May Day is an ancient celebration of spring and a modern celebration of workers. In northern New Mexico, May is the month when chilly mornings finally give way to warm afternoons and evenings.

School comes to an end in May too. No more packing your kids off before dawn. No more midnight marathons helping your child assemble a last-minute report on the Lewis and Clark expedition. Not, at least, until it all begins again in August.

With the end of the school year comes the need to be extra vigilant when driving. Did you know that 80% of all automobile accidents are caused by distracted drivers? That’s what a new federal study has found. Reading, using a cell phone, applying make-up—each of these increases the chance of an accident three times. Just glancing away from the road doubles the chances. And reaching for an object is the worst—it increases the chances of an accident nine times.

With children no longer in school during the day, they’re going to be out and about, playing ball along busy streets, walking to the store, going to a movie. They don’t always make the safest moves. So it’s up to you be vigilant, cautious, and avoid distractions.

Make it a safe and wonderful May!

Congratulations also to Jose Castellano of Pojoaque High School, Antonia Clifford of St. Michael’s High School in Santa Fe, Trevor Martin of Taos High School, and Dylan Allegretti of Santa Fe Prep. Each will receive $2,500 per year for four years. These are just some of the 54 regional high school and undergraduate students who were awarded scholarships from the LAESF.

During May, the Foundation is kicking off its annual fundraising campaign to support the scholarships. You can help the LAESF support our local students by returning a pledge form found in Lab mailstops and newspapers. You can also go online at www.lanlfoundation.org and donate there.

The University of California had a major announcement of its own in April--awards to four students of 2006 Tuition-Waiver Scholarships. Each award is now worth close to $18,000 per year - equal to the “nonresident tuition” these northern New Mexico students now won't have to pay to attend the University.

Santa Fe Future encourages local businesses and organizations to sponsor young staff members for the one-year program. For ten months participants attend half-day team meetings to learn first-hand about issues facing the community. They interview a broad cross-section of community leaders. By the end of the year, class members will have met with over 100 of them. The class then partners on a list of recommended actions.

Javier Atencio, owner of El Parasol restaurants in Santa Fe and Los Alamos, was named Young Entrepreneur of the Year by the New Mexico Small Business Administration. You may have read about Javier and his nomination in the April Connections.

Sue Watkins, the Laboratory's S-2 Performance Assurance Team Leader, has been named a National Baldrige Quality Examiner for 2006. Watkins served as an examiner in 2002. Selection as an examiner is a significant honor.

Don MacMillan, who joined the Laboratory in 1944, recently announced his retirement. Now in his 90s, MacMillan performed in many important capacities during seven decades, most recently with the Laboratory's Surveillance Team in Engineering Stockpile Assurance.

April Morrison, Capital High School, Lauren Tencati, Piñon Elementary School, Megan Euy, Pojoaque Valley Intermediate School, Allison Garcia, Pablo Roybal Elementary School, Linda Sartor and Rosemary Sartor, St. Anne's Home School, Katie Lofton and Alix Morgan, Chamisa Elementary—they're the winners in a student poster contest held at the Lab as part of Women's Diversity Month. The contest was a collaborative effort with Los Alamos County. The theme was “Women: Builders of Communities and Dreams.”

Living Water provides landscape contracting services, including installation, maintenance, and design. It opened in the spring of 2001 with two employees. By the end of its first season, the firm had grown to 12 employees. Today, Living Water has 20 full-time and 8 part-time employees.

Anderson is highly regarded as a community and collaboration- building guru. Her full-day presentation covered the ways artisans, agricultural producers, and other rural entrepreneurs can work effectively with policy leaders, community activists, and others to build strong rural economies.

Española Mayor Joseph Maestas said that "Becky's way of thinking and her great insight have ignited the fire for collaboration amongst us all." Michael Cerletti, Secretary of the New Mexico Tourism Department, vowed to bring Anderson back to continue the rural economic development dialog.

Diesels are more efficient than gasoline-fueled engines—as much as 35% more efficient. Switching the U.S. vehicle fleet to diesels would provide major reductions in fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. But diesels produce more NOx (oxides of nitrogen) emissions, a key ingredient in smog.

Ott’s catalytic converter technology allows removal of most of the NOx across the wide temperature range found in diesel exhaust. It’s the first catalytic system to do so and could open the door to greater diesel use in the U.S.

The Consortium of Major Subcontractors provides a platform for subcontractor collaboration, coordination, and pooling of resources to fulfill economic development requirements in their Lab contracts. In turn, our Northern New Mexico region is the beneficiary of the Contractor's economic development efforts!

“Our family loves living here, and it is not too hard to say what we like about it. In the end, we are always discovering new things,” Romero said when told he won. The Chamber screened more than 330 entries. “There was such a diversity of themes, it was tough to decide,” said Jill Cook, Chamber president.

Roads to the Past marks the 50th anniversary of highway archaeology in the United States and its origins in a pioneering partnership between the Museum of New Mexico and the New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Department. The partnership has unearthed and documented over 10,000 years of New Mexico prehistory and history during highway projects. Many other states throughout the U.S. have followed New Mexico’s lead.

The exhibition features household items, tools, and weapons from all New Mexico cultures, prehistoric and historic.