NM.news Archives - City Desk ABQ

The Albuquerque City Council debates the city budget during the May 18 council meeting. (Jesse Jones)

After mayor warns of budget woes, Council OK’s city’s biggest budget ever

By Jesse Jones, City Desk in The Paper. — The City Council passed the city’s largest-ever budget, $1.5 billion, Monday night overcoming earlier warnings from the mayor that future spending would have to be cut to meet slower economic projections. The spending plan, passing 7-2, with councilors Brook Bassan and Dan Lewis voting against it, […]

Renée Grout was reelected chair of the Committee of the Whole on Monday, a role that oversees the city's $1.5 billion budget and capital improvements program. Grout previously served as council vice president in 2023 and 2024.

Council says it found $11 million budget error by mayor. He says they don’t understand the budget.

By Jesse Jones — City Desk in The Paper. — Division has split Albuquerque City Hall as a clash is erupting between the City Council and Mayor Tim Keller’s administration over an $11.8 million discrepancy council staff uncovered in the city’s financial projections while reviewing the mayor’s proposed $1.4 billion fiscal year 2027 budget. It […]

Council Vice-President Dan Champine is introducing amendments to the city charter to make the City Attorney and City Clerk separate from the administration and the council. (Jesse Jones)

NM.news

In next battle between council and mayor, Councilor wants voters to remove key directors from mayor’s supervision

by Jesse Jones May 18, 2026May 18, 2026

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — An Albuquerque city councilor wants to keep the city’s top legal officer and chief record-keeper independent of the political winds that shift with each municipal election. Council Vice-President Dan Champine is sponsoring a pair of measures at Monday night’s City Council meeting that would let voters decide in the […]

The Albuquerque City Council during the April, 6 meeting in the Vincent E. Griego Chambers. Credit: Jesse Jones

City quietly dropped plans for highly touted “Gateway for seniors” at Juniper Flats

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, […]

Crime scene investigators at the scene of a shooting near the intersection of Central Avenue and Gold in downtown Albuquerque. Roberto E/ Rosales/City Desk ABQ

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 […]

Bernalillo County Assessor Damian Lara and Treasurer Tim Eichenberg face off over short-term rental property taxes

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 […]

Friday was International Workers’ Day with more than 25 local labor unions and community organizations gathered for a rally and a march at Albuquerque Civic Plaza.

Albuquerque, Jobs, Workers & Economy, NM.news

May Day draws thousands to Civic Plaza from unions, allies in fight for “Workers over billionaires”

by roberto-rosales May 4, 2026May 4, 2026

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, […]

NM.news

Opinion: When taxpayers subsidize businesses, they deserve real benefits too

by Pat Davis April 29, 2026April 29, 2026

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 […]

Albuquerque, Courts, Justice & Safety, Local Government, NM.news

The next time you dial 911 in ABQ, a drone might be the first responder

by Pat Davis April 23, 2026April 24, 2026

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) […]

Elections & Politics, NM.news

Opinion: Former Sheriff Phil Snekeker makes his pitch for BernCo sheriff in Dem. primary

by Guest Commentary April 21, 2026April 21, 2026

My name is Philip A. Snedeker. I am a candidate for the office of Bernalillo County Sheriff. I will be seeking the Democratic nomination for the office, in the Primary Election, in June of 2026. I grew up in Southern New Mexico, in the Town of Silver City. I attended local rarea schools. I earned […]