Carlos Gilbert Elementary School, in downtown Santa Fe, was recently placed in a lockdown situation. When a school lockdown is in place, it is extremely serious and stressful to everyone involved. The situation and information changes by the minute.

On behalf of the Carlos Gilbert PTK (Parents! Teachers! Kids!), we want to thank our principal, Jennifer Sallee; our wonderful teachers and staff; Superintendent Bobbie Gutierrez and her team at SFPS; the Santa Fe Police Department and Santa Fe County Sheriff for their quick response, their professionalism, their dedication and their incredible leadership. We thank them for putting the safety of our children first. Thank you to our Carlos Gilbert families for their patience and to our children for handling everything so well. Carlos Gilbert Elementary is an amazing school community. We are truly grateful. Bravo Blackhawks, Bravo!



As I travel down the sidewalks of Rufina Street on my medical scooter, I notice an abundance of weeds, slowly and methodically creeping their way onto the path, some growing as tall as 4 to 5 feet, all obstructing passage in most places. The neighborhood associations have done their jobs, cleaning up their lots, but the city, sadly, has not.

I have called code enforcement numerous times only to get a long line of excuses, from "the markets (Spanish and Indian), and all the crews are busy with that," to "no one has complained before now," all the while being assured this would be taken care of.

Well, "the markets" have passed — and still no work. One good spark and a really dry day, and there would be no more worry about those weeds. I hope that on that day, I or one of my handicapped friends do not happen to be in harm's way.



Another day in the shooting gallery called America, as the Australians call us: At another hostage taking last week, a principal of a school in Tennessee had a gun held to her head, and on and on and on. I challenge us to count the daily details of a country with free-flowing weapons policies.

What is the answer, arm the entire nation (the NRA would like that) instead of sensible controls that make it as hard to get a gun as it is to get a driver's license? Don't be fooled. Home robberies account for many guns on the street.

In many places in the U.S., people can get guns on the street easier than buying one, and our politicians remain silent as the ridiculous slaughter goes on. Cowardice, fear of loss of election, and in the meantime, we will see more of this. A free society? Yes, free to terrorize citizens.



I'm writing on behalf of Troy Davis, a Georgia prisoner on death row. Recently at a hearing in Savannah, a federal judge, William T. Moore Jr., ruled that Troy Davis did not meet the high standard to "clearly establish" his innocence, even though a majority of witnesses say they lied 19 years ago, and even though former President Jimmy Carter and Archbishop Desmond Tutu have called for clemency.

Why is this happening in America? Where is justice?



Georgia death-row inmate Troy Davis may be back on track for execution following the Aug. 24 decision of a federal judge to reject his petition.

With no physical evidence, Troy Davis had to prove his innocence by relying on witnesses whose credibility was called into question by the judge — yet they were the very people whose testimony put Davis on death row!

The hearing did not resolve doubts about Troy Davis' guilt; no execution should go forward when there is so much doubt and uncertainty. This case illustrates why the death penalty is fundamentally flawed and should be abolished.