Letters to the Editor

Thank you, Los Lunas

Editor:

Our families were involved in an accident the evening of June 27 in Los Lunas.

With all the racism, civil unrest, on-going pandemic and current crisis, we just want to say thank you — thank you to your local police force for all the assistance; they helped us get our luggage to the police station, and also helped my husband and daughter get a rental van. They allowed us to remain at the station until they returned with the rental van.

Than you to the emergency medical personnel, who were very concerned for us all. They were very professional. Thank you to the young man who assisted us with the address and name of town, we had no idea.

Our intentions were to get a bite of food and continue on. Thank you to Denny’s; it was almost time for them to close, but they provided us with food to go.

We can’t leave out Mountain States Towing; they’re mailing items we failed to get our of our van.

You’re truly blessed to be living in a community that thinks of others.

Thank you again Los Lunas and God bless.

The Williams and Millard families

New London, Iowa

Sickened by violence

Editor:

The CHAZ/CHOP experiment in Seattle is over. In case you weren’t following the news, the CHAZ/CHOP zone was a several block zone in downtown Seattle that an armed mob seized and barricaded.

They excluded law enforcement from the zone and set up their own rules for the residents. This was not an experiment in democracy, as some have sought to portray it. No, this couldn’t be further from democracy.

The residents in the occupied zone didn’t vote for this occupation. There wasn’t even a public hearing to see if there was wide-spread support for the new overlords. The residents had no say in the new laws and restrictions imposed by the occupiers.

The occupiers denied the residents the city services they paid for and were entitled to. Meanwhile, the residents’ elected officials dithered and did nothing to protect the basic rights of the residents. The most basic function of government is to protect the lives and property of its citizens.

In this, the elected officials failed deliberately. In fact, the city of Seattle took no action until the mob threatened the mayor’s home. To be clear, I have no issue with the protests. I strongly support the right of all Americans to peacefully protest regardless of their message, but I am sickened by the violent actions of the mob and the inaction of the elected officials. Americans deserve better.

David Cates

Los Lunas

Better planning needed

Editor:

At the July 1 Valencia County Commission meeting I witnessed the commissioners (via Facebook Live) approve a zone change request, 4 to 1, that had significant opposition from the local community.

A zone change to C-2 had been previously defeated in January 2020. Thirty neighborhood residents had signed a petition in opposition of the zone change to Commercial, C-1, from Rural Residential, RR-2.

The owners did not state a plan and did not verbally state a business purpose. The zone change request description states, “The property owners want to change the zoning for future development.”

The opposition suggested that the property would be more valuable with the zone change and the unstated purpose would be to sell the property. This property had been used for agriculture and does not appear to have ever had a structure on it.

The following goal is from the Valencia County Comprehensive Land Use Plan, 2005: “Goal D: Preserve and protect lands for agricultural purposes in the County.”

In addition, this property is located on a very busy section of Vigil Road/El Cerro Loop, where traffic can be very heavy.

The actions of the commission were contrary to the wishes of the residents, the Land Use Plan and did not consider traffic patterns in the area.

Commercial development should be planned; there are vacant buildings nearby on N.M. 47 with better traffic control. The commission is not fulfilling the goals and objectives of the Land Use Plan or listening to the public.

David Tynan

Peralta

Minimize global warming

Editor:

What has happened to our concerns about global warming?

The United States faces many crises. Top among them are racial injustice, police brutality and COVID-19. Global warming has not received our attention lately due to the immediacy of these other national crises. But global warming should be given high priority on the list of critical national concerns that must be resolved soon.

Although it will never be too late to act, the sooner we act the greater the likelihood that we will be able to prevent run-away global warming. To cite just one symptom of global warming, our oceans are rising at a rate of about one inch in 25 years. This rate will likely accelerate if we do not begin to address global warming now. This means that, in some developing countries where the poorest people live on the water, the people are at great risk from a rising sea level, as well as more severe storms.

I am writing this letter to remind the people who understand the urgency of solving our climate crisis that we still have a lot of work to do in addressing global warming. I also hope to get the attention of those who do not agree that global warming is something to be concerned about. I urge them to “do the science” and check the data for themselves. I hope that they will eventually agree that global warming of our planet is serious and needs to be put in check now.

It is my opinion that worldwide climate justice and worldwide racial justice go hand in hand. No, I am not the first person to think this way. But I feel this way because many underdeveloped countries will suffer far more from the results of global warming than will many developed countries.

Not addressing global warming now will result in disastrous climate shifts in developing countries that will significantly affect their economies and way of life.

Look at the number of extreme weather events that our planet has been subject to in the last decade or so. Are not most, if not all, of these events the result of global warming?

Even extreme cold and wet events can be a direct result of global warming, since it has been theorized that ocean currents can be altered and even eliminated by an ever-hotter planet. Warm currents help provide warmer weather to otherwise much colder land masses found at high latitudes. If these currents cease to flow, then the local weather in some high-latitude areas could become much cooler.

Look at the high intensity of the most recent hurricanes in the United States. And recognize that powerful typhoons have been causing widespread damage in such countries as the Philippines.

Clearly, this is a long-term problem with long-term solutions. And the solutions will likely require full cooperation from all nations and all people in each nation. It would also be important to begin solving this problem now before this crisis begins to accelerate in severity.

Finally, I would encourage our congressmen and senators at the state and federal levels to put together far-reaching energy and other plans that will help minimize global warming.

Thomas Lobb

Los Lunas