Early Saturday morning April 16, a woman was attacked by five pit bull dogs near the intersection of East Marland Street and Fifth Street in Hobbs. According to a Hobbs Police Department press release (PDF) of Monday, April 18, officers were dispatched to the location at 7:27 am, April 16, to respond to a “vicious…

The City of Lovington has a new mayor. Shortly after being sworn in as the city’s District 3 City Commissioner at the commission’s regular meeting on Monday, April 11, Howard “Robbie” Roberts was elected by his fellow city commissioners as mayor. Roberts defeated former District 3 City Commissioner Bernard Butcher in the March 1 Municipal…

Current Interim Chief of Police Dr. August Fons has accepted a conditional offer of employment from the City of Hobbs to become the city’s next Police Chief. City of Hobbs Director of Communications Meghan Mooney made the announcement in a Tuesday, April 12 press release (PDF). What Is A Conditional Offer of Employment A conditional…

The Hobbs Animal Adoption Center (HAAC) is still fighting a serious outbreak of canine distemper. The public was originally alerted to the problem on March 10 by the City of Hobbs. Now, a month later, even though HAAC staff and the city’s contract veterinarian Dr. Linda Westall, DVM, have “worked tirelessly to try to rid…

Longtime Lovington residents would know the building as the old Noack Western Wear store, once an iconic staple of the small town. It was situated right in the heart of Lovington, across from the Ave D park where high school kids through the generations would hang and pass their evenings. Dormant since the close of…

US Senate and US House of Representatives lawmakers are throwing around the pros and cons about legalizing marijuana on the federal level. Although still prohibited by federal statute, the use of medical marijuana is today legal in 37 states plus the District of Columbia and four US territories; adult-use for recreational purposes is legal in…

April 1 was not a “Fools Day” for the business marketplace in New Mexico. On that day the Land of Enchantment became one of eighteen US states that have legalized the recreational use of cannabis for individuals 21 years of age and older.  New Mexico’s neighbors to the west and north, Arizona and Colorado, as…

Wildfire season in New Mexico is here. February is over, and temperatures are warming. Drought conditions that cause dry vegetation and spring winds provide positive breeding conditions for these fires. Just such a situation happened in northern Lea County Tuesday afternoon, March 29. According to Lea County Emergency Management, a dangerous grass fire started around…

Some gas station readerboards in Lea County are below the the $4.00 per gallon benchmark. On Wednesday, March 30 Murphy Express in Hobbs offered regular at $3.95 per gallon. Alon’s price was $3.97, as was the cash price in Lovington at Valero (901 West Ave D). Prices under $4.00 were not found at other stations…

Starting on Friday, April 1 retail sales of cannabis and “cannabis-infused” products to individuals 21 years of age and older in New Mexico will be legal.  The Cannabis Control Division of the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department is tasked with overseeing the new industry, which, according to an article in the Santa Fe New…