Rural and unincorporated areas in New Mexico, including Lea County, face pressing challenges as a result of the lack of broadband access. Data from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) indicates that this lack of broadband access affects approximately 22% of New Mexicans and that about 70% of New Mexicans have only one choice…

Zion Gibson, accused of shooting to death the mother of his three-year-old daughter in the little girl’s presence, has been apprehended in Arizona and currently is in custody at the Apache County Jail. The jail is not far from the New Mexico border. Gibson, age 26, awaits extradition back to New Mexico. After arriving in…

Twenty-five year veteran of higher education and workforce services Dr. Derek Moore, Ed.D., has been named President of New Mexico Junior College (NMJC). A native of Arkansas Dr. Moore will officially assume the school’s presidency when interim president Steve McCleery’s contract ends on July 1. During his career in higher education, Dr. Moore has served…

Hundreds came to help Hobbs and all of Lea County unveil the Hobbs Veterans Memorial Park on Monday, May 30. The dream of a special site to honor all soldiers, those fallen and those still serving, is now a reality. A reception at the National Guard Armory followed the one o’ clock dedication ceremony. The…

The City of Hobbs is currently experiencing an “extreme and severe” drought, and the danger of wildfire is at an all-time high. At their Monday, May 16 meeting, Hobbs City Commissioners discussed this danger and took specific action to mitigate the possibility of such fires breaking out as a result of the use of certain…

Mass shootings, particularly at schools, have become all too common in America. On Tuesday, nineteen people were killed and more injured in a shooting at a school in Unvalde, TX. Lea County has its own share of gun violence with law enforcement called to incidents in Lovington and Hobbs just this past week. Hobbs Shooting…

Inflation is raging. At a forty year high, Americans are feeling the pinch – in the grocery store, at the gas pump – everywhere. In March of 2020 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, most Americans received a $1,200 stimulus check from the federal government through the CARES Act. Later that year in December, a second stimulus…

Over the past 5 years, the Albuquerque Journal Editorial board has done a thorough job of exposing the failures of bail reform in New Mexico.  Initially, the Journal staff was in complete support of replacing secured bail with the current “catch and release system” being used by Judges around this state.  However, as things began…

Five Republicans are vying for the opportunity to go up against New Mexico’s incumbent Democratic governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham, in the November 8 General Election. Early voting for the June 7 primary is already underway throughout the state. According to a SurveyUSA KOB-TV Eyewitness News poll released on Monday, May 9, Mark Ronchetti leads the…

Euden Avila, 25, of Hobbs is being held on no bond at the Lea County Detention Facility. Avila has been charged in connection to a fatal crash in Hobbs killing a husband and wife on Mother’s Day. May 8. After being arrested and then incarcerated on unrelated charges on Tuesday, May 10, Hobbs Police Department…