New Mexico Supreme Court Rules On Defendant’s Right To Be Present When A Trial Court Responds To Jury Questions
COURT News:
SANTA FE — The New Mexico Supreme Court has upheld a Farmington man’s sex crime conviction, ruling there was no effect on the jury’s verdict by improper communications between the trial court and the jury outside of the defendant’s presence.
The Court concluded that Joshua Freeman had a constitutional right to be present when the trial court addressed two questions from the jury after it had started to deliberate in his case but the error created by his absence did not impact the outcome of the trial.
The jury sent a note to the trial court asking it to distinguish between Freeman’s charged Read More
North Road/Urban Street Intersection Is Now Four-Way Stop
IAIA Names Carin Silkaitis New Provost & Executive Vice President For Academic And Student Affairs
Carin Silkaitis, MFA
IAIA News:
The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA), the University for Indigenous Creative Excellence, is pleased to announce the appointment of Carin Silkaitis, MFA, as IAIA’s Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs, effective Aug. 1, 2026.
Silkaitis brings significant experience as an academic leader, artist, educator, and administrator. They currently serve as Dean of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Humanities at the University of Alaska Southeast. Silkaitis also recently served as Interim Provost, leading academic Read More
Pajarito Pickleball Club To Host Clinics For Beginners
SPORTS News:
Curious about the fastest growing sport in the United States? Ready to give it a try or build upon skills?
The Pajarito Pickleball Club will host two skills clinics for beginners this summer:
- The Beginners 1 Clinic is an opportunity for absolute beginners or those new to the game to learn a warm up to prepare for play and prevent injuries, basic skills and shots, and the foundational rules and strategies of the game.
- The Beginners 2 Clinic – is designed for those players with more than three months experience and an understanding of the basic rules to continue to develop skills
Cowboy Breakfast At Sheriff’s Posse Lodge Sunday June 7
Sheriff’s Posse News:
The Los Alamos County Sheriff’s Posse is hosting its monthly Cowboy Breakfast this Sunday, June 7.
The breakfast is served 7-11 a.m. at the Sheriff’s Posse Lodge at 650 North Mesa Road, near the North Mesa Stables.
The all-you-can-eat breakfast includes:
- Pancakes – Banana, Blueberry, Chocolate Chip and Plain;
- Scrambled eggs;
- Sausage;
- Bacon; and
- Coffee, Tea and Orange Juice.
The price for adults is $10, children 4-10 years of age $5 and those 0-3 are free.
Proceeds this month go to benefit the Los Alamos Friends of the Shelter and Companion Animals, a 501(c)(3) non-profit. Read More
LA Pride Collective Announces June Events
LA Pride Collective News:
The LA Pride Collective will present the annual Pride Festival 3-7 p.m. Friday, June 12, on the Central Park Square lawn. This is a family friendly festival celebrating the LGBTQ+ community.
As part of the Pride Celebration there are a variety of events, which will occur throughout Los Alamos in June. See the schedule of events above for dates, times and how to register. Read More
Los Alamos County BPU To Host Final Public Hearing On Gas Rate Adjustments June 9 In Council Chambers
COUNTY News:
The Los Alamos County Board of Public Utilities (BPU) will hold a second and final public hearing for gas rate adjustments at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 9, in Council Chambers at the Municipal Building, 1000 Central Ave.
Note: Anyone wishing to join remotely may do so using this link: https://ladpu.com/ratehearing.
The Department of Public Utilities (DPU) is proposing changes to its natural gas rate intended to close the gap between budgeted operational costs and the revenues that cover those costs.
An introduction of the proposed rate ordinance was first presented on April 1 during Read More
Daily Postcard: View At Bandelier National Monument
Daily Postcard: View at Bandelier National Monument. Photo by Sally King/NPS Read More
Documents Added To LANL Electronic Public Reading Room
LANL News:
New documents have been added to the Los Alamos Legacy Cleanup Contract Electronic Public Reading Room.
All legacy cleanup documents required to be posted after April 30, 2018, are available on the site linked above.
For legacy cleanup documents that were posted prior to April 30, 2018, please visit the LANL electronic public reading room.
- Surface Water Data at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Water Year 2025
https://ext.em-la.doe.gov/GovFTPFiles/api/GetFiles/GetFile?fileName=EMID-704365_2025_LANL_SW_Data_060326.pdf - Submittal of the Periodic Monitoring Report
Los Alamos History Museum: Sunday Night At The Movies
COMMUNITY News:
The Los Alamos History Museum is excited to announce it will host three family-friendly movie nights this summer.
Sunday Night at the Movies with the Los Alamos History Museum will take place on June 14, June 29 and July 19. Movies will begin at 6:30 p.m. at SALA Event Center, 2551 Central Ave. Each screening is
free and open to the public.
For information about movie titles and additional event details, please visit www.losalamoshistory.org or
follow the History Museum on Facebook.
Op-Ed: ‘County Shows It Doesn’t Give A Flock About Surveilling Citizens’
By JAMES RICKMAN
Los Alamos
Perhaps I should feel grateful that County leaders dispatched their official Spin Doctor to reply to my letter about the emergence of a network of Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs) in our community (link). But outside of Mr. Krueger’s “Trust Us, We’re the Government” response, the County continues to sidestep the issue of why the cameras were installed in the first place.
Is Los Alamos facing some kind of underlying existential threat that necessitates its citizens giving up some of their liberties to gain a little more security?
The way the County tells it, Read More
Pipe Is Going In The Ground At Pajarito Mountain Ski Area
Scene from the pipeline project underway at Pajarito Mountain Ski Area. Courtesy/PMSA
Ski Hill News:
The pipeline project at Pajarito Mountain Ski Area has moved from planning to dirt.
Slopeworx crews are laying dual lines right now: one running uphill to fill the snowmaking pond at the summit, the other running down for fire suppression and snowmaking coverage below.
For those tracking specs: this means consistent water pressure at elevation for the snowguns, plus fire protection and a full pond for fire suppression and snowmaking.
The 2026 Read More
Tres Piedras Primitive Shooting Range Closed On June 10
NMDGF News:
TRES PIEDRAS — The New Mexico Department of Wildlife’s Tres Piedras Primitive Shooting Range will close for maintenance at sunrise Wednesday, June 10, reopening at sunrise the following day.
This closure will allow contractors to safely perform maintenance and remove trash and debris from the shooting range. Public access to the range will be completely restricted on June 10. Other closures may occur as needed for repairs.
Please comply with the range’s open or closed sign when entering the property. The public can also contact Cody Johnston, the Department’s shooting Read More
Los Alamos Faith & Science Forum Series Begins June 10
Los Alamos Faith and Science Forum presentations scheduled June 10 to Aug. 12. Courtesy/LAFSF
LAFSF News:
For 2026, the Los Alamos Faith and Science Forum (LAFSF) invites the public to examine issues at the interface of faith and science Wednesdays, June 10 to Aug. 12. After a light dinner at 6 p.m., presentations will begin at 6:30 p.m. to be followed by a Q & A session and table discussion at Trinity on the Hill Episcopal Church in Los Alamos.
The unique characteristics of our universe will be explored. The Haarsmas, who presented in 2015, will follow with a Christian perspective on the multiverse. Read More
McQuiston: The Contractor On Your Roof Falls And Why ‘They’re Insured’ Might Not Be Enough
By ALLEN MCQUISTON
Jemez Insurance Agency
Serving Los Alamos Since 1963
A guy is up on your roof on a bright June morning replacing the flashing around your chimney. You hired him because a neighbor used him and he came in a few hundred dollars under the other bid. He’s good, he’s fast, and he’s been at it an hour when you hear the scrape, the shout, and the sound nobody wants to hear. He’s on the ground beside the ladder, his leg is clearly broken, and he can’t get up.
You call 911. You do everything right in the moment. But once the ambulance pulls away, a quieter and much larger question Read More
United Way Donor Spotlight: Family That Helped Start It All
Longtime United Way donor and volunteer David Meyerhofer. Courtesy/UWNNM
United Way Northern New Mexico News:
David Meyerhofer first gave to United Way as a graduate student in Princeton, New Jersey. He wasn’t thinking about legacy or lineage. He wasn’t honoring a family name. He and his wife simply looked at the organization and liked what it stood for.
“My wife and I chose United Way because we liked their approach,” he says. “It wasn’t more complicated than that.”
That was the beginning of a giving habit that has lasted over four decades. What David didn’t know—what no one in Read More
UCR Entomologists Detail Consequences And Control Measures Of New World Screwworm
UCR News:
The New World screwworm lays its eggs in open wounds and burrows into skin. While human infections are rare, the insect poses an existential threat to cattle farming and dairy production. And it has returned to the United States.
While the U.S. Department of Agriculture officially declared the parasite eradicated from the country in 1966, several notable outbreaks and incursions have occurred since then. One of those is happening now.
On June 3, the USDA confirmed a case in South Texas. It could decimate that state’s $15 billion cattle industry, and poses a similar threat to California, Read More
Pueblo Alliance LLC Honored As SBA Rural Small Business Of The Year
Ron Lovato—CEO, TSAY Corporation and Pueblo Alliance, LLC (SBA National New Mexico Rural
Small Business of the Year) and Julianna Martinez-Barbee—SBDC Director NNMC, New Mexico Small Business Development Center. Courtesy photo
From left to right: Peter Fant, CEO of San Ildefonso Services; Daven Quintana, PMI Chief Operating Officer; Trish Alley, Small Business Advocate, LANL Small Business Program; Yvonne Gonzales, Small Business Program Manager, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL); Eric Quintana, CEO and Co-founder of PMI (SBA National New Mexico Small Business of The Year Award); Read More
County Clarifications On Op-Ed ‘Don’t Join The Flock’
By DAVID KRUEGER
Public Information Officer
Los Alamos County
I’m writing to provide some clarification regarding the Op-Ed “Don’t Join The Flock” (link).
Our data collection and retention policy for the Police Department’s automated license plate readers (ALPR) is clear that all data collected from those cameras are secured on local servers and solely for official use by the Los Alamos Police Department.
Only Evidence Technicians have access to the data. Everyone who accesses the data is logged. Evidence Technicians review requests to ensure access to the data is approved only for legitimate Read More
Rep. Vasquez Secures Win In Fight For Accountability & Answers From DOD On El Paso Airport Closure
U.S. HOUSE News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On June 4, U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez (NM-02)—in his role as a member of the House Armed Services Committee—secured a critical, bipartisan win in his ongoing fight to get the accountability and answers New Mexicans deserve from the Department of Defense regarding the chaotic closure of the El Paso Airport in February 2026.
During committee markup, Rep. Vasquez introduced an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act requiring the Department of Defense to provide a report on its coordination process with DHS and FAA, an explanation Read More