We can all breathe a deep sigh of relief. At long last, our region has been blessed with a good northern New Mexico monsoon. But it's been a mixed blessing, with destructive floods in the southern part of the state and flash floods almost everywhere. Let's hope that all this wet weather makes for an outstanding winter. We'll need the snow pack for a good spring runoff and for a great northern New Mexico ski season. And how about a snow day or two!

Make it a wonderful September!

In an August 28 memo to Lab managers and procurement personnel, Anastasio affirmed the Lab's commitment to a regional purchasing preference and a subcontracting goal of 50% small business utilization-an increase from the previous target of 41%.

"With an approximate overall procurement annual spending of $1 billion, there are many opportunities to enhance small business utilization. I challenge all managers to creatively seek ways to accomplish our goals," Anastasio said in his announcement.

The technical help came through the New Mexico Small Business Assistance (NMSBA) Initiative, funded by the Laboratory Partnership with Small Business Tax Credit Act, adopted by the State in 2000. In January, LANL will begin partnering with Sandia on the program.

The NMSBA Initiative accepts applications from groups of 5 to 25 businesses with a single technical issue they need addressed. This year's proposal deadline is October 6.

Contact the NMSBA office at 505-844-9623 or email jlkamm@sandia.gov for more information and proposal criteria.

Employees brought in supplies such as pencils, pens, crayons, paper, notebooks, and glue, as well as gift cards good at local businesses. Students needing help were identified by the New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department, the Adelante Homeless Students Program of Santa Fe, and the Espanola Military Academy.

Now in its second year, the program has become extremely popular with Lab employees, providing them with a chance to help northern New Mexico kids get the school year off to a great start.

The QNM program is modeled after the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards program. Malcolm Baldrige, Secretary of Commerce from 1981 to 1987, was a strong advocate of making American businesses and organizations more competitive.

Sessions covered propulsion concepts using water bottle rockets, made from one-liter soda bottles pressurized using bicycle pumps. Students were able to experiment with various set-upa--with and without fins or nose cones and bottles filled with different amounts of water. The launches were spectacular.

Most of us think of lasers as instruments hot enough to cut through metal, not cold enough to bring things down to superconducting temperatures. But they can do both. Potential applications for this surprising technology range from satellites and other spacecraft, where the lack of mechanical vibration makes lasers ideal, to computers and cell phones.

There will be four opportunities in the region during the second half of September to hear the talk--in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Taos, and Los Alamos. Each will begin at 7 p.m., and they are all free and open to the public.

First elements of the plan are scheduled to go into effect October 6, when the NCRTD will consolidate Rio Arriba County Los Valles Transit and City of Espanola bus services and begin providing tribal transit services.

Longer-range plans call for a mix of different service types. Fixed routes, demand-response service, and mid- day/limited- stop service are planned for regular transit users. Express/park- and-ride service and vanpools are slated for commuters. Dial- a-ride/paratransit will serve the disabled.

The state's Congressional delegation was instrumental in obtaining $450K for Park-and-Ride and other improvements. For additional information, contact the NCRTD at 505-670-0682.

The 2007 LANL United Way Campaign Kick- off will take place Monday, September 25, 11-2 p.m., in the Central Park Square lawn area. The event is open to everyone in the community and will feature food, live music, games, a treasure hunt, and lots of fun and prizes.

A wonderful addition to the 2007 campaign is a pledge from LANS to match employee contributions one-for-one-- up to $1 million.

This year's campaign will also feature a Pirates of the Hill Treasure Hunt that will begin at the Kick-off on the 25th. Clues pointing to the treasure's location will appear daily in the Los Alamos Monitor. The prize for finding the treasure will be announced later.

Also featured will be the annual Books are Fun fair. After the kick-off event, the fair will move to the Otowi lobby and side rooms, where it will continue to be open to the public throughout the week.

Online pledging will be available at http// unitedway.lanl.gov starting September 25. For more information, watch the Rio Grande Sun and the Los Alamos Monitor or contact the Community Programs Office at unitedway@lanl.gov or 665-4400.

Mihaela Papa-Smith and Deborah Boldt recently joined the staff of the LANL Foundation. Mihaela is the new CFO, and Deborah is the new First-Born Officer.

Laboratory retiree Larry Campbell is the newest recipient of the monthly Vecinos award for outstanding volunteer work. Coordinated by the Community Programs Office and the LANL Foundation, the Vecinos program will honor Campbell with a $1,000 donation to the Los Alamos Historical Society.