In this week’s Opinion section, longtime reporter Carolyn Carlson takes on a tough issue. UNM wanted to build a substance abuse treatment center near Central and San Mateo. But residents in that area say there are already too many of those kind of places in their neighborhood. UNM argues that more than half of its patients live in or near that region, and it’s serviced by a reliable bus line.

The issue hit close to home for Carlson this year. Read her story and her thoughts on the clinic, addiction and recovery.

Don't drift away.

Hospital waste ended up in a local landfill.

One of three jailed Pussy Rioters gets released.

A plan to merge two European companies into one aerospace giant has broken down.

Policy that gives immunity to telecom companies helping the government with warrantless surveillance won't be reviewed by the Supreme Court.

Bitty dino ankle biter.

Proposed California law could land a blow to GMOs.

"We have an ideology that advocates peace. The Taliban cannot stop all independent voices through the force of bullets."

Mail-order drugs.

Yum, Coco Crisp.

Yummm, donuts.

Does your kid's breath stink? Look up their nose.

Boombox.

Philip Glass goes '80s acid clubbing. (This might make the right side of your face twitch.)

"But what if there are no gods? or, suppose them to have no care of human beings."

"projet COMMUNAUTé": highly recommended. (Other series may be NSFW.)

African American father and son say they were racially profiled, and APD took $17,000 in cash off their hands for no good reason.

Neil Armstrong almost never does interviews, but he spoke with Australian accountants about his trip to the moon.

Ad-Rock talks about MCA's death.

Who puts in the most hours at work, country-wise? How do you stack up?

KRQE scrutinizes New Mexico's pork barrel projects.

George Zimmerman was pretty tight with Sanford police.

Top two Mexican cartels stage public massacres to taunt authorities and frighten civilians.

Office break rooms are disgusting pits of germs, says guy who cares.

There may be no daily newspaper in New Orleans after The Times-Picayune announces cutback plans.

The company that owns Chicago's daily bought its weekly. (That's like the Journal purchasing the Alibi.)

Tennessee walking horse trainer pleads guilty to cruelty.

Egypt is voting for president for the first time.

Can the human race tell aliens from gods?

Beautiful rot.

MIT alleviates an age-old human frustration: getting ketchup out of the bottle.

A series of earthquakes in the U.S. was likely caused by fracking wastewater.

An earthquake in Indonesia leaves the country relatively uninjured.

The guy who plays Pinkman on “Breaking Bad” has been robbed in ABQ twice.

In Sunland Park, you can’t tell who donated to a campaign.

Two APD officers who were fired for misconduct could end up back on the job.

Zimmerman makes his first court appearance and will stay in jail.

Trayvon Martin’s family talks about the second-degree murder charge announced yesterday.

J.K. Rowling’s writing a book for adults.

Lil B’s 90-minute lecture at NYU.

This leaf may be able to easily wean opiate addicts off their drug. But the herbal remedy may soon be banned in the U.S.

Our oil’s coming from new countries.

The photos that created America’s child labor laws.

Debate about women, motherhood and work plays out between Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen and Ann Romney.

"Since there is an infinite number of alternative universes, there must be one in which there isn't an infinite number of alternative universes. Perhaps this is the one."

Ze Frank is back!

Car commercials with shooting.

City Council approves a plan to carve up District 3 (Downtown, Barelas, UNM area) and ax Benton's seat.

APD officer ends up in the hospital after chewing on a glass burrito.

St. Michael's in Santa Fe to conduct random student drug tests.

Outrage over Quran burning spreads in Afghanistan. At least 10 Afghans and two American soldiers have died.

Midair helicopter smash kills seven marines during training.

9-year-old girl dies after running for three hours as punishment for stealing a candy bar, according to an Alabama sheriff's office.

UN may prosecute Syrian officials of crimes against humanity.

FDA questions inhalable caffeine.

Maybe you don't need eight hours of sleep.

Serious hipster cruise. Like on a ship.

Startups looking to skim carbon dioxide from the atmo. Bill Gates thinks it's a good idea, says his money.

Virginia politicians second-guess mandatory pre-abortion vaginal probing.

Analysts predict soaring national debt under all GOP contenders' tax plans—except for Ron Paul's.

Thrash metal endorsements for 2012: Megadeth dude supports Santorum.

• Agreed (m_​​c_​​zero) [ Thu Feb 23 2012 3:57 PM ]
  
• Tom Nayder got a plastic breadbag fastener (Nick Brown) [ Thu Feb 23 2012 4:02 PM ]
  
• Olives In A Burrito? (black) [ Tue Feb 28 2012 9:56 AM ]
  

Fillmore Photography - Michael Chen / CC BY-SA 2.0

 

The session adjourned at noon, and two measures that aimed to curb New Mexico’s high pharmy-abuse rates didn’t make it. Margaret Wright wrote an article for the Alibi about the measures. One aimed to tighten restrictions on opioid prescriptions. Another attempted to create a better tracking system for prescription misuse.

Medical associations bucked the legislation, saying it could discourage physicians from giving pain medications to people who need them.

Advocates argued the changes were needed because New Mexico leads the nation in rates of overdose deaths.

• This is simply stunning (sloppy) [ Thu Feb 16 2012 5:02 PM ]
  
• Dipthongs (Mayor McCheese) [ Thu Feb 16 2012 5:39 PM ]
  
• The Dipthong Song (miha) [ Fri Feb 17 2012 9:43 AM ]