17 charged, 12 arrested in Carlsbad For the News-Sun ALBUQUERQUE – Seven indictments returned by a federal grand jury on April 19 and July 19, one criminal complaint issued on Aug. 1, and the arrest of 12 alleged drug and firearms traffickers on Aug.  1, in a coordinated, multiagency enforcement operation in Carlsbad. According to the indictments and other court …

CARLSBAD, N.M. (AP) — This city has assembled a task force to consider the future of its New Mexico State University Carlsbad campus, including the possibility of operating as an independent university. The university system removed the president position in August from its Carlsbad and other branch campuses, leaving one executive with authority over all three, Mayor Dale Janway said, …

CARLSBAD, N.M. (AP) — A southeastern New Mexico city near the state’s booming oil region may become the next town to ban single-use plastic carryout bags.   The Carlsbad Current-Argus reports advocates in Carlsbad have drafted an ordinance aimed at ridding the city of loose plastic bags. The proposal could go before the Carlsbad City Council later this year.   …

Land managers defer drilling near Carlsbad Caverns CARLSBAD, N.M. (AP) — Federal land managers have opted for more time to study the potential effects of oil and gas operations near Carlsbad Caverns National Park in southeastern New Mexico. A proposed lease sale first announced last spring had included more than two dozen parcels that were within 10 miles of the …

Cost of addressing Carlsbad sinkhole could reach $43 million CARLSBAD, N.M. (AP) — Work to prevent a massive sinkhole from opening on the edge of Carlsbad could end up costing more than $40 million, according to a group of experts working on the problem. The Carlsbad Current-Argus reports the new price tag for remediation and other work at a former …