Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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Hey bud. That’s how New Mexico State Police officer Justin Hare of Logan greeted Jaremy Smith when he found the South Carolina man stranded with a flat tire on the side of Interstate 40 in the early hours of March 15. Twenty seconds later, as Hare told Smith he would get him a ride to town, Smith shot the officer in mid-sentence. The 33-year-old went to the driver’s side and opened the door, waiting until an approaching semi passed to shoot Hare twice more. An hour later, Sta...
SANTA FE — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham recently stopped to talk to people hanging out and camping in and around De Vargas Park in New Mexico’s capital city — just a short walk from the historic plaza and high-end jewelry shops. She said she saw drug paraphernalia, alcohol and an individual with a visible gunshot wound, but not much desire for treatment. “I can’t get them to accept help, not one person,” she recalled during an interview in the Governor’s Office. The experience, she said, is not uncommon and underscores t...
The state is short millions of dollars in collected taxes, according to the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department, or TRD. Still, state tax officials say the $6.4 million in uncollected taxes through November doesn't mean the program isn't "highly compliant." The figure comes as the New Mexico cannabis industry has reached a significant milestone: more than $1 billion in recreational cannabis sales, surpassed with the latest November data, according to the state's track-and-trace system, BioTrack. However, the...
House Republicans are coming into the 2025 Legislature with a four-step plan, prioritizing the economy, education, public safety and healthcare. "New Mexico House Republicans are listening, and we will continue to listen to the people of the state of New Mexico, and what they are telling us is that they're struggling," House Minority Leader Gail Armstrong, of Magdalena, said during a Monday press conference. "They're struggling with goods and services," Armstrong added. "They're struggling with finding healthcare options....
SANTA FE — The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled Thursday that local governments cannot restrict abortion services, striking down ordinances adopted by Clovis, Roosevelt County and other entities in eastern New Mexico counties. The unanimous ruling came more than one year after the state’s highest court heard arguments in a case brought by Attorney General Raúl Torrez that attracted several national groups. In their ruling, the justices said the local anti-abortion ordinances violate state law and overstep the authority loca...
Michael Sinclair came to Portales from Beaumont, Texas, on a recruiting trip, absolutely not intending to become an Eastern New Mexico University Greyhound. “I just wanted to take the trip,” he said Saturday at a news conference honoring the 2024 inductees into the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame. But on that trip, Sinclair watched a fellow recruit disrespect a girl neither of the young men knew. “Me and the guy actually got into a fight,” he said. Sinclair had been planning to sign with Texas A&I (now Texas A&M-Kin...
RUIDOSO - Looking down at Ruidoso, the Alpine Village is marred by thousands of charred trees. But the view also presents signs of life, grass a foot in length in some places sprouting from the ground. It's a welcomed sight for the people of Ruidoso, who this summer experienced the South Fork and Salt fires - burning more than 25,500 acres and more than 1,500 structures, leaving two dead. Floods also followed, about a dozen, in the days and weeks after. In the aftermath of...
New Mexico’s senior senator expects to fight for public lands and to focus on national labs and permitting reform in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in the coming congressional session. Sen. Martin Heinrich will be the top Democrat on the committee, leading the minority party opposite Republican Chair Sen. Mike Lee of Utah. The pair have a history of working together on bills like the recently passed Good Samaritan law to make abandoned mine cleanup easier. But the senators will be on opposite sides of a b...
Not to name names, but here’s something to know: Levi and Oliver are back, and so are Aurora and Emily. Noah and Liam? Boys will be boys, as those two continue to wrestle for first place. And, girl, whether it’s Sofia or Sophia, you’ve got a solid chance of finding one of them somewhere out there. The state Department of Health last week released the top baby names in New Mexico for 2024. The list, compiled by DOH’s Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics, is provisional and subject to change depending on what the sto...
An annual military spending bill that will bring billions to New Mexico was signed into law Monday by President Joe Biden. The National Defense Authorization Act authorizes $895 billion in spending, including pay raises for military personnel at Cannon Air Force Base and other installations across New Mexico. New Mexico has 14,301 active-duty service members, as well as 7,551 National Guard and reserve members. The bill has $33.5 billion for nuclear weapons programs in the Energy Department. It also authorizes annual budgets...
New Mexico’s most explosive rusher has found a new home. Former University of New Mexico running back Eli Sanders announced his commitment to the University of Southern California on Wednesday via a post on social media. The 5-foot-11 Iowa State transfer rushed for 1,063 yards and nine touchdowns in his lone season with the Lobos, earning an All-Mountain West honorable mention selection in the process. He joins quarterback Devon Dampier (Utah) and wide receiver Luke Wysong (Arizona) in a group of highly prolific players l...
TUCUMCARI -- Once facing potential closure, Mesalands Community College seemingly has “turned the corner” from a doomsday scenario after improving management of its finances, the Office of the State Auditor said last week. But according to Allen Moss, the institution’s president, Mesalands’ future is still uncertain. “I think we can safely say we’re not looking at closure,” he said. “I’d like to think we did everything we could to show that we’re stabilizing and that we can continue as an independent community college, but th...
An annual military spending bill that New Mexico's federal laboratories and military installations rely on is expected to be taken up by the U.S. Senate this week. The $895 billion National Defense Authorization Act would provide $2.2 billion in defense spending to New Mexico. It passed the House of Representatives by 281-140 last week. Some of New Mexico's congressional representatives voted against the bill because of an amendment related to restricting coverage of gender-affirming care in certain instances, but the...
Greg Frazier said he and other members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1564 were "feeling good" after the Kroger and Albertsons merger fell apart, the latter grocery company deciding to pull out and sue the former after two judges on Tuesday in separate court cases halted the multi-billion-dollar deal. "Right now, the workers are excited that they can just focus on the customers," said Frazier, president of the union, which represents thousands of New Mexico meat cutters and retail workers at Albertsons and...
SANTA FE — As higher education leaders went to the Roundhouse on Wednesday to ask lawmakers for more than $1 billion in funding for the coming fiscal year, the panel of elected officials also questioned why the leaders have not adapted to a new landscape or why money previously provided has not matched the return on investment. Stephanie Rodriguez, secretary of the New Mexico Higher Education Department; Joe Shepard, president of Western New Mexico University; Becky Rowley, president of Santa Fe Community College; and Monica...
After six years at the helm of the state's Republican Party, Steve Pearce is optimistic the groundwork has been laid for New Mexico to turn red after nearly a decade of Democratic dominance. But with Pearce set to step down from his role as state GOP chairman, not all Republicans are sad to see him go. While President-elect Donald Trump won more votes in New Mexico during this year's election than he did in his 2016 or 2020 campaigns, no Republican presidential candidate has...
New Mexico's oil and gas industry is holding strong. It's difficult to predict the booms and busts of the oil and gas industry, but academic expert Jim Peach points to rig counts as a measure to judge how the industry is doing. If the number of drilling rigs falls below 100 in New Mexico, that could indicate a bust on the horizon, he said. New Mexico's rig count stood at 102 as of Nov. 22, the same as the week prior, according to energy company Baker Hughes. That's four fewer rigs than the year before. Nonetheless, New...
Between state and federal programs aiming to get all New Mexicans reliable, high-speed internet access, there are still about 95,000 households left out of the mix. State broadband officials are looking for legislatively allocated dollars to fill the gap. And how would they use the money to fill the gap? Satellite technology. Nearly 100,000 households aren't eligible for federal broadband programs, a gap that state-provided vouchers and subsidies for satellite high-speed internet services could help address, said Drew...
SANTA FE — New Mexico's crime problem might also be, in large part, a crime-solving problem. A legislative report released Wednesday found that while the state's violent crime rate has persisted well above the national average in recent years, the rate of clearing such crimes has steadily dropped over the last decade. Specifically, the clearance rate for solving violent crimes has gone from about 1 in 4 cases a decade ago to about 1 in 7 cases currently, according to the Legislative Finance Committee report. That could be d...
New Mexico voters on Tuesday approved two proposed constitutional amendments intended to expand property tax exemptions for veterans, though the measures could increase tax rates for other homeowners. According to unofficial vote totals, four statewide bond questions also had strong voter support, along with proposed Constitutional Amendment 4. It would give county commissioners, and not the Legislature, the power to set salaries for county officials. Proposed Constitutional Amendment 3 — the most closely contested measure ...
Election Day didn’t change the political makeup of the Roundhouse much. But, for the first time ever, the Legislature is made up of a majority of women. Based on unofficial election results, women will hold 60 of the 112 seats in the Legislature come January. In state legislative election results, Republicans picked up three seats and Democrats picked up one, ever so slightly shifting party numbers in the Senate and House of Representatives. Democrats entered Election Day with a 27-15 majority in the Senate and a 45-25 m...
ALBUQUERQUE -- Thousands of Donald Trump supporters spent hours in traffic and waiting in line for a chance to see the presidential candidate in Albuquerque on Thursday. There were so many people eager to attend Trump's last-minute campaign visit to New Mexico that thousands were left outside of the rally, watching Trump's speech on a large screen that initially did not have sound. Down the road, a group of approximately 40 protesters chanted their objections to the former...
SANTA FE — In the run-up to every general election since 2016, Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver's office has sent out mailers to potentially eligible but unregistered voters in New Mexico. But this year's batch of 105,000 postcards generated particular alarm among some Republican legislators, who say ineligible voters in their districts were among those who received the mailers. "As trust in our institutions continues to worsen, it is unconscionable to think that our top election official may be advising n...
New Mexico voters will be able to decide on four general obligation bond questions in November's general election, including a $230.2 million higher education bond package. The bond questions include $30.7 million for senior centers; $19.3 million for libraries; $230.2 million for higher education; and $10 million for public safety. Most years New Mexico voters approve general obligation bonds. The last time New Mexicans voted down a higher education bond package was in 2010. That year, the $155 million bond package would...
Along with answering questions on the cost of living, energy and immigration policy, Senate candidates Democrat Martin Heinrich and Republican Nella Domenici had a few questions for each other during their only televised debate before the general election in three weeks. The debate aired at 4:30 p.m., earlier in the day than originally planned, because of Monday Night Football airing this week on KOAT, the ABC affiliate. The candidates are scheduled to debate again on Oct. 27...
