By Wheeler Cowperthwaite Special to the SUN Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a Vallecitos man after he allegedly threatened a store clerk with a rifle after refusing to sell him alcohol. Deputy John Greene arrested Louie Torrez, 59, on July 9 after finding him just down the road from

By Wheeler CowperthwaiteSpecial to the SUN A Rio Arriba jury convicted a Santa Fe man guilty of misdemeanor battery charges after a five-day trial. Jurors convicted Jerdarious Raphealito, 26, on July 29, on four counts of battery against a household member and one count of resisting arrest. The battery against

By Wheeler CowperthwaiteSpecial to the SUN Lucas Gomez-Lopez received a sentence of 21 months on an immigration charge after federal prosecutors took over his case from local prosecutors. Gomez-Lopez, 38, allegedly shot and killed Marcelino Herrera, 41, in an apparent case of self-defense on Aug. 18, 2024. Santa Fe County

By Amanda MartinezSpecial to the SUN The Española City Council approved a restructuring of the Española Police Department that will raise the pay for two lieutenants and bring a captain into the department. The changes will not increase the department’s budget. Two patrol officer positions will remain frozen and the

By Glen RosalesSpecial to the SUN After a bumpy season that went awry because of an early season coaching change, a lack of numbers and some questionable discipline, the McCurdy High School football program brings renewed vigor and purpose to the field. “I think we’re going to surprise some people,”

By Cadie Carrillo Special to the SUN Students are getting ready to return to classrooms for the 2026–27 School Year, but high school schedules across Rio Arriba County show notably different academic and career opportunities depending on where they go to school. Master schedules obtained by the Rio Grande SUN

By Glen RosalesSpecial to the SUN It’s a short slide down the bench for Walter Bustos. Bustos, who played basketball at Española Valley in the early 1980s before graduating in 1985, is the new McCurdy High School boys hoops coach, replacing Ernesto Espinoza, who retired after 10 seasons and a

By Miles Barth SUN Staff Writer As school districts around the country work to develop guidelines for how students should use AI chatbots like Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini, they may find themselves referring to a model policy two Española Valley High School students had a hand in crafting. Gabriela

By Wheeler CowperthwaiteSpecial to the SUN A Rio Arriba jury convicted a Medanales man on a felony charge and three other offenses in a case from 2021. Following a two-day trial, including jury selection, jurors found Joel Maestas, 42, guilty of felon in possession of a firearm, a fourth degree

By Tom Wright If you like free stuff, you could be a socialist and that could include all of us. However, if you have lived long enough, you realize there is no such thing as a free lunch. Everything has a cost. The underlying and silent issue is, who is

By Glen RosalesSpecial to the SUN Expectations could not be higher for the Pojoaque Valley High School football team. And rightfully so. Coming off a No. 4 seed in the Class 3A state playoffs and the Elks’ first-ever home postseason game, the team is ready to take that next step

By Wheeler CowperthwaiteSpecial to the SUN The third person who pleaded guilty to the string of armed robberies that culminated in the murder, by Ricky Martinez, of a Blake’s Lotaburger employee in 2022, is set to be sentenced later this month. While Martinez, 34, pleaded guilty to second degree murder

Thank You for Everything, Tasia “The Change Makers’ How New Mexico Became The Land of Women’s Equality” by Tasia Young is an incredible book. Tasia spoke about her book at Bookworks in Albuquerque on 7/23/2026. So many of us were there and her book sold out that evening. Tasia went

By Sherry Robinson All She Wrote We value privacy so much in New Mexico it’s a personal ethic. That’s the first of four reasons why Jeffrey Epstein’s activities at the Zorro Ranch could go undetected for years. Epstein bought 10,000 acres in southern Santa Fe County from the family of

Cal ThomasTribune Content Agency President Trump and members of his administration are (pick your metaphor) whistling past the graveyard, engaging in wishful thinking and/or deluding themselves into believing a demon can be transformed into an angel. The Trump administration has announced a “deal” has been reached between the terrorist group

By Glen RosalesSpecial to the SUN It’s another year of change for the Española Valley High School football team as the Sundevils are under the tutelage of their third head coach in as many years. But new coach Frank Galvan has seen a strong core of talent for Española in

Photos and story by Medha SarinEl Rito Media UFO research library documents alien phenomena Benjamin Fernando strolled through shelves lined with thousands of books in Roswell’s International UFO Museum on 114 N. Main Street. His mother, Jade Dasco, 47, and father, Lambert Fernando, 54, trailed behind him, occasionally sliding stories

U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service Santa Fe National Forest Espanola Ranger District Temporary Road Closure Order for Frijoles Fire PROHIBITIONS Pursuant to 16 U.S.C. § 551 and 36 C.F.R. § 261.50 (a) and (b) the following is prohibited on the National Forest System (NFS) lands in the Espanola

A look at fishing conditions across NM.

From a Press Release The Santa Fe Striders announce the recipients of the 2026 Santa Fe Striders Scholarships for cross-country and/or track athletes. The Santa Fe Striders Scholarship is an athletic scholarship based on athletic accomplishments with criteria for academics and community service. This is the third year the HelenAnn

Bruce Lesman The Cobb salad was born in 1937 at Hollywood’s famed Brown Derby Restaurant. Legend says owner Robert H. Cobb assembled a late-night meal from kitchen leftovers for showman Sid Grauman. The combination became an instant sensation and the restaurant’s signature dish. This Southwest version honors that classic while

The police blotter is published to give readers an abridged look at criminal activity in their community and neighborhood. It is simply an illustration of what local law enforcement, funded by taxpayers, must deal with daily throughout the Española Valley. Española Police officers, Ohkay Owingeh Tribal Police, Rio Arriba County

Alex RossEl Rito Mediaaross@elritomedia.com The Democratic Party of New Mexico chose Stephanie Garcia Richard to be the party’s nominee for lieutenant governor in the Nov. 3 General Election. Final results released July 30 showed Garcia Richard garnered the support of 53%, or 255 voting members of the State Central Committee,

Items for Northern Briefs may be submitted by sending them to jgarcia@riograndesun.com Submissions must be received no later than noon Monday for publication that week. American Legion The American Legion members of Post 17 will meet, along with the members of the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 17, at 6 p.m.

Roxy has the gentle disposition of a woodland creature and the general silhouette of someone who has never encountered a snack she didn’t feel morally obligated to investigate. One eye went all-in on blue; the other is keeping things casual. This 4-year-old 90-lb. mix of mystery breeds loves her people,