Friday morning briefing: Life in Portales and yes, they want blood

Good morning and welcome to the Freedom New Mexico Friday briefing.

Did you know

The quality of life in Portales is rated 15th in the nation and 9th in the West by Bizjournal.com.

Here’s a link:

www.portalesnm.org

Blood drive

United Blood Services is staging a blood drive from 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Clovis Wal-Mart.

You must be at least 16 years old to donate.

Website of the day

Looking for a state number?

Try the state government directory:

http://www.phonebook.state.nm.us/

Watching the legislature

A live, streaming audio feed of interim legislative committees is now available online.

Last week the Legislative Council voted to begin webcasting interim committee meetings as soon as possible. It started July 1.

http://www.nmlegis.gov

Today in history

On this day in 1947, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Florence Blanchfield a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, making her the first female officer and the first woman in U.S. history to hold permanent military rank.

Here’s the rest of the story:

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-female-army-officer

Weather

Today — Mostly cloudy with scattered showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70s to lower 80s.

Tonight — Partly cloudy with isolated showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the upper 50s to mid 60s. Southeast winds 10 to 15 mph in the evening.