Public Safety

Op-Ed: ‘County Shows It Doesn’t Give A Flock About Surveilling Citizens’

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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

McQuiston: The Contractor On Your Roof Falls And Why ‘They’re Insured’ Might Not Be Enough

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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

UCR Entomologists Detail Consequences And Control Measures Of New World Screwworm

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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

County Clarifications On Op-Ed ‘Don’t Join The Flock’

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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

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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

Los Alamos Helps Fire Up interplanetary Space Missions

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Artist’s rendering of NASA’s Dragonfly rotorcraft on the surface of Saturn’s moon Titan. The car-sized lander will explore Titan’s environment and study its complex chemistry. Courtesy/NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben

LANL News:

  • Work is helping to power exploration into the cosmos

Within the recesses of a Los Alamos National Laboratory facility, a scientist studies a small ceramic pellet through layers of leaded glass. The pellet fits in the palm of a hand, but its purpose is anything but small. It is a plutonium-238 heat source, engineered to power scientific instruments in some Read More

Catch Of The Week: FBI Warns Of Microsoft 365 Hack

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By REBECCA RUTHERFORD
Los Alamos
For the Los Alamos Daily Post

If you use Outlook, Microsoft Teams, or Microsoft 365 – and a lot of us do – the FBI issued a warning and wants you to know about a new attack. It showed up in April of this year, and it is worth understanding because it isn’t like the phishing attacks you have learned to spot.

The lure usually comes in as a phishing email, frequently impersonating a trusted source like a document sharing service. No fake websites. No misspelled company names. No sketchy links. The Microsoft login page you land on is completely real, but the code Read More

County Invites Community To Comment On Upcoming Safety Improvements To Ashley Pond Park

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COUNTY News:

Los Alamos County preliminary design concepts for preventing vehicles from leaving Trinity Drive and entering Ashley Pond Park are now available for residents to provide feedback on now through Aug. 2.

The community is invited to review the designs and provide feedback on the County’s consultation page for this project.

Three design concepts were drafted with contractor Groundworks Studio to provide different options of protecting park-goers from the potential of vehicles intentionally or unintentionally leaving Trinity Drive, while also improving or complementing Read More

New Mexico Health Care Authority Restores Hotline For Reporting Abuse Of People With Disabilities

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NMHCA News:

SANTA FE — New Mexicans will again be able to report suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities directly to intake specialists starting July 1 by calling a restored toll-free hotline: 800.445.6242.

The hotline connects callers straight to intake specialists in the New Mexico Health Care Authority’s Division of Health Improvement Incident Management Bureau, eliminating extra steps so reports reach the intake team more quickly. Beginning July 1, online reports submitted through HCA’s reporting webpage will also Read More

Los Alamos Police Department Honors Three Retiring Officers Following Decades Of Service

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From left to right: Sergeant Eric Wilhoit, Corporal Robert Larsen, Corporal Gilbert Padilla. Courtesy/LAC

LAPD News:

The Los Alamos Police Department is honoring the careers and service of three respected veteran officers whose retirements mark the end of decades of dedicated law enforcement service to the citizens of Los Alamos and communities across New Mexico.

Sergeant Eric Wilhoit, Corporal Robert Larsen, and Corporal Gilbert Padilla each retired during the month of May, with all three departures occurring within approximately one week of one another. While retirements represent Read More