Editor A former Las Vegas City Schools teacher will spend more than seven years in prison after being sentenced last week for the repeated rape of a student. Leonard Joey Romero, 30, pleaded guilty in May to one felony count of criminal sexual contact of a minor by a person

The following individuals were booked into the San Miguel County Detention Center between September 15 and 21, 2026: Sampson Halpern, APO Arrest Order. Israel S. Halpern, Bench Warrant FTA/FTP. Ronald Trujillo, Disorderly Conduct. Anthony Gold, APO Arrest Order. Deja Montano, Bench Warrant FTA/FTP (Two Counts). Leonard L. Lucero, Escape From

Surviving children travel to Las Vegas to attend the funeral of their estranged father, a little-known author. Arriving there, they discover that their old man’s posthumously published book has become an international best-seller. Soon they are embroiled in the legends and lore of the enchanted town. Tuesday, July 18, 2023

Front page of the Sept. 16, 1965 issue of the Las Vegas Optic. One hundred and seventy students from Catholic dioceses in Mexico are scheduled to arrive in Las Vegas by train tomorrow morning as the first enrollees for the Montezuma seminary which will be opened next week. The students

Volunteers and staff of Mora’s Collaborative Visions group take a break during a planning meeting. The Las Vegas NM Community Foundation will host a full-day workshop on nonprofit board governance on Tuesday, Sept. 29, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Room 322 of the NMHU Student Union Building. The

A man is headed to prison for trafficking narcotics in Las Vegas after accepting a plea agreement earlier this year. Adrian M. Sanchez Judge Michael Aragon on Aug. 19 sentenced 31-year-old Adrian M. Sanchez to five and a half years in prison, the maximum sentence allowed under the terms of

From Left: Mayor David Romero, Engineer Nicole Maes, Fire Chief Steven Spann, Deputy Choef Andrew Duran, Lieutenant Abel Harris, Firefighter Candidate Brayan Iturralde, Firefighter Candidate Santos Rael. August 19, 2026, marked a historic day for the Las Vegas Fire Department as Firefighter Nicole Maes tested for promotion to Engineer. After

A site located at 622 Douglas Ave. was recently purchased by the city of Las Vegas to use as its new City Hall. A centrally located City Hall may be closer to becoming a reality after a decision by Las Vegas leadership to purchase a historic Douglas Avenue property for

Sen. Ben Ray Luján, center left, meets with hospital leaders at Alta Vista Regional Hospital on Sept. 1. Supporting access to health care in rural areas of the state was the focus of Sen. Ben Ray Luján’s recent visit to Las Vegas. On Sept. 1, the U.S. senator from New

New Mexico Democratic gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland raised roughly $3.4 million between June 28, 2026, and Sept. 7, 2026, according to recent campaign filings, compared with approximately $934,000 that her Republican opponent Gregg Hull raised. Former U.S. Interior Secretary and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland’s latest campaign filings show she

The following individuals were booked into the San Miguel County Detention Center between September 8 and 14, 2026: Joey Dimas, APO Arrest Order. Arlene Gonzales, Breaking and Entering, Resisting, Evading or Obstructing an Officer (Arrest), Criminal Trespass (Unposted). Eugene Montano, APO Arrest Order. Richard Armijo, Criminal Trespass (Unposted). Paul Chavez,

Impresario Joe West invites audiences to experience noir terror and titillation during the four-week run of Theater of Death: Absinthe At Midnight. This selection of original one-act plays explores the thin line between creativity and insanity. The performances will be in a different town every weekend the month of October

The Mora Claims Office will permanently close on Oct. 2, but in-person help will still be available in Mora for residents affected by the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire and flooding. The closure comes as FEMA has compensated the majority of Mora claimants, paying out $1.28 billion for individual and business

Las Vegas video producers Jim Terr and Pony Vigil attended the recent New Mexico film conference, sponsored by Shoot New Mexico, celebrating the opening of The Lot film stage facility, which was converted from the old G.E. warehouses by a State film grant. Video producer Jim Terr represents several film

Front page of the Sept. 10, 1973 issue of the Las Vegas Optic. The Montezuma Hot Springs property, which was presented to the Las Vegas Y.M.C.A. through the generosity of the Santa Fe railroad some 18 months ago, has been sold to the National Bible Play society, represented in the

Alta Vista Regional Hospital’s Sleep Disorder Center helps patients identify and address sleep disorders that can affect their health and quality of life. A restless night can be easy to dismiss as an occasional inconvenience, but consistently poor sleep can affect far more than how tired someone feels the next

Members of the band Música del Aire pose for a photograph. From left, José Apodaca, baritone; Cynthia Wooley, contralto; guitar player Linda Askew; violinist Barbara Rivers and Scott Mathis, who plays mandolin. Award-winning musician Antonia Apodaca shared Northern New Mexico music with the world – and next week, a new

A Mora County man shot by police last month following an alleged case of domestic violence and a high-speed chase is now charged with murder in the death of 34-year-old Amity Maes. Police arrested 24-year-old Alejandro S. Vigil on Aug. 16 after locating Maes dead in the roadway near NM

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Sept. 8, 2026, announced that her office had sued the Federal Emergency Management Agency for refusing to reimburse the New Mexico National Guard for costs related to the 2022 Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Tuesday announced that

The Northeast Regional Crisis and Drug Treatment Center. Two San Miguel County officials who spent most of their two terms making the Epi Duran Substance Use Treatment Center a reality, said it is a relief to see it is now open. The treatment center, located at 3112 Hot Springs Blvd.,

New Mexico Democratic elected officials quickly denounced a Sunday post on Truth Social by President Donald Trump that proposed, visually, changing New Mexico’s name to New America. Trump’s post followed a satirical post that inaccurately claimed he had signed an executive order to that effect, which the fact-checking site Snopes

State leaders are breathing a sigh of relief that the Trump administration’s threats to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency have subsided. But experts say there’s still confusion about President Donald Trump’s decisions to approve or deny disaster declarations, leaving states with uncertainty about whether they can expect federal recovery