Cover, Jan. 11: “Is This Working?”
Zero sense
Thank you for your well-written and thoughtful article. It’s nice to read something that doesn’t appear to serve a political agenda. I’d also like to point out that it costs the state zero additional dollars for me to work from home, regardless of the cost to lease the office space I don’t use when teleworking. I have also never had a public-facing job in the 22-plus years I’ve worked in IT for DOH so the “customer service” aspect doesn’t really apply to my job duties.
Brian Rempel, Santa Fe
News, Jan. 4: “Balls to the Wall”
Leading to loss
The story illuminates how Mayor [Alan] Webber already is welcoming a professional indoor soccer team to the Chavez Center’s ice arena without an agreement. With play starting in less than a year, it seems the city’s deal with David Fresquez, the team’s owner, isn’t far enough along to release details to the public.
Financially it doesn’t make sense to pour possibly more than $300,000 into building a removable soccer field for some six to 12 games a season; to recoup that investment, the field will have to be used more often. Turning the arena into a year-round soccer field was first floated during the city’s Fiscal Year 2021 budget discussions. This recent “collaboration” (likely never discussed at City Council meetings) is just a first step towards eliminating the only indoor ice arena between here and Rio Rancho and Albuquerque. For 23 years the arena has been the community’s sole indoor venue (public or private) for recreational skating, ice hockey and figure skating; these activities ultimately will be lost if “the collaboration” goes forward. The community’s loss of on-ice opportunities should be more important than civic pride.
And while wishing Mr. Fresquez well, public monies shouldn’t be spent on a private entertainment enterprise.
Dick Goldsmith, Santa Fe
