I am pleased and astonished to find that Christus St. Vincent has recently established a domestic-violence policy.

When I attended the July 22 public hearing, the CEO, Alex Valdéz, did not know if there was such a policy and, in fact, he did not know that there has been a long-time SANE Program (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner) at St. Vincent for many years.

I hope Mr. Valdéz will demonstrate his commitment to the well being of the women of the community by taking leadership in the implementation of the domestic-violence policy. Now the heavy lifting begins. A policy is only as valuable as the paper it's written on. It's time to walk the talk.



We are a society of talkers when it comes to DWI offenses, but talk is cheap! Now is the time to stop preaching about not driving drunk and actually implement a program that will remedy this fatal problem.

Several states, especially those on the East Coast, boast great success with their alternate transportation options for those contemplating driving drunk. The local DWI Grant Program received nearly $17 million last year from the 41 million collected from liquor distributors. So out of the $17 million why not offer and — here's the key — advertise a free cab ride home similar to the safe ride service Albuquerque provides?

How much do we really care about fixing this problem, or should we just go on talking about it? Talk, plus nonaction, equals apathy. Shame on us!



Thursday's front-page article, "Snow-capped Baldy may bode well for season," reported that on Wednesday morning, 'rain pounded Santa Fe ...," and, that "The thunderstorm that drenched the City Different left a dusting of snow visible on Santa Fe Baldy." That said, how is it that on page A-12, the Weather page reports that 0.05 inches fell at the Santa Fe New Mexican office in the 24-hour period that ended Wednesday at 6 p.m.?

This disconnect, I suspect, is because no one read and reported your rain gauge on Sept. 16. This, I've found, is not atypical reporting on your behalf. May I suggest that you save ink by ditching your rain gauge and removing these four column lines on your weather page?



I was so sorry to read of the passing of Mary Travers. As part of the trio Peter, Paul, and Mary, she inspired so many of us with her strong clear voice singing out for peace and justice. She was one of the few entertainers who also encouraged us to work hard for what we believe in, and she gave us hope that a better world is possible. We will miss Mary!



On behalf of our female athletes in local and regional schools, I have a suggestion: Change their names! No more Elkettes (Pojoaque High), Lady Horsemen (Geldings? Bi-sexuals? St. Michael's High School), Lady Jaguars (Capital High), Lady Sundevils (Española Valley High), Lady Hill Toppers (Los Alamos High), Demonettes (Santa Fe High), Lady Panthers (Peñasco High). Lady this. Lady that! Lady! Lady! Lady!

How about "The Flash?", "The Smash?", "The Boppers?", "The Game Breakers?" etc. The ladies deserve their own names! Good luck to all of them!



House prices have declined about 20 percent in Santa Fe, so there's less need for the city's affordable housing ordinance. But some people still can't afford a home.

One reason houses are so expensive is that the city's gross receipts tax applies to home sales (excluding the lot value).

At our next City Council election, we the people want to see candidates who will oppose the sales tax on homes and vote down the sickening Affordable Housing Ordinance. No one has the right to a home, and no one should be forced to pay for someone else's home.



Where were they when the Supreme Court anointed George Bush the president of the United States; when the Bush administration suspended habeas corpus and wiretapped its citizens? Where the hell were these Tea Party advocates who say they are defending our Constitution?

I have lost what little respect I had left for the conservatives and libertarians because, once again, they embrace these Tea Party Republicans.

The "Million Racist White People March" in Washington D.C., which was more like 60,000 max last Saturday, was too much. The image I got from what I've been hearing about the rally sponsored by Dick Armey, who once was the Republican majority leader of the House and now is a lobbyist, is a lot of white people yelling out the "N" word and the "J" word in an inflammatory manner, of course while carrying signs showing Obama as Hitler.

Shame on those who support this kind of behavior. But it's not surprising; these are the same people who supported Bush all the way till the end of his second term.



In 1937, newly elected President Franklin Roosevelt began his first address to the nation with these words: "Fellow immigrants ..." Today immigrant is a dirty word. We're told they take away jobs. It's true. These jobs are toiling in the fields, pushing grocery carts, mopping floors.

Computer programs estimate their cost to taxpayers, but do those costs include Dick Cheney's bounty hunters, the cost of incarcerating immigrants, the cost of shipping them back to their homelands?

Suppose these same computers calculated the revenue our government would get in income taxes the immigrants would pay, if we passed a law allowing those who've been here 10 years with no criminal record to apply for the coveted green card. They could earn a living wage, get off Medicaid and stop crowding emergency rooms. Surely in this large pool of immigrants, there are brilliant minds that could help out country achieve its lost status. Let's not forget that Albert Einstein was an immigrant.