By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Burqueño voters will decide in November whether to take away the mayor’s sole power to hire and fire the city attorney and city clerk. The Albuquerque City Council approved companion measures sponsored by Council Vice President Dan Champine on Monday, Aug. 3, to place a charter amendment on the […]
Jesse Jones
Jesse Jones is a reporter covering local government and news for The Paper. through a local journalism fellowship from NM Reports.
Posted inCity Desk ABQ
Post-DOJ report shows APD overruled officer discipline recommendations from civilian watchdog
By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — In the first full reporting period since federal court monitoring ended, Albuquerque’s civilian police watchdog reported officers violated department policy eight times between July and December 2025. In each instance, city leaders and police reviewed the evidence and discarded the agency’s disciplinary recommendations. The Paper. reviewed the Civilian Police […]
Posted inCity Desk ABQ
Should taxpayers fund campaigns? Bernalillo County vote could send question to voters
By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Voters in Bernalillo County may get a chance to decide this November whether their tax dollars should help fund campaigns for county offices. The Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing and final vote Tuesday, Aug. 11, on three companion measures. The package would place a […]
Posted inNew Mexico Statewide News
NM lawmakers demand answers from Pentagon after fatal medical flight crash and wildfire
By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — New Mexico’s congressional delegation, led by Sen. Martin Heinrich, demands answers from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after military GPS jamming allegedly caused a medical plane crash, killing four crew members and igniting a 32,000-acre wildfire that cost taxpayers $37.7 million. Just before midnight May 13, a medical flight left […]
Posted inCity Desk ABQ
Bill to restrict cannabis, smoke shop locations goes up in smoke
By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Smoke shop and cannabis dispensary owners rolled into the Albuquerque City Council chambers Monday, Aug. 3 and watched a zoning bill that would have separated the two businesses go up in smoke. City councilors voted 6-3 to reject Ordinance O-26-39, sponsored by Councilor Renée Grout at the request of […]
Posted inCity Desk ABQ
New protections approved for ABQ workers speaking up at City Hall
By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Albuquerque city workers who report fraud or wrongdoing at City Hall now have stronger legal protections after the City Council unanimously approved two overhauls Monday to protect whistleblowers and strengthen the city’s fraud watchdog. Councilors unanimously approved the Accountability in Government Ordinance, which Councilor Brook Bassan sponsored. The measure […]
Posted inNew Mexico State Gov.
Epstein’s New Mexico secrets: Truth Commission details failures, evidence and what comes next
By Kevin Hendicks and Jesse Jones, The Paper. — The Survivors’ Truth Commission — formally the House Special Investigatory Committee — presented its interim report Wednesday at the State Capitol, outlining its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch near Stanley and hearing survivor testimony. The report details how Epstein operated the 7,600-acre estate with a […]
Posted inCity Desk ABQ
City Council cracks down on stolen copper, brass sales
By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Burqueños whose catalytic converters get stolen or whose streetlights go dark because of stripped copper wiring have a new tool aimed at fighting the market for stolen metal after the City Council voted 8-1 Monday night to toughen the city’s recycling laws. The council approved the Sale of Recycled […]
Posted inCity Desk ABQ
Procedural mutiny: ABQ City Councilors overrule Council President to block tax ballot measure
By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Taxpayers in the Duke City will not see a proposed gross receipts tax increase on their November ballots after city councilors used a procedural move to stop the measure before it reached a vote. During the Aug. 3 City Council meeting, Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn used a parliamentary challenge to […]
Posted inBernalillo County
Bosque cleanup hauls off 16 tons of debris near Rio Bravo
By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Mattresses, tents and scorched brush piled up along the Rio Grande this month as crews worked through Burque’s Bosque between Rio Bravo Boulevard and Interstate 40, clearing fire hazards from the river corridor during a historically dry summer. The third annual, multiagency cleanup wrapped up this week after crews […]