On this episode of the Mesilla Valley Sports Show, Mike welcomed Josh Sutton, owner of Compass Skate Shop, for a conversation about skate culture in Las Cruces and the growing community around it. Sutton shared how he discovered skateboarding as a teenager in Houston, how military service eventually brought him to southern New Mexico, and why he opened a skater-owned shop after realizing the city lacked a dedicated space for equipment and community. He discussed relocating the shop to Picacho Avenue, adding an indoor mini ramp, and creating a true gathering place for local skaters. Much of the conversation focused on his outreach efforts, all aimed at making skateboarding accessible while building confidence, resilience, and connection for young people across the community.
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State Representatives Doreen Gallegos and Sarah Silva joined Walt Rubel and Nancy Baker to discuss the dramatic final days of New Mexico's long-sought medical malpractice reform legislation. Gallegos, who has championed the issue for five years, described a tense endgame in which four potentially crippling amendments had to be stripped out before the bill cleared the Senate - ultimately passing by overwhelming margins in both chambers. The conversation also touched on the legislature's broader efforts to insulate New Mexicans from federal funding uncertainty, a constitutional amendment on the November ballot to create a paid professional legislature, and the state's oversight role as Project Jupiter moves forward.
Debbi Moore, president and CEO of the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce, joined Walt Rubel and Nancy Baker to discuss her upcoming retirement after nearly 10 years leading the organization. Moore reflected on her nearly 40-year career in chamber work, saying her true legacy lies not in any single project but in the leadership development programs she has championed across multiple communities. The conversation touched on her role in building collaborative relationships among the city's three chambers after a period of division, the restoration of the historic Armijo House, and her view that the Chamber's core value is giving small local businesses a voice at the table.
Walt Rubel and Nancy Baker opened the show with a rundown of highlights from the recently concluded legislative session. In national politics, the hosts discussed the Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling against the administration's broad tariff authority and the Justice Department's pattern of ignoring or delaying compliance with court orders in immigration detention cases.
Greg Smith talks with Joe Castillo, co-owner of The Destination: Sports and Arts Complex, about the Las Cruces venue he and his wife Janette built to give athletes, artists, and musicians a place to develop their skills and connect with the community.
Joined in the studio by John Mylius and Ken Posey of the local Parkinson's Support Groups, we revisit a previous guest John Cullen. Mr. Cullen shares his story of receiving "Deep Brain Stimulation" (DBS) as a remarkable treatment for Parkinson's Disease. Author of "Unbreakable - Surviving Adversity" and founder of the "It's Just Parkinson's" (IJP) movement worldwide, Mr. Cullen's story is also told in an outstanding documentary video "IJP" (linked below)
Listen to this program for an update on the astonishing improvement he's experienced with deep brain stimulation. Stuart Kelter interviews Nicholas — or Nick — Jelley, an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Physics and a Fellow of Lincoln College at the University of Oxford, known for his expertise in renewable energy and energy science. He was the UK group leader for the Nobel Prize-winning Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) experiment, a major achievement in particle physics. More recently, he has conducted research on solar energy for use in the developing world. He has authored several books on energy topics, including the textbook, Energy Science: Principles, Technologies, and Impacts, co-written with John Andrews, and Renewable Energy: A Very Short Introduction, the second edition of which was recently published and which is the subject of today's interview.
 This episode of the Mesilla Valley Sports Show featured a lively conversation with Robert Walraven, co-owner of Pickle Planet and owner of the Las Cruces Smash semi-pro pickleball team. Walraven described how pickleball’s blend of accessibility and competitiveness has fueled its explosive growth in Las Cruces, leading to new indoor facilities and a thriving local player base. He walked listeners through the creation of the Las Cruces Smash and their role in the Ultimate Pickleball League’s international semi-pro circuit, explaining how team matches are structured and how players rise through the rankings. Throughout the discussion, Walraven emphasized the sport’s unique ability to bring together beginners and elite competitors alike, a key reason pickleball continues to surge in popularity across southern New Mexico and beyond.
Attorneys Kacey Hovden and Maslyn Locke of the New Mexico Environmental Law Center joined Walt Rubel and Daisy Maldonado to discuss two pending lawsuits challenging Project Jupiter. One lawsuit argues that Doña Ana County violated the Open Meetings Act when it moved into closed session before adopting ordinances granting tax incentives. The second contends that the county approved the project without the required cost-benefit and environmental analyses under state and local law. The conversation also examined the project’s proposed natural gas microgrids, greenhouse gas emissions, and projected water use in a region already facing groundwater depletion, along with steps residents can take during the air permitting process. The segment concluded slightly earlier than planned due to a brief power outage at the station.
Las Cruces City Councilmember and columnist Cassie McClure joined Walt Rubel and Daisy Maldonado to discuss her book My So-Called Millennial Life and the evolution of her long-running syndicated column. The conversation then turned to her experience serving on the City Council, including the challenges of public safety concerns, city budgeting, and GRT allocations. McClure spoke candidly about the difficulty of balancing competing constituencies,and her efforts to improve transparency and public understanding of city processes while navigating growth, inequality, and shifting community expectations.
Co-hosts Walt Rubel and Daisy Maldonado opened the program with an update on the final hours of the New Mexico legislative session, focusing on amendments to the medical malpractice bill and questions surrounding conflicts of interest in the Legislature. In the second half of the segment, the hosts debated a recent police shooting outside a Las Cruces Walmart, examining the use of off-duty officers for private security, the role of deadly force in property crimes, and the broader systemic issues surrounding crime and public safety.
On this episode of Café con Leche, Greg Smith spoke with archaeologist Karl Laumbach about his 15-year research project in the Cañada Alamosa, a canyon approximately 75 miles north of Las Cruces, located between Truth or Consequences and Socorro on I-25. Laumbach described the area as a 4,000-year frontier zone, shaped by shifting climates and anchored by the perennial warm springs at Ojo Caliente.
The final weekend of a 30-day legislative session feels a little bit like a child looking through the window of a toy store days before Christmas; there are so many wonderful possibilities.
Every day my email gets filled with press releases about bills and constitutional amendments that have “cleared a significant hurdle and are now one step closer to passage.” And, some of them would make a huge difference. Poet and educator Tim Staley hosts today's program, placing regular host Randy Harris in the "guest" seat. In his one-off guest role, Randy shares some personal perspectives on the human experience. There's talk about the important distinctions between trying to 'make' things happen' in contrast to being in tune with 'what wants to happen'. Attention is given to exploring the seen and the unseen. The conversation places focus on ego, service to others, language, silence, consciousness, and the nature of the universe. We take a peek at having a personal mission statement, and asking ourselves - What is my significance, my relevance? Beneath all the noise - Why am I here?
Stuart Kelter interviews Andrew Guthrie Ferguson, a Professor of Law at the George Washington University Law School, where he teaches Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Evidence, and a seminar examining police surveillance technologies, privacy, and civil rights. Before becoming a professor, Professor Ferguson worked as a public defender for seven years, representing adults and juveniles, and was also lead counsel in numerous jury and bench trials, arguing cases before the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. Ferguson has written over 35 law review articles and book chapters and provided legal commentary for the New York Times, the Economist, CNN, NPR, among other media. He is also the author of four books, including, Why Jury Duty Matters: A Citizen’s Guide to Constitutional Action, published in 2012, which was the first book written for jurors on jury duty. His award-winning second book, The Rise of Big Data Policing: Surveillance, Race, and the Future of Law Enforcement, was published in 2017. We’ll be discussing his recently published latest book, Your Data Will Be Used Against You: Policing in the Age of Self-Surveillance (2026), which reveals how smart devices dramatically enhance the scope of potential evidence for criminal prosecution. Unfortunately, in the process, we’re giving away our privacy and rendering ourselves vulnerable to harassment or worse by an authoritarian government.
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