News

Las Cruces Police issued 201 citations this week during three traffic operations along Bataan Memorial West.

The three traffic operations were conducted along Bataan Memorial West near Del Rey Boulevard. The operations were held in two-hour increments beginning at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, 8 a.m. on Wednesday and 3:30 p.m. Thursday.

Ruidoso, NM (May 24, 2013) – Today, U.S. Congressman Steve Pearce announced that he will attend a town hall meeting to discuss fire prevention and forest management.  The meeting will be held thisThursday, May 30, at 11:30 am at The Lodge at Sierra Blanca, located at 107 Sierra Blanca Drive in Ruidoso.

New Mexico State University's Cooperative Extension Service has created a new position for a wildland fire management specialist.

NMSU is one of only two land-grant universities in the U.S. to create this type of position. The University of Hawaii was the forerunner in developing such a position.

NMSU officials say that after back-to-back record-breaking fire seasons in New Mexico, natural resource managers are facing significant challenges in fire-damaged areas. That includes massive erosion events.

Law enforcement is launching a summer campaign to crack down on drunken drivers and motorists not wearing seat belts.

Gov. Susana Martinez and other officials announced the enforcement blitz Thursday as New Mexicans prepared for the Memorial Day weekend that starts the summer travel season.

Police plan increased patrols to look for drivers and passengers without seatbelts. There will be checkpoints to catch drunken drivers.

A New Mexico-based media advocacy group is helping journalists in Uganda facing a government shutdown of printing and broadcasting outlets.

The Media Literacy Project is giving Ugandan journalists advice and assisting in spreading information about the latest government seizures of newsrooms by government officials.

Andrea Quijada, the group's executive director, recently visited Uganda to train journalists and help with media literacy in the African country. Quijada also met with journalists at KFM, a recently-seized radio station.

The Navajo Nation's case against Urban Outfitters is on hold while the parties work toward a settlement.

U.S. District Judge Lorenzo Garcia in New Mexico has thrown out all deadlines for discovery and responses to motions while settlement discussions take place. The two sides are to agree on a mediator by July 29 and then let the court know within 10 days of a settlement conference whether they are successful.

Garcia says he'll issue a scheduling order if an agreement isn't reached.

  Hurley, NM –A group of elementary students from Hurley, New Mexico are on a mission to live their dream of visiting the nation’s capital in July for a youth leadership conference. They are called the Hurley Super Six.

It is an opportunity of a lifetime for the sixth graders who reside in a community of less than 1,600 residents with one school and one restaurant.

The City of Las Cruces Parks & Recreation Department will plant 500 trees in partnership with Groundwork Doña Ana (GWDA), a local non-profit, at local parks and public grounds this summer.  GWDA received a Youth Conservation Corps grant that will fund the “Green Team” youth crews.

The national non-profit organization KaBOOM! is recognizing Las Cruces as a 2013 Playful City USA community. The recognition is for Las Cruces’ efforts to provide children ample opportunities for play. Las Cruces is one of 217 cities and towns across the country to receive the recognition.

  The Lincoln National Forest is welcoming Forest Supervisor, Travis Moseley back to New Mexico. The selection process for a new Forest Supervisor spanned almost seven months, following Dr. Robert G. Trujillo’s departure last fall. This critical leadership role was filled intermittently by two acting Forest Supervisors during back-to-back, consecutive 120-day details. The formal announcement that Moseley had been selected as the Lincoln’s new Forest Supervisor was made on March 29th.

EL PASO, Texas – Members of the United States Border Patrol’s El Paso Sector along with other law enforcement agencies honored the men and women who lost their lives while protecting the nation in a special commemorative ceremony today held at the National Border Patrol Museum.

Chief Patrol Agent of the El Paso Sector Scott A. Luck and other high-ranking officials were on hand to pay tribute as well as offer inspiration and words of comfort to the family members of the fallen agents.

An 84-year-old Albuquerque woman on an oxygen tank has been indicted for drug trafficking.

KRQE-TV reports that Lillie Smith was recently indicted by a Bernalillo County Grand Jury for trafficking, conspiracy to commit trafficking, tampering with evidence and possession.

Court documents show the charges stem from a warrant served at Smith's apartment back in 2011. Deputies suspected that the woman's son, Nathan Jones, was running a small drug operation out of her Albuquerque apartment.

The eastern New Mexico peanut butter plant shuttered eight months ago after a salmonella outbreak is making nut butter again.

Sunland Inc. Vice President Katalin Coburn tells the Portales News-Tribune the company's products could be back on store shelves within a month.

The Food and Drug Administration shut the plant in September after its products were linked to 41 cases in 20 states. Most of those were linked to natural peanut butter the company made for Trader Joe's.

New estimates show Texas has eight of the nation's 15 fastest-growing cities.

Estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau show San Marcos in Central Texas led the way with a nearly 5 percent population boom between July 2011 and July 2012. That's the highest rate among U.S. cities with at least 50,000 people.

Of the 10 big U.S. cities with the largest gains, half are in Texas: Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Dallas and Fort Worth. Only New York added more people than Houston, which now has a population of nearly 2.2 million after adding more than 34,500 people.

The Census Bureau reports that Lea County, in the heart of southeastern New Mexico's bustling oil patch, was the fastest growing in the state last year but two-thirds of the counties lost population.

Lea County's population grew by 1.8 percent from 2011 to 2012. State demographer Jack Baker attributes much of that to the booming oil field economy

Sandoval County, which includes Rio Rancho, grew by 1 percent last year.