Letters to the Editor

By KEITH CARTER
Los Alamos

The Los Alamos County Council has voted to approve automated license plate readers and speed cameras and has already allowed and installed Flock camera technology all over the county.

In my view, that decision moves our community one step closer to a society where government surveillance becomes the norm rather than the exception.

Five councilors supported this measure: Randall Ryti, Ryn Herrmann, Melanie Hand, Theresa Cull, and Suzie Havemann. While only David Reagor and Beverly Neal-Clinton voted against it.

I believe they made the wrong decision.

Every one Read More

By DIANNE WALTHERS
Los Alamos

I’m writing regarding the Op-Ed “Don’t Join The Flock” in the Los Alamos Daily Post, and the response to that Op-Ed written by David Kueger, Public Information Officer Los Alamos County on June 11, 2026 in the Los Alamos Daily Post.

The county can say all they want about what their policy is regarding the security for the Police Department’s automated license plate readers, but I feel we are entering a police state. The same is happening in Santa Fe, and other places.

Between the “police state” and ICE, I have to quote a song title “The Times They Are A-Changin”. Read More

By NONA GIRARDI
Los Alamos

I am writing in support of Stephanie Garcia Richard for Lieutenant Governor, and to encourage the Democratic State Central Committee to choose her as the Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor, now that this position has become vacant after the primary.

Here in Los Alamos, we know how great Stephanie was as our Representative in the state legislature, understanding local, state and national issues and concerns, and working with her colleagues to enact effective legislation. And, as Commissioner of Public Lands, she has done a great job statewide to protect Read More

By MIKE MCNAUGHTON
Los Alamos

Thank you for the Los Alamos Daily Post article and for discussions with Leslie Bucklin and county employees about bear-resistant roll carts. I have found that the “Kodiak-Products” roll carts are not difficult to fix.

If it doesn’t lock properly, I have found that inserting one or two ¼ inch washers fixes the most common problem. 

The lid opens by moving a lever from left to right and then pulling up using the small handle attached to the lid. It should close and lock with a satisfying click. 

A ¼ inch bolt fixes the handle to the lid. If the cart or the lid is slightly distorted Read More

By ANNIKA OLSEN
Los Alamos

Flock Cameras are popping up all over the nation, and Los Alamos County is no exception, but is this a trend we want to be a part of? Or are these cameras causing more harm than they’re stopping?

You may be familiar with regular traffic light cameras. The kind that snap a photo of you running a red light or committing some other type of traffic violation, then send you a fine in the mail. Not everyone’s favorite system, but generally considered culturally acceptable, right? You could be forgiven for assuming the Flock cameras that our county has put up at the intersections of Read More

By KOKHEONG MCNAUGHTEN
Los Alamos

In the past few years, I have had three yard signs stolen: two from the Food Forest at the Unitarian Church of Los Alamos, and just last week, a sign was stolen from the Pollinator raised bed at the Los Alamos Co+op Market. This last sign was stolen sometime between mid-day Wednesday June 10 and mid-day Friday June 12, the two days that I was able to work on the raised bed.

The first sign stolen from the Unitarian Church was a “Black Lives Matter” sign, which we have now replaced with a painted mural on a utility box in the center of our parking lot. The second sign, stolen Read More

By CHRISTOPHER FORTSON
Formerly of Los Alamos

Los Alamos Department of Public Utilities is moving toward Time-of-Use (TOU) pricing, with electricity rates reportedly set to vary from $0.11/kWh during off-peak hours to nearly $0.197/kWh during the evening peak window of 5 to 11 p.m. This shift makes sense for utilities. Managing when power is produced & consumed is a smarter tool than simply charging everyone the same flat rate regardless of grid conditions. That dynamic is exactly what led DPU to restructure solar net metering benefits in 2024, citing load management concerns.

But TOU Read More

By MATTHEW JEREMY
Formerly of Los Alamos

There was a lot of uninformed statements in James Rickman’s Op-Ed (link) but I will address maybe one or two.

James states and I quote: “Have the police discovered some new threat in Los Alamos that necessitates tap dancing on the Fourth Amendment and the fundamental presumption of innocence?”

Let’s take a look at said Amendment. As it reads verbatim:

“The right of people to be secure in their person’s, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported Read More

By RICHARD NEBEL
Los Alamos

Response To Julia Robins Op-Ed (link).

My recollection is that gas turbines for generating electricity are about 49% efficient.

The best your fuel cell solution could possibly do is reduce carbon-dioxide production by a factor of 2.

Would you mind clarifying that?

  Read More