By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Rio Rancho students will get a UFO club at RioTech and twice as many UFO lectures after the school board expanded its partnership with the National UFO Historical Records Center. The board also wants proof the deal helps kids learn. The Rio Rancho Public Schools board voted 4-1 to amend […]
Kevin Hendricks
Kevin Hendricks is an editor with nm.news where he oversees Sandoval County newsrooms. A native of Southeast ABQ, he reported for the ABQ Journal and Rio Rancho Observer before joining nm.news in 2024.
Posted inEnvironment, Conservation & Climate
Rain check: State forester lifts fire restrictions after soggy September
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper A soggy September just bought New Mexicans a rain check. The state forester lifted restrictions on campfires, smoking, fireworks and open burning Monday morning after late-season storms knocked down the wildfire threat. State Forester Laura McCarthy’s order ends restrictions in place since April 6 on state and private land outside […]
Posted inCorrales
Rick Clemente, 79
Rick Clemente died on Friday, August 28, 2026, at the age of 79. He passed peacefully in Albuquerque with his wife Debbie by his side. Debbie says, “Rick lived life to the fullest and there wasn’t a thing he wanted to do that he didn’t end up doing.” His career in the film and entertainment […]
Posted inEnvironment, Conservation & Climate
Polo match: Hurricane leftovers square off with an already-soaked New Mexico
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper New Mexicans who spent last week wringing out their socks should keep the towels handy. Moisture from Hurricane Polo is rolling north this week, and it’s bringing flash flood risk to nearly every corner of the state. Polo is forecast to hit Baja California Sur Monday night as a Category […]
Posted inEstancia
State agents uproot 10-ton illegal cannabis grow near Estancia
By Kevin Hendricks Twenty-one greenhouses near Estancia went from green to gone Thursday after state agents seized an estimated 6,300 illegal cannabis plants, about 10.5 tons of weed, from a large-scale grow on Howell Road. The Regulation and Licensing Department’s Enforcement Bureau and the New Mexico Organized Crime Commission served a search warrant at 102 […]
Posted inCommunity Content
Trash talk: Albuquerque volunteers, Salamanca twins clean house for Imagine ABQ Day
By Kevin Hendricks, The PaperPhotos by Roberto E. Rosales, The Paper Albuquerque rolled up its sleeves Saturday and put its trash where it belongs. Volunteers fanned out from five hubs, stretching from the Bosque to Nob Hill and the Northeast Heights, for the fifth annual Imagine ABQ Day. They filled bags with litter, weeds and […]
Posted inCorrales
PHOTOS: Corrales Harvest Festival crowns Poptart the pony as new pet mayor
Corrales packed its hay wagons, pet parade and pastures this past weekend for the Corrales Harvest Festival, and the village had plenty to celebrate. Chief among the news: Poptart, a pony, is the new Corrales Pet Mayor. She was announced Saturday, Sept. 26, ahead of Sunday’s Pet Parade, and she wins with a stable platform […]
Posted inRio Rancho
Controversial Lomas Encantadas vote postponed amid heated exchange and councilor apology
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. A Rio Rancho city councilor apologized to residents Thursday and named the Planning and Zoning Board’s chairman as the reason, after a hearing on the Lomas Encantadas rezoning two nights before ended in a delay, a shouted objection from the audience and a remark from the chairman that drew the […]
Posted inEnvironment, Conservation & Climate
Estimated bills, real frustration: Regulation commission brings PNM meter-reading mess to Alamogordo
By Kevin Hendricks If your PNM bill lately looks more like an educated guess than a meter reading, state regulators want to hear about it, in person, in Alamogordo. The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission will host a community town hall from noon to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 29, at the Sgt. Willie Estrada Memorial […]
Posted inNew Mexico Statewide News
Potential $219 billion penalty: Jury finds Meta misled New Mexicans 43.9 million times
By Kevin Hendricks In 2010, Mark Zuckerberg told Facebook users, “We do not and never will sell any of your information to anyone.” A Santa Fe jury didn’t buy it. Jurors in state District Court found Friday that Meta Platforms Inc., formerly Facebook Inc., willfully violated New Mexico’s Unfair Practices Act 43,899,720 times by misleading […]