Quay County Sun - Serving the High Plains

Here we are again, about to enter into the abyss of a 30-day legislative session. It’ll be one of the fun ones, when lawmakers will get to spend-spend-spend. It must be refreshing for legislators...

I have a dog in the house. He doesn’t live here, he just came to visit. And I have a family of feral cats living in my back yard. The momma cat claimed squatters rights, having lived here before I...

Back when you could do it with little or no hassle, I remember casually walking across the bridge (and therefore the border) between downtown El Paso and Ciudad Juarez. As I left the U.S. side,...

Up until recently, it’s been pretty much a seamless takeover. Worn out by Susana Martinez’s can’t-do/won’t do policies as governor toward issues like clean energy, full marijuana legalization...

Like a lot of Americans, I got caught up in the 50th anniversary of our first moon landing. My moment was on CSpan3, where I channel-surfed into Reel America’s Moonwalk One, a dated NASA documentary...

We are about a year away from legalizing recreational marijuana in New Mexico. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has already set the wheels in motion for its passage at the Roundhouse next year, and if the...

Recycling has always been a feel-good issue for the casual environmentalist, but it’s turning out to be even less than that. It’s becoming less practical and affordable. Silver City and Taos are...

I took advantage of a long holiday weekend to travel up to the Continental Divide, where I camped and explored some of the highest points in Colorado. “Civilization” came to me through the radio,...

Healthcare is a right. Raise your hand if you agree. The reality is, America is divided on this question. We’re not talking about emergency care here. I think most people with an ounce of...

Just when you think the Trumpettes have been banished from the Land of Enchantment come candidates who are already tugging on the president’s coattails, hoping to find redemption down south for the...

If I had to assign a genre to Rudolfo Anaya’s latest book, “Chupacabra Meets Billy The Kid,” I’d say it’s of the Western / science fiction / fantasy / Chicano literature / historical...

One of my great regrets is not learning another language. I took Spanish in high school for a couple of years, but didn’t practice it enough over the years to go beyond the few words I’ve...

New Mexico is building itself up with some new, cutting-edge infrastructure. First, there’s Facebook and its $1 billion data center at Los Lunas. It’s creating a need for some expensive...

Today’s topic is change. It makes the world go round, but a lot of people hate it anyway. Change is inevitable, and yet the older we get, the more we’re inclined to resist it. It can be...

I just finished doing a final read of high school seniors’ summaries. That’s something my newspaper compiles from surveys we pass out to the soon-to-be graduates and then publish on the eve of...

About this time every year, parents all over New Mexico swell with pride as their daughters and sons walk across the graduation stage — and wave goodbye. The walk is ceremonial; the wave, at least...

You may not be aware, but our pre-primetime way of life is undergoing a big change. Jeopardy! is being transformed. Like many Americans, I’m a fan of this game show, which I like for brain teasing...

If Donald Trump wants to convince the public that the Mueller report vindicates him, he needs to keep us from reading the report ourselves. Or even part of it. Just a couple of hours of reading its...

Tom Udall’s announcement that he won’t seek another term as U.S. senator really brought out the politics in New Mexico. Already, two Democrats have announced they’ll seek to replace Udall, and...

There’s nothing like a good outing to bring a family together. If you want to go on a leisurely drive to somewhere for a daytime adventure, with some wide-eyed young’uns in tow, you certainly...

When America’s youth began to rebel against the Vietnam War, it was because young men were being drafted. They were on the cutting edge of the issue, so they rose up in defiance. Something similar...

Depending on your political persuasion, this was either the best or the worst state legislative session in a long, long time. According to nmlegis.gov, the New Mexico Legislature’s website, there...

Today’s topic is sin. I’ll try not to get preachy about it. There’s a long list of habit-forming vices that Americans have enjoyed, condemned, regulated and even outlawed over time, but today...

Trump. Climate change. Liberals. Conservatives. Socialists. Capitalists. Bet you don’t think any of these charged-up words are funny, but maybe you should. Recently I heard a segment on NPR’s...

News item: The United Methodist Church voted on Feb. 26 to reinforce its ban on openly gay clergy and same-sex marriages, leaving in place a longstanding policy that states, “The practice of...