SANTA FE — Sharing food with friends and family is a highlight for many New Mexicans over Memorial Day weekend. To keep you and your loved ones safe and healthy, the New Mexico Environment Department reminds you to follow these simple food safety tips:

 Make sure that the location of the gathering has enough oven, stovetop, refrigerator, freezer, and workspace needed to keep foods at a safe temperatureEnsure that there is a source of clean water for food preparation and cleaningSeparate raw meats from other foodsKeep hot foods at an internal temperature of 140°F or warmerKeep cold foods at 40°F or colderDiscard any perishables left out at room temperature for more than two hours...

BROTHERS ATTEND EVERY GAME DESPITE DIAGNOSIS

The Gallup Lady Bengals’ softball season is over, but if you had a chance to go to a game you might have seen two older men sitting in the stands, cheering as loud as they could.

Those two men are known as the “Bengals Number One Fans.” Benjamin, 81, and Gilbert Brown, 83, attend almost every Bengals softball game, rain or shine, despite Benjamin currently undergoing dialysis for kidney failure.

“Every time he gets out of dialysis, he wants to go to a softball game,” Benjamin’s daughter Una Paseda said.

Benjamin said he’s had a lifelong passion for all things sports.

His first sport he ever played was softball, but later...

After a few months of wrangling, it appears that Gallup and builder Rick Murphy have reached an accord that would let him lease one of his buildings for marijuana cultivation.

Murphy asked to have the city’s Land Development Standards amended to accommodate possible grow-op in what is presently the Cash & Carry building. That was running up against four zoning elements: the standards; a Downtown Overlay District that forbids cannabis cultivation and requires at least 50% of any business be devoted to public-facing uses ranging from entertainment to retail to food and beverage; and a requirement that cannabis growing operations be screened from public view with a wall.

Any changes to...

Authorities warn of regional fraud exploiting Native Americans

The calls started coming in to local law enforcement agencies about a year ago, usually from family members wanting to report a relative missing.

While that in itself may be frightfully common among Native people, these disappearances are different. They are part of a regional fraud scheme targeting vulnerable Natives.

The Gallup Police Department has handled 32 cases suspected to be connected to the fraud. Of those, 18 have been closed and 14 remain open, Chief Erin Toadlena-Pablo said during a press conference held May 17. Twenty of those cases were opened last year, the rest this year. The city has also taken on 19...