Some swimmers are drowning in frustration

I’ve read with interest about the city’s recent addition of pickleball courts at Fort Marcy Recreation Complex and plans to the repair tennis courts at the city’s parks.

As a swimmer, I’m now interested to know what the city’s plans are to address the poor management of the city swimming facilities in terms of hours of operation?

I, along with many others, work, and our opportunities to use the facilities are extremely limited by the hours of operation.

Many of us also pay an annual membership fee that does not reflect the value of the services we receive because of the increasingly limited pool hours.

I do not understand why Fort Marcy and Salvador Perez can’t rotate days on the weekends and keep the pools open. Now that the Chavez Center pool is closed for at least six weeks, it would make sense that those employees would be assigned to manning the pools for weekend hours at Salvador Perez and Fort Marcy.

I keep hearing there is a shortage of lifeguards, and if that is indeed the case, perhaps the city should implement an active recruiting program at our high schools to recruit lifeguards and provide fair pay and perks to use the facilities.

Gary Hahs Santa Fe

Vigilantism is for losers

Between Kyle Rittenhouse’s defense that he was only protecting himself when he shot three people down in the street and Texas’ decision to encourage bounty hunters to hunt down women who seek an abortion and doctors who offer it, I believe we do not have to worry about civil war breaking out anymore. These are not armies massing at the borders of our states. They are individuals, vigilante terrorists who are trying to take the law into their own hands.

They are not thinking about others. They want revenge and power for themselves.

It may be fashionable these days to complain about the government we live under, but who cares about fashion when people need food and clothing and safety? As the brilliant historian Heather Cox Richardson said, “I want to be on the winning team, the one that’s working for all of us.”

Laura Hendrie Santa Fe

Has a lesson been learned?

Both the headline story and editorial of the Nov. 18 edition highlighted the fact our constitutional model of checks and balances does not empower an elected governor to act as an “imperial” entity.

The New Mexico Supreme Court is to be commended for making it clear that the current governor is only one part of a three-part government.

As such, she, the executive, does not have the authority to ignore the people’s elected representatives and “rule” on her own.

However, the same edition reported the governor has appointed three people to “oversee” the distribution of $3.7 billion of infrastructure funds. Of these three appointees, only one, Matt Schmit, will be “overseeing” a program of spending approved by the Legislature.

To paraphrase “Where Have All the Flowers Gone,” when will [she] ever learn?”

Hopefully the New Mexico’s Supreme Court’s written opinion will further the governor’s civics education.

John Gordnier Santa Fe

How clean is clean?

Sen. Martin Heinrich endorses the competence of Avangrid for clean energy production and the plan to have PNM customers pay more for clean energy and less carbon dioxide emission.

However, if the Navajo Nation continues to operate the coal-fired Four Corners plant, how will the environment benefit from the addition of wind turbines to our beautiful landscape? Consumers may feel more virtuous, but the environment will be unchanged.

Wolfgang Schmidt-Nowara Santa Fe