Property taxes going down for many in Lea County LOVINGTON — With a 35 percent increase in Lea County’s assessed valuation for the 2018 tax year over 2017, most Hobbs residents will pay less in property taxes. The Lea County Commission certified tax rates set by the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department in a special meeting Friday, issuing a …

Phony cash spreads in Lea County Counterfeit cash marked “for motion picture use only” is circulating, not only in customers’ pockets but maybe in the cash drawers of unknowing local businesses in Lea County. In a law incident report Wednesday, the Hobbs Police Department issued counterfeit charges at the100 block of East Marland Boulevard and the 400 block of North …

New Mexico, Texas oil boom sparks electricity demand surge ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Electricity demand on Xcel Energy’s grid is reaching all-time records thanks to the oil and gas boom in southeastern New Mexico and West Texas. Xcel Energy New Mexico and Texas president David Hudson says oil and gas production in the Permian Basin is driving accelerated load growth …

Rig count peaks at record With Lea County leading in oil production, New Mexico’s rig count hit its historic peak this week at 103, the most ever, and close to double the 57 at the same time last year. Lea County’s count this week is 51 active rigs, up more than two-thirds from last year’s 30 active rigs and putting …

EnLink Midstream to Build New Delaware Basin Crude Oil Gathering System DALLAS, June 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — The EnLink Midstream companies (EnLink), EnLink Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE: ENLK) (the Partnership or ENLK) and EnLink Midstream, LLC (NYSE: ENLC) (the General Partner or ENLC), announced that the partnership will construct a new crude oil gathering system in the Northern Delaware Basin called the Avenger Crude Oil Gathering …

Faith in action: 300 youth in Lea for ministry project To be in Hobbs for just a week, 130 youth and adults from five different churches in central Texas hope to leave their mark before leaving on Saturday. More than 170 other volunteers are in Lovington. Only 15 years old, Amanda DeHart, of Hutto, Texas, said this year’s Central Texas …

Lea voter turnout worst in N.M. Lea County had the dubious distinction last week of posting the worst voter turnout rate among counties in the state, while a handful of New Mexico counties exceeded 50 percent voter turnout in the 2018 primaries. According to data from the New Mexico secretary of state’s office, 18.54 percent, or 4,663 of Lea County’s …

Election Update Statewide race results U.S. Congress District 2 – Republican Yvette Herrell 15,868     49.05% Monty Newman 10,360   32.03% Gavin Clarkson  4,011    12.40% Clayburn Griffin 2,110       6.52%   U.S. Congress District 2 – Democrat Xochitl Torres Small   25,220 72.61% Madeline Hildebrandt 9,512  27.39%   Governor – Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham 116,311  66.39% Jeff Apodaca38,779  22.14% Joseph Cervantes  20,09211.47%   …

Election results PRIMARY ELECTION RESULTS How LEA County voted in contested races in EARLY and ABSENTEE voting Magistrate Div. 3 Jimmie Jones 281 82.65 percent Chandler Brown 59 17.35 percent Magistrate Div. 2 Willie Henry 58 55.77 percent Mike Stone 46 44.23 percent Lea County Sheriff Corey Helton 976 76.25 percent Jon Martinez 156 12.19 percent Lorenzo Valesquez 148 11.56 …

More Lea residents going to work Lea County’s unemployment rate hit a five-year low last month, according to the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions. Not since April 2013 has the unemployment rate been 3.7 percent. That’s not the lowest ever, since the average for 2007 was 2.5 percent, but it’s a lot better than June 2016 when the unemployment …