Albuquerque renters have rights on paper but who’s enforcing them?

The City Council on Monday deferred a vote on a rental protections ordinance as officials pointed to an enforcement gap that leaves renters facing hidden fees despite state laws meant to cap them. The proposed Rental Practices Ordinance, O-25-102, would fold state tenant protections into the city’s Housing Code to give local enforcement real authority. […]

Albuquerque Community Foundation picks Native New Mexican to lead

For the first time in 20 years, the state’s largest community foundation has a new leader — and they didn’t have to go far to find her. Marisa Magallanez officially took the helm of the Albuquerque Community Foundation and the New Mexico Community Trust as president and CEO on Jan. 1. Magallanez, a native of […]

Inside City Council’s budget transparency meltdown

Albuquerque’s push for more budget transparency collapsed Monday night as the City Council voted 1-8 against overriding Mayor Tim Keller’s veto of an ordinance that had passed 8-1 just three weeks earlier. The failed override leaves the city’s $1.5 billion budget process largely unchanged. The administration will not have to share detailed vacancy data, drop […]

Women now hold the majority of Albuquerque City Council seats as Peña takes presidency

A month after nearly losing her Albuquerque City Council seat, Klarissa Peña is back at the helm. The council elected Peña president in a 5-4 vote over Joaquín Baca. The same five councilors — Peña, Dan Champine, Renée Grout, Dan Lewis and outgoing President Brook Bassan — voted to install the new leadership. In separate […]

Westside commuters aren’t wrong: Rio Grande crossing times keep climbing, data shows

Traffic across Rio Grande river crossings in the Albuquerque metropolitan area has surged to record levels, jumping from approximately 500,000 vehicles daily in 2014 to nearly 580,000 in 2024, according to 2024 data released by the Mid-Region Council of Governments in November. The 16% increase over the past decade represents the highest river crossing volumes […]

Health officials warn of possible measles exposure at Albuquerque hotel

Health officials are warning of possible measles exposure after a traveler diagnosed with the disease spent several hours at an Albuquerque hotel late last month. The New Mexico Department of Health said Tuesday that a traveler from South Carolina who was diagnosed with measles stayed at the Quality Inn at 450 Paisano St. NE from […]

Opinion: What it will take to grow New Mexico’s economy

Steven B. Chavez is the principal at Mesa del Sol, SC3 International, SC3 Development and SC3 Mechanical and Electrical. Originally from Grants, he now lives in Albuquerque. New Mexico stands at a crossroads. We have the natural resources, creative talent, and geographic advantages to thrive in the 21st-century economy—but for too long, we’ve struggled to […]

District 1’s new councilor is breaking from tradition before she even takes her first vote

Albuquerque’s newest city councilor is starting with a simple idea: setting up an office in the district she represents. Stephanie Telles, the new councilor for the city’s Westside District 1, said she asked for office space in her district to make herself more accessible to constituents who struggle to get downtown to City Hall. When […]

Firefighters agreed to the Sheriff’s drug testing demands but still can’t fly

Sheriff John Allen said he removed Bernalillo County firefighters from the Metro Air Support Unit because they refused to meet his drug testing standards, but county records show firefighters agreed to those same standards in July and the sheriff still has not allowed them back on the unit. Allen quietly pulled firefighters from the helicopter […]