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Today's Opinions

  • LETTER: The details are important

    When I was taking journalism classes at the University of New Mexico, one of the most embarrassing lessons I learned was from a crusty old professor who used to be an editor at a daily paper.

    He had been retired from that job for years, but he still embodied what I thought was the typical image of an old school editor. He was slightly rotund, he always wore a starched white shirt with a few ink stains on it, and occasionally a bow tie. His voice was deep and gravelly, like he had spent a couple decades chomping on a cigar.

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  • EDITORIAL: Balance needed

    Over the last few months, San Miguel County has undertaken a diligent effort to revise its ordinance regulating wind farms. To its credit, the county drafted the ordinance six years ago, long before anyone seriously considered wind farms around here.

    Last year, when Chicago-based Invenergy presented its idea to have wind turbines in the Bernal area, some residents there expressed concern about noise pollution and the effects on scenery and wildlife. So the county formed a task force.

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  • COLUMN: 'Thank you.' 'No problem.'

    A few weeks ago, driving in Albuquerque, we noticed a couple — one steering, both pushing — who’d run out of gas close to a service station.

    With my wife driving, I did the Good Samaritan regimen, hopped out of the passenger’s side to help them get their Chevette up the ramp to the gas pumps on Montgomery.

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  • EDITORIAL: Examples of good teachers

    As we enjoy graduation season, it’s important to recognize the contributions of teachers and principals. Good ones make a big difference.

    The Optic’s last Hometown Heroes feature profiled West Las Vegas’ choir director, Arnell David Arellanes, and West High School principal Gene Parson. Arellanes deserves credit for turning around the choir program a few years ago, and he has received solid support from Parson.

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  • COLUMN: Belt-tightening may be on way

    These days, Gov. Bill Richardson isn’t doing sitdown interviews with reporters from New Mexico. Since a pay-to-play controversy forced him to decline his nomination as Commerce secretary, Richardson has held just one such interview — with a reporter from the Washington Post.

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  • LETTER: We all have to do our part, right?

    As an education employee of the state of New Mexico, I have been asked to give up 1.5 percent of my pay for the coming fiscal year. A $400 million shortfall, they tell us. OK. The school district comes to us today, and asks us to give up one day’s pay to help balance the budget here in our district, and keep everybody employed. A $400,000 shortfall, they tell us. OK. We all know state revenue is down. A lot. I guess we all have to do our part, and we know things are much worse in other parts of the country.

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  • EDITORIAL: Co-op vote

    This past weekend, a few hundred Highlands University and Luna Community College students walked across the commencement stage and received their degrees. And while some will go on to pursue another degree, most of them are about as academically prepared as they’re going to be for the working world.

    Unfortunately, they will enter the workforce during a recession, so it won’t be easy. Just about every job opening out there will have numerous applicants, so standing out in a crowd will be a challenge.

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  • EDITORIAL: Graduation and recession

    This past weekend, a few hundred Highlands University and Luna Community College students walked across the commencement stage and received their degrees. And while some will go on to pursue another degree, most of them are about as academically prepared as they’re going to be for the working world.

    Unfortunately, they will enter the workforce during a recession, so it won’t be easy. Just about every job opening out there will have numerous applicants, so standing out in a crowd will be a challenge.

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