By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. A vacant lot near Rio Rancho’s City Center is one step closer to becoming La Esperanza Preschool, a 200-child facility, after the Planning and Zoning Board unanimously approved its site plan on July 28. Planning and Zoning Board Manager Brian Babyak recommended approval of the project, proposed by LEBM2 LLC […]
Local Government
Posted inCity Desk ABQ
City Council cracks down on stolen copper, brass sales
By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Burqueños whose catalytic converters get stolen or whose streetlights go dark because of stripped copper wiring have a new tool aimed at fighting the market for stolen metal after the City Council voted 8-1 Monday night to toughen the city’s recycling laws. The council approved the Sale of Recycled […]
Posted inCity Desk ABQ
Procedural mutiny: ABQ City Councilors overrule Council President to block tax ballot measure
By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Taxpayers in the Duke City will not see a proposed gross receipts tax increase on their November ballots after city councilors used a procedural move to stop the measure before it reached a vote. During the Aug. 3 City Council meeting, Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn used a parliamentary challenge to […]
Posted inBernalillo County
Bosque cleanup hauls off 16 tons of debris near Rio Bravo
By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Mattresses, tents and scorched brush piled up along the Rio Grande this month as crews worked through Burque’s Bosque between Rio Bravo Boulevard and Interstate 40, clearing fire hazards from the river corridor during a historically dry summer. The third annual, multiagency cleanup wrapped up this week after crews […]
Posted inNM.news
Councilor slams push to revive defeated tobacco-cannabis zoning ordinance
By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Albuquerque smoke shop and cannabis dispensary owners could soon have far fewer places to open after Councilor Renée Grout revived a bill she sponsored by request, just days after a City Council committee recommended rejecting it. Planning Director Alan Varela told the Land Use, Planning and Zoning Committee on […]
Posted inTown of Bernalillo
Bernalillo Town Council passes $12M budget for FY2027
By Rodd Cayton Town of Bernalillo leaders have another budget process under their belts. The Town Council approved a $12.07 million spending plan for fiscal year 2027 on July 25, shortly before the state deadline. The budget includes a 4% pay increase for non-union employees. Wages for those represented by unions were determined by collective […]
Posted inCity Desk ABQ
ABQ Council looks to rewrite city’s fraud watchdog rules
By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Burque municipal workers exposing government fraud could soon face fresh ground rules, as could the taxpayers who rely on City Hall’s watchdog agency. The City Council votes Aug. 3 on two companion ordinances born from a feud between city investigators and municipal leaders. The measures mark the first full […]
Posted inSandoval County
‘Jurisdictional nightmare’ ends as Rio Rancho backs Sandoval County annexation
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper.Rio Rancho’s governing body unanimously cleared the way last week for Sandoval County to annex 7.8 acres into the Town of Bernalillo, a boundary shift that lets the county move forward with a bigger 13th Judicial District Court Complex and a relocated Bureau of Elections. City staff reviewed the request and […]
Posted inCity Desk ABQ
One City Councilor’s plan to rid ABQ of crypto kiosks
By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — A panic-inducing phone call, an alleged arrest warrant and a frantic drive to a neighborhood gas station: For many victims, that’s how cryptocurrency ATM scams begin. Callers posing as law enforcement, government officials or utility workers pressure people to withdraw thousands of dollars in cash and feed it into […]
Posted inAlbuquerque
City Launches “Operation Cooldown” as triple digits hit ABQ
By Sara Atencio-Gonzales, The Paper. – With triple digit temperatures expected across Albuquerque this week, the City is once again rolling out Operation Cooldown, an initiative designed to help residents cool off by activating sprinklers at neighborhood parks. The Parks and Recreation Department will turn on park sprinklers from 1 to 1:30 p.m. each day […]