City Desk ABQ Archives - Page 6 of 21

Pictured is the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center, where Dr. Rebecca Fastle previously managed medical operations before stepping into her new countywide healthcare role. Photo by Roberto E. Rosales/City Desk Abq

■ Local Government, City Desk ABQ, NM.news

After years of issues at MDC, Bernalillo County adds a new piece to the healthcare puzzle

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — For years, Bernalillo County has poured millions of dollars into fixing healthcare at the Metropolitan Detention Center, bringing in a new medical provider and overhauling its behavioral health system. Despite millions of dollars in new investments, turbulence continues at MDC. The facility has cycled through three wardens since 2022 […]

An APD officer-involved shooting near I-40 and 6th street in 2024. A spike in late May 2026 shootings has city leaders questioning why the Albuquerque Community Safety department is not being dispatched to some high-risk mental health calls. Photo by Roberto E. Rosales/The City Desk. Photo by Roberto E. Rosales/The City Desk

NM.news

After three police shootings in five days, City Councilor questions APD, ACS mental health response rules

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Imagine calling 911 for help during a mental health crisis only to have the encounter end in death. That happened in May when the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) shot and killed a man after his family called for help because he was threatening to harm himself. The shooting was […]

■ Local Government

Here’s a preview of Albuquerque’s newest Westside open space with crazy views of the city

by The Paper staff June 11, 2026June 14, 2026

The City of Albuquerque is about to open its newest open space and residents are invited for a preview on Friday. The 23-acre site, formerly the Poole family estate, was purchased by the City and renamed the San Antonio Oxbow Bluffs (SAOB) Open Space. It has always been important wildlife habitat on the Westside, officials […]

Mayor Tim Keller during his inauguration at the Albuquerque Convention Center on Jan. 4, 2026. Keller recently allowed the city's new $1.5 billion budget to pass without his signature due to a dispute over the City Council's revenue projections. (Jesse Jones, The Paper.)

City Desk ABQ

Albuquerque’s record $1.5 billion budget heads to the state, without Keller’s signature

by Jesse Jones June 9, 2026October 10, 2026

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Burqueños and city workers can breathe a sigh of relief as the city’s new $1.5 billion budget becomes law without the stroke of the mayor’s pen. The plan avoids resident trash fee hikes, locks in funding for core community services from public safety to senior programs and includes upcoming […]

Civic Plaza in downtown Albuquerque with the City Hall building pictured in the background. (Roberto Rosales)

City Desk ABQ

Why did the city cancel 311 on Sundays? Councilor quizzes mayor’s office after getting no answer

by Jesse Jones June 9, 2026October 10, 2026

City Desk ABQ: How that story came together Jesse Jones is a local government reporter with City Desk and The Paper. This column covers his work uncovering what’s behind a news tip he received about City Hall. Whether you’re reporting graffiti, looking for a swimming pool schedule, seeking homeless services or trying to track down […]

A storefront for Smokers Town sits across from the University of New Mexico campus along Central Avenue. City councilors rejected a proposal Monday night that would have created strict buffer zones between future smoke shops, cannabis dispensaries, and other nicotine sellers. (Jesse Jones)

City Desk ABQ

How a new zoning ordinance could send future Burque smoke shops up in smoke

by Jesse Jones June 8, 2026June 8, 2026

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Smoke shops and cannabis dispensaries have become a common sight in many Duke City shopping centers, but city leaders may soon make that boom go up in smoke. Concerned about the increasing concentration of 21-and-over shops, a city councilor is proposing new zoning rules that would limit how many […]

City Councilor Brook Bassan, co-sponsor of the revived proposed gross receipts tax increase that would go before Albuquerque voters in Novembe. (Jesse Jones)

■ Local Government

ABQ councilors try again on tax hike — but this time, voters will decide

by Jesse Jones June 4, 2026October 10, 2026

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Following the defeat of a similar measure in March, a pair of City Councilors are reviving a nearly half-percent sales tax proposal to fund neighborhood improvements and city services. The measure would ask Burqueños to pay slightly more in exchange for neighborhood infrastructure upgrades and higher pay for city […]

An Albuquerque Environmental Health Department employee deploys a mosquito surveillance trap. The city's five-person Urban Biology team uses data collected from these traps to monitor roughly 20 local species and track high-priority public health threats like West Nile virus. (CABQ)

■ Local Government

Return of the ‘ankle-biters’

by Jesse Jones June 2, 2026June 8, 2026

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Duke City residents looking forward to patio season may think they got through an unusually quiet spring bug season unscathed, but Albuquerque — currently ranked 38th on Orkin’s Top 50 Worst Mosquito Cities List — local health officials expect to see a spike in mosquito populations very soon. The […]

Saggio’s restaurant near UNM placed a hiring sign Tuesday afternoon. Photo by Roberto E. Rosales for the Paper

■ Jobs, Workers & Economy

Wages vs. Rents: Albuquerque council set to vote on historic $15 minimum wage overhaul tonight

by Jesse Jones June 1, 2026June 1, 2026

By Jesse Jones, City Desk in The Paper. — Burqueño workers and small business owners could soon feel the impact in their wallets as the City Council prepares to vote tonight on an overhaul of the city’s minimum wage law. As written, the proposal would break from the state’s minimum wage base for the first […]

City Councilor Renée Grout listens to public testimony during a past Albuquerque City Council meeting at City Hall. Grout recently challenged the city administration over its decision to end Sunday phone services for the 311 helpline. (Jesse Jones)

City Desk ABQ

ABQ tries to break its heavy metal habit with new copper theft law

by Jesse Jones May 28, 2026October 10, 2026

By Jesse Jones, City Desk in The Paper. — Drivers and pedestrians are navigating dark stretches of East Central Avenue after copper thieves have ripped wiring from streetlights, prompting a pair of city councilors to tighten Albuquerque’s scrap metal recycling laws in an effort to curb the vandalism. Rather than creating a new law, Councilors […]