Kudos to town officials

Kudos to our city council and governor for keeping us safer during the this rush of summer visitors. Masks and quarantine can only help.

Marcus Whitson Taos

Thanks for library help

I just wanted to reach out and say thank you so very much for sharing the Taos Public Library’s summer reading logs (see Tempo, May 28–June 3, p. 23). We have had great participation from our community members that purchase and read the Taos News each week.

I’ve been thanked many times for the logs in the Tempo by parents and children who do not have access to internet or electronics at home. I wanted to make sure to pass that thank you on to you all at the Taos News.

Raquel Martinez, children and teen services librarian, Taos Public Library

A friend showed me Julian Laroza’s letter to the editor from the June 11-17 edition of the Taos

News, “Taos should be self-fed community.”

It’s like a lot of utopian visions I’ve heard over the years, except it calls for 8 percent of the local budgets to go to public funding for farms. My friend wanted to know: do I think there’s hope for public funding of farms?

We’ll have three women as county commissioners for the first time, starting in January. Should that give us hope? Women don’t necessarily budget any differently than men. They may budget identically. It all depends on the individual and what she represents. I don’t know how Candyce O’Donnell, Darlene Vigil and

AnJanette Brush feel about the budget. I’m not sure what they represent.

I very rarely hear anyone’s opinion on the local budget but I hold out hope for this very good and feasible idea. What is more important than food to feed the community and supporting our farmers toward that end?

Diana (Kamala) Mars

Ranchos de Taos

Move toward food independence

Times are changing and we need to reach out to Mother Earth.

I’m responding to Julian Laroza’s June 11 letter about Taos becoming a self-fed community and funding farms with 8 percent of Taos’ annual budget.

Yes, why not? Farms are growing, more households are starting gardens. There could be more community gardens. If people can’t have a garden they can at least shop at the farmers market and support local farmers.

We can’t rely on the food industry but need to move toward independence.

Let’s all do our part, eat fresh food and stay healthy!

Catherine Roth San Cristóbal