Letters to the Editor

A pool isn’t a priority

Editor:

There is much discussion on Facebook and Next Door about the Los Lunas High School pool closing.

Much of that “stuff” is misinformation or just conjecture. Let’s review:

Los Lunas High School’s pool, opened for eight or nine weeks each summer, is beyond repair. It is 35 years old; the cost of maintaining it is borne by Los Lunas Schools with the village of Los Lunas contributing $35,000 annually for several years. No other local government contributed a dime.

Belen Schools spent several million dollars of bond money for a pool. Los Lunas Schools has many pressing needs and decided a pool isn’t on the list, as desirable as a pool is.

Los Lunas has included an aquatic center in its Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan (ICIP) for several years. Local governments submit an ICIP to the state each September. The Legislature reviews these for its annual session in January, deciding how limited funds are parceled out.

The desired Los Lunas’ aquatic center is its second priority in fiscal year 2022 (FY 2020 begins in July). Typically, the Legislature devotes most of its attention to local governments’ top five priorities for the coming fiscal year.

Los Lunas’ guesstimated cost of an aquatic center is $10 million. The question is where that money would come from.

There is a belief the Facebook Data Center will shower the county with bazillions of dollars. I don’t think so! There is and will be more tax revenue, badly needed for local projects. But it isn’t a faucet with an open spigot.

Second, the Los Lunas’ Huning Ranch Park design never included a pool. Facilities have been added to that park as funds became available.

If you want a pool, contact state legislators. Also, contact your local governing body and ask it to include a county aquatic center in its ICIP. The Legislature is more impressed when several local governments are pushing for the same project.

Bear in mind there are critical infrastructure projects included in ICIPs, many of them below the public’s radar but still needed or even essential.

James Rickey

Los Lunas

Same story with Grisham

Editor:

I am totally disturbed by the distorted spending behavior Gov. Grisham is exhibiting.

It is clear to me that she learned well from former Gov. Richardson and Rep. Pelosi i.e., how to spend tax dollars without due diligence as opposed to their millions accrued in questionable ways.

Why does she truly need the huge increase in the governor’s office budget? What magical actions is she going to take to make New Mexico the magical state that is going to increase our independence from gas and oil, the film industry and the federal government and truly take care of our greatest human needs?

The only thing she will accomplish for certain is create new positions to take care of her political cronies, local and some from Washington, D.C.

Second, why are she and our legislators, mostly Democrats, offering UNM, even though it didn’t ask for it, $2 million to reverse actions in the athletic department previously taken by President Stokes and athletic director Nunez.

These two professionals, especially the president, were hired and awarded substantial compensation to, amongst other things, correct ills left by Krebs, Harris, previous presidents and others. Make a note to yourself! If down the road you run into financial problems, call Gov. Grisham.

Third, what about scrapping the PARCC with the stroke of her pen without having a replacement in place? I hope lay people know it is going to cost thousands maybe millions to develop and adopt a new one.

Great for the education industries who will be richly rewarded along with education labor leaders.

Finally, combined, NM’s Pelosi soldiers now include two congressman, two senators, a governor and many state senators and representatives as well as many local elected officials. Mark my words, New Mexico will soon soar with the eagles or, more realistically, continue on a turkey trajectory.

There’s plenty of money in state coffers today. Get some of it as the well will soon run dry.

John Lopez

Bosque Farms

History tells the truth

Editor:

In reply to Dave Cates’ “Nothing Is Free” letter, it would appear Mr. Cates is suffering from a serious medical condition known as Fox News syndrome.

The truth of history does not require anyone to roll up their sleeves, it only requires your own research, not propaganda from a corporate sponsored news station.

FDR was a democratic socialist. His policies put our country on a path of prosperity that lasted through the ’50s and ’60s until Nixon, Friedman and the Powell memo for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce began their attacks on our society. What were parts of his policies?

Paying people a living wage and taxing corporations and the rich at 70-90 percent. Guess what happened? Corporations still made money and the rich were still rich. Average people had more money to spend, boosting the economy and the factories producing the goods.

History has also shown us that when Republicans are in control of all three branches of government, they crash the economy (1929 and 2018), not a good track record. The federal minimum wage has not risen in more than 10 years but the current administration is giving tax breaks to the already rich while ignoring the working poor. Disgraceful.

It is tiresome seeing people such as Mr. Cates actually repeating the falsehoods broadcast by Fox News. The idea that we need to just let the rich and corporations take everything because one way or another we pay for it in the end is classic Fox fear mongering.

William Lumsden

Rio Communities