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Recent Articles
Category Archives: Articles
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
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
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
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
Posted in Articles, Governance
Tagged education funding, marijuana tax, oil and gas, road funding, road maintenance, states, tax policy
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How do we fix our prisons?
New Mexico’s “three strikes” law may be due for an update, because, says Governor Susana Martinez, the current law does not take enough violent criminals off the street. I’m all for protecting us from violent criminals. But I find … Continue reading
Posted in Articles
Tagged corrections, jails, Marcantel, prison, prison cost, solitary confinement
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Literacy is more than reading
Almost half of the adults in New Mexico can’t read. According to the New Mexico Coalition for Literacy, 46 percent of New Mexico adults are functionally illiterate. Of those, 20 percent have literacy skills at the lowest level, meaning — … Continue reading
Posted in Articles
Tagged adult literacy, Jimmy Santiago Baca, literacy, literacy volunteers
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Ambiguous policies affect workers’ comp
The workers’ compensation system, we sometimes observe, is a patchwork of contradictory and inconsistent rules that are hard to understand and even harder to live with. Our courts don’t make this any easier. We were reminded of this recently at … Continue reading
Cruelty to wild animals doesn’t benefit the state
When somebody’s dog gets caught in a leghold trap meant for a wild animal, the incident gets publicity. Meanwhile, out of sight and unreported, wild animals are getting caught in those traps. Suddenly, in response to an alleged need that … Continue reading
Posted in Articles
Tagged animal cruelty, animal traps, cattle, coyote shooting, hunting, leghold traps, mountain lions, New Mexico Game Commission
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Health care is changing, not necessarily for the better
Whatever you think of Obamacare, the U.S. health care system before Obamacare was a mess. Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act, is an attempt to straighten it out. So said Dr. Michael Richards, speaking to the New Mexico Workers’ Compensation Association. … Continue reading
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Veto of hemp bill was a lost opportunity
I’m a natural fiber kind of person. Whenever I can, I prefer to purchase and wear clothing that is 100 percent cotton. I have learned recently about the pollution involved in the growing of my favorite fiber. Conventional cotton is … Continue reading
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