Summer Heat Stress & Drought: A killer combo for the landscape Drought conditions, extreme heat, and abnormally lack of water has become a very oppressing issue to those living in the inter-mountain regions of the southwest United States. This includes all of New Mexico and western Texas regions. The last two decades have been the worst in 1200 years according …

Virginia Cunningham/News-Sun LOVINGTON — People who live in Lovington may soon be paying a lot more for water. Lovington water bills may soon be higher due to a system billing error that has been going on for approximately two years, Lovington Interim City Manager David Miranda said. The error has to do with a decimal placement and an extra zero, …

Excessive spending only tip of the iceberg In a previous column, I discussed how New Mexico’s state government has been on an historic spending spree during the tenure of Gov. Lujan Grisham. Since taking office in January 2019, the governor and her progressive Democrat allies in the State Legislature have grown the state operating budget from $6.3 billion to more …

Hobbs Woman sets fires Virginia Cunningham/News-Sun Nicolette Dobbins allegedly set fire to her trailer house and then went to her mother’s apartment and set another fire inside the kitchen while her son was in the apartment. Dobbins was arrested July 13 and charged with abuse of a child, a third-degree felony, and arson, a fourth-degree felony. At around 3:48 a.m., …

Hobbs Woman sets fires Virginia Cunningham/News-Sun Nicolette Dobbins allegedly set fire to her trailer house and then went to her mother’s apartment and set another fire inside the kitchen while her son was in the apartment. Dobbins was arrested July 13 and charged with abuse of a child, a third-degree felony, and arson, a fourth-degree felony. At around 3:48 a.m., …

Local bug carries the “kiss of death” Levi Hill/News-Sun Texas-sized mosquitoes, Arkansas razor-backed chiggers and the very worst no-tell motel bed bugs have nothing on the potentially deadly cone-nosed “kissing bugs” that infest Lea County. The bug, which can grow up to an inch in size, is a bloodsucker classified as a Triatomine bug and can be carriers of the …

Are federal and state income supports in New Mexico too generous? Approximately 50 percent of the residents of New Mexico are on some form of public assistance. The programs are numerous including TANF, Medicaid, SNAP, unemployment insurance, and subsidized housing and childcare. A report prepared in October, 2021 by the Legislative Finance Committee outlined the benefits available for families with …

Lea creates DNA testing fund to fight crime Curtis C. Wynne/News-Sun LOVINGTON — By voting to create a special fund for DNA testing, Lea County Commissioners on Thursday addressed “crimes involving sexual assaults, including children as victims.” County Attorney John Caldwell and Undersheriff Michael Walker introduced a resolution intended to local law enforcement to use private testing labs versus relying …

Radioactive device lost near Jal located Levi Hill/News-Sun A pipeline inspection instrument containing radioactive elements that was lost near Jal on Friday has been located. A $5,000 reward was offered for the return of the misplaced device, which New Mexico state police were searching for after it was lost near mile marker 35 on Highway 128 near Jal. David Morgan, …

Hobbs team earns silver at SkillsUSA nationals Andy Brosig/News-Sun A group of SkillsUSA students from Hobbs captured silver medals recently at the organization’s national convention and competition. CTECH students Arick Serrano, Ray Stover and Leo Jaquez finished second in the Career Pathway Showcase Business, Management and Technology competition during the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference, June 19-23, in Atlanta, …