#nmpol – Page 42

Albuquerque Community Safety looking for new leader

The woman who led the Albuquerque Community Safety Department since its inception in 2021 is transitioning to a new role in city government. Mariela Ruiz-Angel is now the Associate Chief Administrative Officer, the city announced Monday. The position was previously held by Bob White, who retired at the end of last year. Ava Montoya, a […]

March Sadness: Lobo fans gather, mourn after loss

Lobo fans gathered around the city to watch the team’s match-up against South Carolina’s Clemson Tigers Friday afternoon for the University of New Mexico’s first game in a NCAA basketball tournament in a decade. More than 100 people flocked to Civic Plaza where the city had set up a projector at the Al Hurrican Pavilion […]

$1 million public records payouts continue to irk City Council

At Monday’s city council meeting, Councilor Louie Sanchez questioned the city administration about why it paid over $1 million in Inspection of Public Records Act settlements last year. City Desk ABQ reported on the high dollar settlements last month. On Monday, Sanchez said it’s important for the council to know what’s happening with these payouts […]

Council approves additional funding to help with increasing number of migrants

Helping asylum seekers and migrants and recognizing the impact of the atomic industry on downwinders topped the short Albuquerque City Council meeting held on March 18. Migrant Help An increasing number of migrants arriving in Albuquerque — “due to unforeseen circumstances at the southern U.S. border” — since early fall has stretched thin the nonprofit […]

One man’s quest to help solve the city’s homelessness problem

The campaigning hasn’t stopped, but now the focus is homelessness. Daymon Ely, an attorney and former three-term state representative, has spent the past 12 months developing a proposal to address homelessness in Albuquerque. The problem is well documented: There are more people living on Albuquerque’s streets, some with severe mental health and addiction issues, and […]

Mayor signs bill to speed up demolition of problem properties

City Councilor Brook Bassan and Mayor Tim Keller aren’t always on the same side of an issue, but when it comes to cleaning up problem properties, they found common ground. Mayor Keller today signed a Bassan-sponsored bill to create a new administrative hearing process to speed up notice and resolution of problem properties. One property […]

How do you fire a chief of police?

After three false starts, Councilor Louie Sanchez is getting some traction in getting the City Council to chastise Chief Harold Medina after what he calls a pattern of mismanagement and scandals. This week a vote of no confidence moved forward out of an important city committee — but Sanchez acknowledges that Medina is not going […]

Albuquerque Museum acquires globally celebrated pink teeter-totter

The Albuquerque Museum announced today that it has acquired one of the award-winning and globally celebrated pink teeter-totters formerly installed at the U.S./Mexico border wall. The Teeter-Totter, created by architect Ronald Rael and designer Virginia San Fratello in 2019, has served as a highly visual beacon of social commentary concerning the treatment of migrants, the […]

City Desk interview: Arts & Culture director talks iconic KiMo Theatre

One of the city’s key assets is the historic KiMo Theatre, located in the heart of Downtown, on Central Avenue and Fifth Street. The storied pueblo-deco structure built in 1927 has seen more than 10,000 people file into its 650-seat theater in the past few months. Oreste Bachechi, an Italian immigrant and merchant, was the […]

‘We are familia’

Editor’s note: This is the third installment in a series titled Downtown Albuquerque Reboot, about the city’s center, its challenges and the plans to address them. Read about why the area matters here, about vacant buildings here, about crime here and end with what the area has to offer here. Lorenzo Otero has been spending […]