Letters to the Editor

Letter To The Editor: Reject Any Return To Use Of Glyphosate In Los Alamos County

By RICHARD SKOLNIK
White Rock

Dear County Council,

I am writing to urge you to reject any return to the use of glyphosate in Los Alamos County.

The Council unanimously voted in 2021 to ban the use of this chemical in the County. In addition, the risks to the population and environment of the County from the use of glyphosate have not changed since that time.

Those involved in placing the use of glyphosate on the Council agenda are asking the wrong question. The question is NOT “why don’t we again use glyphosate to treat hard to mow areas at the airport?” Rather, the correct question is “how do we get Read More

Letter To The Editor: The Company Store

By MARK DEVOLDER
Los Alamos

Reference: Tennessee Ernie Ford, “Sixteen Tons”
You load 16 tons, what do you get?
 Another day older and deeper in debt
 St. Peter, don’t you call me ’cause I can’t go
 I owe my soul to the company store)

For most of my career as a chemical engineer, I have been supportive of the extractive industries (that is, multinational oil and gas corporations and coal / other mining industries). Industry has proven itself particularly adept at extracting money from consumer’s pockets. This would not be so bad if it did not result in Appalachia USA (that is, an increasing Read More

Letter To The Editor: Year-round DST … Been There. Done That. Hated It!

By J. TAUB
Santa Fe

Why would we repeat a mistake we’ve already made and rejected? Why discount history, just because it isn’t current personal experiences, and repeat a hugely unpopular event? The US Senate is considering a bill proposing the US switch to permanent year-round daylight savings time (DST). We’ve been there. Done that. Hated it!

In January 1974, due to an energy crisis, the Emergency Daylight Savings Time Act was passed to implement DST from January through the following 16 months. It was so thoroughly disliked by the people – you! – that the experiment ended 10 months later in October Read More

Letter To The Editor: On Alcohol Tax Increase

By SANDY CHARLES
Los Alamos

It has been said that a journalist’s duty is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. A good example would be to challenge businesses who sell alcohol to the public, yet “cry wolf” if congress forwards a bill to raise the alcohol tax for the first time in thirty … yes 30! … years. This tax omission does not correlate with the changing sensibilities of Americans over the last three decades surrounding alcohol.

NM House Bill 230 proposes an excise tax increase on alcohol. This bill will be debated in House committee today, Feb. 20. In the proposed bill, Read More

Letter To The Editor: Support Proposed Tennis Complex In Overlook Park

By GREG CUNNINGHAM
Los Alamos

My wife, Andrea, and I celebrated our 30th year in Los Alamos last summer. We both love our adopted town, but when we first moved here in 1992 we were dismayed by the antiquated infrastructure for public facilities, local businesses and housing.

We have witnessed a gratifying modernization of many aspects of the town ever since, led by dedicated and visionary people working in County government, serving on County Councils and School Boards, managing private enterprises and community volunteers. Andrea served on the School Board in part to ensure that our schools Read More

Letter To The Editor: Regarding Legislation To Expand New Mexico Teacher Scholarship Eligibility Passes First Committee

By LINDA BATTLES
Regional Vice President
WGU South Region

It is encouraging to see support for Senate Bill 307, which expands eligibility for the Teacher Preparation Affordability Scholarship to pay for licensed teachers to pursue master’s and doctoral degrees (link).

For years, New Mexico — like many states — has seen too many bright, capable teachers leave the profession. Reasons include a low return on their college investment, low pay, high pressure, and feeling undervalued. As a state, we must invest in and support our teachers at all levels, not only for those currently working in classrooms Read More

Letter To The Editor: A Friend In Need

By KATY KORKOS
White Rock

Back in 2007, the Los Alamos Monitor had an amazing staff, and many of us have remained friends for more than 15 years. That newsroom staff included many people you will recognize from this publication (Carol Clark, Kirsten Laskey, Mike Maez Cote, Gary Warren and Kelly LeVan – now Dolejsi, myself and Roger Snodgrass.)

I had lost touch with Roger, who was an investigative reporter of the highest caliber. One of the traits that made him able to be such a good reporter, beyond his really beautiful writing, was that he developed friendships and created networks among Read More

Letter To The Editor: Dedicated Pickleball Facility Needed

By LEM O’NEAL
USA Pickleball Association Ambassador

Pickleball has established itself as the fastest growing sport, which can be enjoyed as a means of fun exercise by multiple generations of Los Alamos residents. It is not a fad, as Lifetime Fitness has committed to having 600 courts in 2023. Lifetime Fitness has partnered with Major League Pickleball (MLP) and Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating (DUPR) with a goal to increase the current 5M players to 40M by 2030.

Recreational facilities in Los Alamos designed and suitable for pickleball do not exist. Shared use of tennis courts for pickleball Read More

Letter To The Editor: Regarding Eight New Tennis Courts

By ANDREA CUNNINGHAM
Los Alamos Tennis Club

Recent letters show some public misunderstanding of the project currently under review to create a tennis center in White Rock. Hopefully the following information will address and explain some of the concerns that have been expressed.

There are 9 different tennis court locations in Los Alamos and White Rock, each location containing a group of between 1 and 4 courts. No location in the county meets the 8-court requirement for tournaments by the New Mexico Athletic Association (NMAA), or the 5-court requirement to play United States Tennis Association Read More

Letter To The Editor: New Directions For The County In The New Year

By BRUCE WARREN
North Community

We are well into the new year with a new County Council. Let’s hope that the Council members will take some new directions for the County governance. Two big issues that concern me are:

1. Building New vs Maintenance and Repair: In the past the tendency of the Council and County staff has been to favor development and building new facilities rather than maintaining and repairing what we already have. Often the new projects have been way overblown for a community the size of ours. Three examples of recent projects that come to mind are the new County building, the justice Read More