Jesse Jones, Author at City Desk ABQ

The Albuquerque City Council met at City Hall on Aug. 3, 2026. Councilors voted 7-2 to block a proposed gross receipts tax increase from appearing on the November ballot. (Jesse Jones)

Procedural mutiny: ABQ City Councilors overrule Council President to block tax ballot measure

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Taxpayers in the Duke City will not see a proposed gross receipts tax increase on their November ballots after city councilors used a procedural move to stop the measure before it reached a vote. During the Aug. 3 City Council meeting, Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn used a parliamentary challenge to […]

A makeshift tarp tent stands among debris, bicycles and a solar panel at a Bosque encampment before crews cleared the site. (Courtesy Bernalillo County)

Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, Environment, Conservation & Climate, Local Government, NM.news

Bosque cleanup hauls off 16 tons of debris near Rio Bravo

by Jesse Jones August 3, 2026August 3, 2026

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Mattresses, tents and scorched brush piled up along the Rio Grande this month as crews worked through Burque’s Bosque between Rio Bravo Boulevard and Interstate 40, clearing fire hazards from the river corridor during a historically dry summer. The third annual, multiagency cleanup wrapped up this week after crews […]

A storefront for Smokers Town sits across from the University of New Mexico campus along Central Avenue. Under a newly proposed city ordinance, future smoke shops would face strict buffer zones preventing them from opening near existing cannabis dispensaries or other nicotine retailers. (Jesse Jones)

Councilor slams push to revive defeated tobacco-cannabis zoning ordinance

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Albuquerque smoke shop and cannabis dispensary owners could soon have far fewer places to open after Councilor Renée Grout revived a bill she sponsored by request, just days after a City Council committee recommended rejecting it. Planning Director Alan Varela told the Land Use, Planning and Zoning Committee on […]

Pictured is Albuquerque city hall in Downtown

ABQ Council looks to rewrite city’s fraud watchdog rules

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Burque municipal workers exposing government fraud could soon face fresh ground rules, as could the taxpayers who rely on City Hall’s watchdog agency. The City Council votes Aug. 3 on two companion ordinances born from a feud between city investigators and municipal leaders. The measures mark the first full […]

One City Councilor’s plan to rid ABQ of crypto kiosks

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — A panic-inducing phone call, an alleged arrest warrant and a frantic drive to a neighborhood gas station: For many victims, that’s how cryptocurrency ATM scams begin. Callers posing as law enforcement, government officials or utility workers pressure people to withdraw thousands of dollars in cash and feed it into […]

Native wildflowers bloom in a pollinator garden at Quigley Park, part of Albuquerque's effort to expand pollinator habitat citywide. (Julian Paras)

How Albuquerque is turning city medians into wildflower havens for bees

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Across the Duke City, medians, parks and other green spaces are buzzing with more than people. Thanks to conservation efforts, bees, butterflies and other pollinators are finding more places to thrive. Albuquerque is doubling down on its status as the first Bee City USA in the Southwest, according to […]

A trench cut through a residential street for fiber optic installation.(CABQ)

No notice, damaged sidewalks: How City Hall plans to hold broadband providers accountable

by Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Homeowners in Burque tired of unannounced fiber internet crews tearing up lawns and sidewalks or blocking driveways can look to a new proposal putting neighborhood protections front and center. Sponsored by Councilor Dan Champine, the ordinance includes several new requirements for internet providers, including notifying residents 30 days before […]

A blue recycling bin sits along an Albuquerque street as the City Council will consider a proposed ordinance that would expand recycling access to all apartment renters and municipal buildings (Jesse Jones)

City Hall doesn’t have to recycle. One councilor wants to fix that and make all landlords provide recycling, too.

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — A proposed City Council ordinance tackles two recycling gaps at once: expanding recycling access to renters in smaller apartment buildings and requiring city-owned buildings to provide recycling services. Current city code only requires apartment buildings with 25 or more units to provide recycling, leaving many renters without guaranteed service. […]

Bernalillo County Commissioner Barbara Baca, whose amended resolution added $10 million in reserve funds to the county's 2026 bond package. (Jesse Jones)

How Bernalillo County plans to add $10 million to infrastructure without raising taxes

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Bernalillo County faces a $400 million backlog of capital projects but plans to ask voters to approve just $45 million in bonds. At that rate, Commissioners Barbara Baca and Eric Olivas said the county will never catch up. To speed up the process, they gained support from the rest […]

A rendering of the proposed New Mexico United stadium at Balloon Fiesta Park. (LaBella Associates)

Albuquerque, Sports

Court sides with city on Balloon Fiesta Park stadium, a win that may come too late

by Jesse Jones July 20, 2026

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — New Mexico United cleared a major legal hurdle last week in its yearslong quest for a permanent home. But after nearly a year of court delays, the team has started looking elsewhere, and the win might not matter much anymore. The New Mexico Court of Appeals upheld Albuquerque’s approval […]