The Eastern New Mexico News - Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities

Maybe the Aggies can compete at the top level. The late-season success of the New Mexico State University football team under first-year coach Jerry Kill — winning five of its last six games, with the only loss coming against... — Updated 12/25/2022

A few weeks ago, when the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus was sweeping through Africa and just beginning to make its presence known here, the dimmest members of the anti-vax crowd suggested that the global wave of death and... — Updated 1/1/2022

Democrats in the state Legislature were able to tilt the playing field to their side this year for the first time in three decades, and they have taken full advantage of it. The last two times our state has gone through the... — Updated 12/24/2021

New Mexico has the third-highest poverty rate in the nation, ahead of only Mississippi and Louisiana, according to the state Department of Workforce Solutions. But, while families throughout the state are struggling, the state gove... — Updated 12/18/2021

Plenty of good seats were still available at kickoff Nov. 27 for the Aggies’ final game of the football season, which was unfortunate but not surprising. Unfortunate, because New Mexico State beat the University of Massachusetts... — Updated 12/11/2021

One year after leading the effort to strip police officers of their qualified immunity from civil lawsuits, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is now seeking additional funding for law enforcement. The governor will call for an... — Updated 11/27/2021

The New Mexico Legislature has finally passed a rule banning guns in the state Capitol building. Now, it needs to provide that same common-sense protection for local school boards and city councils. The Legislative Council... — Updated 11/20/2021

Worried that federal spending was getting out of control, Sen. Everett Dirksen warned in 1973 that “a billion here, and a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking about real money.” Dirksen’s quote seems quaint these d... — Updated 11/13/2021

A great nation is able to teach its history honestly, celebrating its triumphs and correcting its mistakes. That’s what the New Mexico Public Education Department is trying to accomplish with its proposed revision to the social... — Updated 11/6/2021

State Treasurer Tim Eichenberg has apparently decided that if the weak and subservient New Mexico Legislature will not stand up for itself, he’ll do it for them. Eichenberg, who previously served in the state Senate, has written... — Updated 10/30/2021

Democrats in the New Mexico Legislature will soon have to choose between good government and good politics. On the side of good government is the New Mexico Citizen Redistricting Committee, a seven-member board headed by former... — Updated 10/23/2021

Every four years, Americans flock to the polls in droves to elect a new president. Last year, more than 155 million people cast their ballots, most of them just happy that the campaign was finally over, at least for a minute. Two... — Updated 10/16/2021

I remember an old poster from my college days that asked, “What if they gave a war and nobody came?” That’s kind of what happened Sept. 18 in Washington D.C. Capitol Police who survived the battle on Jan. 6 were prepared for... — Updated 9/28/2021

When the New Mexico Legislature put additional money in the budget last year to wipe out the debts of the athletic programs at New Mexico State University and the University of New Mexico, it was hoped that the schools would no... — Updated 9/25/2021

Thousands of Afghan refugees whisked to safety during the massive evacuation that concluded recently experienced their first taste of freedom in New Mexico’s Doña Ana County. The Doña Ana Range Complex, a part of the Fort... — Updated 9/11/2021

This month, the United States joined a long list of nations that have tried and failed to rule Afghanistan. The Soviet Union came immediately before us. Their adventures in Afghanistan left them vulnerable to the collapse of the... — Updated 8/28/2021

When President Joe Biden announced a plan to send local public health workers door-to-door on a mission to increase COVID-19 vaccinations, conservative pundits warned that those foolish enough to open their doors would be forcibly... — Updated 8/21/2021

One of the few things Republicans and Democrats seem to agree on in our divided nation is a desire to restrict speech on the internet. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 has become a favorite target for... — Updated 8/14/2021

In 2019, the New Mexico Senate rejected a bill that would have removed an old, invalid abortion law from the books. One year later, voters had their say. Six Democratic senators who had voted against the bill were removed from... — Updated 8/7/2021

A few years ago I was scammed by callers claiming to offer a great deal on my satellite TV service. I felt bad about losing the money, but felt worse about being duped. It’s a human reaction. All of us like to think we’re too... — Updated 7/31/2021

There are no free lunches. If you don’t work, you don’t eat. Everybody has to pitch in and carry their weight. These aphorisms from my youth, passed on by my parents and others from their generation who survived the Great... — Updated 7/24/2021

When the New Mexico Legislature passed Senate Bill 94 earlier this year, allowing college athletes to profit from the use of their name, image or likeness, some lawmakers feared we were picking a fight with the mighty NCAA. If... — Updated 7/17/2021

Frank and I were home after our first year of college and Bruce had just graduated from high school in the summer of 1977 when we decided it would be safe to smoke pot in an abandoned field off a quiet road. We were in an... — Updated 7/10/2021

I wish Couy Griffin would do us all a favor the next time he goes on national television. Tell them you’re from Texas. Griffin was one of a handful of Jan. 6 insurrectionists featured June 20 on a two-hour CNN special about the... — Updated 7/3/2021

I rise today in support of leakers. Here’s to Daniel Ellsberg, a former Marine who was working as a private-sector military analyst in 1971 when he leaked the Pentagon Papers, a top-secret study on U.S. activities in Vietnam... — Updated 6/26/2021