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Here is a small sampling of what happened in 2020 in and around Las Cruces. Since March, nearly every phase of our lives has been impacted by COVID-19.
January
1: Ken Miyagishima began his 13th consecutive year as mayor of Las Cruces. He was first elected and took office in November 2007, and re-elected in 2011, 2015 and 2019. He served six years on the city council before being elected mayor and eight years on the Doña Ana County Commission before that.
February
19: LC 3 Behavioral Health Collaborative formed in Las Cruces and began monthly meetings.
22: Oñate High School senior Angelita Altamirano becomes New Mexico’s first ever girls’ high school wrestling champion.
28: Ribbon cutting, Devasthali Hall, New Mexico State University’s new art museum.
29: Antonio Valenzuela was killed while in Las Cruces Police Department custody. Former LCPD Officer Christopher Smelser will later be charged with second-degree murder.
March
12: Las Cruces Public Schools closed schools because of COVID-19 and began online education.
14: The Las Cruces High School Bulldawgs, playing in an empty Pit arena in Albuquerque, won the 5A boys state basketball championship.
April
3: Las Cruces City Council awarded more than $1 million to a number of local nonprofits, governmental agencies and city programs to assist those most in need because of job and income losses due to COVID-19. The council awarded several million dollars in additional support throughout the year.
May
8: 133 medical students in the Class of 2020 earned doctor of osteopathic medicine degrees as part of Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine’s first ever graduating class.
26: NMSU Aggie baseball player Nick Gonzales was named National Player of the Year, leading the nation in home runs and runs batted in during the shortened season. Gonzales was also named first-team All-American and was the seventh pick overall in the Major League draft, the highest selection ever for an NMSU player.
June
After two years of traffic-binding construction, the Valley Drive project was finally completed.
6: Primary election sees the defeat of long-time Democratic lawmakers serving Doña Ana County, including state Senate President Pro-Tempore Mary Kay Papen of Las Cruces, state Senate Finance Committee Chair John Arthur Smith of Deming and state Rep. Rudolfo “Rudy” Martinez of Silver City.
18-22: During a special session, the New Mexico Legislature passed a bill sponsored by state Sen. Joseph Cervantes, D-Doña Ana, requiring New Mexico police officers to wear body cameras “as a deterrent against unlawful use of force …” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the bill into law July 8.
30: Rabbi Larry Karol retired after nine years at Temple Beth-El and a 39-year rabbinate.
July
20: Las Cruces Council unanimously voted to increase the fee for monthly residential solid waste service by $2, to $15.25 for a 96-gallon container. The increase was necessary to cover a $1.34 million shortfall and to maintain the city’s current level of service.
August
4: Doña Ana County Commission voted to award a management contract for the county Crisis Triage Center to Recovery Innovations International (RI), a Phoenix-based nonprofit.
4: Las Cruces Public Schools Board of Education voted to rename Oñate High School as Organ Mountain High School.
17-20: Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee included 23 New Mexico delegates, including U.S. Rep. Xochitl Torres Small and National Committeewoman Joni Gutierrez from Las Cruces.
24-27: The Republican National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina and Jacksonville, Florida included 22 delegates from New Mexico, including Doña Ana County Commissioner Isabella Solis and Paul Smith of Las Cruces as alternates.
24: Retired educator and state legislator J. Paul Taylor turned 100.
September through November: More than 300,000 votes were cast in the Inaugural Bulletin’s Best contest, resulting in winners in 379 categories.
September
1: Doña Ana Arts Council moved to 250 W. Amador Ave.
8: Ifo Pili became Las Cruces city manager.
30: Mesilla Valley Community of Hope earmed $53,000 in its fourth annual all-virtual Tents to Rents fundraiser to move people struggling with homelessness into their own homes.
October
5: Las Cruces City Council voted unanimously to adopt the city’s first ever climate action plan.
The plan will guide the city in reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 73 percent by 2050.
8: The Three Crosses Medical Center, Las Cruces’ newest full-service hospital, opens.
November
3: The voter turnout in Doña Ana County for the general election was 64.42 percent. The statewide turnout was 68.67 percent and the national turnout was 66.7 percent.
25: City of Las Cruces names Miguel Dominguez was the 20th chief of the Las Cruces Police Department.
30: City of Las Cruces named Fire Chief Eric Enriquez as assistant city manager. Jason Smith was named interim fire chief.
December
5: Mountain View Market Co-op, after 45 years in business, closes its doors.
25: Long-time Las Cruces resident Clayton Flowers turns 105. He was born Dec. 25, 2015 in rural Surry County, Virginia and was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, the Army’s first black pilots. He was a housing contractor and taught school for many years in Manhattan and moved to Las Cruces in 1984.
Ongoing: Work continues on the extensive University Avenue/Interstate 25 exchange construction project.
