“We’re counting on you to grow all the cannabis we need for northern New Mexico,” Albuquerque City Councilor Pat Davis told the Las Cruces City Council at its Jan. 13 work session. Las Cruces city councilors were discussing the impact on Las Cruces if the state Legislature legalizes the adult (21 and older) use of recreational cannabis in New Mexico during the 2020 legislative session that begins Jan. 21.

Ron Saltzman: A man and his cars

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These computer rankings from MaxPreps.com are based on game results from the current season only. Specifically, they take into account three criteria: •Ratio of wins to losses, •The relative quality of wins based on opponent’s rating •The overall strength of a team’s schedule.

Henry and Harris out for season NMSU Head Basketball Coach Chris Jans has announced that senior guard Clayton Henry will miss the remainder of the 2019-20 season due to a broken bone in his hand, while senior guard AJ Harris will be out indefinitely with an ankle injury.

Dan Jenkins: A golf writer without parallel Dan Jenkins may not be a household name to many younger golfers today, but he was arguably the best golf writer ever. Famed TV interviewer Larry King called Jenkins “the quintessential Sports Illustrated writer and the best sportswriter in America.” Jenkins died March 7, 2019. He was 89.

Aggie baseball raring to go with Kirby at the helm Beginning in February, first-year head coach Mike Kirby and his NMSU Aggies are set to embark on a challenging 53-game slate, facing opponents from two Power Five conferences, including the Pac-12 and SEC, as well as clashes with Mountain West foes New Mexico and San Diego State.

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Aaron Villarreal opened Hygia Pain Institute in Las Cruces last April to provide non-surgical pain management that includes science, technology and even meditation. Villarreal is a nurse anesthetist and a graduate of the Advanced Pain Management Fellowship at Texas Christian University. That makes him one of only about 50 practitioners in the nation with that background, he said. He also belongs to the nonprofit U.S. Pain Foundation, which was created by people with chronic pain issues.

Economic development director hits the ground running Griselda Martinez has taken over as director of the City of Las Cruces Economic Development Department (EDD). She had been interim director since last March, succeeding Phil San Filippo. She had served as the EDD’s deputy director since July 2017, when the department was created. “We’re very excited. We have a lot of good things happening,” Martinez said.

Amaro Winery celebrates 10th anniversary “This is a passion of mine,” said Amaro Winery founder and owner Bernd Maier. The German winemaker moved from his home near Baden-Baden, Germany, to southern New Mexico in 1983 to open a vineyard at Elephant Butte. He moved to Las Cruces in 1989, earned a master’s degree in agricultural economics from New Mexico State University and was the vintner at NMSU. He purchased 20 acres of land in Mesquite for his vineyard and opened Amaro Winery and tasting room in 2009.

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Poster artist motivated by film-festival ideas Artist Luis Navarro has been in Las Cruces for close to 20 years and has let his love of the area drive his design for the 2020 Las Cruces International Film Festival commemorative poster.

Looking to 2045, council likely to vote on long-term city plan Ever wonder where the City of Las Cruces will be in 25 years? If you don’t want to wait until 2045 to find out, take a look at the city’s comprehensive plan – called Elevate Las Cruces – which gives a pretty clear picture of where city leaders, planners and people who live here want Las Cruces to be in the next quarter century -- and the path necessary to get there. The plan, still in draft form, was presented to the city council at a special work session Wednesday, Jan. 8, at city hall. The city’s Planning and Zoning Commission is expected to vote on the plan at its Jan. 28 meeting, and the city council likewise on Feb. 18.

Going strong at 101 Maryann Kratzke turned 101 years old Jan. 10. Born that day in 1919 in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, she has lived in Las Cruces since 1983.

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Coffeen feted as 2020 Woman of Influence When the 16th annual Women of Influence awards are handed out in Albuquerque next month, Dr. Kelley Coffeen, an award-winning cookbook author and faculty member within NMSU’s Department of Family & Consumer Sciences, will take center stage as one of 24 honorees whom Albuquerque Business First has identified as having made a positive and influential impact in the New Mexico business community.

Father of Walmart shooting victim to keynote King event The 2020 Martin Luther King Jr. Day Breakfast will be held Monday, Jan. 20, at 8 a.m. at the Las Cruces Convention Center, 680 E. University Ave. Doors will open at 7:30 a.m.

Governor to introduce ‘extreme-risk protection order’ bill With Las Cruces state Sen. Joseph Cervantes and Doña Ana County Sheriff Kim Stewart at her side, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham came to Las Cruces Jan. 8 to announce that her 2020 legislative call will include an “extreme-risk protection order” (ERPO) bill that “reduces the opportunity for violence and suicide,” the governor said.

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