Author Archives: merilee

Take a refresher for safer driving

If you are 55 or older, you can save some money on your auto insurance by taking a driver safety class. New Mexico law (paragraph 59A-32-14 in the Insurance Code) provides that insurers must give you a discount if you … Continue reading →

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When education works for the students

A small private school sent a letter to parents of children in second grade, describing the evaluation the children were about to undergo. The school, in another state, is based on the Waldorf school model. The director of the school … Continue reading →

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Responding to mental illness needs resources

Oh, those inconvenient people – the mentally ill. They fill our jails, they scare their neighbors, they drive their families crazy and sometimes bankrupt, and once in a while they kill somebody, or create a disturbance that leads the police … Continue reading →

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Retiree Health Care is solvent for 20 years

A friend told me, excitedly, that he has been approved for the new hepatitis C drug – the miracle drug that is supposed to cure this disease at a cost of $93,000 per patient. He has started the treatment and … Continue reading →

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Keep trying to reform school elections

New Mexico’s state constitution has handed us a real zinger. In 2014 a majority of us voted for an amendment to that constitution, but it didn’t get done. It turns out, the majority vote was not enough. The amendment in … Continue reading →

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Bail reform — if we can do it

There are more people in New Mexico county jails than in our state prisons, and some of them stay there for a long time. In some cases, it’s a relief that they are locked up. In others, it’s a tragic … Continue reading →

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Giving felons a second chance

Every now and then, you read a news story about an employee who went to a home to clean the carpet and later robbed the place. The perpetrator had a prison record. That is not only a trauma for the … Continue reading →

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The dam that never was

There might have been a dam, a mile and a half of stored water, and a new chance at sustainability – though “sustainability” was not in our vocabulary then — with thriving truck gardens, lush orchards and a much greener … Continue reading →

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Disadvantaged kids need summer support

While New Mexico’s children were out of school for summer vacation, some of them were forgetting what they learned last year. When they return to school, they will be further behind their peers. The children who lose ground, the studies … Continue reading →

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New Mexico isn’t alone in tax policy confusion

If you want to get a laugh out of some of the wonkiest policy wonks in the state, try this: The top question asked these days by tax policy people all over the country is what’s happening with taxing marijuana. … Continue reading →

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