Lea County and the state of New Mexico set new records of COVID positives Wednesday with the county adding 123 new COVID-19 cases on Friday. The county has had 30,128 tests conducted and the state says of the 3,222 cumulative positive cases, 1,296 are fully recovered — a number the state has not updated in days. Of those 3,222 positive tests, 2,074 were for the 88240 …

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP and Staff) — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is reimposing the toughest of the state’s public health restrictions for the next two weeks. The Democratic governor on Friday said she’s hitting the reset button in an attempt to curb the spread of COVID-19. That means all non-essential businesses and nonprofits must stop in-person activities and essential businesses …

Amended state public health emergency orders designed to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus in New Mexico are changing the way families and friends say a final goodbye to their loved ones. The updated PHEOs from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and the New Mexico Department of Health that went into effect Nov. 5 added funerals to the list of …

Three Hobbs children who were reported missing and endangered were found in Houston last week, more than two weeks after their sibling was left at a hospital in North Carolina with skull fractures. Andreea Ducila, 6, Raoul Badea, 4, and Elisabeta Badea, approximately 2-years-old, were all found by Houston Police on Friday. The details of how the family was located …

So, I hear word has gotten out throughout Hobbs about my “situation.” Yeah, cancer sucks. And it can be a bigger “downer” when it costs you your left leg – just above the knee. But life is what life is. It’s full of ups and downs. You know, challenges. As I write this, it’s exactly two weeks since I lost …

New Mexico surpassed the 1,000th death related to COVID-19 Friday, which underscores the rise in recent weeks of the record number of positive cases across the nation and around the globe. A rise in the number of positive cases also brings with it a rise in the number of hospitalizations. While early in the pandemic, mask wearing orders and closures …

Green Meadow Lake on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020, experiencing the area’s first cold snap this winter.

The landscape of not-for-profit groups in Lea County would be very different today without United Way. The Lea County Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) wouldn’t be helping as many children. Light of Lea County couldn’t provide monetary assistance to cancer patients to get them to the treatments they need to stay alive. Not as many children would have the opportunity …

JAL — Election Day for local leaders — mayor, city councilors and municipal judge — changed this week for voters in Jal. Based on requirements of the New Mexico Local Election Act of 2018, municipalities were allowed to “opt in” or “opt out” of regular local elections held in November of odd-numbered years. Jal had opted out, holding its regular …

Not content with waiting for the Nov. 3 General Election Day, voters turned out in masses Saturday for the first day of early voting in Hobbs. Lines at the Lea County Event Center and the Lea County Annex Building stretched to more than 100 people for much of the day, causing wait times up to three hours for some to …