Nearly three-quarters of Albuquerque’s 25,400 Native American residents cannot afford monthly housing payments of $1,500 or more, according to a groundbreaking three-year city study released Friday that marks the first comprehensive urban Native housing analysis led by a municipal government. The finding creates a stark affordability gap in a city where median home prices currently […]

City Desk ABQ
Albuquerque activates ‘Operation Cooldown’ as triple-digit heat hits
As temperatures soar into triple digits this week, the City of Albuquerque is offering families free ways to cool off through its “Operation Cooldown 2025” initiative, which includes activating park sprinklers and maintaining extended hours at spray pads throughout the city. The Parks & Recreation Department will turn on sprinklers at 10 different parks over […]
Albuquerque restaurant facing lawsuit for sexual harassment, retaliation
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against Scalo Restaurant, alleging the Albuquerque establishment’s male managers sexually harassed female employees and then retaliated against workers who complained about the abuse. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico, accuses the Nob Hill restaurant of allowing years […]
AFR rescues a person from an underground storm drain downtown. How did they get in there?
A midday call for help outside a Downtown high-rise office building led Albuquerque firefighters to an unusual rescue Tuesday morning. At about 10:40 a.m., rescue personnel were summoned to 5th Street and Marquette Avenue for reports of a person “stuck in a storm drain.” They soon found a person “below grade” (aka below the street […]
Water district sets public meeting for farmers during centennial year
Bernalillo County farmers and irrigators who help fund most of the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District’s operations will have a chance to hear updates on water management during a public meeting on July 31. The meeting, set for 9 a.m. at the South Valley Multipurpose Senior Center, comes as MRGCD celebrates its 100th anniversary while […]
Six candidates qualify for public financing in Albuquerque City Council election
The Office of the City Clerk certified the publicly financed candidates Monday, with four incumbents and two newcomers earning the right to receive lump-sum grants from the city’s Open and Ethical Elections Fund to run their campaigns through November’s election. City Clerk Ethan Watson’s office announced that the following candidates qualified for public financing: Ahren […]
BernCo goes green, saves green
Bernalillo County taxpayers are already seeing the financial benefits of an $18 million energy efficiency project that will save approximately $500,000 annually in utility and maintenance costs while reducing the county’s environmental footprint. The comprehensive project affects 11 major county facilities that residents use daily, from community centers where families gather to the courthouse where […]
Bernalillo County seeks public input on $10 million South Valley flood project
Residents in Bernalillo County’s South Valley will get their chance Wednesday evening to learn about a $10 million infrastructure project designed to end the chronic flooding that has left neighbors feeling “trapped in their houses” during heavy rains. Bernalillo County will host a public meeting from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Westside Community […]
21-year-old dies at Bernalillo County jail after medical emergency
A 21-year-old inmate died Wednesday morning at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center despite life-saving efforts by jail staff and University of New Mexico Hospital medical personnel, according to a county press release. The inmate was discovered unresponsive at approximately 4:27 a.m. and was pronounced dead at 4:48 a.m. after medical staff administered emergency care, […]
Albuquerque to beautify Westside Boulevard with landscaped medians
Albuquerque commuters will soon see a greener Westside Boulevard as the city begins an eight-week project to add landscaped medians along about one mile of the major West Side thoroughfare. The Department of Municipal Development will install trees, shrubs and decorative stamped concrete elements along Westside Boulevard, building on the $10 million road widening project […]