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Special Planetarium Show: Explore Stars Jan. 15

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on January 13, 2016 - 4:59 pm

Photo of bright blue, newly-formed stars taken with NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. Image/ Hubblesite.org

PEEC News:

What are stars? How big are they? Why do they shine? Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC) is holding a special show at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 15 in the Los Alamos Nature Center Planetarium.

Explore stars with Sam Berne in the planetarium. This program is designed for beginning astronomers who would like an overview of stars.

This special planetarium show is $6 for adults and $4 for children. Tickets are available by calling or stopping by the nature center. Seating Read More

Udall On President’s Final State Of Union Address

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on January 13, 2016 - 4:31 pm

President Barack Obama works on the State of the Union address with Director of Speechwriting Cody Keenan and Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications, Jan. 11, 2016 in the Oval Office. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Tom Udall issued the following statement after President Obama delivered his final State of the Union address:

“President Obama was right to be upbeat in his final State of the Union address. We’ve made tremendous progress in this country. We took historic steps to ensure tens Read More

Los Alamos History Museum Launches Japan Initiative

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on January 13, 2016 - 4:08 pm

LA HISTORY MUSEUM News:

The Los Alamos Historical Museum has been awarded a grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation to increase the cultural understanding between the communities of Los Alamos, Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Museum Director Judith Stauber, Museum Registrar Stephanie Yeamans and Intern Kallie Funk, a Los Alamos High School student, will travel to Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki, Japan March 24 to visit museums and historic sites. They will meet with colleagues at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum with the goal of developingdialogue Read More

Backcountry Film Festival Will Inspire Winter Adventurers To Seek Snow Less Traveled

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on January 13, 2016 - 3:33 pm

Courtesy/PEEC

PEEC News:

The Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC) and the Reel Deal Theater are teaming up to bring the popular Backcountry Film Festival to Los Alamos for the fifth year in a row.

Produced by the Boise-based nonprofit Winter Wildlands Alliance, the touring Backcountry Film Festival will make its way to more than 100 locations around the world. The screening at the Reel Deal at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21 will be the only one in New Mexico.

The Pajarito Brewpub will sell beer and wine before the show and at intermission. Also at intermission, PEEC will raffle prizes donated Read More

Letter To The Editor: Amazon Should Collect NM Taxes

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on January 13, 2016 - 3:00 pm

By RHETA MOAZZAMI

Los Alamos

In the third quarter of 2015, Amazon sold $25 billion. I have no way of knowing how much of these goods went to New Mexico households. But, I do know that no New Mexico taxes were paid on them.

I know that local businesses suffered a loss of revenue that could have been spent locally and passed on to New Mexico folks, and that New Mexico citizens suffered a loss of government services because of that loss of revenue. I know that the more local businesses disappear because of this unfair competition, the higher people will pay for the same services,

Faith & Science Series: ‘What Makes Us Human?’

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on January 13, 2016 - 3:00 pm

LAFSF News:

The Los Alamos Faith & Science Forum is holding a winter series on the topic “What Makes Us Human?”

The group will meet Jan. 19 to discuss Human Genetics. A video/presentation begins at 6 p.m. followed by a large group discussion at 6:30 p.m., for about an hour. All are welcome. Attendees may bring their dinner.

Human Genetics

Due to billions of years of evolution, humans share genes with all living organisms. The percentage of genes or DNA that organisms share records their similarities. We share more genes with organisms that are closely related to us. For example, Read More

Letter To The Editor: ‘Thank You Los Alamos!’

Submitted by Chris Clark on January 13, 2016 - 2:37 pm

By SrA DANIEL NEBEL, USAF Band of the Golden West

Los Alamos

It is always a pleasure to return to Los Alamos and visit my folks because it is such a unique and generous community.

This year when I returned home for the holidays I performed a recital at Fuller Lodge on New Year’s Eve and was pleasantly surprised to have over 90 people come to the performance!

I took up a free will offering for the Santa Fe Youth Symphony, one of the many ensembles in the area that was vital to my success as a professional musician, and I just sent them $250.

The Most Important New Year’s Resolution Of All

Submitted by Chris Clark on January 13, 2016 - 2:35 pm

By MONISHA VASA, M.D.

As 2016 begins, we might find ourselves thinking about new years resolutions for how we can better parent our children.

More than ever, it feels important to help our children develop tools that will allow them to grow into a conscious, healthy adults.

One of the most important skills for emotional well being is that of gratitude. Here are five quick, easy (and free) ways to encourage an attitude of gratitude in our children.

Engage in random acts of kindness: Children will often spontaneously share a toy

Letter To The Editor: Guns Are A Tool, Not The Cause

Submitted by Chris Clark on January 13, 2016 - 2:30 pm

By STEVAN PATILLO

Los Alamos

Once again Khalil J. Spencer (letter), has illumined the basic problem in our debate(?) about guns in our society.

Not only are the two widely separated sides talking past each other, they both ignore the roots of the situation we have found ourself in: Our self perpetuating culture of violence is at the base and where we find ourselves today.

Guns are a tool, not the cause. We have become a more angry society. Our answer to any situation is confrontation, not compromise.

Los Alamos Among Affordable Cities For Renters Insurance

Submitted by Chris Clark on January 13, 2016 - 2:23 pm

STATE News:

New Mexico is the fifth largest state but has little more than 2 million residents. It was inhabited by indigenous peoples until European exploration and today the state has the second highest number of Native Americans. Sante Fe is the capital but Albuquerque is the most populous and both have a lot of renters.

To see who has the cheapest and most expensive renters insurance rates, we evaluated quotes for a sample property (a rental property with roughly 1,000 square feet of living space and $100,000 in liability coverage).

The results showed that the most

Coaching Café: Catabolic vs. Anabolic Leaders Part 4

Submitted by Chris Clark on January 13, 2016 - 2:12 pm

By LeAnne Parsons

Los Alamos

Welcome to 2016, the best year yet! The year to design your best life!

This month, part 4 of the discussion of the characteristics of anabolic and catabolic leaders focuses on how (and if) leaders assess themselves, and examine how their actions and attitudes affect their results, as well as impact the people around them.

Catabolic leaders operate in their own little worlds. They do what they do, and they rarely, if ever, stop to think about the consequences of what they are doing (and how they are doing it).

If catabolic

BBBS: January Is National Mentoring Month

Submitted by Chris Clark on January 13, 2016 - 2:10 pm

By KELLY MYERS

BBBS Los Alamos/Rio Arriba Counties Co-Chair

Founded in 1904, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is the oldest, largest and most effective youth mentoring organization in the United States.

Big Brothers Big Sisters mentors children, ages 6-18, in communities across the country. Our mission is to help children reach their potential through professionally supported, one-to-one relationships with mentors that have a measurable impact on youth.

National research has shown that positive relationships

Obituary: Jeanette Marie Preber Verre Dec. 23, 2015

Submitted by Chris Clark on January 13, 2016 - 2:02 pm

JEANETTE MARIE PREBER VERRE Dec. 23, 2015

Jeanette Marie Preber Verre, a former Los Alamos resident, peacefully passed away on Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2015 in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.

Jeanette, born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1931, was preceded in death by her husband, Raymond D. Verre, her parents, John and Margaret Preber, her brother, Walter James Preber, and her nephew, Gregory Justin Preber.

She is survived by her nephew, Bradley Preber and wife, Lois, of Pheonix, Arizona, niece, Heather Preber, and nephew, Cameron Preber, as well as two ornery Schnauzers, Missy and Pepper,

Paustenbach Makes $1 Million Gift To Jackson Lab

Submitted by Chris Clark on January 13, 2016 - 2:01 pm

Jackson Laboratory News:

Dennis J. Paustenbach, Ph.D., a pioneer in the health and environmental risk assessment industry, has made a $1 million planned gift to The Jackson Laboratory to support cancer and immunology research.

The gift will establish an endowment called the Paustenbach Family Cancer and Immunology Research Fund.

“I concluded JAX was the best equipped to take its eight decades of work with mice to make dramatic improvements in the way we treat or cure cancers,” Paustenbach said. “JAX can use the mouse to give us insights into diseases that other

Gray Matters: Vote No On School Bond Issue

Submitted by Chris Clark on January 13, 2016 - 1:56 pm

By LARRY JOHNSON

Los Alamos

The purpose of this column is to urge you to vote no on the school bond issue. There are at least three good reasons to vote no.

First, we voted for a large tax increase before the new high school was built, followed by a new middle school and a new elementary school. We were assured by the school board at that time they would need no further bonds for capital expenses. The present vote is for further capital spending. A vote no will reduce our taxes and partially compensate for the previous large increase.

The second reason to vote no is because the school

Three Santa Fe Arts Institutions Celebrate Lloyd Kiva New’s 100th Birthday

Submitted by Chris Clark on January 13, 2016 - 1:53 pm

Woman’s purse. Courtesy/NMMA

NMMA News:

SANTA FE ― This year is the centennial of the birth of seminal Native American artist Lloyd Kiva New, and three Santa Fe arts institutions are celebrating this anniversary in style.

Lloyd Kiva New, a Cherokee, is known locally as the Institute of American Indian Art’s (IAIA) first artistic director, yet nationally, Native people refer to him as the “Godfather of Native Fashion.”

The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, and the New Mexico Museum of

LANL Narrowly Missed Contract Extension Goal

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on January 12, 2016 - 10:41 pm

LANL Director Charlie McMillan speaks with staff. Courtesy/LANL

By ROGER SNODGRASS

Los Alamos Daily Post

Los Alamos National Laboratory came up 2 percentage points short of qualifying for another one year contract extension, according to a lab communication obtained by the Los Alamos Daily Post.

The crucial Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration FY 2015 Performance Evaluation Report, which has yet to be officially released, rated the laboratory 2 percentage points below the 51 percent required in the operations and infrastructure category, which Read More

New Los Alamos Police Officer Takes Oath Today

Submitted by Chris Clark on January 12, 2016 - 10:40 pm

Newest Los Alamos Police Officer Cpl. Jemuel Montoya, with his wife LeAnne Montoya and their son Antonio, was sworn in today by Magistrate Judge Pat Casados at the Los Alamos County Justice Center. Photo by Chris Clark/ladailypost.com

At today’s ceremony at the Justice Center, from left, Cmdr. Preston Ballew, Deputy Chief Jason Wardlow Herrera, new Cpl. Jemuel Montoya, Chief Dino Sgambellone and Cmdr. Olver Morris. Photo by Chris Clark/ladailypost.com

Magistrate Court Judge Pat Casados swears in Cpl. Jemuel Montoya as the County’s newest police officer. Photo

Luján Announces Native New Mexican, Recent STEM Graduate As State Of Union Guest

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on January 12, 2016 - 10:38 pm

Alejandra Montoya-Boyer

U.S. CONGRESSIONAL News:

U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján looks forward to President Obama’s final State of the Union Address tonight and is pleased to announce that Alejandra Montoya-Boyer will be his guest.

Montoya-Boyer, a native New Mexican, is a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Secondary Education Graduate Fellow. She has served as a fellow in Luján’s Washington, D.C. office.

“I am pleased that Alejandra will be my guest for the State of the Union. As a Hispanic woman with a strong tech background, Alejandra is a testament to what can happen when we inspire Read More

Bill Priedhorsky Presents Talk To Mountaineers Jan. 20

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on January 12, 2016 - 5:09 pm

Llama packer BJ Orozco and his staff, schlepping gear down the canyon of the Escalante River. Courtesy photo

LA MOUNTAINEERS:

Bill Priedhorsky, a local Los Alamos Mountaineers member, will present “Adventures in the Canyons: A Country of Puzzles” at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 20 at Fuller Lodge in Los Alamos. Social time and reports of recent and upcoming events begin at 6:30 p.m.

Priedhorsky will share some highlights of his 36 years of exploring, focusing on the last few years of new adventures. What is it about this part of the world that keeps him, and so many other