By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Burqueños and city workers can breathe a sigh of relief as the city’s new $1.5 billion budget becomes law without the stroke of the mayor’s pen. The plan avoids resident trash fee hikes, locks in funding for core community services from public safety to senior programs and includes upcoming […]
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
Why did the city cancel 311 on Sundays? Councilor quizzes mayor’s office after getting no answer
City Desk ABQ: How that story came together Jesse Jones is a local government reporter with City Desk and The Paper. This column covers his work uncovering what’s behind a news tip he received about City Hall. Whether you’re reporting graffiti, looking for a swimming pool schedule, seeking homeless services or trying to track down […]
Posted inCity Desk ABQ
How a new zoning ordinance could send future Burque smoke shops up in smoke
By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Smoke shops and cannabis dispensaries have become a common sight in many Duke City shopping centers, but city leaders may soon make that boom go up in smoke. Concerned about the increasing concentration of 21-and-over shops, a city councilor is proposing new zoning rules that would limit how many […]
Posted inBernalillo County
BernCo balanced its budget, expands free programs without raising taxes
By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — For Bernalillo County families already stretched by rising costs, the new county budget aims to lighten the load, with no tax hikes and more free programming at community centers. Faced with an $8.5 million budget gap, county leaders balanced the $857.7 million budget without raising taxes or cutting services, […]
Posted inLocal Government
ABQ councilors try again on tax hike — but this time, voters will decide
By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Following the defeat of a similar measure in March, a pair of City Councilors are reviving a nearly half-percent sales tax proposal to fund neighborhood improvements and city services. The measure would ask Burqueños to pay slightly more in exchange for neighborhood infrastructure upgrades and higher pay for city […]
Posted inLocal Government
Planning for the 4th of July? What you need to know about ABQ’s fireworks rule
By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — As Burqueños prepare to celebrate the nation’s semiquincentennial — the United States’ 250th birthday — they’ll have to navigate Albuquerque’s rules on what fireworks can legally be set off in their neighborhoods. Recent wildfires across New Mexico and within city limits may have firefighters on alert, but city fire […]
Posted inLocal Government
Return of the ‘ankle-biters’
By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Duke City residents looking forward to patio season may think they got through an unusually quiet spring bug season unscathed, but Albuquerque — currently ranked 38th on Orkin’s Top 50 Worst Mosquito Cities List — local health officials expect to see a spike in mosquito populations very soon. The […]
Posted inLocal Government
City Council ejects speakers in raucous debate, before approving new Albuquerque minimum wage
By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Burqueños workers making minimum wage have something to be excited about – if they have patience – after the Albuquerque City Council approved a $3 increase to the city’s minimum wage Monday night after a packed and at times raucous meeting that drew so many people that some were […]
Posted inJobs, Workers & Economy
Wages vs. Rents: Albuquerque council set to vote on historic $15 minimum wage overhaul tonight
By Jesse Jones, City Desk in The Paper. — Burqueño workers and small business owners could soon feel the impact in their wallets as the City Council prepares to vote tonight on an overhaul of the city’s minimum wage law. As written, the proposal would break from the state’s minimum wage base for the first […]
Posted inCity Desk ABQ
ABQ tries to break its heavy metal habit with new copper theft law
By Jesse Jones, City Desk in The Paper. — Drivers and pedestrians are navigating dark stretches of East Central Avenue after copper thieves have ripped wiring from streetlights, prompting a pair of city councilors to tighten Albuquerque’s scrap metal recycling laws in an effort to curb the vandalism. Rather than creating a new law, Councilors […]
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