By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — For Burqueños hoping for relief from the affordable housing crisis, the finish line just moved further away when a promised solution to turn a former hotel into long-term affordable apartments for seniors touted by the mayor during his election quietly fell through. During the April 6 City Council meeting, […]
Category: +Sources
Reader-supported
Keller veto holds: Council leaves rules requiring better A/C for renters in limbo
By Jesse Jones, City Desk in The Paper. — On Monday, the Albuquerque City Council failed to override Mayor Tim Keller’s veto of changes to a controversial renters’ rights cooling ordinance, falling one vote short of the six votes required. Council President Klarissa Peña and Vice President Dan Champine, along with Councilors Brook Bassan, Renée […]
Reader-supported
Albuquerque’s new ‘Safety Zones’: A boost for business or a crackdown on poverty?
By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — A new Albuquerque ordinance hands the mayor power to surge police and city services along commercial corridors, a move supporters call a boost for local business and critics blast as a crackdown on the city’s most vulnerable. On Monday, the Albuquerque City Council voted 6-3 to approve the “Enhanced […]
Reader-supported
The Bernalillo County tax civil war: Assessor vs. Treasurer
By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — A legal fight over a short-term rental tax has escalated into a civil war inside the Bernalillo County government — and a Democratic primary battle in the background — pitting top financial officials against each other over millions in tax revenue and allegations of ethical misconduct. The dispute simmering between County […]
Posted inAlbuquerque, Jobs, Workers & Economy, NM.news
May Day draws thousands to Civic Plaza from unions, allies in fight for “Workers over billionaires”
Albuquerque – Thousands of people descended on Albuquerque’s Civic Plaza under unusually cloudy and windy skies Friday as a part of a day long May Day “strike” against a growing wealth and opportunity gap in the country. The events were organized by more than two dozen labor unions including Teamsters Local 492, UA Local 412, […]
Posted inNM.news
Opinion: When taxpayers subsidize businesses, they deserve real benefits too
By State Senator Debbie O’Malley — My mother rinsed her children’s diapers outside because the city had never bothered to run water and sewer lines to our neighborhood. This was Albuquerque in the early 1950s, in a working-class Hispanic community near downtown known as Sawmill. At one time the Sawmill industry was the largest industry […]
Reader-supported
Is Albuquerque settling for slow 911 response times?
By Jesse Jones, City Desk ABQ in The Paper. — When a crisis strikes, every second counts. On a ringing 911 line, those seconds can feel like an eternity. Even as call volume drops and the city rolls out new technology, dispatchers are falling further behind national standards, leaving more callers waiting longer for someone […]
Posted inAlbuquerque, Courts, Justice & Safety, Local Government, NM.news
The next time you dial 911 in ABQ, a drone might be the first responder
By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Seconds after a gunshot is heard across Albuquerque, police launch a drone from a rooftop hive and speed toward the sound. The goal is to arrive before officers, with its camera already rolling, as part of the city’s “drone as a first responder” program. The Albuquerque Police Department’s (APD) […]
Reader-supported
History made: ABQ confirms the first female police chief and new safety director
The Duke City just made history by shattering the glass ceiling as City Councilors confirmed Cecily Barker as the city’s first female police chief and approved a public safety overhaul that created a new public safety director role and filled it with former FBI official Raul Bujanda. On Monday, the City Council unanimously approved Barker […]
Reader-supported
‘It would be a lot cooler if you did’: ABQ council passes cooling rules — but not the ones the sponsor wanted
Jesse Jones, The Paper. — For thousands of Burqueños struggling to keep their homes cool as temperatures climb earlier each year, a common landlord workaround is now off the table — but the stronger protections one councilor fought for didn’t make it through. City councilors voted 5-4 Monday night to approve O-26-22, an amendment to […]