Columns

Remember the days of yore when people used to write? We’re talking about writing in two senses: writing a letter, for instance, and also using our pencils and pens to help us create messages someone else could read.

Being a left-hander sort of excused me from winning or even competing in any penmanship sweepstakes at Immaculate Conception School, as our homeroom teacher in third grade, Sister Mary Plena Escritura would usually say, “What can we expect from Arthur? After all, he’s a left-hander.”

Our tale of two cities, presently focusing on the history of Las Vegas newspapers, will culminate in later columns with the merger of East and West Las Vegas in 1970. Consolidation of the twin cities is closely interwoven, however, with the Alpha News and its publisher, Junio Lopez — acknowledged by his contemporaries and historians alike as the father of consolidation.

Saying goodbye to friends is never easy. Over the last two weeks the Optic has had to say goodbye to seven part-time employees.

They are people you likely don’t know — people who, up until last month, worked behind the scenes making sure that all of your inserts, Homes & Property, American Profile and circulars, made it into your newspaper.

The social, economic and environmental challenges facing New Mexico are daunting, and while we made progress during the recently concluded legislative session to overcome them, it is imperative that all of us — policymakers and “ordinary” New Mexicans alike — redouble our efforts this summer and fall to turn New Mexico around.