Fugitive Ricardo Ruiz “Gramps” Leyva, age 43, of Hobbs has been attested. A Lea County warrant for Leyva’s arrest on First Degree Murder and other charges has been active since April.  Leyva’s arrest was made on Monday, July 31, after the Lea County Drug Task Force (LCDTF) received a tip regarding Leyva’s location. A press…

During the last week the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) has confirmed two human cases of West Nile Virus in the state. One of the cases is in Lea County. The other is in Sandoval County. Both infected individuals have been hospitalized and are recovering.  NMDOH also reports that in Sierra County one horse…

“How did you spend your summer?”  This will be a common question as students return to school soon!  With an increased emphasis on STEM in both education and the workplace, Jacqueline Boyd, from Eunice recently had the opportunity to spend a week of her summer at Tech Trek, New Mexico, a summer STEM camp, sponsored by the…

Midland, Texas based Davis Gas Processing has been added to the list of companies the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) is fining for air quality violations. The fine for permit violations at the company’s Denton Gas Plant located in Lea County near Lovington is the outgrowth of a 2020 NMED Air Quality Bureau inspection. According…

Former vice president and CFO of Florida-based Holtec International Kevin O’Rourke has filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the company. In his suit O’Rourke claims that he was fired from his leadership role with Holtec as retaliation for his coming forward in August of 2022 about “false and misleading” statements Holtec’s leadership made to investors. O’Rourke’s…

A community organization is conducting focus groups consisting of local oil field workers to better understand the industry and its challenges.  Participants are compensated for their time, and the goal of the focus groups is to find meaningful political solutions to problems faced by an economy such as ours that is highly dependent on a…

On Tuesday, July 18, 85-year-old Liborio Canales was arrested in Lovington on federal charges for the 1986 stabbing murder of Barbara Villarreal. Lovington Police Department (LPD) officers assisted the FBI and Garland, Texas police force officers in the arrest. LPD detectives and patrol were involved in the arrest because Canales “…moved to Lovington in the…

Folks in southeastern New Mexico can look forward to better broadband access in the not too distant future. On Thursday, July 6, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced “…plans to expand broadband access … [statewide] after [New Mexico received] a $675 million award from the Biden Administration and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” states a press release…

On Monday, July 10, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agents with assistance of the Lea County Drug Task Force (LCDTF) and Lea County Sheriff’s Office Deputies “…conducted a joint operation of a controlled delivery of a FedEx box containing approximately 2 pounds of cocaine” to a residence in Lovington, states a LCDTF press release. During…

With the goal of better educating the public about abortion and reproductive health care options in New Mexico, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s administration has set up a hotline – The New Mexico Reproductive Health Hotline – at (833) 767-3776.  Hours of operation are 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m., Mountain Standard Time (MST), Monday – Friday…