2024 Year in Review: January to March

January• Opponents of a proposed liquefied natural gas facility in Rio Rancho gathered in protest outside the New Mexico Gas Company’s headquarters in Albuquerque.

• A merger between PNM and Avangrid is terminated.

• Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa is received the 2023 Platinum Choice Award by Smart Meetings, a magazine for event and meeting planners.

• The New Mexico Runners open their fifth season in the Rio Rancho Events Center.

• A balloon envelope wraps around a streetlight in Rio Rancho, but no injuries were reported.

• Documents show that the city of Rio Rancho and Loma Colorado had gone back and forth for several months regarding lighting issues along Terraza Boulevard. The issue had been brought back into the news after a pedestrian was struck and killed in the early morning in October 2023.

• Former New Mexico Supreme Court Justice Judith Nakamura, who was raised in Rio Rancho and at one time worked for the Rio Rancho Observer, served as a float judge for the 2024 Rose Parade.

• Two December earthquakes, on 2.5 magnitude and the other 3.5, were confirmed. The epicenter of the larger earthquake was determined to be 6 miles east-southeast of Cuba.

• A lawsuit was filed against the city of Rio Rancho and the Rio Rancho Police Department, alleging wrongful death, negligence and civil rights violations in the shooting death of John Paul Romero in 2022.

• Martin Luther King Jr. Day is observed at the Community of Joy Lutheran Church with a variety of guest speakers.

• The WWE once again fills the Rio Rancho Events Center with its SuperShow. Monster trucks also delighted crowds the same weekend.

• The Placitas Community Library broke ground on its solar project.

• Cleveland High School graduate Brian “La Bala Mendoza, was inducted into the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame.

• It was an uneasy week and a half in Corrales as the suspect in the Jan. 22 murder of Elizabeth Barela remained on the lam. Charles Kauffmann was eventually captured Jan. 31.

• The Fab 9 factory at Intel opens with the expansion offering advanced semiconductor packaging technology.

• Presbyterian’s Rust Medical Center unveiled its expanded 24/7 catheterization lab, making it the only location in Rio Rancho and the fourth in the metro to offer the service.

• Rio Rancho High School baseball coach Ron Murphy, the only coach in the school’s history, was placed on administrative leave. He said it had to do with the rental of the school’s baseball facility in the offseason. Dave Gomez was named to the post following the investigation and Murphy’s official departure from the school.

• Cross-country phenom Charlie Vause, who runs for Rio Rancho High School, was named the 2023-24 Gatorade New Mexico Boys Cross Country Player of the Year. Vause would go on to earn more accolades in the year, culminating in a national title at the Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, Oregon, in December.

February• Hal Makofske and Terry McDermott were inducted into the Rio Rancho Public Schools Hall of Honor. The night took a tragic turn, however, when McDermott’s wife, Betty Anne, whom he had just lovingly recognized in his acceptance speech, passed of an apparent heart attack leaving the event.

• A book vending machine is unveiled at Earnest Stapleton Elementary.

• The former Jewish Center building, originally the Rio Rancho Estates building, went under demolition after being badly damaged by fire.

• The Friends and Lovers Balloon Rally returned to its original location of Rio Rancho for its 50th edition; however, winter weather moved in and prevented balloons from flying.

• A report released in February found that a November fatal pedestrian fatality on Paseo del Volcan was a result of pedestrian error. It was the third pedestrian death in Rio Rancho in a matter of weeks.

• Sandoval County was the recipient of $372,000 in federal funding to combat homelessness.

• Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed new graduation requirements into law.

• National Geographic named Route 66, which once ran through Sandoval County, including Camino del Pueblo in Bernalillo, a top-20 travel experience for 2024.

• Rio Rancho High School claimed its eighth state bowling title.

• An expansion of the McDermott Athletic Center (MAC), including added amenities such as restaurants, bars, lounges, coffee/tea rooms, delis, and patio/al fresco dining, was passed by the Planning and Zoning Board.

• A Bernalillo Deputy was charged with DWI in Rio Rancho.

• Longtime Observer sports editor Gary Herron announces his retirement to come at the end of the school year.

• Bernalillo Public Schools open its Fab Lab, the third in the state, at Spartan Learning Academy.

• Laguna Burger announces a new location will be coming to Rio Rancho.

• Los Diamentes, billed as a luxury home community in Rio Rancho, holds its grand opening.

• Cleveland High School wrestlers Roman Luttrell and Heaven Guevara claim state titles.

• Five horses and 47 dogs were rescued from a Placitas home with the owner facing charges of animal cruelty and animal at large.

• Tonya Sanchez, a candidate for Cuba Village Council, was killed in a car crash.

March• The Corrales gym officially opened its doors.

• Pauline Eisenstadt of Corrales, the first woman to serve in the New Mexico Legislature and Senate, dies.

• Rio Rancho municipal elections are held. Paul Wymer (District 4) retained his seat in the general election with Deborah Dapson (District 1) and Nicole List (District 6) winning in April runoffs. Three municipal bonds for toads, public safety and quality of life are easily approved.

• Several current and former Cleveland High School softball players and their parents come forward with allegations of bullying and verbal abuse.

• The U.S. Marine Corps Drum & Bugle Corps perform at Cleveland High School.

• State Rep. Jason Harper (R-Rio Rancho, District 57) announces he will not seek re-election.

• The Santa Ana Thunder, a new The Basketball Team, open their inaugural season at Bernalillo High School.

• The New Mexico Public Relations Commission rejects the proposed LNG facility in Rio Rancho.

• The Sandoval County Ethics Board dismisses a complaint against Commissioner Dave Heil.

• Thirty-one people file to run for various seats in Sandoval County.

• Eric Marlow, of Rio Rancho, is killed in a motorcycle accident.

• John Vallejos, 45, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his wife, Roberta Valdez.

• The new site for Independence High School, 4601 Northern Blvd., gets approval from the Rio Rancho Public Schools Board of Education.

• Ground is broken on a new senior living complex on Stephanie Road.

• Former Cleveland Storm football player announces he is entering the transfer portal, ending his time with the University of New Mexico Lobos.

• The Rio Rancho Observer and Albuquerque Journal bring back the Senior Living Expo, held at the Rio Rancho Events Center.

• Noel Davis-Westlake is confirmed the new city clerk for Rio Rancho following the retirement of Rebecca Martinez. Her tenure officially began April 1.

• Santa Ana employee DeeRonn Booker, bowling out of the Starlight Bowling Center, won the USBC Masters in Las Vegas, Nevada.

• Cleveland High School girls basketball coach Susan Kubala submitted her coaching resignation.

• The Duke City Gladiators opened their season at the Rio Rancho Events Center.