Albuquerque Archives - City Desk ABQ

APS receives grant to connect coordinators to instructional teams

Albuquerque Public Schools has been awarded a grant connected to enhancing its community schools program. The $50,000 National Moonshot Grant is for “Extending the Educator Team: Embedding Community in the Future of Learning,” an initiative of Remake Learning, a Pennsylvania-based network “that works to bring together a diverse network of stakeholders to imagine a more […]

The West Mesa Aquatic Center (Courtesy of City of Albuquerque Parks and Recreation)

City Launches “Operation Cooldown” as triple digits hit ABQ

By Sara Atencio-Gonzales, The Paper. – With triple digit temperatures expected across Albuquerque this week, the City is once again rolling out Operation Cooldown, an initiative designed to help residents cool off by activating sprinklers at neighborhood parks. The Parks and Recreation Department will turn on park sprinklers from 1 to 1:30 p.m. each day […]

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. […]

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 […]

Affluent neighborhoods that blocked PNM substation now face summer power outage warnings

By Pat Davis, The Paper. — For seven years, residents of some of Albuquerque’s most affluent neighborhoods have successfully fought to stop PNM from building a substation the utility said would eventually be needed to meet increased demand on a local part of the grid those expanding neighborhoods created. This week, ongoing development and higher […]

Albuquerque City Councilor Brook Bassan, co-sponsor of a resurrected $113 million gross receipts tax increase. The council voted 5-4 on June 15 to kill the measure, keeping the massive tax hike out of voters' hands this November. (Jesse Jones)

Denied again: Why the ABQ City Council killed the same sales tax hike twice

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Burqueño voters will have one fewer question on the November ballot after the City Council narrowly rejected a proposed $113 million gross receipts tax increase, marking the second defeat for a measure that had already been revived once. The City Council voted 5-4 Monday to kill Resolution R-26-43, a […]

Albuquerque’s record $1.5 billion budget heads to the state, without Keller’s signature

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Burqueños and city workers can breathe a sigh of relief as the city’s new $1.5 billion budget becomes law without the stroke of the mayor’s pen. The plan avoids resident trash fee hikes, locks in funding for core community services from public safety to senior programs and includes upcoming […]

Pictured is a Bosque fire near the river and Montano Bridge. Photo by Roberto E. Rosales/The City Desk. January 12th, 2024.

Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, Local Government

Planning for the 4th of July? What you need to know about ABQ’s fireworks rule

by Jesse Jones June 3, 2026June 8, 2026

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — As Burqueños prepare to celebrate the nation’s semiquincentennial — the United States’ 250th birthday — they’ll have to navigate Albuquerque’s rules on what fireworks can legally be set off in their neighborhoods. Recent wildfires across New Mexico and within city limits may have firefighters on alert, but city fire […]