Here’s a look at todays’ news:
Officers of the Silver City Police Department responded to an aggravated burglary complaint on the 4000 Block of Fran Drive. Officers were informed by the victim that between the dates of December 19th and January 7th, unknown person(s) entered his home and absconded with tools and 10 firearms that included handguns and rifles. The total theft amounts to approximately $3000 dollars and the case is currently under investigation. Anyone with information on this case should contact the Silver City Police Investigations Department at 575-538-3723, extension 1246.
Governor, Susana Martinez released her fiscal year 2019 budget recommendation, which includes a $3.5 million increase to the Tourism Department budget to add San Francisco as a target market for “New Mexico True” advertising. The expansion into San Francisco will expose awareness of New Mexico as a premier travel destination into the heart of Silicon Valley, the heart of the startup community. The increased investment is a direct result of the growth of New Mexico leisure and hospitality jobs rising to 100,200 according to the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions. The House Appropriations and Finance Committee and Senate Finance Committee will meet in the upcoming weeks to review our FY19 budget.
It appears that New Mexico’s Medical Cannabis program continues to grow despite the U.S. Department of Justice recently signaling they may be constraining marijuana use. The New Mexico Department of Health has released data that the number of patients enrolled in the Medical Cannabis program reached over 46,500 at the end of 2017, an increase of 61 percent over the calendar year. There were 256 patients from Luna County, and neighboring Doña Ana and Grant counties have seen more than 80 percent growth in the number of card-holding cannabis patients. The Deming City Council granted Ultra Health a special use permit in 2016 to open a dispensary in downtown Deming. The storefront located on Spruce Street has still not been opened while Ulta Heath awaits approval by the Department of Health. The approval was initially refused in 2016 when the Department of Health cited regulations that restrict the number of plants a provider can cultivate. Ulta Health has since sued the DOH in district court. A ruling on the suit is expected today.
Contractors from the New Mexico Department of Transportation are completing the replacement of signs on Highway 180. The project began last May at the Mogollon turnoff on to NM Highway 159 and worked southward toward Deming. By error, a large Silver City sign was placed along Highway 180 in Santa Clara that caused some confusion. Since U.S. Hwy 180 is a state designated bicycle route, a bike route designation sign should have been placed in the spot with a smaller Silver City destination sign attached beneath it. Another sign correction will be made at Highway 180 and the bypass that currently displays Cliff.
