In last week’s article on veterans’ benefits, several veterans told SFR that knowing which benefits they can get is only half the battle. They also have to get past a swamped Department of Veterans’ Affairs benefits cycle.

As members of the New Mexico Justice League Political Action Committee, they’re new. As political insiders? Not so much. Former Center for Civic Policy Director Eli Il Yong Lee and veteran campaign managers Neri Holguin and Sandra Wechsler have teamed up as a new PAC dedicated to re-energizing progressive voters.

George Vigil is a 63-year-old Vietnam veteran and a lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Los Alamos. Under the US Department of Veterans’ Affairs benefit system, Vigil is considered 75 percent disabled, which qualifies him for the pension that helps the income from his construction work stretch through the winter.

The Saturday of Labor Day weekend was sublime. Clear blue skies, a gentle breeze and songbirds’ lazy trills provided an exuberant farewell to summer. It was the kind of day that begged for picnics, walks by the river, Frisbee, freeze tag, naps in the grass—the kind of day that should have filled every last park with shrieking kids competing desperately for a turn on the slide.

After a protracted, year-long battle, a plan from the state’s largest utility to implement solar energy is good to go. But not in Santa Fe.

As Santa Fe’s first official city historian, José Garcia, a genealogist and historian who can trace his northern New Mexico roots back to the early 1700s, wants to bring history to the people. His plans for the coming year: frequent history lectures in schools, libraries and civic meetings; a comprehensive index of Santa Fe’s historical monuments; and a paid laureate position for the next city historian. Garcia, for his part, is studying Santa Fe’s illustrious past pro bono. “I’m free!” he says.

It’s not hard to find allegations of elder abuse and neglect in New Mexico. A simple statewide search for lawsuits filed against the larger nursing home companies yields hundreds of results.

Labor Day (Sept. 6) marks this summer’s official end—the day on which refined ladies put away their white jeans and men finally return those unfortunate bright-pink Bermuda shorts to the back of the closet and become men again.

On Aug. 3, the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce trumpeted a new program offering “aggressive discounts” to Chamber members who shop at Office Depot—free delivery on orders of more than $50, and “Special Discounts on Copy, Print and Promotional Items.”

On Aug. 11, Public Service Company of New Mexico, the state’s largest utility, issued a press release warning that pollution controls proposed by the New Mexico Environment Department would result in significant costs to PNM customers.