By Jesse Jones, City Desk ABQ in The Paper. — When a crisis strikes, every second counts. On a ringing 911 line, those seconds can feel like an eternity. Even as call volume drops and the city rolls out new technology, dispatchers are falling further behind national standards, leaving more callers waiting longer for someone […]
Author Archives: Jesse Jones
Jesse Jones is a reporter covering local government and news for The Paper. through a local journalism fellowship from NM Reports.
Posted inAlbuquerque, Local Government
Albuquerque budget hearings kick off: Here’s how you can weigh in on how the city spends $1.47 billion
By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Over the next two weeks, Burqueños will have a chance to weigh in on Mayor Tim Keller’s $1.47 billion budget proposal before the City Council votes to approve or amend it. Whether it’s police response times, city parks or how the city addresses homelessness, councilors are opening the floor […]
Reader-supported
Mayor’s budget pitch doubles treatment spending but lowers targets, but city says there’s a reason
By Jesse Jones, City Desk in The Paper. –– While reviewing Mayor Tim Keller’s $1.47 billion budget proposal, a counterintuitive number jumped out in the city’s Health, Housing and Homelessness Department budget: despite contracts for substance use treatment more than doubling to $5.5 million,the city expects to serve fewer people, lowering its target from 650 […]
Reader-supported
Consultants send “preferred plan” keeping State Fair, adding stadium to Fairgrounds board
By Jesse Jones and Pat Davis, City Desk in The Paper. — Consultants tasked with recommending options for redevelopment of the State Fairgrounds will recommend a $240 million multi-year master plan to serve as a catalyst for neighborhood revitalization on and off-site, City Desk has learned. The plan presented in a public meeting Friday evening […]
Reader-supported
Exclusive: Frustrated with stadium legal delays, New Mexico United open to Fairgrounds “pivot”
By Jesse Jones and Pat Davis, City Desk in The Paper. — Soccer fans may have a new reason to care about redevelopment at the New Mexico State Fair. In an exclusive interview with City Desk, New Mexico United Co-owner and CEO Peter Trevisani says the New Mexico United would be open to moving its […]
Posted inNew Mexico Legislature #nmleg, New Mexico Statewide News, NM Political Report
From malpractice caps to homebuyer help and new crimes: Here are more than 50 new laws Lujan Grisham signed in her last session in office
By Jesse Jones — The 2026 New Mexico legislative session is officially in the books. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed 48 dozens of (Editor’s note: this story has been updated with additional bills signed after the initial list was published on Fri. Mar. 6) bills into law from her final 30-day session, addressing issues from […]
Posted inLocal Government
Albuquerque councilors propose tax hike to raise over $100 million for new projects, staff pay
By Jesse Jones — A new proposed City Council ordinance, O-26-16, known as the Community Enhancement Municipal Gross Receipts Tax and sponsored by Councilors Joaquín Baca and Brook Bassan and Mayor Tim Keller’s administration, would raise the city’s gross receipts tax (GRT), a local sales tax on goods and services, by .4875% — generating an […]
Reader-supported
Albuquerque’s zoning rules are getting a rewrite — here’s what’s at stake Wednesday night
The Albuquerque City Council meets Wednesday, Feb. 18, with a packed agenda that could shape how the city grows and who helps run it. Councilors are set to take final action on the 2025 biennial update to the Integrated Development Ordinance, the city’s land-use code that governs where and how development happens. The sweeping citywide […]
Reader-supported
Lawsuit between Mayor, Council over paramedic staffing comes to sudden end
Mayor Tim Keller’s administration and the Albuquerque City Council have reached an agreement to end a legal fight over paramedic staffing, ending a long dispute over who controls emergency response staffing. Announced Monday, the deal resolves all outstanding legal challenges, including a separation-of-powers dispute filed earlier this year. The agreement establishes a formal review process […]
Reader-supported
City installs AI-automated “parking sticks” to send you tickets in the mail
Jesse Jones, City Desk ABQ — Albuquerque is rolling out artificial intelligence-powered technology to curb illegal parking in high-risk safety zones across the city. The city has launched an automated parking enforcement program that uses 60 solar-powered camera units, known as SafetySticks, provided by Municipal Parking Services Inc., to catch drivers who block bus stops, […]