Author: Durango Herald Editorial Board

In conservation history, pivotal moments stand out when action taken did the most good for the most people. The Bureau of Land Management’s proposed Public Lands Rule that makes conservation equal with multiple uses in decision-making would be one of those moments. It’s a delicate matter to achieve the right balance between the environment and…

Montezuma-Cortez Middle School’s Facebook page includes flyers and images you’d expect to see – reminders to order yearbooks, a summer basketball skills camp, teachers rolling burritos for students the morning of standardized testing. The components of a school’s community. But one in particular caught our attention. On April 19 and 20, a flyer on the…

One way to soften the blow of losing a job is to be invited to Florence, Italy, and feted by the director of a famous museum along with the mayor. Hope Carrasquilla, the former principal of Tallahassee Classical Academy, was asked to resign or be fired in March after sixth-grade students were taught about and…

We admit, we’re a little jittery approaching strangers after a surge in recent, seemingly random shootings. In April, 16-year-old Ralph Yarl was shot twice after ringing the doorbell at the wrong house in Missouri as he was trying to pick up his siblings. In upstate New York, Kaylin Gillis was shot and killed after her…

How about a handgun as a silent auction item at a school fundraiser? The Lewis-Arriola Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization is planning to have an image of a 9 mm Taurus handgun at the silent auction at its annual Hoedown on April 29 at the Lewis-Arriola Community Center. Around Cortez, we’re hearing strong, mixed reactions.…

Unintended consequences. This is the greatest concern if the Polis administration-backed SB23-213 on land use for affordable housing were to move through the state Legislature as is. That’s not likely to happen, though, become there’s too much opposition – mostly around losing local control. La Plata County, Bayfield and Ignacio are firmly opposed. Durango hasn’t…

No single fix will end the tragedies of gun violence in this country. But two Senate gun bills on their way to the governor’s desk for signing take sensible steps forward. One raises the age to 21 to purchase a firearm, another expands the list of who can petition courts to temporarily remove guns from…

We strongly support students engaging in civic matters. But we’re uncomfortable with U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert’s visit on Wednesday to Dolores High School because her talk ventured beyond governance into political territory. As reported in The Journal and The Durango Herald online, the Dolores secondary school administration sent an email to parents on Monday, March…