By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Thousands of people booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center each year depend on medical care and addiction treatment behind bars. Bernalillo County plans to take over those services in 2027 when its current contract ends next summer. Commissioners will consider using $30 million in county reserves to help fund […]
By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — North Valley residents who challenged plans for a proposed mosque lost their appeal Wednesday evening when Bernalillo County commissioners denied the appeal and upheld conditional-use approval for the Albuquerque Islamic Center on Second Street. Residents raised concerns about traffic and the area’s rural character. During its Oct. 14 zoning […]
By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — About six people a week died from opioid-related causes in Bernalillo County last year. Now, county commissioners are considering an emergency declaration to help fund a more robust response, including expanded street medicine and addiction treatment, real-time overdose tracking and a new sheriff’s operation targeting drug traffickers. Bernalillo County […]
by Jesse Jones, The Paper. — With Bernalillo County averaging six opioid-related deaths a week in 2025, commissioners will consider declaring a state of emergency over the fentanyl crisis Wednesday. They’ll also consider tax breaks for housing developments that would add hundreds of apartments in Albuquerque and discuss plans to transition health care services at […]
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Bernalillo County election workers kept a dead woman’s ballot from counting in 2024. Now her husband faces a federal charge for allegedly trying to cast it. A federal grand jury indicted a 62-year-old Tijeras man on one count of fraudulent voting, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New […]
By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — For people who have gone through recovery, that experience can become more than a part of their past. It can shape their future and become a career helping others navigate mental health and substance-use challenges. Bernalillo County, in coordination with the Albuquerque Center for Hope and Recovery (ACHR), has […]
By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Bernalillo County residents now have new tools to find and access behavioral health and other social services more easily. Close the Loop, the county’s coordinated system for behavioral health and social service referrals, includes a public resource directory, an online assistance request form and a third tool, Population Insights, […]
Heavy rain from what’s left of Hurricane Polo is causing problems beyond flooded streets and soggy yards in Bernalillo County. Waste Management has paused residential trash collection after severe weather closed a landfill the company uses. Bernalillo County said Waste Management notified the county that the landfill is temporarily closed because of the severe weather. […]
Staff report Bernalillo County residents in flood-prone areas have until Friday to get their sandbags in a row. Monsoon storms could drop up to 3 inches of rain on the East Mountains and up to 2 inches on the metro area by Sept. 25, county officials announced Tuesday. Wednesday should bring the heaviest rain, and […]
Authorities are investigating the deaths of two Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) inmates. A 57-year-old man was pronounced dead at about 3:30 p.m. Sept. 19, about 90 minutes after jail staff received a call regarding an inmate in medical distress. MDC personnel and a medical team from University of New Mexico Hospital attempted life-saving […]
