Jesse Jones, Author at City Desk ABQ

Empower Health Service’s overnight shelter operates out of the former Ramada by Wyndham Albuquerque Airport at 2300 Yale Blvd. SE. The shelter opened in November 2025 without a required permit. (Jesse Jones)

Planning mistake puts Sunport overnight shelter’s future in limbo

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — The Albuquerque City Council rejected a conditional use permit for an overnight shelter near the Sunport last week that originally opened under incorrect city advice. But the shelter’s doors remain open while the council prepares to approve its findings. Councilors voted 6-3 during a Sept. 9 council meeting to […]

Bernalillo County @ Alvarado Square, Downtown Albuquerque. (Jesse Jones, The Paper.)

Bernalillo County wants to be a good neighbor when it builds housing

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Housing projects can raise concerns in a neighborhood long before the doors open. Bernalillo County wants to start those conversations on day one, bringing developers, property managers and nearby communities to the table through a new Good Neighbor Policy. Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution establishing the BernCo Builds Communities […]

Photo illustration on Artificial intelligence Photo by Roberto E. Rosales for the Paper

Albuquerque gets serious about AI with new citywide rules

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Residents in the Duke City will soon be able to track the artificial intelligence tools used by city government, voice concerns to a new advisory board and see new AI rules for city tech vendors after the City Council approved a trio of ordinances targeting AI in city government. […]

Albuquerque, Local Government

Scammers lose a tool as ABQ bans crypto ATMs

by Jesse Jones September 14, 2026

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Scammers have one fewer tool in their toolbox after the Albuquerque City Council approved a citywide ban on cryptocurrency ATMs. On Sept. 9, councilors voted 6-3 to pass the Virtual Currency Ordinance, sponsored by Councilor Stephanie Telles, banning cryptocurrency ATMs, also known as bitcoin teller machines, and cashier-assisted cryptocurrency […]

Joshua Boone, Mayor Tim Keller’s pick for city attorney, speaks with Albuquerque City Councilors during Wednesday’s meeting. The council unanimously confirmed Boone before overriding Keller’s veto of an ordinance giving the council more oversight of the City Attorney’s Office. (GovTV)

New city attorney, same old power struggle at City Hall

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — ‘Burque has a new city attorney. The City Council confirmed Mayor Tim Keller’s pick, then turned around and overrode his veto of a measure aimed at giving the council more oversight of the city’s legal department. Councilors unanimously confirmed Joshua Boone on Wednesday night. Boone previously served as chief […]

$700 million Pajarito Mesa energy project seeks tax break under Bernalillo County’s new community benefits rules. What does it do?

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — One of the nation’s largest energy infrastructure developers and builders wants nearly 3.5 square miles of land on the Pajarito Mesa in Bernalillo County for a solar and battery project, promising hundreds of jobs, millions in new revenue and a boost to the region’s power grid in exchange for […]

Council to try to override another Keller veto in ongoing power struggle over city attorney

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — With Monday’s Labor Day holiday pushing City Council’s meeting to Wednesday, councilors face an agenda heavy on technology alongside another fight with the mayor over who oversees the city attorney. Councilors will get another chance to take a crack at O-26-54, deciding whether to override Mayor Tim Keller’s veto […]

Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller, State of the City 2026

An old idea is back: Keller quietly floats a city-county merger

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Mayor Tim Keller stood before Burqueños weeks ago and laid out his vision for Albuquerque’s future in his first State of the City address of his third term. But one idea drafted in his speech never made it to the microphone: an “honest conversation” about merging the city and […]

Courts, Justice & Safety

Rio Rancho man faces felony charges after removing BernCo Flock cameras in political protest

by Jesse Jones September 3, 2026

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Ten Flock Safety cameras sat stacked in the bed of a Rio Rancho man’s pickup after he admittedly removed them and livestreamed the act online. Now, he faces felony charges and says the removal was a political statement. Deputies stopped Jevon Martinez, 44, yesterday, Sept. 2, in his Ford […]

Albuquerque police officers gather evidence behind crime scene tape. Photo by Roberto E. Rosales/City Desk ABQ

The FBI says ABQ had 75 homicides last year. APD reported only 65. Who is right and why can’t they agree on this big crime stat?

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — When Burqueños look at local and federal crime reports, they might be surprised to find that Washington and City Hall disagree on exactly how many people were murdered in Albuquerque last year. We wanted to know why that is and we found that even APD isn’t entirely sure why […]