Water service has apparently been restored to the Town of Estancia after a cleanup contractor reportedly damaged a main supply line. The town’s website had a one-sentence update (“Water has been restored!”) posted above an announcement of the outage. In a post on the town’s Facebook page, Councilor Albert Lovato wrote that the mishap occurred […]
Kevin Hendricks
Kevin Hendricks is an editor with nm.news where he oversees Sandoval County newsrooms. A native of Southeast ABQ, he reported for the ABQ Journal and Rio Rancho Observer before joining nm.news in 2024.
Posted inSandoval County
Election Day voting gets underway — here’s what you need to know
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. More than 18,000 Sandoval County ballots are now on the books — and polls don’t close until 7 p.m. Tuesday. As of 10 a.m., the county has recorded 18,196 total votes cast, adding 1,741 new in-person ballots to the 16,303 that came in during early and absentee voting. Those numbers […]
Posted inRio Rancho
Man arrested after SWAT standoff near Rio Rancho-Albuquerque border following alleged domestic assault
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. An Albuquerque man faces three felony charges of aggravated battery after police say he strangled his girlfriend multiple times before barricading himself at a Westside Boulevard storage facility Sunday, triggering a hours-long SWAT standoff that shut down a stretch of the road near the Albuquerque-Rio Rancho border. Albuquerque police arrested […]
Posted inSandoval County
The uncrossable Rio Grande: Gregg Hull says a new bridge will never happen
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Republican governor candidate Gregg Hull has a clear message for Corrales residents worried about a new Rio Rancho river crossing: relax. Hull, the former Rio Rancho mayor, said at an Albuquerque Journal town hall on May 11 that any new crossing would require navigating approvals from Corrales, Sandia Pueblo and […]
Posted inSandoval County
Election Day is Tuesday — here’s what Sandoval County voters need to know
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Sandoval County voters head to the polls Tuesday for the June 2 primary — and more than 16,300 ballots are already in the books after early and absentee voting closed Saturday, May 30. Through the end of early voting, Democrats led Sandoval County turnout with 8,546 ballots cast, Republicans followed […]
Posted inRio Rancho
Rio Rancho adopts $452M budget with police pay boost
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. The Rio Rancho Governing Body approved a $452.3 million budget on May 28. The FY2027 budget, approved as Resolution 40, takes effect July 1. The General Fund — which covers core city services — totals $169.9 million. The Utility Operating Fund, which delivers water and wastewater service to more than […]
Posted inSandoval County
Early voting ends tomorrow — here’s what you need to know before you cast your ballot
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Sandoval County voters have one day left to cast early ballots before polls close Saturday, May 30 — and the county’s 12,134 votes already cast show how a new state law is reshaping who participates in the June 2 primary. As of May 28, Democrats led Sandoval County early turnout […]
Posted inSandoval County
Early voting deadline, live music and local markets fill the weekend in Sandoval County
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Sandoval County residents head into the final weekend of May with a packed calendar — and a deadline. Early voting in New Mexico’s primary election closes Saturday, May 30, giving residents one last chance to cast ballots before Tuesday’s primary. The June 2 primary is the first conducted under New […]
Posted inLocal Government, Placitas
Placitas residents pack P&Z hearing — and kill Verizon’s cell tower plan
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Placitas residents turned out in force and won as Sandoval County’s Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously rejected a permit for a 75-foot Verizon cell tower, siding with a community that flooded the hearing room and submitted hundreds of written objections. About 50 residents arrived an hour before the meeting started, […]
Posted inRio Rancho
Making history: Rio Rancho set to celebrate Sandoval County’s first-ever Pride festival
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Sandoval County has never had a Pride celebration. That changes June 6. Rio Rancho will host its first-ever Pride festival June 6 at Haynes Park — the result of a grassroots effort that took shape after the Sandoval Signpost reported last May that New Mexico’s third-largest city had no Pride […]