Month: February 2011

El Paso fire investigators are now telling ABC-7 the fire that engulfed a shed early this morning was due to “smoker carelessness.” Firefighters were called to the 200 block of Siesta on the west side shortly after 4 a.m. Fire officials said the blaze started in an 8-foot by 8-foot metal shed next to a

A 24-year-old Las Cruces man who allegedly tried to conceal his name from police has been arrested and charged with the rape of a 3-year-old girl. Eric Gene Acosta, who identified himself to police as “Eric Golden,” of the 700 block of Tornillo Street, is charged with one first-degree felony count of criminal sexual penetration

The lights may be back on, but Las Cruces residents are still in the dark over exactly what happened during last week’s rolling outages. El Paso Electric CEO, David Stevens, was the first to admit before Las Cruces City Council Monday, the company left residents in the dark when it came to communication. “What I

Amidst all the problems the city has been facing following record low temperatures and services outages, one local car wash wanted to comply with the mandatory water restrictions. But the business owner couldn’t get anyone with El Paso Water Utilities to shut off a major leak at his car wash. Sun City Car Wash on

Plumbers around the city have been as swamped as the homes they are fixing. You will find many of them with a wrench in one hand and a phone in the other – and the phone is constantly ringing. “It’s non-stop,” Victor Gonzalez, owner of Plumbing Doctor, said. “We’re averaging 62 calls per hour. We

The Miners remain in first place in Conference USA with a 6-2 record in conference play. They now also have four votes in this week’s coaches poll, putting them at 36th in the nation. And in the Associated Press poll, the Miners received two votes. That puts them in a tie for 42nd. In ESPN’s

ABC-7 has received several e-mails asking where El Paso Mayor John Cook was during water problems in the Sun City. Cook told ABC-7 on Monday that he was in Austin to move his granddaughter, who just graduated from UTEP, to that city. Cook worked a half-day on Friday and left to Austin. Cook was driving

Now that most of the city has or will have water again, a lot of people are asking if it’s safe. ABC-7 visited the International Water Quality Laboratory on Monday, where they have been testing hundreds of samples from all over the city to makes sure the water supply hasn’t been contaminated. So far, tests

El Paso’s mandatory water restrictions will be lifted at 10 p.m. Monday, Feb. 7, 2001, according to an email sent Monday morning by an El Paso Water Utilities vice president to city leaders. “We made significant progress last night. The majority of reservoirs are at adequate levels,” El Paso Water Utilities Vice President Nick Costanzo

School will resume Tuesday for the following local school districts at regular start times unless otherwise noted. UTEP. El Paso Community College. El Paso Independent School District. Please send your child with a bottle of drinking water as a precaution. Water fountains will not be available. EPISD will recommend the Board of Trustees submit a

Darth Vader stalks his home, searching for a nemesis worthy of his Dark Side hatred. He uses the force to keep his pet, a baby doll, and the treadmill in check. He even finds a sammich that displeases him, but he finds it “all too easy” to control them all. Then, the new Passat is

Closed or Delayed: El Paso ISD – Closed. Campus principals and assistant principals and key central office personnel, to include all maintenance and custodial personnel, will be asked to report on Monday as the District prepares to reopen schools. Canutillo ISD – Closed. Students, teachers and non-essential employees need to stay home. Administrators, department heads

A car lot in Juarez. That’s where 15-year-olds Carlos Mario Gonzalez Bermudez and Juan Echeveeri Luna, both students in El Paso, were killed by gunmen there Saturday. Gonzalez Bermudez’s mother told our news partners – channel 44 in Juarez – the teens were buying a set of car rims. At some point, gunmen looking for

Monday’s El Paso County Commissioners Court meeting started with an announcement from the County Judge that every county building has damage due to last week’s freeze. Commissioners immediately voted to set aside a $100,000 to address that damage. One didn’t have to venture very far to find a lot of the problems that the cold

Eugene “Gene” Calabro, who helped bring the United States Bowling Congress 2010 Women?s Championship to El Paso, died Feb. 7, 2011. He was 86. His honors include being receiving the city’s prestigious Spirit of Amigo Award and being inducted into the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame and Texas Bowling Hall of Fame. Special Olympics

Funding cuts could lead to the transfer of seven state parks to local ownership, including the El Paso Tramway. Carter Smith, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department executive director, told the Fort Worth Star Telegram the agency will have to “fundamentally realign” itself to handle a 25 percent funding cut — $162 million — in fiscal

A lawsuit has been filed after a teenager was shot and killed by a Dona Ana County sheriff’s deputy last March. The Las Cruces Sun-News reports the mother of 17-year-old Nick Dominguez is suing the deputy, Sheriff Todd Garrison and Dona Ana County for assault, battery, negligence and wrongful death. New Mexico state police said

El Paso Police have identified the man who was shot and killed in the parking lot outside of an East Side bar early Monday morning. Alex Gabriel Jaime, 23, of Fort Bliss was found dead in the parking lot of the Three Legged Monkey at 1550 Hawkins at about 1 a.m. Monday. El Paso Police

At the last minute, Ty Cobb (12-2, 8 KOs) has pulled out of Friday?s fight in El Paso, Texas, against David Rodriguez, claiming a shoulder injury. According to promoter Zeferino Ramirez ?I believe that as the fight approached, Cobb was feeling the heat, and not wanting to have another loss on his record, he pulled

The Goeldner family has been abiding by El Paso Water Utilities’ mandatory restrictions to not shower, wash clothes, and not wash their car. They said they’ve been sticking to the restrictions, mostly because the water pressure at their home has been at a thin trickle for days. “Not being able to flush the toilet is

Mayor John Cook has declared a water emergency in the city of El Paso pursuant to the city’s drought and water emergency code, title 15.13.120 which allows El Paso Water Utilities to enforce mandatory water restrictions currently in effect. If car washes, laundromats and industrial users do not comply their water supply will be shut

El Paso continues its mandatory water restrictions on Monday to raise water levels at El Paso Water Utilities reservoirs. Nick Costanzo, EPWU’s vice president of business operations and finance, said on ABC-7 Xtra that 15 reservoirs had five feet or less of water Saturday, leading to the restrictions. Costanzo said there were now seven reservoirs

The City of El Paso Department of Public Health continues to remind local restaurants and food vendors of the importance in boiling water as a preventative measure in ensuring the public’s safety. At this time all El Paso Water Utilities customers, both private and public, are being advised to boil any water that will be

Lower Valley Water District News Release Which Was Sent Saturday The Lower Valley Water District is instating mandatory water restrictions through the District?s service area: Town of Clint, City of Socorro, San Elizario, Sparks, and the area of the County of El Paso covered by the District, for the next 24 hours. Please abstain from

What Is El Paso Water Utilities And Who Oversees It? The Public Service Board was established May 22, 1952, by City Ordinance No. 752 to completely manage and operate the water and wastewater system for the City of El Paso, according to the El Paso Water Utilities Website. The seven-member board of trustees which make

El Paso Electric spokesman spoke with ABC-7 Friday morning about the winter storm that knocked all local power generators out at the EPE’s two power plants, how rolling blackouts work and the possibility the blackouts could continue into Super Bowl Sunday. Wednesday morning, EPE’s eight generators at its two local plants went out due to

An advisory mmessage has been issued by the Mesilla Valley Regional Dispatch Authority Sunday morning. Water outages have been reported in some areas of Sunland Park, New Mexico. Residents can obtain drinking water from Sunland Park Fire Dept at 1000 McNutt Rd. Please bring clean fillable containers for the water. For full details, go to

The El Paso Police Department said Angel Cuevas, 15, is dead after an altercation on El Paso’s northeast side Friday night. Authorities said the incident occurred in a ditch area between the Tropicana apartment complex and the Carmike Theaters around 11:30 p.m. Information is still limited, but police told ABC-7 that an altercation between two

Las Cruces Utilities is notifying Las Cruces residents that their water is 100 percent safe to drink, according to a news release Even during the arctic cold spell of the past few days, Las Cruces Utilities never stopped production of clean safe water. Staff has been operating 24 hours a day to ensure that the

A 21-year-old man has been arrested in the double homicide, stabbing deaths of a mother and daughter. Christian Alberto Martinez, of the 2000 block of Suntide, said Martinez entered a home ini the 11500 block of Pratt on Jan. 28, 2011 and stabbed Amalia Flores, 58, and her daughter, Jovana Flores, 20. The mother and