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 […]
Category: +Communities
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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. […]
Posted inBernalillo County, Elections & Politics, Opinion & Analysis
Opinion: Why I oppose Sandia’s request to unilaterally control 10,000 acres of public land
By Walt Benson, Bernalillo County Commissioner — In 2003, the T’uf Shur Bien Preservation Trust Act was established by the United States Congress. Passage of the act settled a 1994 lawsuit and the Pueblo of Sandia’s claims of ownership of 10,000 acres in perpetuity. The act designated the land in question as National Forest and […]
Posted inAlbuquerque, Local Government
Scammers lose a tool as ABQ bans crypto ATMs
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 […]
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$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 […]
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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 […]
Posted inCourts, Justice & Safety
Sheriff details Flock shutdown, Axon switch
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen laid out, in detail Tuesday, how his office is expanding its Axon partnership to replace the Flock Safety camera network it’s dismantling. Allen said in a press release the expanded partnership builds on Axon technology BCSO already uses through body-worn cameras, digital evidence systems and […]
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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 […]
Posted inCourts, Justice & Safety
Rio Rancho man faces felony charges after removing BernCo Flock cameras in political protest
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 […]
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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 […]