Weekly News & Updates From Los Alamos County
Published August 12, 2022
Upcoming Events
County Fair & Rodeo this weekend!
Don't forget the County Fair and Rodeo events this weekend, August 13-14. This year's theme is Stars, Stripes, and Summer Nights.

Saturday, August 13

Festival & Fair
9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m., Ashley Pond Park

Summer Arts & Crafts Fair
9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m., Fuller Lodge East Lawn

Los Alamos Youth Film Intensive Rolling Premier
9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m., on the hour
Fuller Lodge

Pie Baking Contest
Entry submissions: 9:00 - 11:00 a.m.
Judging: 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Ashley Pond Park

County Fair Parade
10:00 a.m. Central Ave.

County Fair Exhibits
10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m., Mesa Public Library

County Rodeo
Including a watermelon eating contest
2:00 - 5:00 p.m., Brewer Arena

Cowboy Dinner & Dance
5:00 - 7:00 p.m. - Dinner
7:00 - 9:00 p.m. - Dance
Los Alamos Sheriff's Posse Lodge

Sunday, August 14

Stroll the Stables
Passport Guidebooks Distributed from 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., North Mesa Stables

Rodeo: Tough Enough to Wear Pink
Including a watermelon eating contest
1:00 - 5:00 p.m., Brewer Arena
CDD seeks community input on Draft Metropolitan Redevelopment Area Plan

Los Alamos County's Community Development Department (CDD) and its consultant Site Southwest invite the public to an open house to learn about the draft Metropolitan Redevelopment Area (MRA) Plan for White Rock. The open house will be held at the White Rock Library Multi-Purpose Room, 10 Sherwood Blvd., on Wednesday, Aug. 17. Community members may drop by between 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. to ask questions and provide feedback on proposed strategies to drive catalytic projects in the downtown.
Proposed strategies include: 
  • Incentives for Property Owners
  • Public-Private Partnership Opportunities,
  • District-Wide Public Improvements, 
  • Increased Commercial Activity, and
  • Tax Incentive & Tools. 
 
The draft MRA Plan is part of a multi-year effort undertaken by CDD to define the community's vision for the White Rock downtown. Guided by the adopted 2016 Comprehensive Plan and the 2021 White Rock Town Center Master Plan, the MRA Plan identifies vacant, deteriorated, or underutilized properties in the downtown boundary, then introduces strategies and incentives for redevelopment that decreases deterioration and increases the community’s vibrancy and economic activity.

Once adopted, the MRA Plan will identify strategies and tools to drive catalytic projects in downtown White Rock using public-private partnerships and incentives that comply with New Mexico state statutes.
  
Input received at the open house will be included in a CDD presentation of the Draft MRA Plan to the Council at the Sept. 20 meeting held at 6 p.m. in Council Chambers, 1000 Central Ave.
 
For additional information, including presentations and notes from past meetings, visit the White Rock MRA Plan webpage at https://lacnm.com/WRMRA  or email Sobia.Sayeda@lacnm.com.  
August 23 Council meeting to be a work session
The next Los Alamos County Council meeting is a work session and will take place on August 23rd, at 6:00 p.m., Council Chambers, 1000 Central Ave., Los Alamos. This will be an in-person/Zoom hybrid meeting.

View the complete agenda packet for this meeting here.
News
Teen Center announces new hours
With the new school year, comes new school year hours. Previously, the Teen Center opened at noon on weekdays during the school year, but records showed little to no attendance between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. With that in mind, the Teen Center has shifted those staff hours to the busier after-school times.

The Teen Center anticipates being open at Noon during school holiday breaks.
Please contact latc@laymca.org with any questions.
What do locals love most about Los Alamos?
County officials want to know.
During the annual Los Alamos County Fair, county officials encourage community members to drop by the County Council tent at Ashley Pond from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 13, to share why they love Los Alamos. Whether it is the parks and trails, the small-town atmosphere, or the people, the County wants to hear what aspects of living, working, and playing in Los Alamos resonate with the community.
  
Each participant will be entered into a drawing, where one lucky individual will win a 12 x 36-inch color canvas print of the view from Kwage Mesa looking over Bayo Canyon, photographed by Vint Miller. The winner will be announced Monday, Aug. 15. County officials will also highlight locals' top favorites and testimonials of living, working, and playing in Los Alamos through traditional and social media. 
  
Councilors and county staff will also be on hand on Saturday to share information on various county projects and initiatives, answer questions or just chat with those that stop by. The County Council tent will be located on the north side of Ashley Pond Park near the elephant between 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. 
Tidbits and Treasures
Los Alamos County Fair and Rodeo: Indoor Arts and Crafts Exhibit 
 
Saturday and Sunday, August 13 and 14.
Located in Step Up Gallery at Mesa Public Library.
 
Stop by to see exhibits from the Los Alamos County Fair and Rodeo! 
  
Step Up Gallery Hours: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday to Thursday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday; and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday. Closed Sundays. Admission is free.
Sky Rider: Park Van Tassel and the Rise of Ballooning in the West
*This event will be live-streamed via Zoom. Registration is required.
Balloon Fiesta will be here soon! Join us for a virtual author talk with Dr. Gary B. Fogel and learn about how the fascinating legacy of ballooning in the American West links back to the 1880s and a man by the name of Park Van Tassel. Through his pioneering flight, Van Tassel not only opened the skies to future generations across New Mexico—but he also opened minds throughout his extensive travels to the possibility of manned flight. Learn more about this fascinating P. T. Barnum–like showman who—in addition, to co-inventing the parachute—took his concept of aerial exhibition on the road and set the stage for one of New Mexico's favorite annual events.
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