OP/ED

Dixson: Thank You, Governor Lujan Grisham For Your Leadership On Clean Fuels

By BRIDGET DIXSON, IOM
President and CEO
Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce

Earlier this month, Governor Lujan Grisham took a bold step toward creating a cleaner energy future for New Mexico by signing House Bill 41, Clean Transportation Fuel Standards, into law. This innovative legislation is essential to reducing our state’s transportation emissions and reinforces New Mexico as a leader in the energy transition.

Thanks to Governor Lujan Grisham’s support, New Mexico is now the fourth state in the nation to enact these fuel standards that promise to create both an environmentally and economically Read More

DeVolder: Dead Trees On Bathtub Row

By MARK DEVOLDER
Los Alamos

Recently, I had an opportunity to look over the $5.5 million dollar “trail” running northward from Central. The wide concrete trail winds through some old-growth pine trees east of Bathtub Row. Given the size of the trees, I figure that they pre-date the Manhattan Project.

I began to wonder how the root system for the trees is going to collect water underneath the concrete trail.

In previous trips up to the Jemez Mountains, I have noticed pine trees along the road which were blown over by the wind. The exposed root ball on the trees is approximately 5 to 7 feet in diameter. Read More

DeVolder: LAPD Needs To Start Impounding Vehicles

By MARK DEVOLDER
Los Alamos

Driving in Los Alamos in the last couple of days has been miserable – drivers tailgating half car length behind my vehicle as well as behind other vehicles, drivers can’t stay in their own lane, small cars weave in and out of traffic, drivers speed, etc. Hurry, hurry, hurry. Every day in Los Alamos is getting to be worse than driving on a Chicago freeway on a Friday night. Vehicles there routinely weave across five traffic lanes. Enough is enough. Safety is out the window.

It is apparent to me that automobiles in Los Alamos County are the real weapons of mass destruction and Read More

DeVolder: Oxygen

By MARK DEVOLDER
Los Alamos

Probably to the relief of climate change deniers, I am not particularly worried about carbon emissions. 

Instead, I have greater concerns about oxygen levels in the atmosphere. The typical oxygen level in the atmosphere is approximately 21 percent. The minimum level required to sustain human life is 19.5 percent. In the last century, oxygen levels have decreased by approximately 0.1 percent. This would lead one to believe that there is no problem.

I began to think about combustion processes (that is, combustion of coal, oil, natural gas, wood, paper, plastic, garbage, Read More

Op/Ed: Ending 4-Day School Week An Attack Against Democracy

By REBECCA DOW
Project Manager
Opportunity for All Kids

In 2023, the Legislature passed HB 130, a bipartisan bill signed by Gov. Lujan Grisham to extend classroom time for New Mexico students. The idea of enforcing 5-day school weeks was considered during discussions yet rejected.

During this year’s budget debates (HB 2), an amendment prohibiting the Government from allocating funds to mandate 5-day school weeks was introduced and approved on a bipartisan basis in the House, then the Senate.

Despite these efforts, Gov. Lujan Grisham quickly acted to disregard the Legislature and enforce Read More

Op/Ed: State Parks Fees Study

Selena Connealy, Chair
NM State Parks Advisory Board
Albuquerque

More than five million people visit New Mexico’s State Parks in an average year, a testament to the integral role that parks play in the state’s outdoor recreation economy and their essential contribution to our quality of life. Our 35 State Parks give New Mexicans—and out-of-state visitors—a matchless opportunity to experience the beauty, adventure, and unique character of New Mexico’s landscapes.

For the State Parks system to continue providing the best experience for New Mexicans and visitors alike, we must invest in Read More

DeVolder: America For Sale – Cheap / Part V

By MARK DEVOLDER
Los Alamos

Note: I had a very difficult time writing Part V because something was eluding me.

Recently, I began to consider how people use their time. I concluded that most people spend the majority of their time on work, family, sleep and entertainment. I can understand the need for the first three activities; however, the last category puzzled me.

Americans spend quite a bit of time on entertainment. We have machines/utilities that make life easier and permit us to complete chores quickly – automobiles, appliances, calculators, I-phones, electric lighting and computer-based Read More

Op/Ed: Shared Grief

By DAVID CREMER
Los Alamos

My wonderful wife is a hospice nurse who has had the profound privilege of taking care of and comforting hundreds of patients as their journey on this earth came to an end. She often heard very poignant stories from her patients during their last days. She heard one of those stories from a retired Los Alamos police officer she was taking care of. It was a story that brought heartfelt tears to both her and the old officer as they talked.

Her relationship with her new patient began in the normal way. She came into his home, introduced herself, and started assessing the health Read More

DeVolder: Comments On McQuiston – Car Insurance Rates Skyrocket …

By MARK DEVOLDER
Los Alamos

Mr. McQuiston passed along an article (link) he read in Forbes magazine dated August 2023 (updated December 2023).

The article indicated the following:

Drivers currently pay an average of $1,668 for their car insurance policy, according to the online insurance agency Insurify. New Mexico, Nevada and New Jersey are seeing the highest annual rate increases in 2024, with prices soaring by 38 percent, 36 percent and 34 percent respectively.

Experts point to four main reasons for the spike in car insurance rates:

  • Costs associated with driving are higher.
  • More cars are
Read More

Op/Ed: Response To Editorial On Joe Biden’s Age

By DIANA MARTINEZ
Los Alamos

In regard to James Rickman’s editorial on Joe Biden’s age (link), I wanted to provide a synopsis of what a neuroscientist wrote to the NY Times. Dr. Charan Ranganath, a professor of psychology and neuroscience and the director of the Dynamic Memory Lab at the University of California, Davis said that everyone begins losing memories and words in their 30s. He said there is “forgetting” and “Forgetting.” The first is when we mis-speak the name of someone like the president of Mexico, and the second is when we don’t remember having met that person. He also spoke to Biden’s Read More