Opinion

The New Year has ushered in some nice or not-so-nice weather — wind, snow, even sunshine. It reminds one of the old exaggeration, “When I was your age, we had to walk X miles to school in all kinds of weather, uphill both ways.”

Incidentally, in my hometown, Gallup, walking uphill both ways was a truism; no matter where you started out, there was a hill to climb — no kidding! We call our residential Green Street “Elephant Hill.”

DOWN thumb ... BUILDING UP STEAM. By mid-week, the photos told the story. A scowling Gov. Bill Richardson, at a press conference intended to show off landscaping at an Albuquerque interstate intersection, sat in his vehicle as reporters bombarded him with questions about his withdrawal as nominee for U.S. commerce secretary. But that’s old news; now it’s all about his relationship with CDR Financial Products, the California firm that appears to be central to a grand jury investigation.

Thank you, councilmen Morris Madrid and Cruz Roybal, for making a very important point in noting that there are three elementary schools on New Mexico Avenue. This street is an old residential neighborhood and a portion of it is on the National Historic Register.

There are also several boarding homes in this area, and because of this and other economic factors there are many pedestrians. Increased traffic on this street may endanger the lives of the people who frequently have to cross this street as well as the elementary students who walk to and from school.

For three hours last week, the Highlands University Board of Regents met behind closed doors to discuss the possible acquisition of the College of Santa Fe, a private school that is suffering financial difficulties.

The state Open Meetings Act creates an exception for governing bodies to meet in closed session to discuss acquisitions of real property. The College of Santa Fe issue certainly would fall under this exception.

Qwest has a monopoly over phone service in much of New Mexico; it is granted that right through the state Public Regulation Commission.

We hope that Qwest, a private company, would look out for its customers’ interests, but last week, the telecommunications giant failed in that regard.

A few hours ago, hundreds of millions watched the ball drop on Times Square, signaling the start of a new year, one of hope and promise, if not of prosperity.

As they sang an ancient lay — something about an elderly man named Lang who owns an old sign — many people celebrated by uncorking bottles of champagne and later waking up to a man-sized headache today.         

As for me, the real ache is a couple of feet lower.

Let me explain:

Have you been passed up for a job opportunity at a local government agency for someone less qualified? You have the right degrees, years of experience, a record of accomplishments, a great list of references.

But you forgot to do one thing — you didn’t talk with the morning coffee klatch at Hillcrest Restaurant.

Oops. Apparently such a mistake can be a career killer.

The Israeli journalist Gideon Levy a few years ago referred to Israel as a “a loud-mouthed bully who shouldn’t be provoked into anger ... Not that the bully’s not right — someone did harm him.” Following the attack on Gaza this past week, Levy added, “Once again, Israel’s violent responses, even if there is justification for them, exceed all proportion and cross every red line of humaneness, morality, international law and wisdom…. Hamas brought this on itself and on its people, but this does not excuse Israel’s overreaction.”

UP thumb ... READY TO GO. Struggling with broken equipment for months, the management at the city’s recreation center kept its pledge to have all the treadmills operational before the end of the year. Wednesday morning, all the machines appeared to have been working fine.

Let’s hope exercise buffs take advantage of the repaired equipment as they begin their New Year’s resolutions, and that the rec center staff can keep them working throughout the new year.