Hospitals
There are a number of hospitals in the city:
Presbyterian Hospital
Largest critical health care hospital in the city. General and acute care hospital and 24 hour emergency rooms. Laboratory, physical therapy, nursing, and X-ray/radiology available. Presbyterian also operates a branch hospital, the Kaseman Hospital, 8300 Constitution Ave NE at Wyoming and Constitution, ☎ +1 505 291-2000. edit
Lovelace Westside Hospital
(http://www.lovelace.com) has a couple of facilities in the city:
Albuquerque has an average crime rate compared to some other American cities, but most of it is property crime of more concern to residents than to visitors.
Central Avenue is home to some of Albuquerque's main attractions, but portions of it can be somewhat dangerous after dark. The section from the train tracks eastern edge of downtown to University Blvd. can be a little scary in the evening. Even in Downtown, while Central Avenue is passable, smaller nearby streets such as Copper Street can be scary after dark. The Nob Hill/UNM district between University and Carlisle is perfectly safe at night, but Central gets progressively seedier east of Carlisle, and can get quite scary around the Fairgrounds. Consider the bus or a cab through these areas after the sun goes down.
Due to its size and mild climate, the streets of Albuquerque are considered home to many people. While not typically a danger, do expect to meet up with beggars and vagrants, particularly around UNM.
If you're going to be engaging in outdoor recreation even as laid-back as watching an Isotopes day game, slather on the sun screen. The elevation of the city is 5000 ft or higher, and there is usually not much cloud cover, so one can get a bad sunburn in surprisingly short order.
Be forewarned about New Mexican cuisine; if you're not used to green chile, go easy at first. Many first-timers have tried to eat the hottest chile they could find, only to discover six hours later that it was MUCH hotter than they remembered. Be prepared.
newspapers
The Albuquerque Journal (http://www.abqjournal.com/) $0.50 daily, $1.50 Sundays is the state's largest newspaper and talks about issues in the metro area, the state, and the world.
The Alibi (http://www.alibi.com/) free Wednesday mornings is a free weekly that discusses issues in the metro area and runs some columns, but is more focused on the arts scene and has some great movie and restaurant reviews. They also run a number of "best of..." lists, notably the yearly "Best of Burque" awards. Great event listings.
The Daily Lobo (http://www.dailylobo.com/) free daily is a daily newspaper Monday through Fridays in the school year produced by UNM students.
smoking
New Mexico has a state-wide ban on smoking in places of business. This includes bars and restaurants. The only exceptions are casinos and cigar bars. In addition Albuquerque has banned smoking on all public property except the golf courses.