NM.news Archives - City Desk ABQ

Joshua Boone, Mayor Tim Keller’s pick for city attorney, speaks with Albuquerque City Councilors during Wednesday’s meeting. The council unanimously confirmed Boone before overriding Keller’s veto of an ordinance giving the council more oversight of the City Attorney’s Office. (GovTV)

New city attorney, same old power struggle at City Hall

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — ‘Burque has a new city attorney. The City Council confirmed Mayor Tim Keller’s pick, then turned around and overrode his veto of a measure aimed at giving the council more oversight of the city’s legal department. Councilors unanimously confirmed Joshua Boone on Wednesday night. Boone previously served as chief […]

$700 million Pajarito Mesa energy project seeks tax break under Bernalillo County’s new community benefits rules. What does it do?

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — One of the nation’s largest energy infrastructure developers and builders wants nearly 3.5 square miles of land on the Pajarito Mesa in Bernalillo County for a solar and battery project, promising hundreds of jobs, millions in new revenue and a boost to the region’s power grid in exchange for […]

Council to try to override another Keller veto in ongoing power struggle over city attorney

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — With Monday’s Labor Day holiday pushing City Council’s meeting to Wednesday, councilors face an agenda heavy on technology alongside another fight with the mayor over who oversees the city attorney. Councilors will get another chance to take a crack at O-26-54, deciding whether to override Mayor Tim Keller’s veto […]

Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller, State of the City 2026

An old idea is back: Keller quietly floats a city-county merger

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Mayor Tim Keller stood before Burqueños weeks ago and laid out his vision for Albuquerque’s future in his first State of the City address of his third term. But one idea drafted in his speech never made it to the microphone: an “honest conversation” about merging the city and […]

Albuquerque police officers gather evidence behind crime scene tape. Photo by Roberto E. Rosales/City Desk ABQ

The FBI says ABQ had 75 homicides last year. APD reported only 65. Who is right and why can’t they agree on this big crime stat?

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — When Burqueños look at local and federal crime reports, they might be surprised to find that Washington and City Hall disagree on exactly how many people were murdered in Albuquerque last year. We wanted to know why that is and we found that even APD isn’t entirely sure why […]

A discarded cigarette butt rests on a sidewalk in ABQ Uptown. Photo by Roberto E. Rosales / New Mexico News

Burque sues big tobacco to clean up its butts from city parks, drains

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Albuquerque is suing some of the biggest names in tobacco to make them pay for the cleanup of cigarette butts that clog city storm drains, litter public parks and reach the Rio Grande. The city alleges the companies have known for decades that their plastic filters create pollution and […]

Parents raised concerns about APS recording children’s voices using AI. The district responded.

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Parents across the Duke City pushed back against Albuquerque Public Schools’ use of artificial intelligence to record, analyze and store elementary students’ voices without explicit parental consent. The district listened and is now changing how it handles those recordings. At the center of the debate is Amira AI, an […]

"2019--12 December--La Luz trail hike to Sandia Peak, east of Albuquerque" by LittleRoamingChief is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Pueblo’s Sandia Mountains land transfer plan faces new pushback at BernCo meeting

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Homeowners and outdoor enthusiasts packed Tuesday’s Bernalillo County Commission meeting to voice concerns over Sandia Pueblo’s plan they worry could result in losing federal protections and road access on the Sandia Mountains’ western slopes recreations areas. Dozens of Sandias for All coalition members spoke against a proposal to transfer […]

The Albuquerque City Council met Monday, where councilors later voted 8-1 to approve a $40.5 million industrial revenue bond for the Dreamcatcher Sawmill Hotel, a 135-room Hampton Inn and Home2 Suites. (Jesse Jones)

Council president says city put the cart before the horse on $40.5M hotel deal

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — In Duke City’s Sawmill neighborhood, residents have fought for a say in what gets built around them. Now, City Council President Klarissa Peña is warning that the council’s decision to approve a 20-year, multimillion-dollar tax break for a major hotel before its site plan is finalized leaves the historic […]

Pictured is a sign warning drivers of photo enforced speed cameras located ahead along Arenal Rd SW between Tapia Blvd and Isleta Blvd in the South Valley. Photo by Roberto E. Rosales / City Desk Abq

Speed cameras bring in millions as public safety costs already outpace City’s new record budget

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — On the streets of Burque, it’s a tale of two financial realities: Automated speed cameras are bringing the city millions in revenue, while increasing police and fire costs are continuing to outpace the city budget’s projections. According to the city’s third quarter fiscal year 2026 revenue and expense report […]