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Local News

  • Man nabbed in drive-by shooting

    A man upset that his girlfriend had broken up with him is accused in a weekend drive-by shooting, police said.

    Mario Baca, 20, 1409 Seventh St., was arrested on charges of shooting at a dwelling and aggravated battery, Police Chief Gary Gold said.

    Shortly before 11 p.m. Sunday, Baca shot into a house in the 900 block of Pecos Street, hitting a man who was on his couch, Gold said.

    Police said Baca became enraged that his girlfriend had ended their relationship, and he believed that a man in the Pecos Street house had been seeing his girlfriend.

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  • Panel OKs dorms; Highlands criticized

    A city panel on Monday recommended the closure of a portion of Washington Street and a nearby alley for a proposed Highlands University residence hall.

    That decision came after a number of neighboring residents told the city Planning and Zoning Commission that the university should have informed the public about its plans earlier and sought its input.

    The City Council is expected to consider the commission’s recommendation at its meeting on Wednesday, April 30.

    The proposed residence hall would cover 100,000 square feet and house 284 students.

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  • Author promotes Spanish

    A former professor and author told a crowd of dozens last week about her obstacles in promoting the Spanish language.

    Erlinda Gonzales-Berry, a Harding County native, spoke as part of the Highlands University Department of Humanities lecture series on Chicano literature.

    Following introductions, Gonzales-Berry related themes of language and society, crossing the color line, and the loneliness and alienation associated with these issues, in the context of her role as a writer.

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  • City to consider closing loophole

    The City Council on Wednesday will consider a change in its zoning ordinance that officials say would close a loophole that allows some to avoid a higher property tax rate.

    Gerald Garcia, the city’s zoning and licensing supervisor, is requesting the council remove the words “public building” from the existing ordinance. Public buildings have been allowed in residential zones through the section of the ordinance devoted to special uses, Garcia stated in a memo.

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  • City gets money for Alamo St.

    The city of Las Vegas last week received $400,000 in federal grants for the second phase of the Alamo Street roadway and drainage improvements project, city officials reported.

    The city will provide a match of $125,000. Alamo Street is on the city’s southwest side.

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  • County looking to ban wolves

    Federal officials may be considering expanding their wolf reintroduction program to other parts of the state, but it looks as if San Miguel County won’t be putting down any welcome mat.

    The County Commission last week took the first step to amend the county’s wild animals ordinance to include banning wolves. Currently, the ordinance just prohibits wolf hybrids.

    Rancher Andres Aragon of the Northern New Mexico Stockmen’s Association said his group would back a change to the ordinance to protect the livestock industry..

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  • Vegas man accused of selling pot

    Authorities arrested a Las Vegas man after he apparently tried to sell marijuana at Carnegie Library Park, officials said.

    Ramon L. Flores, 22, 1025 Keen St., was charged with distribution of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

    According to court documents, a confidential informant told agents from the Region 4 Narcotics Task Force that Flores was planning to sell a quarter pound of marijuana to a man around 7 p.m. Tuesday.

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  • District agrees to reveal names

    The Las Vegas City School board voted last week to release the names of those applying for the superintendent’s job by Tuesday.

    Board president Elaine Luna said, “In maintaining our transparency, I believe it’s very important that we as a group come together during a board meeting to have a discussion regarding the release of information.”

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  • City seeks committee changes

    Mayor Tony Marquez told the City Council he wanted to eliminate unnecessary city committees and reduce the membership of advisory panels to five each.

    The council generally agreed to merge the Rifle Range Committee into the Public Safety Committee, and they called for eliminating the city’s Downtown Revitalization Committee, noting that the Economic Development Corporation already has a similar panel.

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  • Officials talk about challenges

    Many of the city’s department directors called for higher wages for their employees and pushed for consistent pay plans during a City Council meeting Saturday.

    In a daylong “informational retreat,” the council gave department directors time to talk about issues in their departments. It was a rare chance for the officials to explain their challenges to the full council — the first such opportunity in at least three years.

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