You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.Last month in Arizona, a staggering 1 in 4 people tested for COVID-19 received a positive result.Currently in Texas, it’s about 1 in 6.Yet in New Mexico, the numbers are very different. About 1 in 30 tests is coming back positive.The state is performing much better than its neighbors on a key coronavirus metric called the test positivity rate, which measures how many people who get COVID-19 tests turn out to have the disease.The statistic is an indication that New Mexico is proving itself to be a safer island —...…You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.Last month in Arizona, a staggering 1 in 4 people tested for COVID-19 received a positive result.Currently in Texas, it’s about 1 in 6.Yet in New Mexico, the numbers are very different. About 1 in 30 tests is coming back positive.The state is performing much better than its neighbors on a key coronavirus metric called the test positivity rate, which measures how many people who get COVID-19 tests turn out to have the disease.The statistic is an indication that New Mexico is proving itself to be a safer island —...WW…

You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.Business was slow Thursday as Nick Mainini worked at Noisy Water Winery and Cellars’ tasting room on West San Francisco Street. Winery owners say New Mexico has leveled different restrictions on the wine and beer industries, relaxing some constraints on breweries while keeping wine tasting areas shut.Customers walk out the door soon after being told Thursday that Noisy Water Winery and Cellar’s tasting room on West San Francisco Street is to-go only.Michele Padberg, co-owner of Vivác Winery in Dixon, stands in the...…You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.Business was slow Thursday as Nick Mainini worked at Noisy Water Winery and Cellars’ tasting room on West San Francisco Street. Winery owners say New Mexico has leveled different restrictions on the wine and beer industries, relaxing some constraints on breweries while keeping wine tasting areas shut.Customers walk out the door soon after being told Thursday that Noisy Water Winery and Cellar’s tasting room on West San Francisco Street is to-go only.Michele Padberg, co-owner of Vivác Winery in Dixon, stands in the...WW…

You are the owner of this article.As New Mexico struggles to enforce a face mask requirement during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, some of its elected leaders have been less than ideal role models.State Sen. Greg Baca did not wear a face covering during the five-day special legislative session last month, and Sen. Cliff Pirtle rarely put one on. Both are Republicans, but even Democratic senators became lax about covering up at times.Pirtle’s defiance has continued since then. After Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced two weeks ago the state would begin enforcing mask-wearing, the...…You are the owner of this article.As New Mexico struggles to enforce a face mask requirement during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, some of its elected leaders have been less than ideal role models.State Sen. Greg Baca did not wear a face covering during the five-day special legislative session last month, and Sen. Cliff Pirtle rarely put one on. Both are Republicans, but even Democratic senators became lax about covering up at times.Pirtle’s defiance has continued since then. After Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced two weeks ago the state would begin enforcing mask-wearing, the...WW…

You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Thursday provides an update on the coronavirus outbreak.Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Thursday provides an update on the coronavirus outbreak in New Mexico.Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Thursday provides an update on the coronavirus outbreak.Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Thursday provides an update on the coronavirus outbreak in New Mexico.Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham put New Mexico’s reopening plans on hold Thursday after a spike in the COVID-19 transmission rate and as neighboring...…You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Thursday provides an update on the coronavirus outbreak.Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Thursday provides an update on the coronavirus outbreak in New Mexico.Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Thursday provides an update on the coronavirus outbreak.Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Thursday provides an update on the coronavirus outbreak in New Mexico.Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham put New Mexico’s reopening plans on hold Thursday after a spike in the COVID-19 transmission rate and as neighboring...WW…

You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.To say times are tough for energy companies in the San Juan Basin would be an understatement.The market for natural gas is so bad right now that T. Greg Merrion has shut in nearly half of his family-owned company’s wells, most located in northwestern New Mexico.But that could soon change.If Merrion and key industry analysts are correct, there might be a silver lining in the oil crash caused by the coronavirus pandemic — it could end up helping northwestern New Mexico natural gas producers and even give a lift to...…You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.To say times are tough for energy companies in the San Juan Basin would be an understatement.The market for natural gas is so bad right now that T. Greg Merrion has shut in nearly half of his family-owned company’s wells, most located in northwestern New Mexico.But that could soon change.If Merrion and key industry analysts are correct, there might be a silver lining in the oil crash caused by the coronavirus pandemic — it could end up helping northwestern New Mexico natural gas producers and even give a lift to...WW…

You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.Seth Aldridge was at the tail end of a 12-hour night shift when he got the call at 6 a.m.The voice on the other end said he had just lost his job as an oil field pumper for Occidental Petroleum in the Permian Basin.“It was a shock to get the call, for sure,” said Aldridge, a 34-year-old resident of Lea County. “You see it coming, but you never really think … or you hope it’s not you that gets that ax.”The ax is falling throughout energy-rich southeastern New Mexico as crude prices have plummeted amid the COVID-19...…You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.Seth Aldridge was at the tail end of a 12-hour night shift when he got the call at 6 a.m.The voice on the other end said he had just lost his job as an oil field pumper for Occidental Petroleum in the Permian Basin.“It was a shock to get the call, for sure,” said Aldridge, a 34-year-old resident of Lea County. “You see it coming, but you never really think … or you hope it’s not you that gets that ax.”The ax is falling throughout energy-rich southeastern New Mexico as crude prices have plummeted amid the COVID-19...WW…

You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.AdvertisementAs oil prices have plummeted to levels never before seen, a rift has opened among the companies that extract crude.Some of them say state regulators should force producers to pump less in the hopes such regulation will raise prices.Others say no, just let the market do its job.While Texas, an oil-producing behemoth, is weighing the controversial idea of imposing limits, New Mexico, now an oil powerhouse in its own right, has largely stayed out of that debate.Depending where oil prices go and what other...…You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.AdvertisementAs oil prices have plummeted to levels never before seen, a rift has opened among the companies that extract crude.Some of them say state regulators should force producers to pump less in the hopes such regulation will raise prices.Others say no, just let the market do its job.While Texas, an oil-producing behemoth, is weighing the controversial idea of imposing limits, New Mexico, now an oil powerhouse in its own right, has largely stayed out of that debate.Depending where oil prices go and what other...WW…

You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.Candidates for Congress and the state Legislature aren’t the only ones in New Mexico who have shifted to virtual campaign work during the novel coronavirus pandemic.President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign is holding videoconference trainings to encourage New Mexicans to register to vote and support the president in the November election.On a virtual training call for New Mexicans on Thursday night, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel told supporters the Trump reelection efforts represent the...…You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.Candidates for Congress and the state Legislature aren’t the only ones in New Mexico who have shifted to virtual campaign work during the novel coronavirus pandemic.President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign is holding videoconference trainings to encourage New Mexicans to register to vote and support the president in the November election.On a virtual training call for New Mexicans on Thursday night, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel told supporters the Trump reelection efforts represent the...WW…

You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.The last time state economists released revenue forecasts, New Mexico had a massive oil boom with no end in sight.Oh, how times have changed.Those same economists released dire revenue projections on Wednesday, suggesting New Mexico could take in between $1.7 billion and $2.4 billion less than originally expected during the next fiscal year as the novel coronavirus pandemic and plummeting oil prices take a major toll on tax revenue and royalty payments.“The outbreak of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19,...…You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.The last time state economists released revenue forecasts, New Mexico had a massive oil boom with no end in sight.Oh, how times have changed.Those same economists released dire revenue projections on Wednesday, suggesting New Mexico could take in between $1.7 billion and $2.4 billion less than originally expected during the next fiscal year as the novel coronavirus pandemic and plummeting oil prices take a major toll on tax revenue and royalty payments.“The outbreak of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19,...WW…