I was glad to read in this morning’s New Mexican that the District 2 councilors, Joseph Maestas and Peter Ives, are holding the city’s feet to the fire in the matter of Monsignor Patrick Smith Park. Earlier this year, the Council passed a resolution blocking the use of park improvement bond proceeds to pay the salaries of city […]
In an excellent report in today’s New Mexican, Chris Quintana describes how what was once a gem of Santa Fe’s historic Alameda has been ruined by the city’s neglect: . . . Monsignor Patrick Smith Park has always been one of the city’s more lush parks. Tucked between Canyon Road and East Alameda Street, the 5-acre […]
Like a scab on the northern horizon of Santa Fe’s historic district, the luxury condominium complex called Las Colinas has only gotten bigger and uglier since last reported here, a monument to those whose only interest in this town is to milk it for everything it’s worth. A ridge top where only trees and sky […]
For the last few weeks, an obtrusive new structure has been sprawling, foot by foot, along a verdant ridge top visible from the Eastside Historic District. Several days ago I walked up Gonzales Road, a little past Cerro Gordo, and there it was: a multi-unit complex of 14 luxury residences called Las Colinas. The architect […]
Earlier this week I spent three days in Aspen, Colorado, at a small meeting on how to improve science literacy. First you have to define what that means, and David Pines, the physicist who organized the event, suggested that it was not simply a matter of knowing a lot of stuff. You can be scientifically […]
The City Council has rescinded its vote to stop fluoridating Santa Fe’s water — not because of a sudden return to reason but after being advised by the City Attorney that the decision may have violated the state Open Meetings Act. But now Pandora’s Box has been opened, and a hearing is scheduled for August […]
The fluoridation of municipal drinking water is counted by the Centers for Disease Control as one of the Ten Great Public Health Achievements of the 20th century. And now, bowing to the forces of unreason, the Santa Fe City Council has voted to stop adding fluoride to the water supply. If the decision stands, the level […]
August 7, 2011 Last Sunday, a couple of friends and I drove up Hyde Park Road and, just before the Aspen Vista lookout, turned onto Forest Road 102. We were headed for Aspen Ranch, the trailhead for what I remembered as one of the most beautiful hikes in the Santa Fe mountains. The 13-mile loop […]
Sunday evening I stood on the second-story portal of my house in Santa Fe and looked west toward Los Alamos where smoke billowed like a mushroom cloud from the Las Conchas fire. Hours later in the darkness, the glow of the flames was so bright it looked as though the sun had got stuck on […]