The use of electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes — known colloquially as ‘vaping’ — by young people remains a serious health concern in schools around the county, experts say. Lea County is no exception. After a natural decline with students out of school most of last year due to COVID-19 restrictions and closures, school officials report vaping in the schools is …

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic appears to be cycling down in Lea County — again. That was the word from Nor-Lea Hospital District CEO/Administrator David Shaw during an online update broadcast on social media Friday morning. While the daily case count in Lea County has declined slightly to about 40 per 100,000 residents, positivity rate still remains relatively high at 11 …

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic appears to be cycling down in Lea County — again. That was the word from Nor-Lea Hospital District CEO/Administrator David Shaw during an online update broadcast on social media Friday morning. While the daily case count in Lea County has declined slightly to about 40 per 100,000 residents, positivity rate still remains relatively high at 11 …

Sam Cobb, president of RMS Foods in Hobbs, embarked on an energy-saving and clean energy strategy, implementing several modifications to the Hobbs food production facility, as well as adding 1,369 300-watt solar panels to the roof of the plant. “Everything we do is based on trying to conserve energy,” Cobb said on Wednesday while speaking with the Economic Development Department’s …

Marijuana is now, officially, legal within the Hobbs city limits. During its Monday meeting, the Hobbs CIty Commission unanimously approved two city ordinances that changed language to reenforce that fact. Ordinance 1133 adopts Chapter 5.06 of the Hobbs Municipal Code, which legalizes the possession, cultivation, manufacture and sale of cannabis. Ordinance 1135 amends Chapter 9.28 of the Hobbs Municipal Code …

Nadeem Kassis, president and CEO of Kassis Companies, announced last week the sale of the entire ZK Express franchise to Lubbock-based Mighty Wash LLC. Starting in 1999 with a single ZK Express oil change facility on Bender Boulevard at the age of 22, Kassis and his family branched over the years into multiple enterprises, expanding their holdings and businesses throughout …

LOVINGTON — Lovington City Commission meetings have been animated lately, and the specially called meeting Thursday night was no exception. Commissioners, several of whom had been in various meetings most of the day at city hall prior to the scheduled meeting, greeted a standing-room-only gallery of people in commission chambers. Only commissioner Bernard Butcher, District 3, was not in attendance …

So many questions, not enough answers. The City of Hobbs Commission held a work session Monday to discuss the proposed city ordinance on the possession, cultivation, manufacture and sale of cannabis. While Hobbs City Attorney Efren Cortez and his staff compiled and presented a PowerPoint presentation on the potential impacts the industry could have on the city, many supporters of …

LOVINGTON — According to the story, three kinds of people occupy this world — those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who look up from their smart phones and ask “what happened?” But there’s a fourth kind — those who preserve history, who maintain the stories and the evidence, who ensure our children and their …

LOVINGTON — Coming back from a chaotic year, pandemic restrictions, an oilfield decline and mandated closures, the Lovington City Commission approved the city’s Annual Financial Report for 2020. State auditor De’Aun Willoughby presented before the commission the city’s annual financial audit for the fiscal year 2019-20 and the commission approved the resolution to accept it. This audit was conducted by …