SANTA FE – New Mexico state health officials on Friday announced 659 additional COVID-19 cases and 14 deaths. As of today, there are 226 individuals hospitalized in New Mexico for COVID-19. This number may include individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 out of state but are currently hospitalized in New Mexico. This number does not include New Mexicans who tested positive for COVID-19 and may have been transferred to a hospital out of state.

  As part of the Aggie Uptown Development, the left-turn lane on Telshor Boulevard, onto University Avenue, will be closed while Renegade Construction does improvements to the existing median. The lane closure begins Monday, March 1, 2021 and will last approximately two weeks.

A detour will be in place through Terrace Drive for vehicular traffic that needs to access east University Avenue. The lane closure will be on RoadRUNNER Transit Route 2 but will not affect any bus stop locations.

Access to residences and businesses will be maintained at all times.

SANTA FE – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Friday signed House Bill 11 into law, delivering $200 million in grants to support New Mexico businesses to ease the hiring or rehiring of employees.  Here is a statement from the Governor's office:

“New Mexico will continue to get meaningful financial assistance out the door to businesses all across the state,” said Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. “Our economy will bounce back. And businesses will get back on their feet.”

“We are grateful to Governor Lujan Grisham for her support on House Bill 11, and for all of her leadership throughout this challenging year,” said Speaker of the House Brian Egolf. “We convened the 2021 session knowing that getting economic relief into local economies was the most critical action that we would take as lawmakers. Now we are continuing our work on subsequent bills. Help is on the way.”

  ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Spaceflight company Virgin Galactic has postponed its next mission to space from New Mexico until at least May after a test flight from December was aborted due to computer malfunction. The Albuquerque Journal reported Thursday that an investigation by the company found that electromagnetic interference caused the spaceship’s onboard computer to reboot during the December flight. That triggered a safety mechanism that shut down the engine and forced the VSS Unity’s two pilots to abort the mission and glide back to Earth. CEO Michael Colglazier said the company will test new components to prevent the error before launching its next flight.

LAS CRUCES - Legislation that would end a debate raging since 2004 over the proposed diversion of the Gila River passed on a 43-24 vote Thursday, Feb. 25, in the New Mexico House of Representatives and now moves to the state Senate.

House Bill 200 would transfer authority over funds remaining from the Arizona Water Settlements Act of 2004 from the New Mexico Central Arizona Project (CAP) Entity to the state Water Trust Board (WTB). The $80 million remaining from the original federal allocation would be used for water projects in Grant, Catron, Hidalgo and Luna counties, but not for water diversion projects.

LAS CRUCES - The New Mexico House of Representatives gave final approval Thursday, Feb. 25, to legislation to make low-interest loans available to more small businesses in the state that were harmed by public health restrictions imposed to combat the pandemic.

Senate Bill 3 would make changes to legislation passed during a special session last June. That bill made $450 million available for loans, but only about $40 million of that had been tapped into. The new bill will loosen restrictions, making the loans available to far more businesses.