Residents ask City Council to slow down on allowing e-bikes on Open Space trails

As the Albuquerque City Council prepares to vote on a proposal to allow all e-bikes on Open Space trails, a few hundred residents say they want councilors to table the proposal until it gets more public input. At their upcoming meeting, councilors will discuss an ordinance to allow electric bikes on both paved and unpaved […]

Posted inAlbuquerque, Courts, Justice & Safety

APD officer connected to DWI scandal fired, another resigns

The highest ranking cop under an internal investigation regarding allegations of corruption in the Albuquerque Police Department’s DWI unit has been terminated and another officer resigned this week.  Cmdr. Mark Landavazo, with the Internal Affairs Division, had been on administrative leave and under investigation since Feb. 13. He had been with APD since 2007 and was […]

Posted inAlbuquerque, Education

APS superintendent says it takes a village to stop excessive student absences

As Albuquerque Public Schools works to improve student outcomes, chronic absenteeism is one of many obstacles it faces.  Superintendent Gabriella Durán Blakey targeted the issue last week during a media event and said she’s hoping the community at large will help — specifically those who employ parents.  “We have the students during the day, and […]

Former city councilor on the still-closed visitors center: ‘It’s a boondoggle and a money pit’

Editor’s note: To read the first in our series — A visitors center with no visitors: When will the taxpayer-funded project open? — click here. There’s still no opening date for the decades-in-the-making West Central Route 66 Visitors Center, though construction was completed years ago. Even so, one former city councilor thinks the long delay […]

Posted inAlbuquerque, National News, Syndicated

At least 973 Native American children died at U.S.-run boarding schools between 1871-1969

By Shaun Griswold The U.S. legacy of genocide against Native people through public education may never be completely told.  Today, there is a little more truth to share. The second half of an investigative report was released Tuesday as part of the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative led by the Department of the Interior. It’s another step […]

ABQ has more than 150 vacant positions on advisory boards and commissions

Boards and commissions act as advisory bodies helping local governments make decisions on important issues — whether that is advocating for visual arts or affordable housing.  But many of Albuquerque’s boards and commissions are short members.  Nearly 80% of Albuquerque’s boards and commissions have empty seats — ranging from one vacant position to 10. Of […]

Posted inAlbuquerque, Courts, Justice & Safety, Housing & Homelessness, State Government #nmgov, Syndicated

Housing looms large in governor’s Albuquerque town hall

By Austin Fisher At the second of a series of town hall meetings on Monday night, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham heard from members of the public for six hours. In an auditorium at Central New Mexico Community College in Albuquerque, locals raised issues ranging from difficulty finding mental health treatment, unfair or unlawful […]

Posted inAlbuquerque, New Mexico Statewide News

Gov. Lujan Grisham about ABQ street corners: ‘God help you if you’re out there at night’

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham will be in Albuquerque Monday night for the second of three public safety town hall meetings.  Following an anticlimactic special legislative session earlier this month aimed at combating crime in the state, Lujan Grisham announced a string of town halls across the state focused on public safety.  The first town hall […]

Posted inAlbuquerque, Housing & Homelessness

Advisory board alleges city ‘violates the autonomy, dignity, and rights’ of those experiencing homelessness 

As Albuquerque grapples with stubbornly high housing costs and an increase in people living on the streets, a city board says there’s more reason for concern. The city’s unhoused population also faces widespread discrimination, stigma and exclusion — often from city employees or city contractors.  The Albuquerque Human Rights Board published its preliminary findings last […]