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On Wednesday, October 21 st , the public learned, with just one day’s notice, that the New Mexico State Emergency Response Committee (SERC) meeting was canceled. No reason was given. As a result, no public comments about Project Ranger, a 1,000-acre hypersonic missile motor manufacturing and static firing testing complex – the largest in the United States – under construction on the West Mesa near Rio Rancho, New Mexico, will be heard. The meeting must be rescheduled as soon as possible.

Did you know that this week Tessa Snyder, the Hazardous Materials Coordinator, confirmed in writing that she recently met privately with Castelion Corporation about their Project Ranger, a 1,000-acre hypersonic missile motor manufacturing and static-firing testing complex on the West Mesa near Rio Rancho, New Mexico?

The U.S. Navy has ordered 444 fully functional Blackbeard hypersonic missiles from Castelion Corporation. The government has assigned 80% of the contract work to be done in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, where Project Ranger is nearing completion. Project Ranger is a 1,000-acre hypersonic manufacturing campus, designed to support production of solid rocket motors, static testing of those motors and final assembly of hypersonic weapons.

From Saturday, October 3 rd through Saturday, October 10 th , people around the world are organizing local events to bring outer space to greater public attention by proclaiming “Keep Space for Peace.” However, on Monday, September 14 th , the Trump administration announced it had placed weapons in orbit around the Earth in a major effort to militarize space. U.S. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink followed up by saying the United States, “now has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the joint force against hostile adversary action.” He refused to say what the weapons are, how many there are or when they were launched.

On Monday, September 14 th , Veterans for Peace lit their new electronic billboard featuring Uncle Sam pointing his finger at the reader and saying, “I want you to refuse unlawful orders.” The billboard is located on the south side of the I-40 exit at Wyoming Boulevard in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Last week residents of Ypsilanti Township expressed their anger over a proposed high-performance computing facility near the Huron River in a partnership between the University of Michigan and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Residents are concerned that the proposed project would fuel research into the nuclear arms race.

From 1946 to 1969, the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard was used as the station for top-secret nuclear tests in the Pacific Ocean. It was also the place where decontamination was done on the ships used in hydrogen bomb tests. Radioactive and toxic waste was disposed there.

Why does it matter whether plutonium pits are “aging” before their time? We all age. We get old and we die. But that’s not what the Department of Energy (DOE) and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) want for their plutonium pits. They want to make sure that they will “live” forever.

After working for nearly five years, Los Alamos County and the Department of Energy updated their original 1985 Electric Coordination Agreement (ECA) for the interconnected electric system that has powered homes, businesses and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) for over 40 years. After months of painstaking work, the ECA was approved by the Los Alamos County Council on Tuesday, August 25th. DOE has until Monday, August 31st to also sign.

Once again, the Department of Energy and its semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration has denied the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board access to nuclear weapons facilities, including at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). At a time when LANL is ramping up production of plutonium pits, the triggers for nuclear weapons, the DOE is restricting access to the Board and its resident inspectors preventing them from fulfilling critical oversight and public reporting responsibilities. As a result, the public is no longer informed about potential issues of adequate protection at defense nuclear facilities.

In compliance with the Trump administration Executive Orders 14300 and 14154, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to scrap long-standing radiation exposure standards for the general public and nuclear workers. The proposed rulemaking is called “Reforming and Modernizing the NRC’s Radiation Protection Framework,” which will result in more radiation exposures, not less. With cuts to medical assistance for so many in the U.S., the proposed changes will be even more harmful. And people will die as a result.

Did you know that the nuclear bomb the United States of America dropped on Nagasaki, Japan on August 9th, 1945 was fabricated at Los Alamos National Laboratory? Or that the radioactive waste from that fabrication remains buried at LANL? This is a circle that needs to be closed by removing the waste to a place where it can do no harm.

Roger Kent Snodgrass passed peacefully in his sleep very early on Saturday, July 18th with his partner, Myra, at his side. Roger was a great friend and colleague of CCNS. We met Roger when he was a reporter, then assistant editor and finally the editor of the Los Alamos Monitor. We had mutual respect for the work we each did to inform the public about Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) operations and impacts on communities, land based peoples, and the environment.

On Sunday, July 19th, the Secretary of the New Mexico Environment Department, James C. Kenney, was the keynote speaker at the 81st Anniversary of the Trinity Atomic Bomb Test in central New Mexico. The event took place at the St. Michael’s High School in Santa Fe.

There are two opportunities to commemorate historic events in New Mexico this weekend. On Saturday, July 18 th , the Commemoration of the Church Rock Uranium Mill Tailings Spill begins at 6 am, and on Sunday, July 19 th , the Commemoration of the Trinity Test begins at 2 pm. Details included.