Letters

When we completed the last mural panel for the “The Peoples History of El Norte,” none of the contemporary issues illustrated were resolved. Since then four of six have been resolved by a concerted grassroots effort by the people of San Miguel County.

Whites Peak has been returned to the people, Invenergy has been blocked from littering the Bernal mesa with turbines, the PNM plant on the west side of Las Vegas has been shut down, and the 1199 have finally prevailed against Alta Vista Regional Hospital.

In the past, Senate members used a filibuster as a means of bringing attention to a high-profile bill they disagreed with.  For many, many years it was seldom employed but since the 1970s it has been used repeatedly to stop much of the chamber’s work. Both parties have used the filibuster to alter simple “majority rules” bills to supermajority votes, so this is not a partisan issue.  

Aaron Ortega was a lifelong resident of Las Vegas, a son of Juan and Annabella Ortega, and a victim of a rare enzyme disorder called methylmelonic acidemia. Aaron was a person who loved music and always had the desire to start a heavy metal band called Life & Death. His favorite holiday was  Halloween. For those reasons the Aaron Ortega Life & Death Fest has been held on the weekend nearest Halloween.

San Miguel County’s draft ordinance regarding oil and gas references the “National Environmental Policy Act” and thus rightly includes all aspects of the biotic and abiotic environment, but unlike the law, fails to include “economics.” Unfortunately this is consistent with membership of the county’s oil and gas committee, which also did not have a specific representative for “economic development.”