By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Thirteenth Judicial District Court Judge James A. Noel ruled Wednesday that Sandoval County Clerk Anne Brady-Romero is not required to place Matthew Wayne Herman’s name on the November ballot for House District 23, denying the Democratic Central Committee’s bid to keep a nominee in the race after original candidate Elise […]
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Sandoval County Fire and Rescue is losing one of its founding members. Commissioners spent part of their Aug. 26 meeting honoring Capt. Shannon Farrell, who retired after 21 years with the department and 34 years total in public safety, closing out a career that shaped how the county trains firefighters, […]
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Rio Rancho police will roll out 25 new body-worn cameras, automatic evidence tagging and virtual reality training after the Governing Body voted Aug. 27 to consolidate three separate Axon contracts into one 90-month agreement. Lt. Brandon McKinney told the council the deal bundles existing TASER, body-worn camera and Fusus real-time […]
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Rio Rancho high schoolers can now train on professional-grade auto shop equipment without leaving campus — or paying tuition — after CNM and Rio Rancho Public Schools cut the ribbon Aug. 28on the new Transportation Systems Technology Center at RioTECH. The 43,800-square-foot facility becomes the new home for CNM’s Automotive […]
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Four Rio Rancho residents pressed the governing body Aug. 27 to pull the plug on the city’s Flock Safety camera network, arguing that 19 cameras logging every passing license plate amounts to warrantless mass surveillance — not the crime-fighting tool police describe. Joaquin Montoya, speaking on behalf of privacy advocacy […]
By Rodd Cayton On the advice of an attorney — and against the wishes of dozens of residents who packed their chamber — Sandoval County Commissioners approved an application from parties seeking to erect a communications tower in Placitas. The planning and zoning commission in May denied the conditional use permit that would have allowed […]
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Rio Rancho’s automated license plate reader network has grown to 19 cameras citywide, and police say the system — all of it run through vendor Flock Safety — is paying off in stolen vehicle recoveries and arrests. Police told councilors during an Aug. 18 work session that the most recent […]
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Rio Rancho drivers are getting caught speeding at a record pace, and the city may soon have more camera-generated cash than it knows what to do with. The city’s newer speed camera network — 10 mobile towers citywide plus three red towers installed on Highway 528 in June — has […]
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Rio Rancho’s record-breaking mayoral runoff didn’t just set turnout records — it also busted the city’s election budget by more than $100,000, City Clerk Noel Davis told the Governing Body during an Aug. 18 work session. Davis, who’s held the clerk’s office a little over two years and just ran […]
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. District 2 has a vacancy on the horizon. Councilor Jeremy Lenentine announced Aug. 19 he’s resigning for family considerations, with his last day in office set for Nov. 12 — handing Mayor Paul Wymer the job of finding a replacement under the same fast-track process that seated Councilor David Mann […]
