Community of Hope, Project Jupiter and the fight to save Sunspot
Good Sunday morning from Organ Mountain News, and thanks for spending a little of your weekend with us.
This week’s newsletter begins at the Mesilla Valley Community of Hope, where rising rents, more first-time homelessness and a growing emphasis on permanent housing are reshaping both the people seeking help and the services available to them.
From there, we move across southern New Mexico — from an experimental energy project at Elephant Butte Lake and a last-minute effort to save the historic Sunspot Solar Observatory to new questions about federal transparency in the Epstein investigation and the next public step for Project Jupiter.
It is a broad mix, but the common thread is familiar: communities trying to understand what is changing around them, who is making the decisions and what those decisions will mean close to home.
This week's top story is an in-depth look at how homelessness is changing in Las Cruces — and how Community of Hope is changing with it.
The city's primary hub for homeless services is undergoing one of the largest expansions in its history, adding a 50-unit supportive housing development, a renovated warehouse that will become a community services center and warming and cooling station, and expanded office space for the growing network of nonprofits that share the campus.
Behind those construction projects is a shift that providers say they're seeing every day: more people becoming homeless for the first time as housing costs continue to climb and affordable options become harder to find. While emergency shelter remains a critical need, Community of Hope's focus has increasingly expanded toward prevention, helping people secure permanent housing and the support services needed to stay housed.
The story also explores how the campus has evolved over the past two decades into a coordinated center where multiple organizations work together to provide meals, medical care, shelter, housing assistance, behavioral health services and other resources in a centralized location.
Whether you've driven past Community of Hope countless times or never set foot on the campus, this story offers a closer look at how one of southern New Mexico's most important community institutions is preparing for the challenges ahead.
Damien Willis
Here’s what you need to know today
💧 Elephant Butte Lake pilot lands $960,000 energy grant: A southern New Mexico pilot project that will use ground-based heat sources to create conditions needed for rain-cloud formation is among the recipients of $7.5 million in state advanced-energy grants. The project at Elephant Butte Lake is one of several initiatives funded through the state’s Advanced Energy Award program.
🔭 New Mexico residents rally to save Sunspot Solar Observatory: Supporters are making a final push to preserve the nearly 80-year-old Sunspot Solar Observatory in the Sacramento Mountains as demolition plans move forward following a mercury contamination discovery. Advocates say the landmark remains an important part of New Mexico's scientific and cultural history.
⚖️ New Mexico AG accuses DOJ of hindering Epstein investigation: Attorney General Raúl Torrez says the U.S. Justice Department is delaying New Mexico's investigation into Jeffrey Epstein by withholding unredacted FBI records related to Zorro Ranch. Torrez called the lack of cooperation an obstacle to uncovering the full scope of Epstein's activities in the state.
🏭 Project Jupiter heads to a public hearing: State environmental regulators will hold a public hearing on the proposed air quality permit for Project Jupiter, the massive data center under construction in Doña Ana County. The hearing follows intense public interest and allegations that supportive public comments used residents' and elected officials' names without their permission.
Worth knowing
Millions of Americans use Cash App to send money, split bills and pay friends. This week, New Mexico announced it will receive more than $388,000 as part of a $45 million multistate settlement with Block Inc., the company behind the platform.
State attorneys general alleged Cash App misled users about its fraud protections, failed to adequately investigate unauthorized transactions and left many victims without meaningful customer support while scams proliferated. Under the settlement, Block must strengthen fraud investigations, provide expanded live customer service, improve reimbursement practices where required by law and end marketing practices that regulators say contributed to fraud.
It's a reminder that while peer-to-peer payment apps are convenient, they aren't immune to scams — and consumer protections continue to evolve as more people rely on them for everyday banking.
From the newsroom
Some weeks are defined by breaking news. Others reveal something deeper.
This week, we spent time looking at institutions in transition — from Community of Hope expanding to meet the changing realities of homelessness in Las Cruces to efforts to preserve the historic Sunspot Solar Observatory before it's lost forever.
We also followed the next chapter in the Project Jupiter debate, covered a new energy pilot at Elephant Butte Lake and continued tracking questions about transparency and accountability at both the state and federal levels.
Local journalism often feels like connecting dots that don't obviously belong together. But taken as a whole, this week's stories ask many of the same questions: How are our communities changing? Who is shaping those changes? And what do they mean for the people who live here?
Those are the questions Organ Mountain News was created to keep asking — one story at a time. If that kind of work is important to you, please consider making a small monthly donation. It really does keep that mission moving forward.
One quick note: We are still working to address a minor glitch on our donation page. Occasionally, the donation form near the bottom of the page does not load the first time. A simple refresh or two usually fixes it, and we are sorry for the inconvenience.
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