By Satyana Amilca Shah Martinet One day I was walking to my elementary school garden in Albuquerque. I am a fifth-grader and I like to draw in my sketchbook in the garden. I was preoccupied in my own thoughts when I heard a whimpering sound coming from behind the large cherry tree. As I looked around the tree, I came face to face with a little boy who looked like he was in kindergarten, I think his name was Aiden. I recognized Aiden from…
Opinion by Derek Wallentinsen (Part 2 of a Series) Power grabs and reversals of progress are happening while public attention is focused on COVID-19. The first article in this series focused on the Department of Justice seeking to detain people indefinitely. Another backward and abusive step involves the Environmental Protection Agency: The Environmental Protection Agency is indefinitely suspending its rules. Under the new “temporary” (without any timeframe) policy, industry and polluters will be trusted to self-regulate and won't face any punishment or regulation for…
By M. Benevento Begin at home, but know we must go further: You and I can make environmentally conscious choices – to recycle, eat less (or no) meat, use energy-saving appliances, take transit or pedal a bike, promote sustainability in our workplaces. But if we then proceed complacently, thinking I’ve done my part, there’s a problem. Source after source, experts warn that our singular habits and consumption patterns are a start, but aren’t sufficient to solve global warming. Seek the common view in our communities: According to…
By Lance Chilton Democrats want more people to have the chance to vote, including in the primary election scheduled here for June 2. Republicans want fewer people to vote. It’s as simple as that. Our president tweeted “Republicans should fight very hard when it comes to statewide mail-in voting, [which] doesn’t work out well for Republicans.” He has also said that if there were an expansion of early voting and voting by mail, “you’d never have a Republican elected in this country again.” The…
By Flora Lucero "Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will." ~ Frederick Douglass The November 3, 2020 election will likely be the most consequential election of our lifetime. Millions of voters will cast ballots to elect representatives to local, state, and federal offices as well as choose the next leader of the United States of America. We the people are striving for a more perfect Union. The power to elect competent leadership is crucial. The power to influence…
Opinion by Derek Wallentinsen, Part 1 of a Series The world is undergoing a virus crisis as it attempts to stop a pandemic, if not in its tracks, then before it walks all over us. Having survived the Hong Kong flu pandemic in the winter of 1968-69, I am all for what I see today – a first global attempt by governments to stop widespread infection through physical distancing. That was certainly not done in 1968. There were vaccines in existence, yet they weren't…
By Shelley Mann-Lev and Justin Garoutte It is the end of National Public Health Week (April 6-12), and this year, the importance of public health to our community and nation’s well-being has never been more evident in our lifetime. The New Mexico Public Health Association has been working since its inception over a century ago to strengthen our state’s public health system and to address health equity issues, including racism, poverty and other social determinants of health. The COVID-19 pandemic likely will follow all-too-familiar…
By Derek Wallentinsen As responsible citizens, we are practicing physical distancing, but that doesn't mean we have to remain isolated inside. During this crisis, it’s important to keep up our mental and physical health. Getting outside in the fresh air and sunshine can help. It’s way to lessen some of the anxiety and depression that come from seeing and hearing too much news, being isolated, losing a job, struggling to cope with a suddenly changed world. And it's perfectly legal – even in California,…
By Lance Chilton You get up out of bed before dawn and turn on the lights, stretch and take a shower. You toast the bread, turn on the gas burner and scramble the eggs in the pan for your breakfast. You get in the shuttle to the airport to take off for your vacation in Hawaii. But you have to come back sometime, and you have to pay the monthly bills for the electricity for those lights and that toaster, the water for that…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUHy6GhtM7k&feature=youtu.be Bernalillo County Manager Julie Morgas Baca stresses the importance of taking care of your mental health while also taking care of your physical health. Much of the focus at this point has been on our physical well being, but with all the compounded issues related to the Coronavirus, not much is being said about mental health awareness.