Letter to the Editor: We Could Make Something Special Happen At Old Smiths
By RANDO MANLEYWhile having a whale and jellyfish would be an awesome attraction I’d like to expand on that idea to include a tank containing sharks with laser beams on their heads and if we can get in touch with John Hammond, the owner of Jurassic Park, maybe he can create a Plesiosaurs or Mososaurus.
In the freezer storage area we could leave the freezers intact and operational so to allow for an Arctic climate. That area could house a colony of penguins, walrus, polar bears and some Siberian Huskies.
The options are endless and as a community of highly educated and unique Read More
Letter to the Editor: Ads Distort Proven Benefits Of First Born Program
By KRISTINE COBLENTZ
Founder First Born Program
As the founder and former Program Manager of the First Born Program of Los Alamos County, I feel compelled to respond to negative print and radio ads attacking home visiting programs. Recent ads depicting government monitors and mandatory home visits are pure distortion and demonstrate either a frightening ignorance of (or a deliberate choice to ignore) the proven benefits of early childhood development programs.
Across our state, home visitation is supported by Republicans and Democrats alike because it works. The science is clear that Read More
Letter to the Editor: Who Cares If LAHS Is #1 If Your Child Hates Going To School Every Day?
By MICHELLE WORLEY
Los Alamos
I read the article about how Los Alamos High School is the #1 high school in the state. I guess that’s great if that is what is important to the school district. After all, their goal is to be in the top 100 schools in the nation.
What concerns me is that the district cares so much about getting recognition for what they do rather than simply serving the students in our community well and making sure that ALL of them have the chance to succeed.
I’ve been an educator in this state for 30 years and I have worked in many New Mexico communities. Other school districts, if you look at Read More
Food on the Hill: Curried Squash and Mushroom Soup
Food on the Hill 
Photo by Felicia OrthHow the Hen House Turns: A Homesick Dog?
How the Hen House TurnsIn late summer 1983 we drove to Flagstaff, Ariz. to begin a delightful year of teaching and folk dancing. Our Santa Fe shepherd, Poncho, went with us. He hated riding in the car, until we stopped at a Kentucky Fried Chicken in Gallup and shared our lunch with him.
What a mood change! Instead of moping, all curled up in the back seat, he sat up and stuck his nose eagerly into the crack in the rear window, all the way to our rented house on the hill above the railroad station in Flagstaff.
The house was nice enough there, but Read More
Letter to the Editor: DPU Commended For Improvement Efforts Through QNM
By BILL WADT
Immediate past chair of the QNM Board
I commend the Los Alamos Department of Public Utilities on their continued efforts at systematic and systemic improvement using independent, third-party feedback through the New Mexico Performance Excellence Award process administered by Quality New Mexico.
In 2008, DPU received Roadrunner recognition for demonstrated performance improvements and this year DPU is pursuing the process again in their quest to achieve performance excellence. As the immediate past chair of the QNM Board and a former lead judge in the awards process, I have
Solo Traveler: Spectacular Rocks
Beefsteak Hill on the road from Albuquerque to Los Alamos. Photo by Sherry Hardage
Fall color in the Jemez. Photo by Sherry HardageSolo Traveler: Spectacular Rocks
When I returned to my home state in the 1980s, I bought Halka Chronic’s book, “Roadside Geology of New Mexico.” Her books are a great resource for people who want to know more about the amazing scenery they drive through.
But the New Mexico book left me cold because one of the prettiest drives in the state wasn’t even mentioned – the road from San Isidro north to Jemez Springs and on to Read More
