By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Sandoval County commissioners will formally request the resignation of County Assessor Linda Gallegos Wednesday after she took a full-time position with the New Mexico Treasurer’s Office in May while continuing to collect her elected-office salary — but Gallegos says she has kept up with her duties and calls the commission’s […]
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 inRio Rancho
Rio Rancho Governing Body set to finalize $18M voter-approved bond, consider MAC tap room and 350-home development
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Rio Rancho voters said yes in March — now the Governing Body is set to make it official. The council convenes Thursday night to cast a final vote on $18 million in voter-approved General Obligation bonds and take up a packed agenda of zoning decisions with wide community impact. $18M […]
Posted inRio Rancho
Celebrating freedom: Rio Rancho marks Juneteenth with free community festival
Rio Rancho marks Juneteenth with a free community celebration Saturday, June 20 at Haynes Park, bringing together music, food and performance to honor the emancipation of enslaved Americans. The City of Rio Rancho hosts the event June 20 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Haynes Park, 2006 Grande Blvd. SE. Entertainment includes a Caribbean […]
Posted inRio Rancho
Speed camera citations more than doubled in May as Unser Boulevard becomes Rio Rancho’s top speeding corridor
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Rio Rancho’s speed cameras issued 7,095 citations in May — nearly triple April’s total — as camera deployment shifted heavily onto Unser Boulevard, the city’s busiest north-south corridor. Data from vendor Verra Mobility shows the Safe Traffic Operations Program monitored more than 1 million vehicle passes in May, flagging 12,996 […]
Posted inSandoval County
Sandoval County commissioners face full agenda: assessor ouster, $15M in bonds, labor contracts
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Sandoval County commissioners will call on the county assessor to resign her elected office, vote on more than $15 million in proposed bond financing, and ratify new labor contracts for firefighters and detention staff when they convene Wednesday night in Bernalillo. The most politically charged item on the agenda asks […]
Posted inSandoval County
20-year-old faces felony charges after 112 mph chase on US 550, crash in Bernalillo
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. A 20-year-old man faces five criminal charges — including a felony — after a Sandoval County Sheriff’s deputy clocked his vehicle at 112 mph on northbound US 550 Monday morning and pursued him through a crash that ended on a dirt road near the Bernalillo border. According to a criminal […]
Posted inPueblos
Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico’s largest winery forge grape-growing partnership
A Sandoval County pueblo and New Mexico’s largest winery are joining forces to grow premium wine grapes on tribal land — a deal both parties say will strengthen local agriculture and tribal economic independence. The Pueblo of Santa Ana and Lescombes Family Vineyards of Deming announced the partnership June 1, covering cultivation of chardonnay, pinot […]
Posted inSandoval County
Ancient remains close 23-year cold case in Sandoval County
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Human remains found near Cochiti 23 years ago are not the bones of a missing person — they belong to a man who walked the region roughly 1,000 years ago, the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office announced June 5. Detective Don Chewning said forensic family genealogy testing, funded by the Bureau […]
Posted inRio Rancho
Thousands pack Rio Rancho park for Sandoval County’s first-ever Pride festival
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Sandoval County held its first-ever Pride festival June 6 at Haynes Park in Rio Rancho, drawing an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 people to a free, family-friendly event that organizers said exceeded every expectation. Tiffany Gravelle, CEO of THE BLOCK — the festival’s presenting sponsor — said partnering with Sandoval County […]
Posted inRio Rancho
Rio Rancho adding 3 speed cameras to N.M. 528, a road that has killed 7 in 18 months
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Three new speed cameras are headed to N.M. 528 — the Rio Rancho corridor that has seen two fatal crashes in six weeks and claimed seven lives in 18 months — as state and city officials escalate automated enforcement on the highway. Rio Rancho police will deploy the units June […]