New Mexico’s Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard announced earlier this month the “indefinite withholding” of lease sales for oil and natural gas exploration on “premium tracks” of State Trust land located in the Permian Basin. Numerous of these tracks are located in Lea and Eddy counties. The primary reason for the halt in leasing is…

House Bill 129 (HB 129) – the seven-day waiting period for gun purchase bill – was signed into law by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Monday, March 4. In a Tuesday, February 13 press release the governor stated, “HB 129 is an important piece of public safety legislation that will undoubtedly save lives. This legislation…

Abandoned and inactive oil wells that threaten the environment are scattered throughout Lea and neighboring counties. These wells have run dry, and the job of capping and plugging them costs millions. Unfortunately, oil and gas operators often walk away without properly plugging these wells and cleaning up well sites. They are sometimes referred to as…

With a new year, the community is seeing some new faces in positions of local leadership. In Hobbs and in Lovington, an important role for each municipality has been filled. The City of Lovington has named a new chief of police, and the City of Hobbs appointed a new city attorney. On Tuesday, January 2,…

On Wednesday, December 13, New Mexico’s highest court convened to entertain oral arguments in the case State of New Mexico v. Board of County Commissioners for Lea County. In the lawsuit the State of New Mexico is challenging the legality of anti-abortion ordinances passed by four conservative southeastern New Mexico local governments – the City…

The American oil and gas industry, of which Lea Country is a key contributor, is thriving. U.S. oil fields are producing at record highs. This booming activity is painted in the background of talk amongst environmentalists, politicians and stakeholders worldwide that the era of fossil fuels must end. An article posted at TheGuardian.com sums up…

Data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) confirms that the Permian Basin’s oil wells have “led all U.S. oil basins in oil production per well since 2021.” According to an EIA report dated Nov. 15, “In the first eight months of 2023, initial production per new well averaged 847 barrels per day (b/d)…

New Mexico’s Supreme Court has affirmed the Ninth Judicial District Court’s earlier ruling that upholds New Mexico’s newly reworked congressional district map. The new map was redrawn in 2021 by the state’s Democratically- controlled legislature. New Mexico has three congressional districts, and historically District Two has always performed positively for Republicans. Now with the southern…

A recent U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit ruling may prove to be the icing on the cake that stops Holtec International from building and operating a high level nuclear waste storage facility between Hobbs and Carlsbad. The high court recently ruled that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) lacks the authority to “issue licenses…

The parking lot of the Coral Arena in Hobbs was the scene of a traffic incident in the early hours of Sunday morning, November 5. According to a Lea County Sheriff’s Office press release, sheriff’s deputies were conducting a “security check” around 1:00 a.m. in the 1900 block of East Stanolind Road in Hobbs “……