having a difficult time finding in my heart any sympathy for Rabbi Jack Shlachter and his congregants offense at the term “Free Palestine” (link).
On October 7th my heart broke with sorrow when I heard of the death of 1200 Israelis killed and 250 hostages taken at the hands of Hamas. And now more than 100 days later 25,000 Palestinians with more than half being women and children have been killed at the hands of Israel.
Where is your offense at these killings, Rabbi Shlachter? It is shocking to think that the words “Free Palestine” written in a little tunnel on a hiking trail Read More
Letter To The Editor: Comment On Mark Devolder Submission
By TERRY GOLDMAN
Los Alamos
Mr. Devolder suggests at the end of his piece that he may be “too old”.
On the contrary, he may not be old enough to need to depend on accessibility requirements for the less abled.
I won’t address his many points (some of which are well taken), but he does need to be reminded that the County is subject to many federal and state requirements for accessibility for all. Read More
Letter To The Editor: Response To Peter LaDelfe’s Op-Ed
By MATTHEW JEREMY
Formerly of Los Alamos
This is a response to Mr. Peter LaDelfe’s comments on alternative fuel vehicles (link). I would say I’m not strongly for or against alternative fuel vehicles. However, I do disagree that alternative fuel vehicles such as electric cars or hydrogen-powered vehicles will not be our “salvation.”
This isn’t in regards to the technology because I think it is intriguing. However, what Mr LaDelfe’s comments fail to account for is one thing: greed. Let’s take two case studies from history.
Case study 1
The first car Henry Ford designed was built to run ethanol. Read More
Letter To The Editor: Apply Safety Engineering To Roundabout
By ROBERT BOURQUE
Los Alamos
Interesting comments about the North Mesa roundabout. People are not perfect; they usually don’t pay full attention to the task; and they are quite error prone. A major purpose of safety engineering is recognizing that and, by design, reducing the consequences of messing up. The recent addition of rumble strips along the centerline of the Main Hill Road is a fine example of that.
Having clear views of traffic at all times at roundabouts is another way. The other roundabout near DP Road does a fine job where all traffic is visible; they don’t suddenly appear from behind Read More
Letter To The Editor: Happy With Rick Nebel’s Comments On School Electrification
By RON MOSES
Fort Collins, Colo.
I am delighted to see Rick Nebel’s excellent contribution to the Los Alamos Daily Post (link) regarding school electrification.
As many of us out in the community “put our money where our mouths are” to help address climate issues while also saving some money, so should our public service systems. Rick is an outstanding expert on “all things energy” and is right when he says: “This needs to be verified with real numbers”.
It is great to have experts like Rick who are still willing to stick their heads above the parapets to address complex and controversial issues with Read More
Letter To The Editor: LAPS – Thank you. Now Let’s Keep Moving Forward.
Respectfully Submitted by
Elisa Enriquez
LAPS Parent
I sincerely appreciate the hard working staff, teachers, and administration at Los Alamos Public Schools (LAPS). With rare exceptions, my kids and I have had positive experiences with LAPS over the past 13 years. Between 2022 and January 2024 LAPS had three different Superintendents while COVID-19 pandemic protocols were still in effect. Our current Superintendent, Jennifer Guy, was a constant presence throughout this time and I appreciate her leadership. She is known as a trustworthy leader of integrity by many, myself included. Read More
Letter To The Editor: Some Residents Don’t Understand Current Street Design
By COLE PAFFETT, MD
Los Alamos
In both Robert Bourque’s (link) and Sherril Couts’s (link) letters, they claim that the North Mesa roundabout is dangerous as currently designed and landscaped. They both appear to have a flawed understanding of safe driving practices and safe street design.
The roundabout design and landscaping is there to force drivers to slow down and pay attention while maintaining traffic flow. These accounts of accidents and near-misses at the roundabout suggest that many drivers need a refresher in defensive driving.
Couts’s comments about “the idiocy of the Read More
Letter To The Editor: About Diamond Drive Roundabout
By SCOTT BATSON, PE
Porland, Ore.
Robert Bourque is incorrect in his recent letter to the editor about the visibility across modern roundabouts.
If you’re looking at the other side of a modern roundabout when you’re entering, you’re driving unsafely. Drivers entering a modern roundabout should first look for pedestrians, then watch for other motorists approaching their entry, and then watch for pedestrians when exiting.
The motorist on the other side of the circle won’t get to you for 5 or 10 seconds (watch a clock/your phone’s stopwatch to see how long that is). Obscured views across the central Read More
Letter To The Editor: Proposed Minimum Wage Ordinance
Chair Derkacs and Councilors,
The desire to raise the minimum wage comes from the heart, out of concern for others, and should be honored. However, with very few county businesses offering less than the proposed minimum, and few employees receiving less, it will have little impact other than to drive some small businesses that operate on low margins to eventually close their doors. These businesses will not be able to raise their prices enough to cover an increased minimum wage and still have enough sales to be profitable.
So, instead of balancing the cost of a minimum Read More
Letter To The Editor: Bourque Is Correct … And There’s More
By SHERRIL COUTS
Los Alamos
In regard to Robert Bourque’s letter (link), he is correct, but there’s more.
Crossing San Ildefonso on foot, east bound, at the crosswalk on the south side of the roundabout is suicide if one is not careful. Motorists drive too fast to stop. Trees block their view from any distance. It’s still the motorists’ faults, but the engineering mitigation would be to remove some trees, pretty as they are.
It’s already bad enough with motorists who don’t know the rules of the roundabout. Very recently I was driving through the roundabout and nearly got destroyed by an 18-wheel Read More