One Woman's Viewpoint
Merritt Hamilton Allen, whose work is published previously in the Edgewood Independent, will also provide her columns to the Grant County Beat.
The lost boys
- Category: One Woman's Viewpoint One Woman's Viewpoint
- Published: 31 March 2023 31 March 2023
Coming into the Final Four this weekend is a welcome spring ritual. In both the women's and men's NCAA basketball tournaments, these semifinal rounds cap weeks of tough competition and stunning upsets.
I have been interested in the unique status of college athletes since I was a college student. The demands made of student-athletes and their ability to manage their time and still have a college experience is something that continues to amaze me to this day.
And the pressure! Especially for the big two: football and men's basketball. As exciting and demanding as all college athletic programs are, football and men's basketball bring in the big bucks for their schools and the stress increases accordingly. The "student" in student-athlete often falls by the wayside and football and basketball players move in their own rarefied universe.
No winners in 2023 legislature
- Category: One Woman's Viewpoint One Woman's Viewpoint
- Published: 24 March 2023 24 March 2023
Saturday noon came and went with a whimper. The New Mexico legislature adjourned sine die, and I couldn't care less.
Child welfare reform? Nope. Meaningful tax reform? Oh, hell no. Good government reform? Talk to the hand.
At first, I was pleased to see the state severance permanent fund funded to almost 30% of the total budget, or nearly $3.25 billion. Then the total funding amount recommended in the House budget to fund the severance permanent fund was slashed 44% by the Senate in the last week of the session to fund even more stuff in a budget bill totaling nearly $10 billion.
I absolutely hate that. The $375 million pulled out of the severance permanent fund funding by the Senate Finance Committee went to fully funding free college tuition and $500 tax rebates.