WASHINGTON, D.C. - Representative Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., the U.S. House Assistant Speaker, presented 75 local Vietnam Veterans with the Vietnam Veteran Commemorative Pin – a commendation of our nation’s lasting gratitude to U.S. military veterans who served during the Vietnam War in a ceremony held at the Gallup Cultural Center on Oct. 19.

At the ceremony, Luján presented the veterans with the Vietnam Veteran Commemorative Pin to honor and thank them for their service to our country. Luján was joined by James Eby, of Gallup’s Veterans Helping Veterans and the Gallup Boy Scout Troop 40.

“I had the pleasure of recognizing dozens of Vietnam veterans - distinguished individuals...

Dear Editor:

October is National Bullying Prevention Month. “Every day thousands of young people experience bullying from their peers while at school, after school in their neighborhoods, and even when they are at home, through social media and texts,” PACER points out. Founded in 2006, PACER is a national bullying prevention center, www.pacer.org.

But, here’s my question. How do we as adults hope to prevent bullying among our youth when adults can be some of the vilest verbal word-villains?

A 2019 article in The Chicago Tribune tells the snarly story. An Illinois freelance writer Melissa Blake wrote a recent anti-Trump op-ed piece for CNN. A mob of mean mug-thugs hurled...

Progress on the way

ALBUQUERQUE – Despite a fairly strong economy nationally, ten states – including New Mexico – have seen an increase in the share of children living in areas of concentrated poverty. This information comes from the latest KIDS COUNT report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The report also shows that children of color are more likely to live in high-poverty, low-opportunity neighborhoods than white children.

“While children do best when their family is economically secure, the well-being of the larger community is also important. Children need to grow up in neighborhoods with high-quality schools, safe places to play, good job opportunities, and reliable...

New Mexico currently has a shortage of physicians in 32 of its 33 counties. Large swaths of McKinley County lie within the Navajo Nation, the largest Indian reservation in the United States. Nearly 80 percent of McKinley County’s 75,000 residents are Native American. New Mexico leads all other states in Medicaid enrollment, with 43 percent of its residents on the program.

The goal of New Mexico’s healthcare community is to bridge the gap in rural health and ensure adequate and appropriate care is available to all New Mexican’s regardless of their address.   Therefore, I support Governor Grisham’s plan to increase Medicaid by $78.5 million for the State of New Mexico.

We need...