New Mexico legislators may block local abortion ordinances By MORGAN LEE Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A standoff over abortion in politically conservative regions of New Mexico escalated Friday as Democratic state legislators advanced a bill that would prohibit local governments from interfering with women’s access to reproductive health care. The initiative from state House Democrats responds to …

PETER STEIN/NEWS-SUN Pickleball sounds like a sport that should be played with an oval green object, good enough for eating when the game is over. Actually, the sport doesn’t involve anything remotely resembling that kind of pickle. In Saturday’s Pickleball Tournament at the CORE Center in Hobbs, it appeared to the casual observer like a game that looked a lot …

Gabrielle Arsiaga/News-Sun On Monday, New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez filed a motion with the N.M. Supreme Court asking recent ordinances passed in Southeast New Mexico be nullified by the court. The ordinances Torrez named in the Writ of Mandamus request, were passed by Hobbs, Clovis, Lea and Roosevelt Counties — and, though not named in the suit, on Monday …

CURTIS C. WYNNE/NEWS-SUN Keeping the No. 1 spot among the nation’s counties, Lea County hit the record books again, logging almost 32 million barrels of crude oil in October.  That’s a little more than a million barrels a day. With a lion’s share of county revenue coming from the oil and gas industry, County Finance Director Chip Low tracks the …

The following are the Top Ten local news stories for 2022 selected by the News-Sun staff: 1) Baby  in dumpster Around 2 p.m. on Jan. 7 a woman pulled up to a dumpster behind a Hobbs retail store and threw her unwanted newborn in a dumpster. According to Hobbs Police Chief August Fons, the newborn was found by three “dumpster …

Virginia Cunningham News-Sun LOVINGTON — Residents of Lovington have noticed the bare light poles in the downtown area where Christmas decorations normally are — but with the changeover in leadership, the Lovington Chamber of Commerce said they originally weren’t able to find them. At the City of Lovington Commission meeting Monday, board members from the Chamber addressed the commission in …

Curtis Wynn/News-Sun LOVINGTON — While the value of taxable property in Lea County more than doubled last year, the tax rates have stayed much the same and the oilfield will pick up the tab — most of it. At the request of County Tax Assessor Sharla Kennedy, and in compliance with state law, the Lea County Commission on Thursday certified …

Keith Manes/Lea County Clerk I have more than 20 years experience conducting elections, and I believe New Mexico has always been a model for other states in the conduct of elections. The New Mexico Clerks’ Affiliate, made up of all 33 county clerks in New Mexico, with a combined experience of many years, actively promotes the enactment of laws that …

The JF Maddox Foundation announced that its CEO, Ray Caraway, will retire in September. As CEO, Caraway has led the foundation in its efforts to make impactful grants in Lea County such as an endowment grant of $5 million to the Career and Technical Education Center of Hobbs which provides funding to secure CTECH’s long-term financial future. Caraway also oversaw …

Lovington woman missing or endangered Lovington – A Missing Endangered Adult Advisory has been issued from the Lovington Police Department. LPD is asking for the publics assistance in locating Angela Greer, a 46-year-old-female. She is described as 5’07” tall, weighing 140 lbs., with green eyes and grey hair. She was last seen on Monday, wearing a black and red flower …