New Mexico Sun

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Political Pressure Overrides Safety: Mayor Keller’s Legacy Project Exposes Workers to Asbestos
Public Safety

The City of Albuquerque and Consolidated Builders face record fines for ignoring asbestos risks at Mayor Keller's pet project, the Gateway Homeless Shelter, according to a damning report by New Mexico's OHSB.


Attorney General Torrez: 'This campaign is extremely important to me and my team as we are looking for information against these bad actors that will hopefully lead to an arrest and criminal charges'
Public Safety

On Aug. 4, 2023, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez and Human Services Department Cabinet Secretary Kari Armijo announced a new public awareness campaign aimed at combating behavioral health treatment scams targeting vulnerable homeless populations in New Mexico. According to a press release by the New Mexico Human Services Department, the new "Don't Be Taken For a Ride" initiative promotes utilizing the 988 crisis lifeline to report suspicious activities.


Keller's Rail Trail: Paradise Road or Homeless, Drug Skid Row?
Public Safety

On July 22, Mayor Tim Keller was joined by world-renowned architect Antoine Predock to announce plans for the Albuquerque Rail Trail project.


Sonntag: 'Albuquerque is experiencing a crisis with homelessness'
Public Safety

The New Mexico Business Coalition recently hosted a ABQ Crime Crisis BASH, an event with people discussing the crime rate in Albuquerque.


Attorney General Torrez: 'This campaign is extremely important to me and my team as we are looking for information against these bad actors that will hopefully lead to an arrest and criminal charges'
Public Safety

On Aug. 4, 2023, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez and Human Services Department Cabinet Secretary Kari Armijo announced a new public awareness campaign named "Don't Be Taken For a Ride." According to a press release by the New Mexico Human Services Department, this initiative involves utilizing the 988 crisis lifeline to report suspicious activities linked to the behavioral health treatment scam affecting the most vulnerable, unsheltered populations in New Mexico


Reversing the Homelessness Crisis: Is New Mexico Ready for a Behavioral Health Treatment Court?
Public Safety

On May 22, the NM Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) released a report on the state’s homeless and the affordable housing shortage which included the preliminary estimates of the 2023 Point In Time (PIT) annual homeless count.


Tim Keller's shanty town of casitas, duplexes and homeless encampments
Public Safety

A shanty town is loosely defined as an area of improvised buildings known as shanties or shacks of poor construction that lack adequate infrastructure including proper sanitation, safe water supply, electricity and street drainage and parking.


Rampant crime threatens new business: 'I feel like, as small business owners, we're just sitting ducks'
Public Safety

Rampant vandalism and crime are causing a business owner to consider closing her doors only weeks after opening.


Northwest Albuquerque resident on deadly shooting: 'The longer we have lived here the more crime we have seen over the years'
Public Safety

A deadly shooting in the Motel 6 parking lot has renewed concerns about crime from neighbors who live near the Coors and Iliff intersection just south of I-40 on the west side of Albuquerque.


Santa Fe officials consider city-endorsed homeless camps: 'This is an issue in our community'
Public Safety

An issue that was hotly debated in Albuquerque is now a topic of discussion in Santa Fe as officials mull city-endorsed homeless camps in the city.


Albuquerque business owners complain about continuing homeless problem
Public Safety

Business owners near First Street and Interstate Highway 40 say the homeless problem that existed when Coronado Park was closed has made its way to their neighborhood.


'There is nothing good that can come out of this': Albuquerque neighborhood groups appeal SOS ordinance
Public Safety

Several groups are appealing the city's efforts to launch an ordinance designed to address the city's homelessness problem.



The ACLU sues Albuquerque for Coronado Park closure: 'It is morally unacceptable for the city to punish people with no housing or shelter'
Public Safety

The city of Albuquerque is being sued by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico, among others, to stop the destruction of encampments and property, as well as jailing and fining people.


Two New Mexico representatives spent a night with the homeless: 'They’ve all got a story on how they’ve gotten here'
Public Safety

Two state lawmakers slept among the homeless recently to learn more about living on the streets and what it might take to get people off the streets.


ACLU lawsuit vs ABQ: false and inflammatory
Public Safety

On Monday, December 19, the ACLU and the NM Center on Law & Poverty filed a “Class Action Complaint For Violations of Civil Rights and for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief” against the City of Albuquerque on behalf 8 Plaintiffs alleging they are homeless.


Aycock: Albuquerque mayor's Housing Forward Plan is 'poorly conceived'
Public Safety

Colleen Aycock believes the city of Albuquerque is doing the local homeless population, and the city itself, a disservice by promoting its "Housing Forward" plan to convert motels into temporary housing, calling the program "poorly conceived."


Keller’s motel conversion plan 'not ready for prime time'
Public Safety

“Motel conversions” is a plan where the City’s Family & Community Services Department will acquire and renovate existing motels to develop low-income affordable housing options.


Hotel association backs Safe Outdoor Spaces appeals: ‘SOSs actually increase crime, are harmful to the economy’
Public Safety

Karl Holme, executive director of the Greater Albuquerque Hotel & Lodging Association, fully supports Bob Reule of the Menaul Business Coalition in opposing the implementation of Safe Outdoor Spaces.


GAHLA director: 'SOSs are not the proper solution for the homeless occupants'
Public Safety

At least eight organizations have filed appeals against the Dawn Legacy Point Safe Outdoor Spaces homeless tent encampment, asking the Albuquerque City Planning Department to reverse its decision and deny the Safe Outdoor Space application of Dawn Legacy for 1250 Menaul Blvd. NE.