SPEAK UP!

I HAVE three local over-90 friends. None of them has received a COVID shot, even though two of them are in a congregate facility. Yet N.M. is about halfway through vaccinating its prisoners . ... KM

APS WILL not go back to in-school instruction, despite science that supports going back to school, little COVID risk from in-school, much damage to kids from continuing no school. I hear teachers complaining they get no vaccine . ... The teachers’ students’ parents are out there working, as grocery or drug store or other important retail workers, as auto repairmen, garbage pickup, etc . ... I heard ... one justification is teachers would quit — then let them quit, time to call that bluff. SDH

THE GOVERNOR says that she spent over $6K in taxpayer money to buy expensive cuts of meat and high end liquor to help New Mexicans in need. I could use a couple of tuna steaks and maybe a bottle of Crown Royal. My only question is, can it be delivered to me on the governor’s next jewelry run? BAC

...I’VE WANTED my two elementary-aged sons back in the classroom since last March, but I don’t see the logic in disrupting their current routines so they can spend two days per week in a classroom with a teacher who is dividing his/her attention between those kids sitting in front of him/her and those online . ... How is any of this benefitting our kids? Get re-entry right — open full-time in the fall. MC

THE GOVERNOR needs to stop bashing APS for making the decision to stay virtual. Each district made their decision based on the needs and best interest of their community. We need to support our district and the board for the courage in making the best decision. DDB

APS AND the teachers unions have failed us. I am 74 and supported the idea of teachers getting vaccines ahead of me when I thought they would open schools. But they have chosen not to teach in person. Therefore I demand the state rescind the Emergency Order stating that teachers are in Group 1B unless they can show they are in-person teaching. Are they really at risk remote teaching? RGB

SO MLG spent 15K on a few shrimp and cocktails, no big deal. People, just eat your spinach and be quiet. JFG

THE BILL in the current Legislature misses a very important clause. Is an assisted dying deemed a suicide? Most insurance policies will not pay for suicide! This is an important fact for the family of the person being assisted. More is needed to be discussed before the bill goes to vote . ... JB

IF WE honestly cared about our children and their futures, why were teachers not included in the first groups for vaccines? If APS and its board honestly cared about our children, why do they not have a plan in place after almost a year that would allow students, student-athletes and teachers to choose to return to classrooms and playing fields? SE

THE NMDOH refuses to grant COVID-19 vaccination priority to all individuals age 65 and older despite CDC recommendation due to the known high risk of serious COVID complications. Merriam-Webster definition: Reckless Endangerment — noun; The offense of recklessly engaging in conduct that creates a substantial risk of serious physical injury or death to another person. RJ

SO APS is going to select those students who have trouble with computers, have mental health issues or not making progress to be the first to have in-person learning. What about those students who have to travel every day to relatives’ houses for their class work or the difficulty that some households have in arranging these logistical nightmares? Every student and every caregiver who has undertaken the extraordinary task of making sure our children receive an education is struggling . ... DCI

JUST BACK from getting second COVID shot at Raymond G. Sanchez Community Center. It was simple, efficient and the workers, from those directing traffic in the parking to the cheerful firemen who were giving shots, were all kind, helpful and pleasant. I love living in New Mexico. Thank you all. PM

... THE STATE has taken away my right to save my life by getting a COVID shot. Instead my life is being determined by a random number generator run by the state. Shame on the governor. Let the individual make the choice to schedule a jab, not a computer. Lower the age for availability to 65 like 47 other states and the CDC recommends, or maybe we should wait until we are the last state to do so. We do like to be unique. But do we always have to be last? KM

IT WOULD be interesting to know how many of our teachers, who oppose inschool learning because it isn’t safe, are getting their hair done, going to the grocery store, Target and Costco? You get the picture. Do they? PSS

NOW WE know exactly who (four) of the seven APS School Board members work for. It is not the students, parents or other taxpayers. They only work for the teacher unions. In the next school board election vote for candidates not supported by these unions. By doing so, there is a possibility that education for Albuquerque students could improve. DF

JOURNAL ARTICLE suggested if the ethics suit against Speaker Egolf was upheld, it would prohibit many lawyers from serving in the Legislature. Hallelujah. We have perhaps the worst Legislature in the U.S. One reason it’s so bad is the tremendous over-representation of lawyers within it. Why do you think we have so many lawyers eager to be in the Legislature? Could it possibly be because they serve their own self-interest? VAB

SO THE teachers who are not working full time and haven’t in almost a year have the choice to return to the classroom or not? How about APS give them the choice of pro-rating their salary according to their hours and/or return to teach in the classroom, or try living on the small unemployment amounts a lot of people have been doing . ... CS

I WENT to McDonald’s to get lunch, it was noon and they were busy. I was in the drive-up window where you pay. My order was $6.89, I gave the teenager $7. He frantically pushed buttons on the register and finally got frustrated and called a manager. The manager was in his late 20s, and he frantically pushed buttons and looked just as confused. I finally yelled at them “it’s 11 cents.” The manager said thank you sir and took a dime and a penny out of the register and handed it to me. School works hard at pushing liberalism ... when it comes to life skills they don’t care. ... KP

GIVE ME a break APS. So my kids are failing, they are having real issues with not being able to do anything besides sit in front of their computer waiting for someone to help them. But they want my husband who is 66 years old and an HVAC tech to put his health on the line so they can feel safe. I don’t know a single person out there that would not send their kids back to school. I am so done I will be sending my kids to a private school . ... SS

WHAT A wonderful editorial Feb. 21. And why can’t APS be creative in providing classroom monitors and virtual teaching in a classroom of students who are learning in a safe environment? Zoomies and roomies is a creative idea. And if our teachers want the vaccine set up vaccine sites at their school; I’ll gladly give them my space in line. I’m a grandmother who has been trying to do the majority of teaching long enough now . ... DAH

Speak Up Rules

If you want to gripe, grouse, whine or bellyache about a generic topic, submit your message at www.abqjournal. com/letters/speakup. The same goes if you want to dish out praise or thanks. Either way, you have to do it in close to 50 words. Keep it clean. No cursing, please. We don’t need your name, just initials. And it’s cheaper than therapy.

IF THERE’S going to be any justice for “Rocket” the dog that was repeatedly shot at close range for months by a neighbor, I would like to see the defendant not only charged with extreme cruelty to animals but also required to pay the vet bills and punitive damages to the dog’s owner. Further, in addition to a lengthy jail sentence, please tell me the offender’s rights to gun ownership will be taken away . ... LEM

WAGYU BEEF, Michelle? Seriously? At $42 per pound — my tax dollars at work. BH

EVERY SUNDAY, I read the Journal, very cautiously turning page by page because I don’t want to see the answers to the puzzles. The person who positions the puzzle page obviously isn’t a crossword or Jumble fan because the answers are invariably ahead of the puzzles. Ruins my Sunday. Stop that. DZH

GOVERNOR ... TO spend thousands of taxpayers’ money for personal needs is beyond outrageous especially in this poor state with so many people struggling. Unfortunately you’re not the first official to develop an elitist attitude at the expense of your citizenry. I hope New Mexico will remember all this at the polls, though I doubt it. HT

WHAT’S WRONG with the COVID-19 schedulers? My 93-year-old mother has been scheduled twice: once at the UNM Pit and more recently at the EXPO New Mexico. She has mobility issues and is unable to walk the long distances to get to her appointment. She resides in 87110 ZIP code. Why can’t they schedule closer to her permanent address? DF

OH MY how they’re celebrating at the Roundhouse, increased state spending for the next fiscal year “due largely to an increase in oil prices and production.” Not an increase from solar or wind energy. Alternate energy resources are all well and good, but they won’t pay the bills. PKC

WHEN CAN the rest of us expect to receive $6,500 of taxpayer funds to pay for tequila and chips like our governor? Asking for a friend. AT