Austin Fisher/Source New Mexico New Mexico lawmakers introduced a total of 658 bills this session, nearly 10 times more than they ended up actually voting to pass onto the governor. By the time the Legislature finished the budget-focused 30-day session on Thursday, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham had signed three bills: House Bill 1, House Bill 141 and House Bill […]
Elise Kaplan
Posted inBernalillo County, Local Gov.
The board is back together
At its first meeting since being disbanded and then reconstituted, a subdued Albuquerque Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board took no action on a request to change a controversial regulation that requires more stringent pollution control in their businesses. It also postponed a decision to stay some sweeping zero emission changes for new cars. Slow […]
Posted inAlbuquerque, Courts, Justice & Safety
Burglary reported at office of attorney under investigation in DWI scheme
A little more than three weeks after the FBI raided the Northeast Albuquerque office of a local attorney, he reported that two people cut the power, broke the back door and entered the premises. Thomas Clear III, who is being investigated for possible corruption along with several Albuquerque Police Department DWI officers, reported the break-in […]
Posted inAlbuquerque, Housing & Homelessness
City-owned Los Altos Lofts marks a housing first
The conversion of hotels and motels into housing is not a new concept in U.S. cities — Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Denver and Austin have done it — but Albuquerque’s latest project is a distinctive one. Los Altos Lofts, located at 10330 Hotel Ave. NE, is the first hotel-to-apartment conversion and renovation that’s owned and overseen […]
Posted inAlbuquerque, Courts, Justice & Safety
Internal Affairs commander on leave as APD investigates DWI unit
As the Albuquerque Police Department investigates wrong-doing by its DWI officers the probe has expanded to include the commander of Internal Affairs. Cmdr. Mark Landavazo has been put on administrative leave, the department announced Tuesday evening. “We are investigating every aspect of these allegations, from the role of officers to supervisors,” Chief Harold Medina said […]
Posted inAlbuquerque, Jobs, Workers & Economy
Coen comedy ‘Honey Don’t’ seeks Albuquerque cast
Are you ‘gritty,’ ‘grizzled’ and ‘rough-around-the-edges?’ The casting directors for upcoming Ethan Coen film “Honey Don’t,” are scheduled to host a casting call Feb. 24 in Albuquerque. The Focus Features dark comedy, which is shooting in the metro area, stars Margaret Qualley (“Poor Things”), Aubrey Plaza (“Parks and Recreation”) and Chris Evans (“Pain Hustlers”). The […]
Posted inBernalillo County, Courts, Justice & Safety, Local Gov.
Too scared to tell
This is part three of a series on child abuse and the professionals who are tasked with handling these cases. Read part one and part two. When a child has experienced abuse, they don’t often disclose it right away and sometimes that disclosure comes by accident or discovery. Marzieh Cassidy, the Developmental Specialist and Licensed […]
Posted inNew Mexico Statewide News, Politics & Elections
Manny Gonzales disqualified from Republican US Senate ballot
Former Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales failed to get enough signatures to qualify him for the Republican Party primary race for U.S. Senate. A spokesman for the New Mexico Secretary of State said Gonzales—a former Democrat—submitted 875 signatures but needed 2,351 to qualify. Nella Domenici, the daughter of long-time senator Pete Domenici and the other […]
Posted inAlbuquerque, Courts, Justice & Safety
Motel owner, manager sentenced in drug scheme
The owner and manager of an East Central motel have been sentenced to years in prison for their part in a drug trafficking scheme. The owner of the motel, Pragneshkumar Patel, a 36-year-old from Mobile, Alabama was sentenced to 30 months in prison, ordered to pay $40,000 in fines and $9,000 in restitution and made […]
Posted inCourts, Justice & Safety, New Mexico Statewide News
NM DOJ announces new Cold Case Unit
The homicides of New Mexico residents Thomas and Judy McKnight, Stephen Sandlin, Jack Lee Elckins, Annie Tapia, Judy and Gary Wilson and Erilaina Chavez, haven’t been solved yet but the newly formed Cold Case Unit at New Mexico’s Department of Justice hasn’t forgotten them. Attorney General Attorney General Raúl Torrez announced the formation of the […]