Car trunks were packed with goodie bags filled with granola bars, gummy bears, crackers and bottles of water as teams of volunteers carpooled to different areas of the city this week. On day and night shifts, they walked sidewalks, cul-de-sacs, alleys, bike trails, arroyos and busy intersections. They looked under bridges, scanned perimeters of vacant […]
Housing & Homelessness
Posted inAlbuquerque, Housing & Homelessness
Issues on Gibson pedestrian bridge trouble residents
The pedestrian bridge near Gibson and San Mateo boulevards in Southeast Albuquerque was built decades ago to give residents and workers safe access to coffee shops, restaurants and businesses along one of the city’s busiest streets. But residents say recent activity on the bridge has made the journey across it an uneasy one. The bridge […]
Posted inAlbuquerque, Housing & Homelessness
City councilors say emergency voucher program needs more oversight
Two Albuquerque city councilors want to take a fresh look at the city’s emergency motel voucher program – used to give individuals or families a free room for a night or a short stay in emergency situations. The program is considered a lifeline while stable housing is sought for those who are homeless or are […]
Posted inAlbuquerque, Courts, Justice & Safety, Housing & Homelessness
The week in crime
In the past week, the Albuquerque Police Department has responded to three crashes in the city, resulting in two pedestrian deaths. There was also an arrest made in a fatal stabbing, a drug-trafficking arrest, and two people were charged in a 2017 murder case. And APD officers shot and killed someone they said was threatening […]
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Texts show APD Chief, Mayor Keller discuss plan to “hammer the unhoused”
Amid growing public pressure to address homeless encampments across the city, Mayor Tim Keller invited Police Chief Harold Medina to help develop a two-month plan with “like five moves in two months on the chess baord (sic)” to respond to the growing crisis. “Yes let’s plan we hammer the unhoused but be prepared for the […]
Posted inAlbuquerque, Housing & Homelessness
How many homeless people are in Albuquerque?
Teams of volunteers are set to fan out across the city on Tuesday in an attempt to count Albuquerque’s homeless population. Armed with surveys, volunteers will canvass neighborhoods, alleys, parks, encampments and meal service sites. They’ll count those who are unsheltered and in emergency shelters, transitional housing projects or other facilities. The “point-in-time,” or PIT […]
Posted inAlbuquerque, Community Content, Housing & Homelessness
Wells Park is a home base for ABQ’s Detroit Lions fans. The area’s new city councilor has a lot to do with it.
This story is published in partnership with the Downtown Albuquerque News as a part of our commitment to bringing you the best in independent news coverage that matters to Albuquerque. Thank you to donors whose support allows us to license these stories. Donate to allow us to continue to bring stories like this. Throughout last summer and fall, the line […]
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Joaquin Baca is ready to move forward and make the hard decisions
Joaquin Baca is picking up the torch. Baca, a hydrologist with the U.S. Forest Service was elected in November to fill the City Council seat of longtime Councilor Isaac Benton, who served for 18 years. Baca represents District 2, which includes downtown, Old Town, the West Mesa and Pat Hurley neighborhoods and part of the […]
Posted inLocal Gov.
County Commissioners tip their hats to a local leader
A salute to Kiki Savaadra, keeping folks safe from arroyo flooding and continuing the 1/16th gross receipts tax for behavioral health initiatives all got the greenlight from the Bernalillo County Commission at its Tuesday meeting. Pennies Add Up A public hearing was held to approve continuing the 1/16th of one cent gross receipts tax for […]
Posted inAlbuquerque, Courts, Justice & Safety, Housing & Homelessness, State Government #nmgov
Advocates say housing, not harsher criminal penalties, will reduce crime
Albuquerque’s crime problems improve when affordable housing is addressed, not by instituting more severe penalties and longer jail sentences for offenders. That was the message a coalition of community advocates delivered to lawmakers during a virtual news conference held ahead of the New Mexico Legislature’s 30-day session which convened in Santa Fe today. Members of […]