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 inCongress & Federal Gov.

Governors with their dukes up

Former Gov. Susana Martinez once described her first legislative session, in 2011, as “hand-to-hand combat.”  A former DA, Martinez had no experience with the Legislature, and went in swinging. She used campaign rhetoric, radio ads and robo calls to browbeat them and even sent a staff member to videotape them as they debated. She said […]

Posted inCongress & Federal Gov., Pueblos

Prints and Pottery

Artists Karl and Mary Hofman are teaming up for an exhibition of prints and pottery at the Wild Hearts Gallery in Placitas. Visual Memories includes Karl Hofmann’s linotype prints that are memory images of the end of World War II when Europe was reeling from bombings and the weight of war. Mary Hofmann will show […]

Posted inCongress & Federal Gov., Westside Albuquerque

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 inCongress & Federal Gov., Courts, Justice & Safety, Housing & Homelessness, New Mexico State Gov., Westside Albuquerque

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 inCongress & Federal Gov., 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 inCongress & Federal Gov., 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 […]

Posted inCongress & Federal Gov., Courts, Justice & Safety

Breaking: Security officer shot at Coronado Mall, says APD

Albuquerque Police responded to Coronado Mall around 1 p.m. Friday afternoon and found a security officer suffering from a gunshot wound. APD officers were nearby enough to identify and follow the suspect who was apprehended following a brief foot pursuit. Officers saw the driver discard a gun which was later recovered. Spokesman Gilbert Gallegos identified […]