Chanukah in Santa Fe is something special
Chanukah was always my favorite holiday. The whole family coming together to light the menorah, my father giving me Chanukah “gelt,” and my mother frying latkes are some of my fondest memories. Which is why Chanukah this year meant so much to me.
For the past few years, I’ve been studying in various yeshivas (rabbinical schools) in the U.S. and Israel, and I celebrated Chanukah wherever I happened to be. This year, I came home from teaching in Detroit to be in Santa Fe for Chanukah, with my community. The highlight for me was the Sunday, Dec. 17, community Chanukah celebration on the Plaza. It was heartwarming to see so many people come together in the cold to celebrate this holiday with one another. I was honored to meet Mayor Javier Gonzales, Congressman Ben Ray Luján and City Councilor Renee Villarreal. The support and recognition our elected officials give to the Jewish community is something to be treasured. Hearing my father, Rabbi Berel Levertov, singing “Ma’oz Tzur” and everyone joining in for singing and dancing, really drove home a sense of community and holiday spirit. Chanukah in Santa Fe sure beats out Chanukah anywhere else I’ve been, including Israel, New York, Connecticut, Detroit and Chicago. Mendel Levertov Santa Fe
MVD advice
As a courtesy to my fellow New Mexicans, I want to inform those headed to the New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division for the Real ID driver’s license what to expect during your visit.
First, don’t waste your precious time without all the appropriate documents as listed on the website. Second, know that your utility bills or the like, as proof of your residence, need to be dated within the last 60 days. This is important. That detail is difficult to find on the state website. You will be turned away if your documents are not exactly what the state requires.
Lastly, the convenience fee of the MVD Express is $29.99 plus tax above any state charges. If you choose MVD, I recommend not attempting to complete business after the state offices close their doors because there is a good chance something will go wrong and you’ll have to return. Computer system and camera failures were my rewards for making this error. Kristi Dyer Santa Fe
Becoming plant-powered
Every New Year it’s the same resolution for millions — lose weight. Thirty years ago, I was ballooning, but changed my lifestyle and permanently lost 25 pounds. Since then, I have shared my story to scores of weightloss groups around the country. During one engagement, I asked, “How many people have seen the documentary, Forks Over Knives? One of 50-some attendees raised her hand. She had been introduced earlier and pirouetted out to the audience in an evening gown, as having lost 145 pounds. She excitedly waved her hand, repeating, “That’s what I’m doing.” She follows a whole-food, plant-based lifestyle and was effortlessly losing decades of excess weight. I’ve met hundreds with the same experience. No tedious calorie counting, points or portions sizes. If you miss the youthful, healthy body you once took for granted, then it’s time to make the delicious switch by joining Plant Powered Santa Fe. James Corcoran Santa Fe
Not Pearce
Beware of Republican U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce for governor. I fear he is not who we need to lead our struggling state. He voted yes on the recent tax bill that could strip billions of dollars from Medicare and cause 13 million people to lose insurance coverage, plus add trillions to our national debt. Call him at his Washington office, as I did, to ask him to change his vote. Explain that you will be voting for governor. Millie McFarland Santa Fe
No need to rush
I see that our U.S. Treasury secretary thinks that the idiocy of tax cuts will provide $1.8 billion in new revenue in the next 10 years. So, even accepting that fairy tale, and even accepting Donald Trump’s versions of the truth, this new revenue would still leave the U.S. Treasury $6 trillion short in the next decade, taking the deficit to a rather high level. It’s the lack of care for even the most basic of finances that confounds me. Why in the world are these people rushing headlong into destruction of the currency? Shane Woolbright Santa Fe