A group of New Mexico legislators has gathered in Cloudcroft — once rated as one of the nation’s most overlooked and underrated destination spots — to help fashion New Mexico’s path through the global pandemic.

Three days of meetings that started July 15 at Cloudcroft High School could direct the course of some vital affairs in the state, including how the economy is reopened and how schools and college campuses come alive.

“New Mexico’s economic future could well be determine[d] by the testimony to be presented at this week’s LFC [Legislative Finance Committee] meetings. I have served on the LFC for years and I feel these are the most critical hearings I will ever...

The City of Gallup was recently awarded a $30,300 grant from the Litter Control and Beautification program under the State of New Mexico Tourism Department.

The funds are intended to be used by the city on litter clean-up supplies, advertising, recycling supplies, community gardening supplies, to empower youth, and increase the Keep America Beautiful program capacity. The grant agreement will last through the 2021 fiscal year and expire on June 30, 2021.

Per the budget attached to the agenda, about $10,200 will be used for littering supplies; $3,500 will go to recycling endeavors; $7,050 will be used for beautification projects; $6,000 will help bolster the local youth programs; and...

GRANTS — Grants Mayor Martin “Modey” Hicks wants to set the record straight about his comments published in national newspapers.

Hicks told the Gallup Sun national publications in May painted him as a racist, but he says that is the furthest thing from the truth.

“One of the main things I found astonishing was how The Washington Post, The New York Times, tried to paint me [as] a racist, and they did that because they cut off my statement. They were asking me about the Navajo Nation and COVID, and I said, ‘My understanding is that our first case of COVID in Grants came from the Navajo Nation.’”

But, Hicks said that’s where they cut off the statement.

Hicks said the...

GRANTS — Students attending classes within the Grants-Cibola County Schools will begin their school year virtually.

The GCCS school board met July 14, voting to have the first 30 days of the school year held in a virtual capacity via Google Classroom.

The measure was originally scheduled for a vote July 7, but was tabled until July 14 to provide more time for review.

The board meeting was broadcast on Zoom, a virtual conferencing platform, with employees of the district tuning in.

GCCS services schools in Acoma, Bluewater, Casa Blanca, Cubero, Grants, Milan, San Rafael and Seboyeta.

“The GCCS Reentry Team has been meeting and working carefully for the last few months to make...