Letters to the Editor (Oct. 30, 2025)

New Mexico’s sad state of affairs

Editor:

Democrats have been the “ruling party” in this state for (71) years, and what have we got to show for it besides being ranked last on the good lists and first on the bad lists.

Are the voters even aware that that’s the reason New Mexico is in this sorry state of affairs? Local media never point out that the state has been ruled for 100 years by the Democrats.

Here are some, but not all, very sad statistics about New Mexico:

“The nation’s worst ranked K-12 public school system, even worse than the deplorable Washington D.C. schools. A state where 46 percent of its residents over 16 years old are functional illiterates. The state with both the highest violent crime per capita and the highest property crime per capita in the nation.

“A state with the highest percentage of welfare recipients of any state. A state with the second highest poverty rate of any state. A state with anemic population growth compared to its neighbors. A state with the nation’s fourth highest per capita suicide rate, despite great weather. A state with one of the highest Covid death rates per 100,000 in the country despite a nearly totalitarian lock down by the ruling party.” (Charles Sullivan)

Nothing was accomplished at the “special session” of the Legislature this month; nothing to help the health care worker shortage; nothing to help high crime; nothing to help the sorry lack of education. Oh wait, they did manage to expand Medicaid to illegal residents in our state.

New Mexico is sitting on billions of dollars, but refuses to fix our hideous roads. The Democrats in the Legislature keep trying to kill the oil and gas industry in New Mexico, the goose that laid the golden egg.

They’ll be surprised to learn that renewables are not going to power the upcoming requirements for AI and all the data centers. If it wasn’t for oil and gas, this state would crumble and die.

I love New Mexico and it’s been my home for 50 years, but it never improves. Same ol’, same ol’. Some heavy-duty common sense needs to be applied to the Legislature.

The Democrats have had a chance for 100 years to make New Mexico great, but have failed. A better political balance would benefit everyone.

Donna L. Crawford

Los Lunas

The last breath of the Rio Abajo: Progress or cultural erasure?

Editor:

In the lower Rio Abajo of New Mexico, something sacred is being dismantled under the banner of “progress.”

The last living Sistema de Acequias of the former Sevilleta Grant — La Joya acequias — stands as a centuries-old testament to Hispaño-Indio mestizo) ingenuity and connection to the land. Yet efforts are underway to fold this historic community water system into the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, an entity whose history with traditional water rights has been fraught.

The Sistema de Acequias, governed by Spanish-derived laws, ensured equitable water distribution through principles like agua de riego, repartimiento de aguas, uso común (fair use), and no perjuicio (no harm). Introduced and maintained by settlers, such as José Carlos Gabaldón, Tomás Aragón and Ramón Montaño, the system embodied both technological sophistication and a deep moral philosophy — one of reciprocity, balance and shared stewardship.

The mayordomo, chosen by the community, upheld this justice through consensus and cooperation. It was sustainability and democracy long before those words became modern ideals.

Now that legacy faces erasure. Absorbing La Joya acequias into a bureaucratic district would dissolve not only an ancient system but a worldview — one rooted in communal care rather than administrative control.

The Sevilleta Grant of 1819 represented a social contract between people, land and water; to relinquish that is to abandon Hispaño/Hispaño-Indio heritage itself.

The Sistema de Acequias is not a relic but a living classroom, teaching coexistence with the earth. Preserving it defends the soul of the Rio Abajo — a lineage of labor, faith and ecological wisdom. Progress without memory is not progress; it is cultural erasure disguised as advancement. Let us not let the last heartbeat of the Sevilleta Grant go silent.

Rudy Gonzales

La Joya

Why it’s happening?

Editor:

I always enjoy reading William Schmick’s financial columns.

In his Oct. 9 column, “Rising coffee prices are bitter brew for consumers,” he makes the point that extreme weather, drought, flooding in Brazil and Vietnam, has caused a shortage, and therefore a rise in the cost of coffee beans. I might add that the drought that we were experiencing in the west, has also caused a shortage of beef cattle i.e. no grass, and it’s increase in cost to the consumer also.

But the other increase cost that is impacting homeowners and landlords, is the doubling of your homeowners insurance. That is, if you can get it.

Currently, 10,000 New Mexican homeowners have been informed by their insurance companies that they will no longer insure their homes. No insurance, no mortgage.

This is basically due to the drought and the increased destruction of homes burning to the ground.

If you want to understand, why this is happening, YouTube Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Time to wake up!

It’s a straightforward discussion that explains, why and what’s happening currently, and why we’re in the box we’re currently in.

Ward B. McCartney III

Belen