Stolen Photos, Big Contracts

A Santa Fe newspaper caught Urban Alchemy stealing their copyrighted photos twice this year — once in a city council presentation and again in a quarterly report. The librarian emailed a direct demand, cc’ing city officials and the company’s CFO, and two days before a crucial vote, Urban Alchemy paid $269.40 to settle the claim. Surprisingly, just after that payment, the city council approved massive new contracts for the company — over $500K for shelter oversight and $1.3M for another shelter — raising eyebrows about whether paying for stolen photos was worth securing millions in public funds. Critics question how an out-of-state firm has landed over $10 million in city contracts while homelessness and panhandling persist in key areas. The Agape House contract also revealed a miscalculation in staffing hours, sparking conflicting explanations from Urban Alchemy and a former city homelessness czar — exposing potential gaps in city oversight. This story reveals how a company can maneuver through public contracts even amid controversy — while the newspaper gets its money back, the bigger question remains: are these city dollars effectively solving Santa Fe’s toughest problems? Support the show:Get a discount at https://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/7e7901870f586d8f