Columns

Duplicate Bridge In Los Alamos: Feb. 17, 2026

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BRIDGE News:

Martin Cooper and Jerry Fleming were Tuesday winners in flight A.  Spook Kellum and Al Pratt were 1st in Flight B.  Ann-Marie Graves and Mary Courtright were 1st in Flight A on Wednesday.  Reggie Fuchs and Randy Baker were high in Flight B.

The following hand shows that a great fit plus a distributional hand could land the partnership in an easy slam.

Board 13 from the February 17 game:  North is the dealer and both sides are vulnerable.

After North and East pass, South has a natural 2NT opening bid (20-21 HCP and a balanced hand). After West’s pass, North should bid 3♦, a transfer Read More

Op-Ed: I’m For Nuclear And I Am An Environmentalist

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By JUDY-ANN POTTINGER
President & Director
Clean Energy Association of New Mexico

Is this possible? Pro-nuclear and pro-environmentalist at the same time? It might be like saying, can you be a Cowboys fan and live in Houston? Of course, the two are not mutually exclusive.

For decades, environmentalism and nuclear energy have been cast as enemies. But what if that narrative is outdated? Meet the next age nuclear—the big shift.

This shift isn’t just theoretical or fringe; it’s mainstream, even among well-known climate champions. Bill Gates, long known for his focus on climate, has become Read More

Gessing: Medical Malpractice Success A Win, But More Needed

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By PAUL J. GESSING
President
Rio Grande Foundation

The passage of medical malpractice reform is the most important public policy success in New Mexico in more than a decade. It took support from New Mexicans of every political stripe and a bi-partisan coalition in the Legislature to achieve this success, but at long last the State’s malpractice-driven doctor shortage may be over.

In addition to the medical malpractice bill, the Legislature entered New Mexico into the national doctor compact and enacted a $10K tax credit for physicians. Combined, this may be enough to start turning the tide. Read More

Robinson: Medical Malpractice Bill Exposed Willful Ignorance And Conflicts Of Interest

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By SHERRY ROBINSON
All She Wrote
© 2026 New Mexico News Services

Sen. Joe Cervantes was litigating House Bill 99, the medical malpractice reform bill, on the Senate floor, and he had plenty to say.

Two days earlier, Cervantes, a trial lawyer, had defanged HB 99 with amendments in the Senate Judiciary Committee, which he chairs. Now, in a floor fight, he was grilling Sen. Crystal Brantley, R-Elephant Butte, who was trying to strip the Cervantes amendments and restore HB 99 to its original language. Cervantes droned on about legal points in what Brantley characterized as “a back-and-forth, condescending Read More

Catch Of The Week: When Your Robot Vacuum Joins The Surveillance State

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By REBECCA RUTHERFORD
Los Alamos
For the Los Alamos Daily Post

There are few modern purchases more comforting than a robot vacuum. You name it something cute (Mine is named “mega maid” iykyk). You watch it bonk into furniture. You pretend it is your hardworking little cleaning buddy. You fantasize about your cat riding around on it. Normal things.

Unfortunately, your hardworking little buddy may also be a mobile camera, microphone, and home mapping system waiting for a backend security mistake.

Which is exactly what happened recently, yikes!

A software engineer was trying to do something extremely Read More

Rickman: Promises, Credibility & North Mesa Open Space

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By JIM RICKMAN
Los Alamos

I’ve read with interest all the hype and hullabaloo regarding the conversion of North Mesa open space into a bike park and other things. I’d like to offer one more perspective on the issue.

Back in May 2000, the National Park Service negligently ignited an uncontrolled inferno that incinerated the homes of some 400 Los Alamos families and forever altered the physical landscape of our community. Perhaps unbelievable to present-day citizens, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was highly functioning and nonpartisan, and politicians of both major parties Read More

Denish: Sausage Making Can Be Entertaining

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By Diane D. Denish
Corner to Corner
diane@dianedenish.com

“Laws are like sausages. It is better not to see them being made.” The quote is attributed to Otto von Bismarck, the German statesman credited with unifying Germany.

I disagree — especially when it comes to lawmaking.

In today’s world of technology and transparency, it’s easier than ever to watch legislation move through the process. We can see what our elected senators and representatives say — and more importantly, who they are when the pressure is on. That was never clearer than during the 2025 regular session, when medical malpractice Read More

Review: Olion’s ‘Mean Girls’ Is So Fetch!

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Isabella Gietsos, Mattea Clarkson, and Gyasi Atta-Fynn will win your heart as Janice, Cady, and Damian in the Olions’ musical Mean Girls. Photo by Timothy Talley

Mattea Clarkson and Sumner Tholen shine as Cady Heron and her crush Aaron in the Olion’s production of Mean Girls, which runs for one more weekend. Photo by Timothy Talley

Review by Kelly Dolejsi
Los Alamos 

There is nothing more fetch than Los Alamos High School Olions’ production of Mean Girls. You have one more weekend to laugh, cringe, and join in on all your favorite quotes from the movie — or to experience the classic tale of high school Read More

Posts From The Road: Kingman, Ariz.

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Welcome to Kingman: An overhead neon-lit banner sign over Route 66 welcomes visitors to the city of Kingman. Ariz. The welcome sign is framed with two Route 66 shields on each end of the banner. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com

Hilltop Motel: The Hilltop Motel sits in its original location on Route 66 in Kingman, Ariz. The motel has been renovated, but the rooms were redesigned into apartments. The original sign has also been renovated and shines nightly with the bright neon lights very popular during the busiest years of the route. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com

By GARY WARREN
Photographer Read More