South Korea is vigorous, vibrant
Editor:
Kathryn Allbrecht’s column appearing in the March 31, 2012, edition of El Defensor Chieftain contains some distortions of fact and outright errors that beg correction. As a guest of the Korean people for the last 10 years, I feel a responsibility to present a more accurate picture of the state of democracy in the Republic of Korea (South Korea).
Across the southern states a battle is raging for our most precious resource. The value of water has reached a premium, and it will only increase with time. As the cities and counties of the West continue to grow, so does the need for new water sources to support their ever increasing demands. While the quest for oil is on the forefront of everyone's mind, dollar for dollar, water is by far more valuable. We can live without oil if necessary, but we must have water to survive. During the past few years, several applications have been submitted to the State Engineers Office in New Mexico for the purpose of tapping into the deeper aquifers, waters that were previously deemed unusable and were until now protected from such requests. One by one, they have been protested and denied. This is not the end of the effort. Future legislation will support these requests as our cities continue to grow, along with the residential demand for additional supplies — water for sanitary and domestic use is, and always will be, a priority to developers and communities. The health and welfare of the masses could easily trump the livelihood of the rural ranchers. They are few, urban residents are many.
Last week Joe went to buy sweat socks and found a pair he liked. They were advertised as having "the official odor of the NFL." That was too good to pass up. Every group has its specialties, which groupies cling to passionately.
I was talking to a friend the other morning and she mentioned that it was time for her returning migrant birds to show up: only one yellow rumped warbler so far this year. Thinking of these migrants' travels from as far south as Argentina (Swainson's hawks) and many, many species thru Central America, I realized that some will have no home to go back to.
Co-op members had their say
Those of us in the reform group are positively glowing with pride in the members’ response to our pleas for attendance at Saturday’s Socorro Electric Cooperative annual meeting. The people voted in accordance with our recommendations and thus began the process that will eventually result in having the kind of co-op that we all want. And yet…
Gary Johnson hasn't forgotten who he is.
Maybe our former governor couldn’t elbow his way into Republican presidential debates, but he hasn’t been ignored by the media.
This Sunday afternoon's "Reviving Democracy" gathering of citizens at the New Mexico Tech Library will include a preliminary meet and greet. We'll start at 2:00 with an informal mingling over books before taking in a slide-show presentation assembled by We Are People Here, a group of concerned citizens in the Santa Fe area, at 3:00 p.m. I for one am excited to see what kind of dialog the program generates (full disclosure: although I've been to a couple of WAPH meetings, I've not seen Reviving Democracy.)
Presidential election years are fraught with traditions masquerading as "news," and Gov. Susana Martinez has been caught up in one of the most durable of them.
Let's talk about dust today. Appropriate subject, given this season of reduced visibility as the wind picks up loose levels of groundcover in Silver City and drops them on Clovis. That is fortunate in that much of Clovis is blown into Texas. Large parts of Farmington are deposited in Española, which has enough dirt of its own, thank you.
It is not wise to stick one's fingers into an electric wall outlet — or to play golf in a thunderstorm. Just a friendly reminder.
Please don’t jump to conclusions
Editor:
I want to make a T-shirt that says, “But You Don’t Look Sick!” Not so much to draw attention to myself or garner sympathy or, by any means, to be obnoxious, but to perhaps make people think a little more about invisible illnesses.
It must be spring — spring in an election year. The first candidate of the season has beat the hummingbirds to my front doorstep. She is walking my neighborhood, petition and voter registration list in hand, asking for a signature.
One of the lessons learned from my stint in the pecan orchard, well reaffirmed, started with noticing baseball caps. Full disclosure, I am a baseball cap snob. From my earliest days in Little League through the Marine Corps and my son's baseball career, I have learned the proper way to wear a baseball cap.
Newly appointed State Engineer Scott Verhines just made his first big decision, denying an application to Augustin Plains Ranch in its standoff with federal and state agencies, counties, ditch companies, environmentalists, locals and tribes.
Here's why it is so much cooler to be a simple New Mexico columnist instead of a United States Supreme Court Justice.
In this country, we've got our cultural quirks — think football mania on Thanksgiving, or wearing jeans and T-shirts anywhere. So, no surprise, Italy has kinks of its own.
Utilities have their moments.
Socorro Electric Cooperative will hold its annual meeting on Saturday, April 14, at Macey Center on the campus of New Mexico Tech in Socorro. Registration is from 1 to 3 p.m. The business meeting gets under way at 3 p.m.
Daffodil sale was the best ever
Editor:
Spring is in the air and what is more symbolic of spring than a beautiful daffodil. Presbyterian Healthcare Services – Socorro General Hospital’s Hospice Program wants to express its deep appreciation of all the people and business that made our 17th Annual Daffodil Fundraiser our most successful ever!
"Short, Bald, Honest" must surely rank among the most droll political slogans ever to enliven the campaign of a candidate for the United States Senate.
