Get your popcorn ready to watch some municipal excitement. The Committee of the Whole will meet on May 16 for members to pull out their red pens to mark up the mayor’s $1.4 billion proposed budget for fiscal year 2025. This is the last meeting scheduled before the final budget will be presented at the […]
Local Gov.
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200 seniors, 90 veterans housed at Westside shelter — some for years
The city’s Westside Emergency Housing Center (WEHC) is home to about 200 seniors and 90 veterans seeking shelter among hundreds more who are experiencing homelessness. While the number who sleep there fluctuates throughout the year, during the winter months officials say it’s not uncommon to reach its capacity of 600. City officials and advocates for […]
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Opponents of a proposed amendment to reverse Albuquerque immigrant friendly policy hold rally
Opponents of an amendment that would reverse the City of Albuquerque’s immigrant friendly policy gathered at Civic Plaza Monday afternoon to speak out against the proposed change. “Our immigrant friendly policy in the City of Albuquerque is really important. It has been in place for about 24 years, so for 24 years we have been […]
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Council approves a more equitable new food ordinance
Albuquerque city councilors have approved a new food ordinance, updating a law that has been in place for up to five decades. City staff said the current food sanitation ordinance dates back to 2010, and some rules were adopted as far back as 1974. The new ordinance replaces the previous ordinances with a unified set […]
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Land acquisitions and more money for UNMH top commission agenda
Some big buck property expenditures are on the table for Bernalillo County commissioners to debate at their May 15 meeting. Also up for consideration is an amended resolution to establish a process for hiring a county manager, extending a tax to support the University of New Mexico Hospital and increasing money for public art. Tax […]
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Anatomy of an encampment
A private dirt lot located one block north of East Central Avenue in Albuquerque’s International District recently saw a swell of activity from an illegal encampment. About 50 people experiencing homelessness were living on the site that functioned as a makeshift community. There was considerable trash on the street and reports of burglary, vandalism, public […]
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City Council committee listens to budget concerns from residents
Housing, community safety services, Explora and funding for disc golf topped the list of public comments at a meeting of city leaders to hear city budget concerns. What’s COW? The Albuquerque City Council’s Committee of the Whole (COW) met Thursday to hear resident input on the mayor’s proposed $1.4 billion budget for fiscal year 2025. […]
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Who sued the city and how much did they settle for?
In the fall of 2023 — from October through December — the city paid out more than $3 million in settlements for various lawsuits. Residents sued after they tripped and fell on sidewalks, for discrimination and for civil rights violations. Two people were in crashes with solid waste employees and two were in crashes with […]
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Heading Home will no longer run Westside shelter; city hasn’t found new operator
The embattled Westside Emergency Housing Center (WEHC) took another hit this month after the city was unable to find an operator to run it starting July 1. Two organizations applied for a $4.1 million annual contract, but officials said their proposals were “unsatisfactory, incomplete and ineligible.” Operator Albuquerque Heading Home, whose current three-year contract expires […]
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Council moves Westside mixed-use development forward
Albuquerque city councilors rejected an appeal from neighborhood groups opposed to a Westside development, paving the way for the mixed-use project to move forward. Tierra West LLC is planning townhouses, office space, a cannabis retailer and a restaurant at Coors Boulevard and 7 Bar Loop Road. Representatives of the Bosque del Acres Neighborhood Association have […]