Opinion

We were continuing our work in the final week of the regular legislative session. At the same time, we were in a concurrent special session to give us additional time should we need it to complete the 2024 budget.

For far too long, dangerous predators have disproportionately targeted indigenous women and girls, and violence against Native Americans and Alaska Natives far exceeds national averages. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Native women and girls experience a murder rate 10 times higher than the national average. The impact of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls has on tribal communities is certainly vast, as many have sadly lost mothers, daughters, nieces, aunts, siblings and friends. Throughout May, during Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Awareness Month, we are somberly reminded of the urgent need to end this terrible crisis.

In the Editor’s Note at the end of last week’s story on Inigo Burguete, we had an error in the email address for those interested in hosting exchange students.

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Last week, we celebrated National Police Week to recognize those in our communities who keep us safe, protect us from danger, uphold law and order, and help when emergency strikes — our brave law enforcement men and women.

Chaos is the one word that accurately describes the current situation at the southern border. The present state of affairs that has gone on for more than two years as a direct result of reckless and thoughtless policy decisions by the Biden Administration is endangering lives and U.S. security. It cannot continue as is. However, last week House Republicans advanced legislation to restore order and alleviate this national security and humanitarian crisis of unprecedented proportions.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a time to come together as a community to shift from stigma associated with mental health issues, raise awareness of resources available for those dealing with mental health issues and to start conversations encouraging those in need to seek support and treatment.

Please join me in recognizing and honoring May as National Foster Care Awareness Month. God has blessed Christie and me with six wonderful children who are the pride and joy of our lives. We often say when it comes to our kids, ‘three came natural, and three we chose,’ meaning that three of our children came into our family through the blessing of adoption. Our hearts have only gotten bigger with the addition of Jayce, and our twin girls, Ivy and Lynette.

My life is busy. From sun up to sun down, I am always running as fast as I can. It can be very overwhelming, and of course tiring at times. In fact, every person I meet seems to be living a busy life too. I do not think I have ever spoken with someone who said, “I really wish I had more things to do.” If that person exists, I would like to meet them and find out their secret.

Two weeks and counting until we gavel out of the 2023 legislative session. While it started out promising with historic revenues to appropriate, the process has gotten bogged down in education funding and policy disagreements.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for quite some time has used malign economic coercion tactics to intimidate its neighbors in the Indo-Pacific region and manipulate them to surrender to various types of political, economic and other demands.