Letters to the editor May 13

'English-only' excludes 'Santa Fe'

| The New Mexican

5/13/2008 - 7/13/08

A May 11 letter, "Much ado about names," noted that English is the official language of the United States and that, therefore, "to use any foreign language in naming a new public civic center" would be an insult to our troops.

Whatever the final choice of name — for what it's worth, I like "civic center" rather than "convention center" as being more widely inclusive and less blatantly commercial — I assume that "Santa Fe" will be part of the title. "Santa Fe" does not seem to me a phrase from the English language. Would the correspondent prefer "Holy Faith Civic Center?"

Roberts French
Santa Fe

Name with pride
I've lived in Santa Fe for 41 years and graduated from St. Catherine's Indian High School. My memories of the good old days are very vivid. I feel that the city of Santa Fe should keep the old name of "Sweeney" for the new convention center.

That's where our local high schools competed in sports, where we shed tears when our teams lost tournaments, where prom nights were held, and where we always felt safe.

My second choice is Tri-cultural Civic Center because this state is the only place where local Pueblo Indian people congregate to sell their jewelry, and all our tourists come to see our traditional and natural setting. It's fitting to always keep our history straight, and be proud!

The other title I came up with is Santa Fe Sangre de Cristo Convention Center, as it's also our beautiful, peaceful mountains topped with snow till late May that sets us apart from other capital cities.

Juanita Marcus Turley
Taos Pueblo

United Church service
The volunteers of the Salazar Partnership very much appreciate "Word warriors," the article in the May 7 New Mexican about the book program at Salazar and Agua Fría elementary schools. It captured the excitement that is part of the distribution.

However, it was the United Church of Santa Fe, a United Church of Christ church, and its members, who helped start and continue to support the program, not the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Santa Fe.

William C. Carson
president, Salazar Partnership

Program's cornerstone
As one of the volunteers who participates in the distribution of free books at Salazar and Agua Fría elementary schools, I would like to thank The New Mexican for recognizing this valuable program ("Word warriors," May 7) and the many volunteers who contribute to its success.

However, I would like to single out one individual who has been instrumental in the creation and ongoing success of the program. Libby Stone, a retired school librarian, has for many years done the lion's share of the work in overseeing the actual distribution of the books. She also orders all the books, perusing catalogs for age-appropriate and appealing titles, and she reads most of the books prior to distribution to assure appropriate content. She does this for her love of both children and books, and she seeks no recognition, but for her many hours of labor and attention to detail, I salute her!

Jackie Hoag
Santa Fe

Credit due governor
Regardless of what some negative people think, our political system, and in general, our well-being as citizens from New Mexico, is good. Our hardworking Gov. Bill Richardson works 24 hours a day for New Mexico, and still did so when he was campaigning for president.

Many of Gov. Richardson's economic initiatives were formulated while out of state, including those benefiting small and large business enterprises, tourism, health care, education and security measures.

Some skeptics question the Spaceport and Rail Runner projects. However, sometime in the near future, Southern New Mexico will see the dividends from the port, and commuters on the interstate highway will appreciate our futuristic Rail Runner — when gas and diesel are at $5 a gallon.

Because the governor is a workaholic, it appears he hit the jackpot with his Cabinet appointments. There haven't been any major scandals or turnover.

I'm proud of our governor, and credit should be given to him when due.

John T. Romero, Sr., P.E.
Mora

More sign problems
Today's front-page local news item, "Time of the signs," shows the abundance of illegal political signs causing complaint and pictured in the foreground photo at the corner of St. Francis Drive and Paseo de Peralta. But what of the state's misprint on the elevated green one in the background, providing direction to motorists?

With total respect, is there but one soldier buried in "Veteran's National Cemetery"?

Susan Eaton
Taos