Month: January 2014

The El Paso Police Department is trying to turn the page on a shameful chapter. Last year 17 officers were indicted after they were accused of tampering with grant documents to get paid more in overtime. The ABC-7 I-Team has obtained a progress report of the department since then and the City says things haven’t

Plans to build a streetcar trolley system from Downtown El Paso to UTEP are stalled and the $90 million the City said was secured for the project are no longer in sight. The City of El Paso approved plans to build the streetcar system by the end of 2015, with construction beginning this Summer. The

A 22-year-old man was killed early Tuesday morning when he was electrocuted at the El Paso International Airport. El Police responded to the airport at 4 a.m. Tuesday and found Cheyenne Rhoades of Avinger, Texas receiving medical treatment. Rhoades was transported to University Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. Rhoades was an electrical contractor

El Paso Catholics gathered Tuesday night to officially welcome their new bishop. Thousands showed up to the convention center Downtown for Bishop Mark J. Seitz’s installation Mass, some even driving in from as far away as Pecos. Seitz replaces Bishop Armando X. Ochoa, who is now the bishop of the Diocese of Fresno, Calif. Ochoa

Details of one of the attacks by the alleged Manhattan Heights sex predator have been revealed in the affidavit for the burglary of habitation charge on which he is being detained. Arturo Valtierra-Payan, 24, of Chihuahua, Mexico is being held on a $300,000 bond and has not been charged with any other crimes, but El

El Paso Electric has torn up a portion of Esmeralda Park in the upper valley for its current construction project that will add three transmission lines to the area to meet demand for electricity. Some residents are upset that high-powered lines are being added to their local park. The project is nothing new, EPE officials

A local fire fighter’s union is voicing concerns about the effect Fort Bliss furloughs are having on response times. “I feel that they are pushing the boundaries,” said Cesar Del Rio, vice president of the International Association of Fire Fighters Union Local F-299. Del Rio said when the government denied Fort Bliss’ request for fire

El Paso City Council on Tuesday approved an interlocal agreement that paves the way for a bike share program. The council unanimously voted to commit $100,000, a small percentage of the $2 million project. About $1.8 million come from the Metropolitan Planning Organization, or MPO, and UTEP is committing $24,000. The MPO’s moneys are federal

The city of El Paso is exploring the idea of charging a fee to northbound commercial traffic near the Bridge of the Americas but it needs to partner with other agencies to do so, especially the Regional Mobility Authority. The Camino Real RMA is a political subdivision of the state that can partner with virtually

Mourning continues for Dan Haggerty, but the job of replacing him has begun. County Judge Veronica Escobar is charged with finding an appointment to take over the position until December 2014. She told ABC-7 she doesn’t want to pick a successor, she simply wants to find someone to hold the spot until the next general

Bishop Mark J. Seitz will be installed as the bishop of the Cathlic Diocese of El Paso at 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 9 at the Judson F Williams Convention Center in Downtown El Paso. San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller, M.Sp.S. will install Seitz in El Paso with bishops and priests from around the country in

University Medical Center is moving forward with plans to spend $152 million approved by county commissioners in April. Commissioners approved the a bond project list 4 to 0. The money, funded through bonds, will go toward building new clinics, renovating their current buildings and purchasing equipment. The clinics are expected to be ready in late

This weekend, residents of Juarez went to the polls to elect a new mayor. Preliminary numbers show a clear winner with more than fifty-percent of the vote, but one candidate is not ready to concede. Enrique Serrano (PRI) leads with 53% of the vote. The race came down to the two major parties in Mexico,

Authorities say two bodies pulled from a lake in western New Mexico have been identified as the two teenage boys missing since last weekend. KOB-TV (http://bit.ly/12i5ELI) reported Friday that the Office of the Medical Investigator confirmed the bodies’ identities.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations officers working at the El Paso port of entry seized 284 pounds of marijuana on the fourth of July in two incidents. The estimated street value of the marijuana is $227,200. “CBP officers were on guard and vigilant during the July 4 holiday and as a

El Paso police have arrested a 24-year-old man in one of the Manhattan Heights burglary cases and said more charges are pending. Arturo Valtierra-Payan, of the 2600 block of Savannah, was arrested at 11 p.m. Tuesday in the 7200 block of Alameda without incident. Police said Valtierra-Payan recently moved to El Paso and is originally

Las Cruces Police and a multi-agency task force are investigating an apparent domestic altercation that led to a deadlyofficer-involved shooting Tuesday afternoon. Jose Estrada, 37, died at an El Paso hospital later that evening. Las Cruces police officers were dispatched to calls of a man with a gun threatening neighbors at around 3:45 p.m. Tuesday

MountainStar Sports Group says it will pay up front for any new costs to the ballpark if any were to surface. A couple of weeks ago City Rep. Eddie Holguin Jr. asked MountainStar for a personal written guarantee that they’d pay for the $12 million the ownership group committed to paying, even if MountainStar went

El Paso City Council on Tuesday voted to put a residential road in the Upper Valley on the Metropolitan Thoroughfare Plan (MTP) in an effort to make it eligible for funding of road improvements, though some residents fear the move makes the road susceptible to commercial traffic and future development. By placing River Bend Drive

Jesus “Jesse” Gandara Jr. was arrested Monday on a bribery charge, according to El Paso County Sheriff’s officials. Sheriff’s officials said Gandara Jr. was taken into custody after a traffic stop and is being held at the El Paso County Jail Downtown. The bribery charge is related to a plot where Gandara Jr. allegedly offered

A semi truck carrying a load of pizza and ice cream fell over an elevated section of I-10 early Monday morning in central El Paso. The incident happened in the eastbound lanes near the Paisano overpass, just before 3:45 a.m. Emergency crews say slick roads from overnight rain showers played a role in the wreck.

The politician led a life of service, his loved ones say. The Vietnam veteran had10 brothers and sisters, and was a part of an Irish-American legacy in the borderland. Haggerty was the only Republican county office holder. He’d never lost a race. The county commissioner was admired by supporters and liked by his opponents. Not

El Paso County Commissioner Dan Haggerty died Friday night after battling bladder cancer since Nov. 2011. Several El Paso politicians have taken to social media to posted their reactions to the Haggerty’s death. Read them below. County Judge Veronica Escobar – Dan was a colleague and dear friend. I’ll miss him and the response I’d

Dan Haggerty, who has served on Commissioners Court since 1995, died Friday night, according to County Commissioner Veronica Escobar. Haggerty was diagnosed with bladder cancer in November 2011 and, at the time, said he was considering stepping down from his elected position. He stayed on but had to miss several meetings because of ongoing treatment

Thousands of people will pack Santa Fe Street and the Arts Plaza this weekend for the 12th Annual El Paso Downtown Street Festival. The two-day festival features four stages of live music, food, a car showand a fireworks display. On Friday night, 1990’s rock band’Bush,’led by frontman Gavin Rossdale will take the main stage. ‘Third

“Hot” and “hazy” were the two most-used words when talking about Thursday’s heat. At the KVIA studio, temperatures teased records at 112 degrees. El Paso is used to hot temperatures, but it also means people forget the basics. According to Dr. Robert Woolard, a professor with Texas Tech Health Sciences Center who works at University

El Paso Police say Jennifer Alvarado, 25, stabbed her mother twelve times before officers found Alvarado covered in blood and naked outside her home in Northeast El Paso on Tuesday night and a relative says Alvarado is a good daughter who was on drugs the night of the stabbing. The stabbing happened in a trailer

El Paso Police arrested a 25-year-old woman and charged her with criminal attempted murder after she allegedly tried to stab her mom. At about 9:45 p.m. Tuesday, police were called to a home in the 6100 block of Quail in Northeast where they found Jennifer Alvarado, nude and covered in blood. She was taken into

A spokesman for the Las Cruces Police Department says a toddler died Tuesday night after a family member accidentally ran him over. It happened on the 200 block of Three Crosses Avenue. According to police, the family was with the 1 1/2-year-old boy in the yard. At some point a family member got in his

Even though there are some new City Council members and the mayor is new — the debate is old. El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser says the City made a bad deal when it entered into a contract with MountainStar Sports Group last year. But nevertheless, the mayor says it’s too late to back out now.