Bernalillo County

On Christmas Day, young people in the state’s largest youth detention center protested conditions for five hours, and three were later treated for injuries.Now, formerly incarcerated young people and families of kids who are currently detained are giving the county a list of demands for changes.

Racing against the clock, the Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board approved a controversial environmental justice regulation to tighten the management of air pollution permits Monday.

On Monday, the Albuquerque City Council doubled down on its wishes to abolish a powerful air quality regulatory board, overriding a mayoral veto, while at the same time, stripping its powers away until February.

Albuquerque’s city council has approved bills that would prevent the Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board from hearing a rule on environmental health and equity impacts — and completely replace its current members.

Bernalillo County announced the death of two inmates this week at the Metropolitan Detention Center. There have been over 20 inmate deaths at the center since 2020, but these are the first since University of New Mexico Hospital took over as its health care provider earlier this summer.

The nation's largest public service employees union is rolling through Albuquerque as part of its national Staff the Front Lines bus tour. The AFSCME recruitment campaign is being held in over 20 cities this summer in response to what the union says is “chronic understaffing” in essential government positions nationwide. A local hiring event on Monday is part of the effort.

As Bernalillo County works to expand its behavioral health services, it’s looking into how to better tap Medicaid as a funding source. The county manager said her team isn’t there yet, but is committed to making it happen.

A little over three months ago, a working group began meeting weekly to hash out where New Mexico’s largest county is faltering in its support of residents’ behavioral health and how it could improve. The Bernalillo County Behavioral Health Initiative Working Group recommended Wednesday that the county start by building an actual system of care.

This month marks the last push for a team charged with helping to improve Bernalillo County’s behavioral health services. Its final report is due to the County Commission next month and the Behavioral Health Initiative Working Group is meeting weekly to figure out how the state’s most populous county can better meet residents’ needs.

With summer just around the corner, teens in Bernalillo County may be looking for work and the county itself is hoping to recruit them at its youth job fair Saturday, April 29.