LAS CRUCES – Culture, skill, and entertainment are the focus of the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum’s 21st-annual Cowboy Days celebration.

The fun is from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 7 and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, March 8 at the Las Cruces museum. The family-friendly admission this year is $10 per carload. Pets are not allowed at the festival.

Lienzo Charro El Pedregal, a group made up of Daniel Castro of Vado and his family, will perform trick roping and traditional Mexican charrerada demonstrations from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. each day.

The Doña Ana County Clerk’s Office is hosting two, after-business-hours Voter Registration Agent trainings for the 2020 Primary Election. New Mexico Election Law states that if you would like to register voters, you must be registered as a Third-Party Registration Agent through the Secretary of State or the County Clerk.

The first training is scheduled for Tuesday February 25th from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm, at the Doña Ana County Government Center. The second training is scheduled for March 17th from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm, at the Doña Ana County Government Center. The training is free and space is limited.

The City of Las Cruces Parks & Recreation Department will conduct a neighborhood meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020 regarding Sunrise Terrace Park. The neighborhood meeting will be in Conference Room 2007-A at City Hall, 700 N. Main St.

City representatives will present plans for turf upgrades at the park, and will provide options for revitalizing the turf for discussion.

For information, call the Parks and Recreation Department at 575/541-2550.

  The University of Texas at El Paso is launching a new program – the Microsoft Teacher Computer Science Academy – to increase the number of high school students who take computing courses by increasing the number of computer science teachers, with financial support from Microsoft Corp.

The funding is thanks to Microsoft’s TechSpark, an initiative which aims to expand economic opportunity in the Borderplex region as well as five other communities throughout the country.

Microsoft will fund 14 full scholarships this year for high school math or computer and technology education (CTE) teachers to become qualified to teach computer science at high schools in the El Paso region.

Carbon sequestration, also known as carbon capture and storage, has long been known as a promising, even necessary, tool to manage the amount of heat-trapping greenhouse gases pumped into Earth’s atmosphere.

In the next installment of the New Mexico State University Climate Change Education Seminar Series, Brian McPherson, a professor at the University of Utah, will present a talk titled “On the Competing Risks and Benefits of Geologic CO2 Sequestration,” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 4 at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico has stopped issuing medical marijuana enrollment cards to people who live outside the state but will soon allow nonresident patients enrolled in other state programs to buy pot. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Thursday reinstated a residency requirement for participation in the state's medical cannabis program by signing a measure passed by lawmakers. At least 613 nonresidents have enrolled in the medical pot program since the residency requirement was dropped last year. On July 1, New Mexico will recognize medical marijuana cards issued by other states. Officials say the goal of recognizing out-of-state cards is to allow patients to access cannabis just like other medications.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico Economic Development Department will invest in a year-round hemp business that is expanding its operation from Berino to Las Cruces N.M and adding 56 jobs, Cabinet Secretary Alicia J. Keyes said today.  Here is a statement from the New Mexico EDD:

The New Mexico Economic Development Department has committed $600,000 in LEDA funds, matched by $5.3 million in private investment, toward the expansion of Natural ReLeaf. The business began growing hemp in Berino last year with a 2019 crop yield of 10,000 pounds. It is now ready to expand manufacturing capacity and add 8 greenhouses in Berino to allow for year-round growing.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico's lawmakers have used a 30-day legislative session to bolster restrictions on firearms, underwrite college tuition, shore up a public pension fund and expand state oversight of vaping and e-cigarette sales. An effort to legalize recreational marijuana fell flat. 

The Legislature concluded its second annual session since Democrats took control of the governor's office in 2018 and expanded their House majority.