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Opinion

  • Letter: Parking will be the central...

    Highlands in at it again. Now they are building a new student union building on the corner of National and Eighth. The building will take up the entire parking lot that now has over 200 parking spaces, that are used to capacity every day. The building will add a staff of over 60 people to the area and will have a 700-seat auditorium. Where are these people going to park? Ten blocks away? Oh! The university says it is going to buy the three small properties across Eighth Street and that might give them about 30 spaces. Wow, lose 200 spaces, add 60 staff and gain 30 spaces.

  • Editorial Thumbs

    Thumbs UP for ... A CIVIL CAMPAIGN. This year’s municipal election campaign has been the most civil in years. No potshots. No last-minute charges. No malicious gossip. So far — and we hope it stays that way.

    The candidates for Las Vegas mayor and City Council deserve credit for keeping this election season above-board.

  • Letter: Mora County must protect...

    I’ve been talking to some people who are very concerned about oil drilling in Mora County.

    I’ll say that I have to agree with one citizen who feels that drilling for oil is just a pretense for getting at our water supply. These big corporations usually print a pretty picture and promise revenues for the county.

    I urge all the citizens not to be taken in with offers of money. We call know that our water and our land are our biggest treasures, because we share the water and land as brothers.

    Let’s unite as brothers and protect our treasures.

  • Letter: Road closing part of a land...

    Your recent article about the closing of the road in El Pueblo has misrepresented the conflict currently under way. As a property owner near Daniel Garcia, I may have a more intimate understanding than your previous sources.

  • Work of Art: Smile pretty for the...

    ‘You must’ve been such a happy family. All your movies prove it.”

    That often came from people who sat through our home movies that showed us opening Christmas gifts sometime back in the ‘40s. Movies don’t lie, but they do exaggerate and can be manipulated.

    Need proof? Well, all of the movies of us Trujillos show us much mirthier, earthier and girthier than we really were. Back then. But now, if we take the time to view those pre-historic flicks, we appear quite slim. See? The exaggeration works both ways.

  • Letter: Bank's purchase an...

    Congratulations to the Community First Bank of Las Vegas for purchasing the historic Crockett Building at the corner of Sixth and Douglas.

    You have great plans for the building, but most of all, you have made a wonderful contribution to this community by enhancing the beauty and importance of the downtown area.

    Kim Delgado

    Las Vegas

  • Letter: Give Tim Dodge a contract...

    In regards to our city manager and the mayor and council’s inability to enter into a contract with Mr. Tim Dodge, there are some observations that I would like to share with the citizens of our fine city.  

  • Editorial: A board of watchdogs

    The West Las Vegas school board was right to enact a freeze of some budget items for the rest of this fiscal year. Tax receipts are down everywhere because of the poor economy, so it’s good that our officials are making sure unnecessary expenses are done away with.

    Of course, top officials at both our school districts have already been clamping down on spending. But the school boards have to be on top of financial matters.

  • As It Is: It's a matter of time

    Babies enter this world every day, replacing those who die. OK, OK, I know I have a wonderful knack for the obvious. But I wanted to point out that with each new generation, our society moves in a hopefully more enlightened direction.

    In 2008, America elected Barack Obama as president, the first black person in the nation’s highest political office.

    Could that have been possible even 20 years ago? Doubtfully.

    What’s changed? Well, prejudiced people died, replaced by people who have repudiated this stain on society.

  • Editorial Thumbs

    Thumbs DOWN to ... VALENTINE’S DAY DEATH. Michael L. Maestas, 55, was found dead near his home at 922 Railroad Ave. early Monday morning — the first reported homicide of the new year in the Las Vegas area. His brother, Joseph Maestas, has been charged.

    According to police, the brothers had been drinking and and were in an alleyway when an argument broke out. The dispute turned physical, Michael Maestas pulled a knife and cut his brother on the neck, police said.

  • Letter: Teachers need to practice...

    I would like to begin by saying how invaluable I know teachers are to the education and wellbeing of our children, and how difficult I know the job to be. Having gone through several general education courses, including Field Base II, and having determined that I have not the talent nor the skill to be a teacher myself, I am especially aware of the tremendous fortitude, strength of character, and patience it takes to be a teacher. That being said, I would like to know what has happened to the etiquette of the teacher?

  • Dulcey Amargo: Winter Idyll or idle...

    I don’t mean to wax poetic, but I just can’t help it, as that is a good part of my particular discipline. What I really want is to dispel some of the outright inconvenience that I have opted for as a rural dweller by choice.

    My headlined allusion to Whittier’s “Snow-Bound: A Winter Idyll” can be taken “romantically,” as the definition of idyll suggests — a nostalgic work describing a pleasant rural scene or homey setting. Well, that depends …

  • Work of Art: Ever try a Murphey...

    The news that Community First Bank plans to move part of its operation to the Crocket Building has drawn attention.

    Will the move itself revitalize downtown Las Vegas? We can hope. Irrespective of that, it’s great the bank’s owners, Ray and Joyce Litherland, chose to keep the bank downtown.

  • Letter: Disenfranchised by judge...

    I disagree with the Optic’s “Thumbs Up” of Friday, Feb. 12, of a “good ruling.” I am in the position of having won the battle — i.e., the court ruled that the city clerk should have allowed me to file for the office and that a faxed copy of my voter registration should have been accepted. The city clerk would not allow me to file because she wouldn’t accept a faxed copy of my voter registration. Why would I get a copy sent to the city clerk’s office if she would not accept it anyway?

  • Editorial: Anti-DWI efforts working

    Data recently compiled by the University of New Mexico provides the strongest evidence yet the DWIs in San Miguel County are going down. A lot of people should be credited with effectively combating this hazard of the roadways.

  • Letter: Cost increases necessitate...

    It is time we take the responsibility for all in the United States, especially those below the poverty line, the elderly, disabled, and children, and pass a health reform bill.

    I am 67, disabled  with lung problems since childhood, now on oxygen full time.

     Basically, I am living on Social Security, a small income from painting and a small retirement fund. (I used to teach art kindergarten through university.) Now I am unable to work due to my disability.

  • Letter: Acquaint yourself with...

    Early voting has started at the city office and election day is March  2.

    On behalf of the Home Rule Charter Commission, I would like to remind  all voters that you will have the opportunity to vote “for” or “against” the new charter at the upcoming municipal election.

    For your convenience, copies of the proposed charter are available at  the city office and at various locations in town. Please acquaint yourselves with the draft before casting your vote.

  • Editorial: Funding is the big issue

    There are a number of men who have already have announced their intentions to run for San Miguel County sheriff. They’ll likely make the funding for the Sheriff’s Department a major issue in the campaign.

    Sheriff Benjie Vigil, who plans to run for a second term, contends he has hit a brick wall with the county when it comes to getting more money for his department.

  • As It Is: Griego attracting notice

    I’ll start out by giving state Sen. Phil Griego, D-San Jose, some credit. The rest of our local legislative delegation operates rather quietly in Santa Fe. You don’t hear from them often, even though most of them are the more senior members of the Legislature.

    Griego, however, does get his name in the papers. So he apparently is in the thick of the legislative battles. That’s good.

    In recent days, Griego’s name appeared in stories in relation to a couple of good-government issues.

  • Editorial Thumbs

    Thumbs UP for ... A PURPLE PLATE. We imagine there will be many people jockeying for the lower numbers if Highlands University succeeds in getting its own auto license plates. This kind of plate, available to the general public for an extra charge, is along the lines of the kind seen around town boasting the UNM Lobos. Our proposed plate is prettier. Designed by Highlands public information director Sean Weaver, it features a swath of purple across the top, with “HU” in large letters and “New Mexico Highlands” at the base.