The Albuquerque City Council meets Wednesday, Feb. 18, with a packed agenda that could shape how the city grows and who helps run it. Councilors are set to take final action on the 2025 biennial update to the Integrated Development Ordinance, the city’s land-use code that governs where and how development happens. The sweeping citywide […]
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
Lawsuit between Mayor, Council over paramedic staffing comes to sudden end
Mayor Tim Keller’s administration and the Albuquerque City Council have reached an agreement to end a legal fight over paramedic staffing, ending a long dispute over who controls emergency response staffing. Announced Monday, the deal resolves all outstanding legal challenges, including a separation-of-powers dispute filed earlier this year. The agreement establishes a formal review process […]
Posted inCity Desk ABQ
City installs AI-automated “parking sticks” to send you tickets in the mail
Jesse Jones, City Desk ABQ — Albuquerque is rolling out artificial intelligence-powered technology to curb illegal parking in high-risk safety zones across the city. The city has launched an automated parking enforcement program that uses 60 solar-powered camera units, known as SafetySticks, provided by Municipal Parking Services Inc., to catch drivers who block bus stops, […]
Posted inCity Desk ABQ, Courts, Justice & Safety, New Mexico Legislature #nmleg
New NM law sparks ICE showdown: Will this new law change operations at MDC?
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed HB9 into law Thursday, creating a legal firewall between New Mexico local governments and federal immigration agents. While the move marks a major statewide shift, Bernalillo County officials say their facilities are already ahead of the curve. Known as the Immigrant Safety Act, HB 9 bars state and local agencies […]
Posted inCity Desk ABQ
BernCo pushes $110 million compromise for $35 million PNM vs neighborhood substation fight
Bernalillo County commissioners unanimously delayed a decision Tuesday on a proposed $35 million Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) substation, directing the utility to study burying transmission lines, with cost estimates reaching up to $110 million. The commission voted to continue the case for 120 days and ordered three analyses: the cost of underground […]
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Neighborhoods vs. housing crisis: Council to take another step towards sweeping residential zoning changes
Albuquerque city councilors will take another step this week towards enacting sweeping zoning changes that would allow grocery stores, duplexes and townhouses in single-family neighborhoods and reshape development rules for about 160,000 properties, a move supporters say could ease the housing shortage and critics say threatens long-established neighborhood character. The proposal, part of the city’s 2025 Integrated […]
Posted inCity Desk ABQ
Foothills residents challenge $35M power project as county decides Tuesday
Bernalillo County commissioners will decide Tuesday whether to uphold a controversial $35 million Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) substation approval. Several resident groups appealed the Planning Commission’s December decision. The appeals are among six scheduled for a special 1 p.m. zoning meeting Tuesday. Groups, including the Sandia Heights and High Desert homeowner associations, […]