Category: City Desk ABQ

Did Bernalillo County Commissioners violate state law? The Foundation for Open Government (FOG) — an advocate for transparency in government — has asked the New Mexico Department of Justice to investigate whether the Bernalillo County Commission violated the Open Meetings Act by engaging in a rolling quorum before it met this week. A rolling quorum […]

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and COLLEEN LONG Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands more firearms dealers across the United States will have to run background checks on buyers at gun shows or other places outside brick-and-mortar stores, according to a Biden administration rule that will soon go into effect. The rule aims to close a […]

The man who shot himself outside of the Metropolitan Detention Center on Tuesday was a former corrections officer, according to a county spokesperson.  He was taken to the University of New Mexico Hospital, where he later died.  Candace Hopkins, a spokesperson for the county jail, said the man worked for MDC “for several different stints […]

Dr. Gabriella Durán Blakey has found what she intends to be her last job. “There’s a lot of work ahead, and there’s nothing I have as a goal other than the work that I am committed to doing here in Albuquerque,” Blakey said. “So it’s the last stop.” A product of Albuquerque Public Schools, she […]

The runoff election for the Rio Rancho City Council on Tuesday finally decided who will take the helm for two council seats.  Deborah S. Dapson, a local businesswoman received almost 53 percent of the votes (443 votes) for the District 1 City Council seat beating her incumbent opponent, former Rio Rancho mayor Jim Owen, who […]

This story has been updated to include a statement from Commissioner Walt Benson that was provided after deadline. Drama dominated the Bernalillo County Commission meeting Tuesday night after one commissioner — Steven Michael Quezada — left the governing table in a huff. In doing so, a couple of pieces of legislation he had introduced, including […]

Albuquerque police have arrested a man suspected of severely beating another man during a fight in front of a homeless services provider Downtown in late February.  The victim, Mark Lavine, died a couple weeks later. Jose Gracia, 54, was arrested Wednesday. He is charged with an open count of murder. Both he and Lavine were […]

Two statewide studies released findings that PFAS — which stands for poly-fluoroalkyl substances — chemicals have been detected in groundwater and surface water resources across New Mexico. The study, conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) found urban areas — like Albuquerque — are the most significant contributor. […]

A man shot and injured himself outside the Metropolitan Detention Center Tuesday afternoon, according to a county spokesperson. He has been taken to the University of New Mexico Hospital. “No one else was injured or involved in the incident,” spokesperson Candace Hopkins wrote in a news release. “The Sheriff’s Office has secured the grounds and […]