Wheeler Cowperthwaite
Special to the Artesia Daily Press

Efforts to open a lowrider museum in Española faced a setback after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued a line item veto on March 11, for $500,000 that was promised for efforts to get the museum created.

The $500,000 appropriation was for the second phase of a feasibility study for the proposed museum.

In an email, a Henry Valdez, a state spokesman wrote that the governor’s veto wasn’t over funding the feasibility study or the proposed museum but instead, because of the way the funding was being doled out.

The appropriation would have come from the Art in Public Places funds. Those funds “are legally restricted to specific capital construction projects and using them for HB 2 appropriations would conflict with the Art in Public Places Act (NMSA 1978, Section 13-4A-2).”

The spokesman wrote that $500,000 in state funding has already been committed through capital outlay.

“The Governor provided approximately $190,000 of that total toward the project,” he wrote.

The Art in Public Spaces fund requires that a portion of appropriations for capital expenditures be set aside for buying or commissioning works of art to be used in or around public buildings, either 1% or $200,000, whichever is less, and the money is held in a special Art in Public Places fund.

“The Governor vetoed other appropriations for the same reason,” the spokesman wrote.

Line item vetoes appear for three projects that proposed to use the Art in Public Places money.

While the governor vetoed money for the lowrider museum this year, last year she vetoed a bill to create a lowrider license plate.

District 41 Rep. Susan Herrera, D-Embudo, told a media outlet that the original appropriation didn’t make it into the version of the budget passed by the house Approbations and Finance Committee, which was when they decided to try tapping into the Art in Public Places money.

In multiple posts on Facebook, District 5 Sen. Leo Jaramillo, D-Rio Arriba, Los Alamos, Sandoval and Santa Fe, wrote that lowrider culture is part of who “we are in Española” and “I’ll keep fighting for the museum.”

“Lowrider culture is art, craftsmanship, family tradition, and community pride passed down for generations in the Española Valley,” he wrote.

In an editorial that appeared in an online publication in Los Alamos, Jaramillo wrote that the line-item veto especially stings after the governor vetoed the lowrider license plate last year

“That license plate bill received bipartisan support, and when I rose to defend it on the Senate floor, my colleagues responded with a standing ovation. Lawmakers from across New Mexico understood what lowrider culture represents,” he wrote.

He wrote that he will bring back the license plate bill and keep working to get more for a lowrider museum.

“Española didn’t just adopt lowrider culture, we helped create it!” he wrote.

Tim Keithley | Ruidoso News

Lincoln County officials said they have set aside $230 million in federal funds to buy properties from local landowners in the Ruidoso area threatened by floods.

More than 200 residents from around the area gathered on Wednesday, March 25 at ENMU Ruidoso to hear a presentation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture on its Watershed Protection Plan.

The plan will see the federal agency pay local landowners for their properties if they are proven to be in danger of future flood damage.

The announcement comes after the Ruidoso area was decimated by first the South Fork and Salt fires, which burned about 20,000 acres in Ruidoso and Ruidoso Downs, and caused at least three deaths in the summer of 2024. The fires were followed by heavy flooding that summer and in 2025, which destroyed hundreds more homes, caused another three deaths and led to closure of the Ruidoso Downs Race Track.

Lincoln County Manager Jason Burns said the federal program was a step toward relief for Ruidoso’s property owners struggling in the wake of the fires and floods.

“We have about $230 million in this federal program to purchase properties,” said Lincoln County Manager Jason Burns.

The crowd consisted of many residential and commercial property owners that suffered extreme damage over the past two years during the spring and summer monsoons.

“The process begins now, and we will be working with each property owner individually on a first come, first served basis,” Burns said.

The federal funding comes to Lincoln County through the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). It is an attempt to clear structures and obstacles from property along newly drawn flood maps by purchasing the properties, demolishing blighted structures and turning the land into green space, officials said.

Property owners at the meeting immediately began completing applications known as “expressions of interest” that allow representatives from the county and the NRCS to visit the property in order to start their initial evaluation.

Burns said the process ends with the county making an offer on eligible properties and closing on them just like an ordinary real estate transaction. He said the federal program is completely voluntary. Once the officer is made, property owners can decide to accept or reject it.

“This seems like a complicated process, but it is basically straight forward,” Burns told the audience. “Each property will be evaluated by an independent appraisal firm using pre-fire and flood values dating back to 2024.”

Burns said the county has not yet hired an independent appraisal team to date but is searching for a New Mexico firm willing to do the work. He said property owners who have signed the initial application to participate in the federal program could expect to be contacted quickly.

“The timeline is as soon as we can,” Burns said. “There are other programs with existing deadlines and I commit that we will try to reach an agreement with individual property owners in advance of those deadlines.”

Kenneth Branch, NRCS assistant state conservationist for programs, said the program was intended to mitigate ongoing danger, not to restore all losses suffered in the floods.

“This program is not intended to make people whole,” Branch said. “We are providing funding to the county for the purpose of purchasing properties where danger to life and property still exists.”

“Our goal is to make this program beneficial for all of you,” Burns concluded. “This is our
solution.”

Here’s what to know and how to apply to the program:

Eligibility: Properties must be owned by “willing, voluntary sellers” and meet specific criteria. The list of eligibility requirements can be found on the USDA website

Process: After a qualifying disaster event, eligible sponsors must submit a request in writing to their local NRCS State Conservationist within 60 days. If approved, NRCS will work with the project sponsor to define the terms of a cooperative agreement.

Acquisition: The acquisition is handled by the sponsor, who then purchases the property and becomes the owner. A deed restriction is placed on the title limiting land use to open space and natural resource conservation. Structures will either be demolished or relocated outside of the flood zone.

Funding: NRCS provides financial assistance to purchase and preserve the land for the purpose of restoring the natural environment, covering up to 75% percent of site restoration costs.

How to apply: Anyone interested was asked to visit ewpbuyout@lincolncountynm.gov to view a recording of Wednesday’s presentation and download an application. A dedicated phone line, 575-973-0523, has been set up by the county so that individuals and ask specific questions about their individual properties. A second public hearing is scheduled April 15 at ENMU Ruidoso, 709 Mechem Drive, at 5 p.m.

Story and words by Adrian Hedden

Dancing with the Eddy County Stars wows locals, raises funds

Becky Thompson took the stage at 84 years old, performing a Pink Panther-inspired dance routine, complete with a pink cat-print costume.

She was lost in the crowd after Dancing with the Eddy County Stars concluded, mobbed by her adoring fans.

But Thompson, a local Carlsbad sports legend known as the owner of Becky’s Drive-In, would not take first place in the annual competition hosted by the United Way.

That honor was bestowed via the “Mirror Ball” trophy to Sandra Borges, executive director of Artesia-based nonprofit the PY Foundation.

Borges also took the award for the most funds raised in the days leading up to the competition at $31,520.

In second was Elizabeth Higgins, president of the Carlsbad Rotary Club, who raised $25,630.

The contest sees eight competitors, local celebrities from around Eddy County, train for a week with a professional dancer from the Utah Ballroom Dance Company. The company also hosts the culminating event where the competitors display their performances for a panel of judges and the crowd.

Crowd members submit votes, along with the three judge’s scores. Judges scores are averaged, and the contestant with the highest audience score gets 10 points. The scores are added to the points contestants receive through fundraising – one point per $1,000 raised, with the top fundraiser getting an extra three points.

All three scores – judges, audience and fundraising – are totaled to choose the winner.

To Higgins, 39, the show was all about giving back to the community, and keeping her footing during her dance inspired by the TV show Friends.

“I was just focused on getting through the steps and finishing,” she said. “It’s amazing to hear the support of the fans, and it’s great to support the community.”