Summer's here, and three Albuquerque watering holes are finally opening

There's nothing quite as satisfying on a hot summer day as walking, sunscreen in hand, to your local watering hole—be it to take a dip in the Rio Grande, to discover a new fishing spot or simply to wash the heat away in your neighborhood pool.

A crowd at the May 2 Council meeting supported higher minimum wages and cruising, but opposed Bush's Social Security privatization and a four-lane Montaño. Councilor Eric Griego was out of town. And it was Kristmas for Ktech Corporation as Councilor Tina Cummins' bill, authorizing $25 million more in industrial revenue bonds for the corporation, passed unanimously.

If the vaccine works, why not use it

A young student told me recently that she had been diagnosed with Human Papillomavirus (HPV), the virus that causes cervical cancer in women. In her case, cancerous cells had already developed, and she had undergone two surgeries to remove this tissue. As she knew HPV is sexually transmitted, I told her not to feel guilty, that it was a virus like any other, and there was nothing wrong with the way she happened to contract it. I told her HPV affects 80 percent of sexually active people at some point in their lives, that it was common and normal. She said she had felt ashamed of having the virus at first, and I wondered whether embarrassment and shame had hindered her quest for health care in any way.

Scott Rickson

Dateline: China—An elderly man tried to smuggle his pet turtle onto an airplane flight by strapping the animal to his spine and pretending to be a hunchback. According to the New Express newspaper, the man--identified as Wu--was flying home to Chongqing after eight years in Guangzhou. The man knew he wasn't allowed to take live animals on board, but was too attached to his turtle. He managed to get through security, but was stopped by a guard who thought his hump looked suspicious. A quick search uncovered the eight-inch, 11-pound terrapin. Wu eventually changed planes and was allowed to check his pet in as baggage.

Letters

Opponents of minimum wage proposal flunk economics

Don't look for a Nobel prize winner in economics to emerge among opponents to the proposal to raise the city's minimum wage. They wouldn't even make it through Economics 101.