Home Care In Bernalillo, NM

A historical celebration based in Bernalillo, Los Matachines Dance, is receiving attention in Albuquerque as its annual fiesta approaches in early August.

The Matachine dance has been performed in Bernalillo each August since 1693, and this year is no exception. This Wednesday, the city of Albuquerque invites residents to attend Dr. Joseph Moreno’s lecture about the history and expressions of the dance.

Moreno has been dancing the Matachine for more than 20 years and received his PhD from the University of New Mexico, according to the city of Albuquerque. He is a longtime Bernalillo resident who works with the Bernalillo Community Museum. As a photographer, he specializes in creating portraits of the community.

“The dance is known throughout the region as the original and largest Matachine dance and a crucial component of Bernalillo’s identity,” reads a release on the city’s website.

According to the town of Bernalillo, the history of the dance dates back to 1680, when it is believed that Bernalillo residents were aware of the impending Pueblo Revolt. They fled to present-day El Paso, where they learned the Matachines dance and brought it back to Bernalillo.

The revolt took place on Aug. 10, 1680. Diego de Vargas made a promise (or promesa) that anybody returning to New Mexico would celebrate the day of the revolt annually.

“The Matachines dance was now one of the central celebrations in Bernalillo, and local residents take great pride in the dance being performed continuously since 1693,” reads a release on Bernalillo’s website. “Although the dance has changed throughout time, the Bernalillo mindset of the promesa remains true to the very first celebration in 1693.”

Moreno’s lecture will take place at the Albuquerque Museum at 11 a.m. Aug. 2. For more information, visit cabq.gov or contact Elizabeth Becker at [email protected].

This year’s fiesta will begin at 2 p.m. Aug. 9 at 600 S. Camino del Pueblo in Bernalillo. The three-day event will consist of events including dances, several processions, a vigil and a ceremony. For more information about the fiesta, visit tobnm.gov.

BERNALILLO COUNTY, N.M. (KRQE) – The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office is taking a new approach to working with people living on the street, specifically around the Central corridor

BCSO is now months into a new partnership where deputies are sent with social workers to help some of the metro area’s homeless individuals.

The goal is to not only help those who are homeless, but also build trust with the community. “How can we help out those in the community and help break that stigma with law enforcement and what the community might think of law enforcement,” said Diane Dosal, BCSO behavioral health manager.

Dosal’s position was created by first-year Sheriff John Allen. “It’s something that I have done before in my previous employment, so I brought that here to the sheriff’s office,” said Dosal. She also helped put together BCSO’s street outreach team “We have our unit, which is the behavioral health unit for the sheriff’s office. So that’s me, our mobile crisis team, we have two social workers,” said Dosal.

The team meets with people who may need water, a blanket or somewhere to sleep at night. “We’re not there to clear encampments or to cite anyone we’re there to show a different side to law enforcement and how we work with community based programs,” said Dosal.

Dosal also finds partnerships with other local entities like First Nations, which offers medical care to Native Americans. “When we have a nurse with us from First Nations, who is [they are] able to help out someone who is injured that wouldn’t normally probably go to a hospital or doesn’t have the means to or health care to do that,” said Dosal.

BCSO hopes the face-to-face interaction might help plant the seed that could prevent future crises.”I don’t know that I can say that we are definitely preventing a call for service. But, how can we not also say that we aren’t because when we’re meeting with people, we’re building rapport and trying to find out what their need is,” said Dosal.

Right now, the team operates once a week, running seven different outreach operations.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —

What was described as a "major disturbance" at the Juvenile Detention Center in Bernalillo County was resolved on Christmas Day, a Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office spokesperson stated in a news release.

BCSO offered an update on Friday, Jan. 12.

Hearst Owned

Juvenile Detention Center ’disturbance’ at Youth Services Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico

"Control and operational oversight have been reinstated to the dedicated staff at the facility, and we are pleased to report that the situation has been thoroughly addressed with no outstanding concerns," BCSO Deputy Tyler Lapierre said.

A total of 13 inmates were involved in the disturbance. BCSO said more than $100,000 is the estimated property damage at the juvenile detention center.

The BCSO investigation has led to charges being filed against three teenage boys. Here are the details on the charges:

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The detention center is located at 5100 2nd Street NW.

Video Above: Attorney Adam Oakey weighs in

Below are previous statements made regarding the incident at the JDC in Bernalillo County

The New Mexico Law Offices of Public Defenders statement:

"We’ve got an overcrowded and understaffed juvenile jail. They are trying their best to hire and train, but there are still not enough staff to handle the kids in custody, let alone the ones the governor’s hasty and ill-considered orders are unnecessarily keeping in. The order to jail any child caught with a gun makes it impossible to treat kids as individuals, and we are supposed to be keeping them safe as much as we are the community." -Albuquerque District Defender Dennica Torres

Governor's Office statement:

"To be clear: the order directs juvenile probation officers to ask the presiding judge to detain juveniles accused of a violent offense. It’s important to note that when juvenile detention facilities are at capacity, they do not accept additional individuals. It is therefore inaccurate and incorrect to state that there is an overcrowding problem that has been caused by the Governor’s Executive Order.

A large percentage of gun-related crimes in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County are being committed by minors, and while we understand the need to balance rehabilitation with accountability, the fact is that a gun is no less dangerous in the hands of a juvenile." -Maddy Hayden, Director of Communications

[anvplayer video=”5189484″ station=”998122″]

BERNALILLO COUNTY, N.M. – Illicit fentanyl is powerful and plentiful. In Bernalillo County, it’s ripping families apart.

Now, Bernalillo County is investing in education, prevention, and intervention through a campaign called “Keep NM Alive.”

“It is in our schools, it’s in our neighborhoods,” said District 3 Bernalillo County Commissioner Adriann Barboa.

Personal stories are the motivation behind a big campaign called Keep NM Alive:

“Picking up my son, my future in a wooden box is something I wish upon no one.”

Bernalillo County launches fentanyl awareness campaign

Regardless of background, education or income level, the pain of losing a loved one hurts the same.

“It starts with a conversation. We have to end that shame and stigma, we can think any longer that it’s not going to happen to me, not my kid, not my spouse,” said Barboa.

Barboa says it’s the county’s responsibility to invest in education, resources, and overdose prevention. Soon, taking advantage of more than $50 million in opioid settlement funds.

“I believe with this amount of money that it comes at the cost of many lives. We can say ‘Hey, here’s the infrastructure we need and here’s the time to build it out, let’s do it together,'” Barboa said.

In the meantime, there’s a website dedicated to awareness and prevention.

“There’s information on where to get medication assisted treatment, what is medication assisted treatment, harm reduction, where to get narcan,” said Lisa Sedillo-White, a Bernalillo County deputy manager.

People can learn from the experts, listen to the families, and be prepared for the worst.

“There is a lack of resources, there is a lack of treatment. We have to make our community healthy again,” said Sedillo-White.

The county is also putting together several workshops and classes for the community in October.

KOB 4 will get you more information when the schedule is ironed out.

For more information on Keep NM Alive, click here.

After nearly five years of exploration, consultation, and community engagement, authorization for one of New Mexico’s most significant public collaborations, the South Campus Tax Increment Development District, or TIDD, was signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on April 5, 2023.

The TIDD is a mechanism to support economic development and job creation by providing a portion of new gross receipts tax and property tax for public infrastructure. This public-public collaboration among The University of New Mexico, the City of Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, and the State of New Mexico will create a vibrant, dynamic new southern Metro Gateway.

Yesterday, public leaders joined to celebrate the signing, and express their enthusiasm for the work to come that will make it a reality.

“Our vision is to address critical community challenges. We do that by building an educated, healthy and economically vigorous New Mexico. We have the opportunity to create something truly special here, and we can’t wait to bring this vision to life." – UNM President Garnett S. Stokes

The TIDD will revitalize an underutilized portion of the City—but more importantly, it is expected to spur the creation of more than 4,000 new jobs with over $4 billion in wages, including expanded opportunities for research collaboration with Sandia National Laboratories, Kirtland Air Force Base and the Air Force Research Lab.

“For decades the heart of our state, our Flagship University's south campus has been held back for one reason or another,” Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said. “Today, with this TIDD, UNM is unshackled and fully resourced, to the tune of ~$400 million available for mixed-use, planned development, interstate landscaping, affordable housing and educational space, pedestrian parks and walkways that will befit the institution, lift up neglected parts of our town, and transform our city core for future generations.”

To date, these public partners have invested approximately $400 million in the development of UNM South Campus area, including professional and collegiate sports venues that attract over 1.3 million visitors annually, research and education facilities comprising 700,000 square feet with 2,000+ employees, as well as student housing, a charter school, a fire station, and other infrastructure.

The TIDD also enhances an underserved area of low-income and minority neighborhoods, designated for investment as both a federal opportunity zone and USDA food desert, and provides local matching funds for federal projects.

“We can accomplish big things when our state and local partners work together on common goals,” said New Mexico Representative Day Hochman-Vigil, the lead sponsor on the legislation approving the TIDD said. “This agreement among the University, City, County, and State will create new opportunities to work closely with our Federal and commercial partners, too, fostering economic development and the revival of an underserved area of our community.”

Furthermore, the TIDD will fund approximately $267.4 million of regional public infrastructure which benefits all New Mexicans, such as Interstate 25 improvements, public safety infrastructure, transit improvements, parking structures and pedestrian enhancements, trails and bikeways, and recreation fields, completing linkages to current facilities.

The TIDD Economic Analysis shows a net economic benefit to the State of $1.1 billion over the life of the TIDD.

“Bernalillo County is excited to be part of this TIDD partnership and see the South Campus development spur significant job creation, the attraction of private investment and the much-needed increase in housing, commercial and retail development across this underserved area,” Bernalillo County Commissioner Adriann Barboa said.

Leaders also expressed their gratitude for each other as well as the support of multiple members of the Governor’s cabinet and the state legislature, the State Board of Finance, the New Mexico Finance Authority, and the Bernalillo County Administration and Commissioners, the City of Albuquerque Administration, and the City Council. Development on various areas within the district will begin immediately.

Bernalillo County – Bernalillo County Assessor Tanya Giddings has sent the 2022 property tax roll to Bernalillo County Treasurer Nancy Bearce and the Bernalillo County Treasurer’s Office announces this year’s bill is on schedule for mailing Nov. 1. Property tax bills are also available online beginning Nov. 1 at www.bernco.gov/treasurer.

“I’m delighted to be back to our normal schedule after three years of delays or extensions. Property owners and mortgage companies can get back to a predictable schedule,” says Bernalillo County Treasurer Nancy Bearce.

Property tax payments are due Nov. 10 and no later than Dec. 10, for the 2022 first-half property taxes. Property taxes are billed and collected, by the county, for all taxing entities within Bernalillo County.

Property owners experiencing financial difficulties are encouraged to visit the New Mexico Home Fund at www.nmhomefund.org or call 505-308-4206 or 866-488-0498. Additionally, to make short term payment arrangements, contact the Treasurer’s Office at 505-468-7031 or email the Treasurer’s Office at [email protected].

Contact the Bernalillo County Treasurer’s Office:

Phone: 505-468-7031

Email: [email protected]

Website: bernco.gov/treasurer

Investment Results: https://www.bernco.gov/treasurer/investment-reports.aspx

Social media: Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Where your tax dollars go: https://www.bernco.gov/treasurer/where-your-tax-dollars-go.aspx

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About Bernalillo County

Bernalillo County is 1,160 square miles and is New Mexico’s most populous county with more than 676,000 residents. Bernalillo County government provides a wide range of public services to residents who live in Albuquerque, Los Ranchos and Tijeras with approximately 106,000 residents living in unincorporated areas of the county. Bernalillo County employs approximately 2,500 people and has an annual operating budget, capital investments and other funds of more than $1 billion. Elected officials include five county commissioners, assessor, clerk, probate judge, sheriff and treasurer.

Chef John Chacon works in the kitchen at his new restaurant, Chef Chacon’s Pancake House in Bernalillo. Stephen Montoya photo.

Coming soon to Bernalillo, a new Starbucks, Del Taco and BadAss Coffee is revamping

BERNALILLO — A lot of Bernalillo residents don’t want to settle for a 15-minute drive to Albuquerque or Rio Rancho, just to get a bite to eat.

In fact, 61 percent of them want to see the Town of Bernalillo expand restaurant options in the coming years, according to a recent survey in response to the town’s draft development plan. Additionally, 66 percent of residents said restaurants are needed when it comes to commercial services.

When asked where they go for commercial services, 84 percent said Albuquerque, 71 percent said Rio Rancho and 56 percent do their shopping online.

“They get tired of eating at the same restaurants over and over. That’s normal,” said Mike Kloeppel, Bernalillo’s economic development director. “Everybody just wants something different.”

The demand is very much present.

Kloeppel said a new Del Taco restaurant will be added in the near future, set up in the old Pizza 9 store that had closed. He said BadAss Coffee across from Santa Ana Star Casino and Hotel is being upgraded, and Starbucks will add a new location near the intersection of U.S. 550 and Sheriff’s Posse Road.

Kloeppel said the Town of Bernalillo doesn’t actively recruit businesses to set up shop because it doesn’t have the resources. Rather, the town would determine which restaurant looking to expand would be a good fit and pursue them, he said.

And most new eateries are tight-lipped about picking a new location because if they find a spot they like, they don’t want to risk losing that spot to another establishment, he said.

“Restaurants are a fickle business. They want to make sure their location fits what they’re trying to do,” Kloeppel said.

Restaurants also do their own research as to where they want to be because many are franchised, Kloeppel said. He said McDonald’s, for instance, evaluates factors like annual incomes, vehicles people drive and their day-to-day tendencies in a five-mile radius. He also said chains like Chili’s rely on data-driven information to decide whether to add a certain location. Two Chick-fil-A locations, for example, must be a certain distance from each other.

“You can’t put them two blocks away, unless it’s the same franchise owner,” he said.

Kloeppel said the development plan is roughly a “20-year vision” and merely a blueprint to work with. It may go before Town Council around late April, he said.

Range Cafe at 925 Camino Del Pueblo in Bernalillo.(Observer stock photo)