By Gene McCall
Los Alamos

I lived in Los Alamos during the summers of 1964 and 1965, then came permanently in 1969.

I have seen many changes in the county and in the Laboratory during my time here.

I found much with which to agree in the recent letter by George Chandler, and a few things with which to disagree. George is a friend, and I will not emphasize the points of disagreement, but I will, simply, express the opinions of another long-term resident. The phrasing may be a bit stilted, but I agree with Winston Churchill who said, “A preposition is not a word to end a sentence with, but that is a rule up with which I will not put”.

The issue of weapon production being done by the Lab arose in a conversation that I had with Norris Bradbury quite a few years ago. I believe he said that the Lab had built about 40 weapons shortly after World War II, and they were stored in the tunnel beneath the town. That was the entire stockpile of the Nation at the time.

He then said that the Lab had been asked by the Atomic Energy Commission to produce weapons, and he refused. He refused because he felt that the skills and attitudes required for production would conflict with the Lab’s reason to exist. The reason for existence being that the Lab was to develop new science and technology for nuclear weapons, and to apply those developments to the design of new weapons. He felt that production had no place in that mission.

As for a housing shortage, there is none. Perhaps not everyone who wants to live in Los Alamos can find a place to live here, but that is true of many cities in the United States.

According to a LANL survey, only 37.7 percent of Lab employees live in Los Alamos, anyway. That does not include the current director.

The Lab will make offers to prospective employees until it has hired enough people to fill the available positions. If desirable employees refuse, because they believe there is a housing problem, that is a Lab problem, not a county problem.

If Lab employees commute to the Lab from the surrounding area, that is not a significant issue for the county, and, probably, not for the Lab. Commuting from Santa Fe will require a commute time only slightly longer than the Nation’s average, and the commute from Espanola will be about the Nation’s average.

Millions of Americans have longer commutes.

Too, why should the population of Los Alamos County increase? It seems to be a better place to live than most large cities, and has conveniences consistent with other towns of the same size. Businesses that supply a service, or product that is desired by residents will prosper. Otherwise they will fail. Simple economics throughout the world.

I am sure that the actions of the County Council to supply land for building to contractors will enrich the contractors, but it is difficult to see how it improves living conditions for residents. Some of us remember the days when County Council members thought that it was their responsibility to supply communities, and to then stay out of people’s lives. Those council members were not really politicians either, they were just concerned residents. Currently, we have a group who seem to believe it is their responsibility to control the lives of the residents. I can remember when there were not enough candidates in the local election to fill the available seats on the County Council, but everything worked out in the end.

Why not just supply county services and utilities at the minimum cost to the residents. Maybe it is not the responsibility of a small county, the smallest in New Mexico, to solve the Nation’s carbon problem. That is better done at the source, not at the user level.

Just try a hands-off policy for a while, You may not get your photo in the newspaper as often, or talk frequently with the governor, but, in the end, we may all be pleasantly surprised. Living was pretty good here when there was no gross receipts tax, too. I do not compare council spending to that of drunken sailors for fear of insulting the sailors, but most people will understand.

Let the people, by their actions, decide on solutions to problems. I believe that is called democracy.

Sincerely,

Gene McCall