Author Archives: merilee

            Have you voted recently in a PERA election? If you are not a member of PERA, please excuse the intrusion. But you or a family member just might be a member and not even remember. PERA is the New … Continue reading →

New Mexico’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad is still the only long-term storage site for nuclear waste in the United States. It might be about to get longer-term and riskier. WIPP holds radioactive materials 2000 feet underground in hollowed-out … Continue reading →

When was the last independent audit of your church’s finances? Or of your favorite nonprofit? This might be, for some people, the most offensive question I could possibly ask. “What do you mean,” you might say, “my church or my … Continue reading →

My friend, who was a frequent global traveler before the pandemic, has a document called the International Certificate of Vaccination. It attests that she has been vaccinated against yellow fever and several other diseases. The form is approved by the … Continue reading →

People in rural school districts are different, they will tell you. Different from what, you might ask. Certainly some needs are unique to those districts, such as those related to the long travel distances. A lifelong resident of Magdalena told … Continue reading →

You don’t see cigarette vending machines anymore; have you noticed? They became illegal in New Mexico a few years ago, except for limited locations where teenagers cannot get to them. Lawmakers decided the way to prevent teenagers from buying cigarettes … Continue reading →

My friend is invited to a relative’s wedding in another state. Along with the invitation she has received a request for proof of vaccination. Some people might consider this rude. Not me. I am relieved. My friend (who never smoked … Continue reading →

“The NM school system is a total disaster IMO,” a reader from Hobbs wrote to me recently. “Our children deserve much better than they are receiving and it’s entirely the fault of the politicians and the people they appoint to … Continue reading →