The City of Hobbs needs its’ citizens input. City of Hobbs planners are hosting two public meetings on Thursday to discuss any future Community Development Block Grant program projects. The meetings are scheduled for 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. in the Hobbs City Hall Annex city commission chambers, 200 N. Broadway. Two previous public meetings took place on June 22. …

New Mexico became No. 2 in the nation for oil production this year. In March, the state’s oil production tally spiked at 35.8 million barrels, topping North Dakota’s 31.8 million barrels. For reference, Texas logged 147.1 million barrels in March, a number no other state expects to approach. For those who think of Texas as a “whole ‘nother country,” that …

JAL — After years of planning, construction of a new Jal City Hall inside the former Burke Junior High School building is under way. The first first-phase cost of the project is about $2.3 million and much-needed. The current municipal building at 309 Main St., is considered outgrown and aged. The building dates back to 1950 when it was first …

Personnel from the Hobbs Police Department and Hobbs Fire Department will be patrolling the streets this Independence Day as an ordinance passed earlier this year clarifying and updating the city’s fireworks ordinance gets its first test. Hobbs Police Chief John Ortolano has a simple message for residents who want to celebrate the holiday with fireworks: Do so safely and legally. …

LOVINGTON — Country music lovers will love the concert entertainment lineup for the 2021 Lea County Fair and PRCA Rodeo. The county’s biggest event of the year is set for July 31 through Aug. 7. Although specifics of the opening night’s Hispanic Heritage Celebration on Friday, July 31, remain pending, county commissioners excitedly approved the rest of the lineup during …

The Lea County Museum in Lovington is offering everyone a free virtual July 4 run or walk, with the first 100 to register receiving a free t-shirt. The distances are 1-mile, 2-mile, and 4-mile. All you have to do to participate and receive a t-shirt is to register with the museum. For those who wish to participate there are two …

Residents of Hobbs and Lea County will soon have more access to a variety of medical care thanks to a project about a year in the making. Nor-Lea Hospital District of Lovington is in the preliminary stages of a planned expansion of its Hobbs Medical Clinic and Outreach Laboratory on North Dal Paso Street. Dan Hamilton, chief operating officer for …

Editor’s note: Curtis Wynne retired as an industrial safety professional before joining the News-Sun in 2015. Although he allowed his national safety certification to expire, he brought his years of experience to the newspaper with him. Triple digit temperatures hit this week and my inner safety professional urged me to remind News-Sun readers of the hazards and ways to avoid …

The man who will take internet and telephone company Leaco into the future learned by getting his hands dirty. David Jimenez, appointed to the position of chief executive officer in March, started with the company more than 20 years ago as a switch technician, charged with making sure all of the then-analog telephone connections went through smoothly. But his interest …

Edgar Palomino is on a mission to beautify Lovington, one wall at a time. At 33, Palomino has been passionate about art for most of his life. His first inspiration came from cartoons and animations, but he soon turned to the work of Mexican muralists the likes of Diego Rivera, David Siqueiros and others, whose work helped establish the muralist …