Opinion

A couple of weeks ago, I attended a more than two hour meeting on a proposed pedestrian-bicyclist path along Cinder Road. Backers touted it as a desirable extension of the riverwalk here in town.

However, opponents claimed that the riverwalk is poorly maintained and that Cinder Road residents should expect the same thing.

Up to that point, I had never walked or run on the entire length of the riverwalk. I have chosen other places for exercise over the years, including the tracks at Robertson High School and Highlands University.

GOOD LAWMAKING. Anyone familiar with the legislative process knows that it’s much easier to kill a bill than it is to get one passed, so it should be no surprise when a session ends without much to show for itself, especially if you’re looking for progressive legislation. But the New Mexico session that ended a couple of weeks ago was exceptional in a number of ways — and with Gov. Bill Richardson’s signature, several good new laws are now on the books.

What is the argument with a union at Alta Vista? The workers voted for it. The doctors support it.

I called the corporate headquarters of CHS — the company that owns Alta Vista — to ask the question. The receptionist told me she would have a man named Mr. Putoff return my call. But after I couldn’t stop giggling, she changed her mind and said that a “Mr. Hussy” would return my call. (I still could not stop giggling.)

Every year on Good Friday people from far and near walk to El Santuario de Chimayo. They are called Pelegrinos (Pilgrims). Alice Bullock in a book called “Living Legends” published by the Spanish colonial altos society, gives her version of the story of “El Santuario de Chimayo.” Chimayo is a small village located in northern New Mexico, northeast of Santa Fe.

Few things took precedence last week over the details of the visit by President Obama and the First Lady to Britain’s Queen Elizabeth.

The economy, bailouts, the war in Afghanistan, the G20 Summit: All of these paled as talk-show hosts and columnists spent days purely pondering protocol.

The members of the Manuel Sandoval family wish to thank all those who provided support and assistance following the recent death of our loved one.

We thank Dr. G. Michael Lopez, Father C. John Brasher, Lorenzo Martinez, Soylo Martinez, Diane Martinez, Diego Trujillo, Michelle Manzanares, Michelle Velasquez, Alicia Padilla, Marilyn Romero, Bill Lindsey, the VFW Honor Guard, and the Alta Vista Hospital nursing staff.

James Sandoval

Las Vegas

A few days ago, one of our honorable state senators, Phil Griego, D-San Jose, was on the radio and he warned people about those in the merchant class in the Plaza area.

He said they were newcomers and that they wanted to change Las Vegas into a Santa Fe or a Taos. (And he said the Optic was 90 percent wrong in its stories, but that’s a subject for another day.) Actually, newcomers make up a lot of the business owners in the Plaza area, but there are many natives who own shops there as well.

Over the years, the San Miguel County government has shown that it is forward-looking with its projects. For instance, a planned crusher operation is expected to cut the costs of maintaining roads. And a proposed transfer station with a railroad spur is expected to make the county’s solid waste operations more efficient.

In the last few years, the county has completed a new courthouse and a public health office. This is real progress.

Now, the county is planning a pedestrian-bicyclist path along Cinder Road. We wholeheartedly endorse this project.

Government should aim for fully open bidding processes. And the public should have a reasonable idea what it’s bidding on.

The city of Las Vegas fell short of these standards with a grazing lease on its reservoir property in the Gallinas area last year.