Opinion | Las Cruces Bulletin

Get the information you need to vote on judges standing for retention

A 2024 survey by the Pew Charitable Trusts found that about 35 percent of adults report they or someone in their household have been part of a legal case in a local or state court. That means more than six out of every 10 adults voting in the... more

Denise Torres and Lee Hunt | 10/16/26

On juggling responsibility

I have recently made the decision to change jobs. It was a decision not made lightly and with much grief over letting my coworkers down. I used to pride myself on loyalty, but that came at great personal cost in my last job, and I told myself I... more

Shawna Pfeiffer
For the Las Cruces Bulletin | 10/15/26

Entrenched incumbents benefit from being unpaid

Russia was still the USSR in 1991 when Pete Campos began his first term in the New Mexico Senate. The World Wide Web had just become available to everyone, and Nirvana created a new genre of music with the album “Nevermind.” Campos has held... more

Walt Rubel
For the Las Cruces Bulletin | 10/15/26

Strong work ethic essential in golf as in life

When it comes to work ethic on the PGA Tour Ben Hogan was a legend in his own time. Those who knew Hogan and wrote about him described his practice routine as highly organized and on the verge of obsessive. That dedication to perfection was... more

Charlie Blanchard
For the Las Cruces Bulletin
docblanchard71@gmail.com | 10/15/26

GO Bond 3 for higher ed offers a transformative step forward for NMSU and our state

New Mexico voters have many important decisions to make this fall, with key statewide races, funding questions, and constitutional amendments on the Nov. 3 ballot. One measure that we hope our citizens will support is general obligation bond... more

Valerio C. Ferme
President, New Mexico State University | 10/15/26

I wanted to serve but I couldn’t afford to go without a paycheck

A few years ago, I wanted to run for office. I was thinking about it very seriously until I did the math. Serving in the New Mexico Legislature would mean missing one to two months of paid work every year for as long as I remained in office, as... more

Zac Egan
FYI+ member
Las Cruces resident | 10/15/26

From buildings to buses

At 2 a.m., laptops covered the table alongside research articles, financial spreadsheets, state statutes, and endless draft pages. After completing our full-time jobs, our founding team met night after night, hoping to build a school where... more

Jessica Castro-Buelna | 10/15/26

From Rio Grande drought to data center growth, Southern New Mexico deserves practical solutions

For families and farmers across the Mesilla Valley and southern New Mexico, managing water and weathering extreme heat have always been part of daily life. But in recent years, the pressures on the region have intensified. Prolonged drought along... more

Lauren Good and Rob Kahn | 10/9/26

Reform legislative ethics laws to restore trust in government

A 2025 poll by Research & Polling, Inc. for the Albuquerque-based Garrity Group found that only 19% of New Mexico residents trust state government officials, a record low and down from 31% just five years earlier. (National trust in government... more

Fred Nathan, Jr. | 10/9/26

The muddy parking lot on Saturday morning at High Noon soccer fields.

Some suggestions on youth soccer

I crossed the street alongside a grandfather who just wanted to watch his 6- or 7-year-old grandchild play soccer on a Saturday morning. The game was at the High Noon soccer facility near Mayfield High School and the Field of Dreams. We arrived... more

Kurt Johnson
Las Cruces Bulletin | 10/9/26

Death penalty in U.S.: better killing through chemistry

On Sept. 30, Corrections professionals in Tennessee tried to kill Christa Pike. They almost succeeded. Now, health care professionals in Tennessee are trying to save her life. She is on a ventilator in critical condition in a specialized critical... more

Walt Rubel
For the Las Cruces Bulletin | 10/8/26

Getting the most out of you when your best left on vacation

What do you do when you realize you don’t have your a-game for an important golf match? You know it’s your B game, and maybe your C game that will show up. We’ve all been there, feeling like you need to go back to square one and re-learn a golf... more

Charlie Blanchard
For the Las Cruces Bulletin
docblanchard71@gmail.com | 10/8/26

Fall Into Community with your CFSNM

There’s something special about fall in Southern New Mexico. As the evenings grow cooler and the season brings new opportunities to gather, it’s a time to slow down, reconnect with friends and neighbors, and appreciate the people and places that... more

Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico | 10/3/26

Paid lawmakers should be held to a higher standard

The battle earlier this year to successfully wrangle a bill capping awards on malpractice lawsuits through a Senate Judiciary Committee led by a malpractice attorney highlighted the state legislature's many conflicts of interest. An advisory... more

Walt Rubel
For the Las Cruces Bulletin | 10/1/26

Strategizing engagement with constituents and residents

Let’s revisit the city’s Strategic Plan. Recall, the city recently called for feedback on its drafted Strategic Plan, the plan they will use to prioritize funding for the next five to 10 years to ensure resident needs are being met. The plan... more

Shawna Pfeiffer
For the Las Cruces Bulletin | 10/1/26

New Mexico’s role in fixing Washington

New Mexicans disagree about plenty of things politically. But one frustration that crosses party lines and reaches from Albuquerque and Santa Fe to Las Cruces, Farmington, Roswell and our rural communities is that Washington is not working as well... more

Siah Correa Hemphill
New Mexico State Chair, U.S. Term Limits | 10/1/26

The tricky emotions of golfers

Emotional regulation is the latest term used to describe a person’s ability to manage and respond to an emotional experience. People use a variety of strategies, many of which are unconscious, in their attempt to cope with difficult situations... more

Charlie Blanchard
For the Las Cruces Bulletin
docblanchard71@gmail.com | 9/30/26

Why is golf so hard anyway?

The National Golf Foundation just released some unsettling numbers about growing the game of golf. From 2020 through 2025 over 19 million Americans tried on-course golf for the first time. Yet only one in four of the folks who tried golf became... more

Charlie Blanchard
For the Las Cruces Bulletin | 9/24/26

Amenability

In New Mexico, a youthful offender faces a crossroads, as determined by the judge in their case: are they amenable to treatment or services that will teach them a lesson about how they have been on the wrong path and correct it, or aren’t... more

Shawna Pfeiffer
For the Las Cruces Bulletin | 9/24/26

Model city proposal not so bad; but the qualifier is

I had originally intended to write a rebuttal column this week to one penned recently by New Mexico Senate Republicans criticizing city officials in Las Cruces and Albuquerque for not applying for the Trump Administration’s “model city”... more

Walt Rubel
For the Las Cruces Bulletin | 9/24/26