Albuquerque Police Department officials report 63 homicide incidents in calendar year 2025, with a total of 65 people killed. That total is down by more than one-third from 2024, when 98 people were killed in the city. Police say 87%, or 55 of 63, of 2025 homicide cases have been solved, along with 25 cases […]
Category: City Desk ABQ
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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Six Albuquerque schools to require clear backpacks in safety push
Six Albuquerque Public Schools will require students to use only clear backpacks starting Tuesday, the latest measure in the district’s efforts to address weapons on campus. Del Norte High School and five middle schools — Wilson, Kennedy, Hayes, Washington and Cleveland — will implement the policy, joining Taylor Middle School, which already mandated clear backpacks. […]
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New female-majority council to pick president, consider veto override in first 2026 meeting
The Albuquerque City Council is scheduled to choose a new council president and vice-president at its first meeting of the year tonight, a day after Mayor Tim Keller’s historic third consecutive inauguration and swearing in five councilors, including one newcomer. Stephanie Telles, who won the December runoff in District 1, joins returning councilors Klarissa Peña […]
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City releases first wolves into Bosque conservation facility for new year
Nine Mexican gray wolves are officially calling the bosque in Albuquerque home for the new year. As City Desk reported earlier this year, the city built a 4.5 acre facility in the bosque near the ABQ BioPark to provide homes for new wolf pups. “Through fostering, young wolf pups born in professional care facilities are […]
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Battle for the 5th vote: Conservatives eye majority, progressives fight for control through Westside runoffs
Commentary & Analysis in City DeskPat Davis is the founder and publisher of citydesk.org. He is a recovering politician having served eight years as an Albuquerque City Councilor and, in another life, served as a police officer and nonprofit organizer. Citywide, turnout for runoff elections ending Tues. Dec. 9 is strong, but that’s not the […]