Dispute heats up over publication of Inspector General fraud reports

The head of Albuquerque’s oversight committee is pushing back against accusations that it violated city law by delaying Inspector General reports. Victor Griego, who chairs the Accountability in Government Oversight Committee (AGOC), said the group acted within its authority to make sure the reports were solid. In a Sept. 17 response to District 5 Councilor […]

New Mexico Democrats stand against GOP federal funding plans without healthcare cost fix

Two bills to avert a government shutdown each went down to defeat in the Senate on Friday. One of the proposals, a continuing resolution that would keep the federal government funded up through Nov. 21, cleared the U.S. House of Representatives 217-212.  Reps. Melanie Stansbury, D-NM-01, Gabe Vasquez, D-NM-02, and Teresa Leger Fernandez, D-NM-03, voted […]

Bregman policies include language copied from other sources without credit

Substantial portions of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Sam Bregman’s platform he released on Thursday appear to be copied from government reports, legislation and news reports without attribution. The issues were discovered in Bregman’s 189-page policy platform, which the Bernalillo County district attorney unveiled Thursday during a press conference at his Albuquerque campaign headquarters. Bregman’s campaign denied […]

Albuquerque police deploy drone program, report four arrests in first month

The Albuquerque Police Department has officially launched a drone program that has already assisted in four arrests and conducted more than 200 flights in its first month of operation, city officials announced Thursday. The program, which began in August, features drones housed in strategically placed “hives” on rooftops and city facilities throughout Albuquerque that can […]

Rep. Vasquez calls on social media companies to stop illegal gun sales

Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-N.M., on Tuesday demanded that major social media companies take immediate action to prevent illegal firearm sales on their platforms, citing law enforcement concerns about the role of social media in youth violence. Vasquez sent letters to the chief executives of Meta, Snapchat and Telegram, urging them to strengthen efforts to stop […]

4 days after mistakenly releasing an inmate, MDC finally notifies the public

Late Thursday afternoon, the Metropolitan Detention Center said it was investigating another erroneous release of an inmate that had occurred on Monday. According to MDC, an inmate booked over the weekend on three misdemeanor trespassing charges and a charge of resisting, evading or obstructing arrest was ordered released on two of the trespassing charges, but […]

Fourth Albuquerque high school adds on-campus violence intervention program

Del Norte High School has become the fourth Albuquerque high school to host a full-time violence intervention program aimed at supporting students affected by trauma and disconnection from school. Albuquerque Community Safety announced this week that its School-Based Violence Intervention Program is now operating at Del Norte, joining West Mesa High School, RFK High School […]

Gubernatorial race heats up: Bregman challenges Haaland to policy showdown

Democratic candidate for governor Sam Bregman unveiled a sweeping set of policy plans  Thursday and challenged his chief rival for the party’s nomination, Deb Haaland, to engage him in a policy debate on the campaign trail.  “She can bring her plans, or if she doesn’t have them, she can debate mine. I am sure we […]

What’s happening with the Rail Trail?

What happened to the ABQ Rail Trail? The Rail Trail was pitched as a 7-mile loop linking downtown, Old Town and the Rail Yards with public art and architecture telling Albuquerque’s story. Now the project faces its biggest setback. The Trump administration pulled $11.5 million in promised funding last week, leaving city officials scrambling to […]