Albuquerque Police Department beings new year with interim chief Barker
—Colleen Heild, Albuquerque Journal
An Albuquerque native who rose through the ranks to become a deputy chief has been named interim chief of police for the Albuquerque Police Department.
After 21 years with the agency, Cecily Barker will oversee a department of more than 950 sworn officers, while Mayor Tim Keller considers the candidates for a permanent APD chief.
The announcement Wednesday afternoon follows the retirement of Harold Medina, a 30-year law enforcement veteran who spent more than four years as police chief. Medina was named interim chief in September 2020 and appointed by Keller to serve as permanent chief in March 2021.
Medina has made no secret of his preference to be succeeded by Barker, who in recent years has appeared at crime scenes, news conferences and other public events representing the department.
Barker, in a 2021 APD recruitment video, said, "Some of the strongest and best leaders that I have seen on our department are women."
She is the first female to be named interim or permanent police chief.
“We are all deeply grateful to the people who choose to serve our community and show up for Albuquerque every day,” said Keller in a New Year's Eve news release. “As we move through a period of transition, we’re focused on lifting up the next wave of leaders who are ready to carry this work forward so our neighborhoods feel secure, and Albuquerque continues to move ahead. The future of City leadership is already taking shape.”
Keller is reappointing Emily Jaramillo to serve as chief of Albuquerque Fire Rescue. Lauren Keefe is being renamed interim city attorney, and Ethan Watson is being renamed as interim city clerk, per the city charter that requires these nominations before the new year.
According to the APD website, Barker was born and raised in Albuquerque. After attending college out of state, she returned to Albuquerque and joined the Albuquerque Police Department in 2004.
After graduating from the police academy, Barker served in the Field Services Bureau from 2004 to 2012. During that time, she held collateral duties of gang suppression officer, crisis intervention officer and field training officer.
She was promoted to sergeant in 2012 where she served in the Field Services Bureau and later in the Violent Crimes Division. She was promoted to lieutenant in 2017. As a lieutenant, Barker served in the Juvenile/Property Crime Division and the Criminalistics Division.
She was promoted to commander in 2020 and served as the Northwest Area commander and later as the chief of staff. In 2021, she was promoted to deputy chief of the Investigative Bureau, where she led the Criminal Investigations Division, Investigative Services Division and the Scientific Evidence Division.
In October 2023, Barker took over the Field Services Bureau — overseeing the city's six area commands.
Barker has an associate degree in criminal justice and a bachelor’s degree in justice administration. She is also a graduate from the Major Cities Chiefs Association Police Executive Leadership Institute and the Police Executive Training Program.
In the recruitment video, Barker stated that she had been treated differently as a female APD officer — "both good and bad."
"Specifically, I can think of calls that I've responded to where people have been relieved to have a female presence there. Victims who have been more willing to speak to females. I think it's important to have diversity on the department," she said. "Men and women are different and we each have our strengths and weaknesses."
Third New Mexico tribe endorses Sam Bregman in governor's race
—Santa Fe New Mexican
A third New Mexico tribe has endorsed Sam Bregman in his campaign for governor. The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that the Okeh Owingeh Tribal Council has endorsed Bregman.
Bregman is competing with Deb Haaland, a member of Laguna Pueblo who made history as the first Native American to serve as a U.S. Cabinet secretary.
Along with Bregman and Haaland, former longtime Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima is also seeking the Democratic nomination for governor.
Among the three, only Bregman and Haaland have announced tribal endorsements. Haaland has been endorsed by the Jemez, Santo Domingo and Zuni pueblos. Bregman has been endorsed by Sandia Pueblo and the Jicarilla Apache Nation.
Downtown affordable housing project to move forward with new developer — and name
—Natalie Robbins, Albuquerque Journal
Development on a stalled housing project in Downtown Albuquerque will continue with a new developer.
The project, called Sendero, was announced in 2022 under the name the Downtowner and was originally slated for completion in late 2025, though city officials said the project was delayed due to rising construction costs, financing challenges and market conditions.
Nonprofit affordable housing developer Sol Housing has now taken over the project, slated for a vacant lot on First and Silver SW, from Rembe Urban Design + Development.
“I think inflation and the cost of lumber (are) probably driving prices up in most cases. That’s what we’ve heard in the marketplace,” Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency Director Terry Brunner said Monday.
The building will reserve some of its proposed 141 units for income-restricted affordable housing, Brunner said. City officials hope the project will be completed in 2027.
The original development, the Downtowner, had a budget of $30.1 million, according to previous Journal reporting. City officials at the time had said the development would include 207 rental units, 11 work units and a coffee shop on its bottom floor.
A spokesperson for Sol Housing declined to comment on the announcement, citing not-yet-finalized sources of funding, though it is expected some of that money will come from municipal and federal sources.
Some of the units will be available for rent based on affordable housing standards set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Brunner said, though income restrictions have not yet been decided.
“We hear a lot about the affordability issue here in Albuquerque and across the country, that rents are going up and people can't afford them,” Brunner said. “I think affordable housing helps combat that, but also just the mere construction of new units helps to relieve a lot of stress on the housing stock that we're feeling in Albuquerque."
The city had provided the land, a $1.8 million gap financing grant and a tax abatement valued at roughly $1.5 million over seven years for the previous project overseen by Rembe. The project, now under Sol’s purview, will need a new development agreement, Brunner said.
“We really don’t commit anything until the project is substantially complete,” Brunner said.
Once complete, Sendero will include a ground-floor community space, bicycle parking, rooftop amenities and connections to the under-construction Albuquerque Rail Trail, a 7-mile loop connecting core parts of the city to pedestrians and bikers.
New Mexicans have mixed reactions to U.S. attack on Venezuela – Santa Fe New Mexican, KOB, KRQE
Hundreds of protestors gathered in downtown Albuquerque Saturday following the U.S. attack on Venezuela.
The U.S. military captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in the early hours of Saturday and spirited them to the U.S. to stand trial. This followed months of pressure since early September and deadly strikes on boats the administration claimed were smuggling drugs to the U.S.
KRQE and KOB reports many called the move by the Trump Administration illegal and met in Robinson Park before walking down Central Avenue to Civic Plaza. Some said they’re worried about being dragged into another violent conflict overseas and that President Trump’s actions were motivated by the country’s vast oil reserves.
About 60 people also gathered in Santa Fe Plaza with chants of “No war for oil.” But the Santa Fe New Mexican reports on the city’s south side, a community of Venezuelan immigrants celebrated the removal of Maduro while expressing uncertainty about the future.
The five members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation, all Democrats,universally condemned the action. Sen. Martin Heinrich said Trump acted without legal authorization by Congress.
Sen. Ben Ray Luján said Maduro was an oppressive ruler who devastated Venezuela, but that Trump’s action sets a dangerous precedent for U.S. adversaries to use against Americans and its allies.
But the Republican Party of New Mexico praised the action and said opposition by Democrats is, quote, “grossly offensive” to Venezuelans and others who suffered under Maduro.
Metro Court program aims to treat mentally ill defendants – Oliver Uyttebrouck, Albuquerque Journal
A pilot program intended to redirect people with serious mental illness into treatment as an alternative to criminal prosecution is coming to New Mexico's busiest courthouse.
The Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court program is directed at people who previously have had criminal charges dismissed because they were found incompetent to stand trial.
The criminal competency diversion court will be the fifth such program statewide but the first in the state's largest county. The Administrative Office of the Courts announced the new pilot this week ahead of the official launch scheduled for Tuesday.
Candidates for the program are people charged with misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies, excluding those facing drunken-driving charges. The program comes at a time when encampment sweeps around Albuquerque have led to an increase in misdemeanor charges like unlawful camping and blocking the sidewalk.
In cases involving the unhoused or those with mental illness, misdemeanor citations often lead to jail stays down the line due to missed court hearings. According to a Bernalillo County jail population dashboard, just over 7,000 people were booked on misdemeanor charges in 2025.
The competency diversion program is intended to guide people with severe mental illness into services that may include housing, medical needs and appropriate mental health or substance-use treatment.
“We improve public safety by connecting people with a history of severe mental illness to the treatment and community-based support services they need for potential recovery,” said Justice Briana H. Zamora, the Supreme Court’s liaison to the Commission on Mental Health and Competency.
Bennett Baur, chief public defender for the New Mexico Law Offices of the Public Defender, said Wednesday he is uncertain how the program will work but applauded the effort to find alternatives to prosecution for people with severe mental illness.
"I think it's a really good thing for us to look at different ways to address serious behavioral health issues, rather than just depending upon prosecution, jail and prison, which clearly doesn't work for these folks," Baur said.
"I'm concerned that there may not be enough appropriate treatment, but let's give this a chance," he said.
The current competency examination process is expensive and time-consuming, Metropolitan Court Judge Nina Safier wrote in a Dec. 13 opinion column in the Albuquerque Journal. Safier, who will preside over the program in Bernalillo County, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
"For decades, individuals experiencing mental illness who were charged with nonviolent crimes remained in limbo for extended periods of time while costly professional forensic evaluations were completed," Safier wrote.
A person assigned to the competency diversion program will not go through a competency evaluation process, Safier wrote. Instead, they are referred to the program and are assigned to trained staff, called navigators, who can refer them to services, she said.
Jails and courts weren't designed to provide care for people with mental illness, Safier wrote.
"We can and should try to make our communities safer and healthier by helping individuals connect with and receive the services they most need," she wrote.
The Administrative Office of the Courts has launched four competency diversion courts since mid-2024 — in the 3rd Judicial District in Las Cruces, the 4th Judicial District in Las Vegas, the 1st Judicial District in Santa Fe and the 12th Judicial District in Otero and Lincoln counties.
New Mexico’s craft beer industry grapples with Bosque Brewing closure, industry headwinds – Natalie Robbins, Albuquerque Journal
When Bosque Brewing Co. filed for bankruptcy last fall, the New Mexico craft beer scene rooted for the company to pull through, said Ebbie Edmonston, executive director of the New Mexico Brewers Guild.
Last week, the brewer announced it was closing its six remaining taprooms statewide after a federal judge threw out the company’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, which would have allowed Bosque to continue operations while it repaid its debts.
“The ultimate decision from the judge — that was surprising, but we did kind of see the trail leading up to this,” Edmonston said.
Times are tough for the craft beer industry. More than 434 breweries nationwide shut down last year, due in part to the rising cost of doing business and the changing drinking habits of Americans, according to the Brewers Association, a Colorado-based trade group.
Local brewers and craft beer lovers say that the loss of Bosque is indicative of deeper challenges.
“Tariffs, inflation and the changing drinking habits of consumers, particularly young people — I think it’s all played a part,” said Chris Jackson, who runs the blog New Mexico Dark Side Brew Crew under the name “Stoutmeister.”
The company’s bankruptcy filings showed Bosque had accrued $10 million to $50 million in liabilities, compared with less than $10 million in assets and roughly 190 unsecured creditors.
Bosque’s rapid expansion across the state led some in the industry to speculate on whether the owners were racking up debts, though nobody anticipated that its debts were as substantial as they were, Jackson said.
“It’s just sort of a sad, cautionary little tale about, sometimes there’s such a thing as getting too ambitious. Just from the outside looking in, that seemed to be what happened here,” Jackson said. “You don’t rack up that much debt in like, two or three years.”
Management at Bosque did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday, though Natasha Souther, the brewer’s now-former spokesperson, said last week that the closures were a result of the court’s decision to dismiss Bosque’s bankruptcy case.
“Bosque has been built on community, and we are forever grateful to everyone who supported our taprooms, shared a pint with us, and made our spaces feel like home,” the company said in a social media post.
When the company filed for bankruptcy in October, Souther told the Journal that Bosque intended to restructure its finances while keeping its locations open.
In early December, Bosque closed locations in Santa Fe — a bar called The Drinkery and a Restoration Pizza restaurant — before shuttering two Albuquerque locations the following week. Bosque closed the rest of its locations during Christmas week.
“It’s an interesting situation in that Bosque was pretty upfront with the struggles they were facing,” Edmonston said.
Taryn Bernicke works in the warehouse at Marble Brewery’s Downtown Albuquerque facility in September 2025. Marble will continue to produce Bosque beers despite Bosque closing its taprooms last month.
Bosque beers will continue to be offered in stores and will be brewed at Marble Brewery in Albuquerque, the company said on its website. Bosque announced the partnership with Marble before the closures in September.
“As difficult as it is to see the Bosque taprooms close, we’re grateful for the opportunity to keep Bosque beer alive and available in stores across New Mexico,” said Jarrett Babincsak, a Marble managing partner, in a statement. “Bosque has meant a lot to this city, and keeping it brewed locally is our way of honoring that connection and the community that built it.”
Babincsak said Marble had hired some of Bosque’s production team to help with the brewing. Marble will continue to brew Elephants on Parade, Scotia, Salt Money, Up North, Riverwalker, and Weekend Trails — beers from the Bosque repertoire.
In 2025, brewery closings outpaced openings nationally for the second year in a row and openings declined for the fourth consecutive year, according to a December report from the Brewers Association.
Craft beer production is down slightly, too. As of July, the group reported that American breweries had produced 5% less beer than the year before.
“The tariffs are impacting all of your costs — your kegs, your fermenters, your ingredients. The cost of labor has definitely gone up,” Edmonston said.
Whether driven by a focus on health and wellness or a lack of disposable income, Gen Z is also drinking less and opting for other drinks instead of craft beer when they do.
“I think a lot of the 20-somethings probably aren’t going out anymore. It’s not because they don’t want to go out and have a drink,” Jackson said. “It’s because they’ve got to pay rent and car insurance and stuff like that first.”
Industry contractions nationwide have an extra effect on small businesses that don’t have the same large volume margins as big chains, said Scott Salvas, owner of Brew Lab 101, a Rio Rancho-based brewery that opened an Albuquerque location in late 2023.
Salvas is offering free one-year memberships to Brew Lab 101 for members of the Bosque Rewards Club.
“I think everyone was surprised when one of the largest breweries in the state closed,” Salvas said. “It’s certainly sad (for) everyone in the community.”