Tularosa Basin Museum of History docent Joann Tally hold a photo of her father who was in the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s
Featured

The New Deal and the story of a New Mexican family

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New Mexico has more than 300 buildings and other structures built by the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps nearly a century ago. These buildings include courthouses, schools, women’s clubs and some structures and trails on National Parks and Monuments such as those at Bandelier National Monument and Carlsbad Caverns National Park. The CCC and WPA could not have been successful without the people working for them. One of these workers was Donald C. Woolsey of Comanche, Texas, father of Joann Tally of Alamogordo. “Daddy did everything to support America,” Tally said.

News

Death highway: A massive oil boom in the Permian Basin has turned rural roads into deadly highways

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ROSWELL AND CARLSBAD — At one end of Pauline and Joe Ponce’s spacious dining room in Roswell lies a cabinet crowded with photographs and mementos of their son, Michael. An old wrestling match program rests amid snapshots of Michael with his daughter, his parents, his wife. Pauline lingers beside an image of Michael holding his then one-and-a-half-year-old son, captured in December 2017. “That was taken only two months before Michael died,” she said. On the morning of Feb.

2018 elections

Steve Bannon: Mick Rich is a ‘real populist’

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ROSWELL— Former Donald Trump strategist Steve Bannon spoke to a crowd of about 150 people in Roswell Thursday night about his new film Trump@War. He also took the opportunity to praise Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mick Rich, calling him a “real populist.”

Bannon said his film was not intended to change minds about Trump, but instead to rally Trump supporters ahead of November’s midterm election. “This is not a midterm,” Bannon told the crowd. “This is Trump’s first reelect.”

Rich praised Trump and  the controversial strategist. “When I looked at this race, I looked at President Trump,” Rich said.

2017 Legislative Session

House panel approves NM ‘sanctuary’ bill

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A state House of Representatives panel approved a bill to bar local law enforcement agencies in New Mexico from enforcing federal immigration laws. The bill, which according to a fiscal analysis would prohibit state resources from being used against anyone “whose only violation is being in the United States illegally,” passed on a party line 3-2 vote in the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee. The two “no” votes came from state Reps. Monica Youngblood of Albuquerque and Bob Wooley of Roswell. Both are Republicans.

Mike Pence

Pence to hold two campaign rallies in NM

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The Republican Vice Presidential nominee will make two campaign appearances in New Mexico in addition to a previously-reported fundraising event. Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, who is Donald Trump’s running mate on the Republican ticket, will make an appearance in Albuquerque and one in Roswell, both on Tuesday. Pence’s Albuquerque appearance will be at the Sandia Ballroom at Sandia Casino at 1:00 p.m. In Roswell, Pence will appear at New Mexico Military Institute at 8:00 p.m.

It’s not clear if Pence will hold a fundraiser in Roswell as well as Albuquerque. The rallies will be the first public events by major political figures in the general election. Ahead of the primary, Trump himself held a rally in Albuquerque, as did U.S. Senator and then-Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders.

Air Force One

Obamas coming to NM Friday

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President Barack Obama’s upcoming trip to New Mexico just got a little more detailed. He and his family are scheduled arrive Friday 1:20 pm on Air Force One at Roswell’s airport. Then, they’ll take a drive to Carlsbad Caverns National Park, where they’ll spend the next few hours and quickly circle back. Air Force One is scheduled to leave Roswell at 5:50 pm. The trip is a part of a celebration of 100 years of the U.S. National Parks Service.

A Changing Roswell

MLK, Cesar Chavez street name debate divisive in Roswell

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A proposal to rename two Roswell streets after civil rights icons Martin Luther King Jr. and César Chávez is bringing attention to a growing dispute in the city. A public meeting in the city’s downtown library last week, according to the Roswell Daily Record “illustrat[ed] a deep ethnic divide” in the city between Hispanics and Anglos. The newspaper reports that “19 people who appeared to be Anglo” spoke in opposition to renaming the streets while four people who were “clearly Hispanic” spoke in favor. No final decisions were made, and some city councilors are characterizing vocal opposition to the street renaming proposal as racial in nature. The Associated Press spoke to one city councilor who had a theory on the opponents of the name change.

Roswell

Organizing to improve ‘abysmal’ turnout in changing Roswell

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ROSWELL — In southeast New Mexico, advocacy groups like Somos Un Pueblo Unido are making efforts to get the Latino vote out. Recently, we reported on Somos’ efforts to help permanent immigrant residents apply for U.S. citizenship and vote in next year’s elections. Getting new people to register to vote marks one big step, but it doesn’t guarantee they’ll actually cast a ballot. Those who say they want to make Roswell’s conservative politics more reflective of its growing Latino population stress that the ballot box is essential. Both Chaves County, which includes Roswell, and nearby Lea County are now majority Latino.

A Changing Roswell

New Roswell businesses reflect increased Latino population

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ROSWELL — Count Saul and Claudia Rubalcaba among a growing demographic that’s changing Southeastern New Mexico. Both came to the state 15 years ago from a town just outside of Chihuahua City, Mexico. As they settled into a new city, Claudia started working at a restaurant called Taqueria Jalisco while Saul worked as a plumber fixing sprinklers. Last year, the married couple got an offer from Taqueria Jalisco’s owners—move to Roswell and manage a new franchise on the south side of the city. “In the beginning we said no,” Saul explained in an interview on a recent weekday sitting with Claudia in a booth in their restaurant.

Latino vote

In deep-red Roswell, Latino surge prompts political action

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ROSWELL – In a packed gymnasium, Vanessa Tarango canvasses a crowd gathered to take advantage of public hours being held today by Consulate General of Mexico in El Paso. Tarango is a member of Somos Un Pueblo Unido, a statewide immigrant rights advocacy group that’s here to recruit new members. She and half a dozen other canvassers are scattered throughout St. Peter’s Parish gym in downtown Roswell. Here, flocks of people are waiting in line for help with their immigration documents, which include green cards and consular identification cards.