Gallup Sun

New Mexico is a land with many valuable assets – from our rich cultural diversity to our stunning physical beauty, to our mineral wealth. These assets belong to us all and while it’s impossible to put a price on some of them – our culture and natural landscape, to be precise – we can and do put a price on our mineral wealth. And that price needs to be fair so that we are all receiving the benefit of the bounty beneath our feet.

That’s why we support State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard’s pause on certain leases on land in the Permian Basin. Commissioner Garcia Richard rightfully paused the leasing until the state increases its royalty rates to market values...

Well, folks, this is it. Today marks my final Grammar Guy column. After seven years, I’ve decided to hang up the typewriter and retire from the lucrative freelance newspaper column side hustle.

To leave you with one last “word nerd” lesson, I’d like to talk about the power of words (for better or for worse). In Dead Poets Society, Robin Williams’ character Mr. Keating tells his students, “No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world.” This quote causes me to “sound my barbaric yawp,” as Walt Whitman writes.

Words have the power of life or death. It seems as though — in the age of social media algorithms and always-on partisan news — we...

ARIES (March 21 to April 19) The last lingering days of winter leave the rambunctious Ram more restless than usual. Put all of the extra energy into strengthening a long-neglected relationship.

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) The clever Bull will ignore outward appearances and dig a little deeper to find important hidden facts before making a decision. Meanwhile, a friend needs you.

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) It’s a good time to reorganize around your home and on the job. Missing items will seem to magically reappear once you discard the clutter.

CANCER: (June 21 to July 22) Tame that skeptical nature of yours. Be open to well-intended advice from a family member. A co-worker also has a...

There is no magic bullet when it comes to retiring successfully.

Hard work, meticulous planning, and years of dedicated wealth-building are the main ingredients needed to facilitate a prosperous, enjoyable retirement.

Here are just a few of the things people do that can create lots of frustration, hardships, and headaches later in life:

1. Waiting too long to start saving: Survey after survey confirms the fact that most people regret waiting too long to start planning retirement. The majority of folks wait until they are in their late 40’s or 50’s to start thinking about retirement planning.

2. Borrowing from a 401(k) plan. Even if you are several years away from retiring from...