BY LYNN HANRAHAN
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We were heading back home from East Park Pool and a lunch at the Co-Op today when we passed Pine Street.  My daughter mentioned she and some friends had gone to the Pine Street Playlot a few days ago but all the toys were gone. Where did they go?

I follow happenings in Los Alamos closely but I don’t remember seeing anything about the removal of playlots.  The County contemplated that a decade or so ago and all hell broke loose.

I raised my kids at the local pools and on the town’s playlots.  They matter.  Some if the mothers I met at Walnut Street Playlot and the 37th Street Playlot are friends for life.  What is Los Alamos County up to?
When it became obvious during the spring of 2020 that college as usual would be on hold and Zoom was getting tiresome, friends of friends needed nannies, babysitters, math tutors, and piano tutors.  My daughters met several young families in town and one thing became clear — there are a lot of lonely people around who aren’t very satisfied with the direction Los Alamos is heading.

Maybe we’ll have overpriced and understaffed amenities like the Splash Pad and the Leisure Lagoon but what about our neighborhoods?  Who is accountable?

On lonely mornings back in the day, we headed down to our Playlot.  But what if it isn’t there?  My daughter spoke of seeing Pine Street stripped of its toys with sadness.  We loved that place.  She and her friends are leaving for college in the next few weeks and had hoped for a last moment at a place they loved.
So what’s to be done?  Fight for what you love Los Alamos or else.  If you love North Mesa as it is, say so!  Vote and remind the County Council what it is about our town you value.  So many of the young families my daughters have met since the pandemic began are actively seeking employment and lives elsewhere because they just aren’t happy here.  We need to do better.