Skatepark Now Online

Want to see what those rascals are doing at Skate Park?

Click this link and watch them live! SKATEPARK LIVE CAM

Brought to you by the County's Recreation Division!

This moment is the culmination of a dream and that dream was to see kids having a great time downtown and feeling a part of our community. I'm watching it live! What a great feeling.

Boyer Update

Update: This is verified on the County website:
http://www.losalamosnm.us/news/Pages/SpecialMtgonTrinitySiteRevitalizationProjectSetforJuly23rd.aspx


I received this message this morning from a very reliable source. I'm not sure at what meeting this announcement was made. I'm still trying to verify this from the County:

Mike Wismer announced at the end of the meeting that council will have a public meeting on Trinity site on July 23rd at 7pm in Council chambers in the community building. He started his statement by saying that no forward progress has been made with Boyer for the past 24 months and that the negotiations are currently stalled. He went on to say that the time has come to let the public know the details of what is going on. On July 23rd staff will present a report about what Boyer originally proposed to do and what progress has been made over the past two years. Then options will be presented to the Council with regards to the future course of the project. The July 23rd meeting will be followed by a second meeting on or about August 17th to make a decision about the future course of action. The July 23rd date is set but the date in August is not finalized.

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Los Amigos de Valle Caldera is having it's annual OldTimers' BBQ & Hike at the Valles Caldera National Preserve on Sunday. It's a members event but you can join at the event. For more info, see the Los Amigos link in the "link" panel on the right side of this blog.

If your group has something going on, let us know by posting a comment.

Earth Wind and Fire

The fire over in Bandelier hasn't been getting us the last few days. We can breath again. You see some smoke but it isn't near as bad as before, so thank you gods of wind and fire! I hope it doesn't get crazy again with smoke. Burn Baby Burn .. but slowly please. I got a call from a Mark Brehl at Bandelier ... apparently they read my blog. He explained things and gave the info line for the fire mgmt center ... 505-602-7065 x 28. He said info was available at inciweb.org

Carol Clark has a report on the current status of the fire. Find the link to her blog in the right "links" panel.

I was going to link in a little Earth, Wind and Fire but decided to give you guys a break on the music.

Planning and Zoning

The County has fixed their software install problem.

Last night was my first Planning and Zoning meeting. It was a Baptism by Fire. Last night we heard the case of KRSN 1490 AM's request to put up a 170 foot tall tower and above ground grounding anntenna structure in Loma Linda park up on North Mesa.

It was a packed house for the hearing. Other P&Z Commissioners told me that this was one of the toughest cases they could remember and it compared to the Skate Park case they heard last year. What a great one for me to start with.

It was an extremely hard case to decide as there were good arguments on both sides. In the end our panel split 3 to 3 (I voted for the application). A tie means it failed to pass Planning & Zoning as you need a majority vote to pass.

I'm not at liberty to discuss the case as we may yet see more action on it or action related to this case.

My understanding is that KRSN 1490 AM may appeal to council. Being that our panel split it seems it would be appropriate for it to be heard by Council - the elected body of our County, but that is a decision for KRSN 1490 AM owners to make.

Being a Planning and Zoning Commissioner is a pretty active volunteer position. There is a lot involved. Not only are there cases to be heard but there are also workshops to attend that help you understand cases, zoning codes, ordinances and County planning processes and documents. It's a big task and I have real respect for the people I sit with who work very hard at it and do their very best to make proper decisions when faced with many different types of cases.

We have something unusual in Los Alamos in that we have a very active citizenship. I've heard from folks living in other towns and they are amazed at how many boards and commissions we have here in Los Alamos. They say they could never drum up that kind of citizen participation if they begged.

Once again we Truly are Lucky to Live In Los Alamos.

And think of all the groups and activities you can join in. Here is just a flavor of it. This is the Travel Wiki Los Alamos page. Near the middle of this page is a list of just some of our clubs and organizations. This list tends to be heavy on outdoor oriented clubs. CHECK IT OUT HERE.
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Here is a list of this weekends events. You can get more info from the community calendar link in the "links" area on the right panel. And look - we have two Gordon's Concerts ... TWO!

Info on the Span the County 60th Anniversary hike can be found by clicking on the 60th Anniversary link also on the right panel "links." This is hike #2 of the series and the first one was a big hit so get your hiking boots on and grab a hiking stick!
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17
Fishing - San Antonio
Wildlife Tour on the Caldera
2009 LA County Summer Concerts - Steve Poltz
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60th Anniversary Tour - Span the County
Fishing - San Antonio
Primitive Camouflage Workshop on the Caldera
Bike and Hike Days
Wildlife Tour on the Caldera
The Next Big Show: Immersive Visualization Experience
The Next Big Idea! Discovery Festival
2009 Next Big Idea Concert - Black Mesa Quintet
The Next Big Idea Grilling Competition
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Fishing - San Antonio
Bike and Hike Days
Wildlife Tour on the Caldera

Los Alamos List of Accolades

I requested a list of Awards and Honors (that the County/LACDC maintain) for another project I'm working on, and I thought it would be nice to post the list here as an FYI to you good folks out there. Enjoy!

Here it is:


Awards and Honors for
Los Alamos, New Mexico

Quality of Life:
· Top Ten of America’s Dreamtowns, 2006. Los Alamos ranked number 10 in the nation in a Bizjournal’s quality of life assessment.

· Best Small Town, 2005. Los Alamos ranked number one in an American City Business Journal study of the quality of life in non-metropolitan areas.

· Best County in America for Quality of Life, 2004. Los Alamos County ranked number one in an American City Business Journal study of the quality of life in all 3,141 counties and independent cities across the nation.

· Excellence Award, 2004. Los Alamos County’s Defensible Space Program was awarded the PUBLIC SAFETY PROGRAM EXCELLENCE AWARD in the 10,000 to 49,999 population category by the Public Management Institute

· Project of the Year Award Finalist, 2004. Los Alamos County’s Defensible Space Project that provided thinning of vegetation to reduce the spread of fire around residences was awarded by the Public Management Institute.

Youth and Education:
· One of the 100 Best Communities for Young People, 2006. This award was sponsored by AMERICA’S PROMISE – THE ALLIANCE FOR YOUTH. Los Alamos was chosen as one of the 100 communities out of approximately 1000 submissions.

· Publication selected for the Young Adult Land of Enchantment Book Award Finalist, Los Alamos Historical Society, 2007. “The Secret Project Notebook”, a work of fiction written about the Manhattan Project by LA resident Carolyn Reeder and published by the LA Historical Society was selected as one of this year’s finalists by the Land of Enchantment book awards. The final winner will be chosen by youth readers who will vote on the books.

· Best Educated County in the Nation, 2000-2006. Bizjournal ranks Los Alamos the highest County in the nation in two categories regarding education, with 60.5% of the adult residents having a college degree and 36% having graduate degrees. The Christian Science Monitor also reported Los Alamos as the best educated County in 2002.

· NM State Superintendent of the Year, Los Alamos Public Schools (LAPS) Superintendent of Schools, Dr. James Anderson, 2006. The American Association of State Administrators chose one outstanding superintendent per state for recognition.

· 1000 Best High Schools in America, Los Alamos High School (LAHS), 2005. Newsweek Magazine’s Best High Schools List uses a ratio, the number of Advanced Placement (AP) and/or International Baccalaureate (IB) tests taken by all students at a school in 2004, divided by the number of graduating seniors.

· What Parents Want Award, LAPS, 2005. LAPS were one of 8 New Mexico school districts recognized by SchoolMatch. SchoolMatch is a national school selection firm that gauges which schools is meeting the needs and desires of both students and parents using a variety of criteria and recognizes schools that excel in those areas.

· New Mexico Teacher of the Year, LAHS history teacher, Nancy Schick, 2005.

· New Mexico Quality Awards, 2004-2005. LAPS won in 2005 and Los Alamos Middle School won in 2004 for NM organizations that demonstrate performance excellence, improvement, and a commitment to use quality concepts and principals.

· 12 National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists, LAHS graduating classes of 2004 and 2005 each had 12 students that qualified.

· State Titles in Athletics, LAHS, 2000-2006. Since 2000, the students of LAHS have won over 40 state titles in High School Sports and in 2004; LAHS also received the New Mexico Athletic Director of the Year Award. In 2002, the girl’s Cross Country Team was Ranked Second in the Nation among high school teams.

· Rated number one in the Southwest, LAPS, 2000. Offspring Magazine, a Wall Street Journal Publication, rated the public school system as number one in the region. The number of high school graduates who go on to a four year university is 80% and the SAT scores exceed national averages by over 30%.

· Milken Educator Award, 2004. A Los Alamos Elementary Teacher was one of two NM teachers honored with the national award. This award is given nationally to elementary and secondary educators who are furthering excellence in education.

· Distinguished Unit, LAHS NJROTC (Naval Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps) Unit has been designated a “Distinguished Unit” with “Academic Honors” for four years in a row (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007). There are 56 schools in our area and a total of 18 are designated distinguished. Only 10 of these received academic honors.

· Pedagoguery Award, 2006. A LAHS Math teacher was awarded by the Mathematical Association of America for the most improved performance on the AMC contests.

· Pegasus 2004, LAHS’ literary magazine was “Recommended for Highest Award” in the 2004 NCTE Program to Recognize Excellence in Student Literary Magazines.


Business:
· Highest percent of professional jobs, 2006. Bizjournals ranked Los Alamos County as having the highest percentage of all jobs in the workforce classified as managerial or professional with 68.4% of jobs falling into that category.

· Recipient of the New Mexico MainStreet Award, Los Alamos County, 2006. The New Mexico Economic Development Department and the Departments of Finance and Administration awarded a New Mexico MainStreet initiative monetary grant to Los Alamos County as one of only 12 grants given for the state.

· New Mexico Recreation and Park Association Program of the Year Award, Los Alamos County, 2004-2006.

· Won Five R & D Magazine’s Top 100 awards, Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), 2004. Over the past 10 years, the Laboratory has garnered 51 awards for R & D Magazines annual selection of 100 of the world’s most technologically significant commercial products from the best engineers and scientists.

· Best Business Climate of any small city in America, 2002. Biz Demographics analyzed the nations 496 micropolitan areas in five categories. Los Alamos placed first in all five categories.

· Won the Prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, Los Alamos National Bank (LANB), 2000. LANB was the first New Mexico Company to be the recipient of the nation’s premier award for performance excellence and quality achievement. LANB was one of only three companies in the nation who were recognized.

· 7 NNSA Pollution Prevention Awards, 2005. Los Alamos National Laboratory organizations earned 7 out of 10 pollution prevention awards by the National Nuclear Security Administration.


· New Mexico Quality Awards, 2000-2005. Los Alamos National Laboratory has won the last 5 years for NM organizations that demonstrate a commitment to improve their organization’s competitiveness, profitability, and long-term success.

· New Mexico Ethics in Business Award, 2007. Los Alamos National Bank was recognized for High Standards and Exemplary Ethical Practices by the Samaritan Counseling Center.

· Three Laboratory staff receives E.O. Lawrence awards, 2004. Given by the Department of Energy for exceptional contributions to the development, use, or control of nuclear energy.

· Best Journalism in New Mexico awards Division C , 2006. The Los Alamos Monitor received 1st place in the category of Business Writing as well as a 2nd place, two 3rd place and 2 Honorable Mentions in other categories at the New Mexico Associated Press Managing Editors awards banquet.

Financial:
· Number one in the Nest Egg Index, 2006. A.G. Edwards ranks the 500 of the nation’s top performing communities based on resident’s personal savings and investing behavior.

· Highest Concentration of Households with a Net Worth of $1 million dollars, 2006. According to Kiplinger, the concentration of millionaire households is 20.4%

· Highest Median Income in the Nation, 2005. According to the 2005 information released by the Federal Census Bureau, Los Alamos has a median income of $93,089 and a family median income of $103,900.

Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting. The county of Los Alamos’ comprehensive annual financial report for the years ended June 30, 1991 – 2004 were awarded this certificate by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada.

· Distinguished Budget Presentation Award. The GFOA presented this award to Los Alamos County for its annual budget for the years beginning July 1, 1992-2006.

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And finally our latest Accolade


N.M. Towns Make Magazine's List of Top Places for Sportsmen
By Jim McElroy
Monday, 29 June 2009 12:23
Ruidoso, Los Alamos, Reserve, Raton on Outdoor Life's Rankiing of Top 200 Communities Outdoor Life magazine's ranking of the top 200 communities in America for hunters and anglers included several New Mexico towns, The Raton Range reported.The newspaper said that the national magazine's 2009 ranking of "Best Places to Live" for sportsmen had Ruidoso at 57, Los Alamos at 75, Reserve at 143 and Raton at 180. Top honors went to Lewiston, Idaho, The Range reported.Towns were ranked based on more than 20 criteria, with outdoor-related factors given slightly heavier emphasis in computing the results than quality-of-life factors, the newspaper reported. To see the complete list of all 200 towns, go here.

Top 200 Towns
Affordable, thriving and perfectly wild towns in America. Outdoor Life presents the 2nd Annual Top 200 Towns for Sportsmen.
Uploaded on May 27, 2009

Factors considered in this ranking were population, %growth since 2000, median household income (2007), median home value (2007), cost of living index (2008), unemployment rate (2007), mean commute time, amenities, gun laws, fishable species, huntable species, proximity to public access, trophy potential.

1. Lewiston, ID
2. Marquette, MI
3. Idaho Falls, ID (tie)
3. Rawlins, WY (tie)
5. Pocatello, ID
6. Bismarck, ND
7. Sheridan, WY
8. Pierre, SD
9. Rochester, MN
10. Carbondale, CO
11. Kodiak, AK
12. Kanab, UT
13. Cody, WY
14. Granby, CO
15. Page, AZ
16. Sioux Falls, SD
17. Saratoga, WY
18. Colorado Springs, CO
19. Mountain Home, AR
20. Roseau, MN (tie)
56. Ruidoso NM
74. Los Alamos NM
82. Flagstaff AZ
89. Durango CO
116. Kingman AZ
142. Reserve NM
179. Raton NM

Council: BOYER OR BUST

(I've separated this post out from the one below. There is an update near the bottom of this post.)


Rumors about Boyer and the Trinity Place development have been swirling around town for a while, well the Monitor finally got the word from Boyer. Boyer says they haven't come up with a plan for development that works economically for them and they plan to pull out unless they can get a plan worked out with the County within 30 day.

NOW YOU TELL US AFTER HOW MANY YEARS?

The funny thing about all this is that, yes, things have changed in the national economic scene, but here in Los Alamos things have not really changed. Boyer knew the costs here when they started, they knew labor costs where high and rents where high relative to other towns in NEW MEXICO. The consumer base is the same as when they started. These things did not suddenly change, making the development impossible to do. It's been like this all along.

I believe what is really going on is that Boyer thinks they are in the cat bird seat with the County and Boyer is trying to use strong leverage on us in order to give us less for our tax dollars. The economy is not good for shopping mall operators right now, in most communities. Many are going broke. We are unique here. Our economy is pretty stable because of our very large government employer just over on the next mesa.

I say to the County, if the deal is not good then let it go! Do another RFP. There are developers right in this state doing great projects that are actually "New Urbanist", like we were originally promised. Don't let Boyer hold us hostage just because they think they can. We are in a good negotiating position compared to most communities, don't let them act like it is otherwise. In fact our bargaining position is better now that many communities across the country are in economic trouble and we aren't. If they can't come through with what they promised us then let's get someone up here who can, dag-gummit! Please don't grovel! We will get someone good and we will get our Big Box, especially now that the site is nearly ready to be cleared.

This latest what I call "Mari Mac South" site plan is pretty sucky anyway (not new urbanist, more like a late 80's style "sea of parking" mall design):

[Update 7/13]

Here is the original site plan that sold us on Boyer. Notice anything different? (You can click on the photos to enlarge.)

No central "Sea of Parking," lots of on street parking in front of shops on many small streets in the development, a friendly downtown feel. Yes, they sold us on a New Urbanist design lifestyles plaza and now they want us to get on our hands and knees and grovel for exactly what we were trying to avoid in the first place: a MegaMart and a big honken parking lot type of development.

The good thing about the latest design is that it does feature our canyon view, where as the original design hid it except for the trail behind the buildings. A slight adjustment to the original design and we could have both. Let's find a developer to do that!

I suppose you can blame the economy for this unfortunate turn of events, but I think the County owes us to put out an RFP and find out if it really is the economy before we settle for whatever Boyer will grant us at this point. My guess is that lots of developers would give their right eye tooth to work on this now.

These are the times that test the metal of a community and it's leaders. Will we just roll over and accept our apparent fate or will we fight on to see our true vision fulfilled? I think I know the answer.

Smoke Get's In Your Eyes

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes - The Platters

Another Giant Smoke Cloud heads for Los Alamos - oh JOY!

Up in Taos they are celebrating the "Summer of Love" while here in Los Alamos and in our surrounding communities we are celebrating the summer of thick smoke.

Over the Fourth of July holiday period a lightning stike started a fire out in the wilderness area of Bandelier National Monument. The powers that be at Bandelier have decided not to fight the fire but instead let it burn until it goes out naturally, even if that takes all summer long.

While I believe it is good to let fire do it's natural job of making our forests healthier and safer from future fuel build up, I believe that it should not be at the expense of the health and quality of life of surrounding communities for extended periods of time.

Last night my wife had to fire up her inhaler three times (she has asthma). She hasn't had to use it for months. Our bedroom was filled with heavy smoke fumes that made us very uncomfortable. I literally could have built a campfire on my bedroom porch and it would not have made the situation any worse. Bandelier claims that air quality is within specified safety parameters set by the New Mexico Environmental Department to which I say freaken bull crap! They must be smoking some high quality stuff over there.

There is no way we are going to go through the rest of this summer like this if this is going to keep up. We are seriously extremely concerned for our health and for that of our family members and the community as a whole. We believe this "let it burn" policy is not working. If they have to get some backfires going to get it out now, then so be it. I am praying that a big rainstorm comes now and knocks it out.

I know this is a cheap way to reduce fuel loads out there but at what cost to your surrounding communities? Remember Bandelier, you don't live in a vacuum, you are our neighbor and should take us into account when making your policies, especially when your thick smoke is drifting into our homes and offices.

My recommendation is that if you are as concerned as we are about this "let it burn" policy that you call the new Bandelier Superintendent, Jason Lott and leave a message, otherwise you are going to get PR folks telling you about bunnies and birds. Call (505) 672-3861 then ask for the superintendents phone to leave a message.

Death Comes to Ashley Pond's Pond

Update below.....



As we all scurry about, turning in our insurance claims for the damage we all suffered during the recent hail malstrom, I'd like to take a moment to remember our friend and fellow living being John Doe Duck (RIP 2005 - 2008). According to one witness, the ducks were seen floating around as usual on the pond during the storm, with crashing meteors hitting all around them creating huge splashes. Apparently, one of those meteors hit it's target square on the head. He will be missed. You can find the original story on Carol Clark's News Extra blog.

Speaking of insurance claims, how are the insurance companies treating you? Give us your story and let us know, are they doing a great job, do they suck in your opinion. Help your fellow Los Alamosians to get a bead on the good guys and avoid the bad guys.

Our experience so far has been very good. We are with Kathy Steck at Farmers Insurance. A place to inspect the cars was setup quickly and we were given a claim and I went to Santa Fe to Lujan's Paint & Body Shop in Santa Fe. They are going to replace our hood and roof and do a paintless process on the side to get the dents out. They promise good as new. Our home skylight also broke (along with every skylight in our area) but that is being handled by the homeowners association.

A friend's back window on a foreign convertible ripped out. Her insurance co wanted to total the car, which would have left my friend with no car and not enough insurance money to buy a reasonable new one. "I've already got the check from State Farm and am bringing it into SF today to get repaired. I refused to take what they said about my car being totaled. It took lots of my time but it was worth it. Lou Santoro helped me out a lot." (Lou is a local State Farm rep who went the extra mile in this case.)

OK how are you doing? Let us know!

I've got to run to a meeting but check with the Gordon's calendar and the community calendar on the right hand links column to see what is going on!

You might enjoy a look back at Ducks Gone By......



Have you seen this? It's the aftermath of the car vs bike crash up on West Jemez. This is linked from the Los Alamos Bikes Blog (link on the right column links area).

Last Night at Council

Council last night was a record or near record in shortness ... it was over at about 9:05 pm.

I'm trying to get up to scout pajarito to cerro grande, so this will be short. I want to get out before weather starts up. There is not suppose to be any weather problem but you know how that goes in New Mexico.

The new Fire Chief, Douglas Tucker, was approved. Congrats to Chief Tucker.

Briefing on Electric Reliability. Rafael De LaTorre, Utilities Electrical
Engineering Manager, gave a presentation that I thought was pretty impressive. He really laid it all out for Council, the good and the bad. I have to say that even with the aging electrical infrastructure I was impressed at the lack of major long lasting outages over the last couple big storms, especially that last one. Our lights didn't even flicker the whole time. Now that is a major improvement! Council asked that De LaTorre's presentation be made available online. I don't know where. I am assuming on the Public Utilities web page under services on the county's page.

Craig Martin, the County's Open Space Specialist got his Trail Management Planning Documents adopted by Council. I've worked with Craig a little on this document as part of the Trails and Pathways Parks & Rec subcommittee and we are all proud that the document Craig has worked very hard on is now approved. It formally defines the trail system and lays out some guidelines and standards for trails. Congratulations Craig.

Introduction and Presentation by Jason Lott, new Superintendent of Bandelier National Monument. I've meet Superintendent Lott. My first impression is that he is going to be a good leader for Bandelier. Dorothy Hoard has talked to him about the Rim trail and he is ready to do what he can to help out in his area of control.

Got to run.....