Month: January 2014

In March, county commissioners revealed plans to hire a chief medical examiner from another country to take over the long-vacant medical examiner position. Now, it appears they’re ready to take another step. Though the county has hired an interim medical examiner, El Paso County hasn’t had a doctor in the position permanently since the county

A man is in police custody after reports of gunfire outside an East El Paso bar early Monday morning. El Paso police say the shots were heard just after midnight, in the parking lot of the Three Legged Monkey, in the Hawkins Plaza Shopping Center at Montana and Hawkins. With Sunday Night one of the

It’s been more than a week since vandals damaged Desert Downs BMX track. Managers still don’t know who vandalized their property, but life is moving on. Bryan O’Leary, the track manager, told ABC-7 it’s been a hard time for the track, but they’re getting a lot of help from the community. “It’s hard to put

Storms hit the El Paso area Friday afternoon and night producing some rain and wind. The storm moved in from the west and northwest around 6pm causing the winds to crank up around 60 mph in spots with blowing dirt, dust and sand. Some moderate rain followed behind the wind, primarily on the east side

Neighbors in far east El Paso County are seeing dj vu. Earlier this year, they fought against El Paso Electric bringing a power plant to their neighborhood. The fight is ongoing, but the general consensus is that the TCEQ will soon issue a permit to begin building. Now, residents are dealing with the possibility of

Fort Bliss officials announced Friday afternoon that this year’s Amigo Airsho would not take place at Biggs Army Airfield due to the sequestration. This is the first time since the airshow began in 1981 that Fort Bliss will not be able to host the airshow. “It goes without saying that we with the Amigo Airsho

Richard Ramirez, the demonic serial killer who left satantic signs at murder scenes and mutilated victims’ bodies during a reign of terror in the 1980s, died early Friday in a hospital, a prison official said. Ramirez, 53, had been taken from San Quentin’s death row to a hospital where authorities said he died of liver

The office of democraticCongressman Pete Gallegois celebrating the grand opening of its Congressional District 23 office in Socorro. The freshman congressman has been in office for about five months after he defeated republican incumbent Quico Canseco in last November’s election. Rep. Gallego represents the largest congressional district in Texas that spans from San Antonio to

Some local media outlets have been reporting problems at voting booths during this first week of early voting for the June 15 runoff elections. The newspaper El Diario and another TV station have reported a few voters’ claims they went to cast ballots for mayor, but only had the choice of one candidate. One man

A Canadian film company is spending thousands of dollars to dig up a landfill in Alamorgordo, all in search of a long-rumored Atari graveyard. “We have the UFO sighting in Roswell. Why not have the Atari tomb in Alamogordo?” said Alamogordo Mayor Susie Galea. Some say it’s the final resting place of hundreds of E.T.

The Rio Grande began to flow on Thursday in the Borderland. Water released from New Mexico reached Canutillo late Wednesday, but it wasn’t long before it made it to El Paso. Original predictions had the water reaching El Paso a day later, but an increased release sped the process up. “We released a much bigger

If City Manager Joyce Wilson is offered and accepts the County Manager job in Lee County, Florida – the City of El Paso could pay her nearly $46,000 in vacation days she has accrued in about 10 years, or she could take 40 days off with pay. Wilson’s contract is slated to end in September

El Paso Police have released the name of the motorcyclist killed in a late night crash on June 5. He has been identified as 22-year-old Jose Andrade of El Paso. At about about 11:21 p.m., police were called to the scene of a two-vehicle crash near at the intersection of 1700 Zaragoza and 1700 Saul

Texas Gov. Rick Perry has approved El Paso County’s fireworks ban through July 5. El Paso County Judge Veronica Escobar made the announcement via her Twitter account the night of June 5. Commissioners Court voted 3-2 June 4 to extend a Declaration of Local Disaster that’s expected to ban the sale, possession and use of

Lee County Commissioners on June 5 picked El Paso City Manager Joyce Wilson as their consensus No. 1 choice to become their county manager after interviewing five candidates. Lee County’s spokeswoman said Wilson was the No. 1 pick for four of the five commissioners. Roger Desjarlais is their No. 2 choice. The commissioners will meet

For six years, the Paul L. Foster school of medicine, working with the El Paso delegation of state lawmakers, has tried to get money to build a third building on the campus. This legislative session seemed the most promising but it came and went with no money for Texas Tech in El Paso. The Texas

Three Riverside High School students found convulsing and foaming at the mouth in a parking lot near campus have been released from the hospital. “They’re doing fine,” Ysleta Independent School District spokeswoman Patricia Ayala said. The students were rushed to the hospital Monday afternoon when they were found in a Lower Valley parking lot having

It was the largest one-time proposed zoning change in the history of El Paso and after a more than two hour discussion Tuesday, City Council shot it down. The idea was to change areas like Five Points in Central El Paso from conventional zoning to smart code, a zoning distinction that some believe makes it

El Paso City Council passed a motion June 4 to reject the mutual lease termination agreement with the Tiguas over their lease of Cohen Stadium. The El Paso Diablos, owned by the Tiguas, will continue to play at Cohen Stadium and the lease will end in 2016 as it is scheduled to. The motion includes

Michaela Hebeker will always remember June 1, 2013. Early that morning her life changed. “It’s a little surreal,” Hebeker said, wearing a hospital gown with her hair tucked beneath a cap. For over a year now she’s had to undergo dialysis every day for nine hours a day. “Hopefully she’ll have a longer life and

After hours of heated discussion El Paso County Commissioners approved its fireworks ban through July 4. It’s the third year in a row that Commissioners Court has made the decision to ban fireworks. The final decision to extend the ban is still up to the governor, who has done exactly that the past two years.

The Supreme Court has ruled criminal suspects can be subjected to a police DNA test after arrest — before trial and conviction — a privacy-versus-public-safety dispute that could have wide-reaching implications in the rapidly evolving technology surrounding criminal procedure. The law, named after NMSU student Katie Sepich, sparked a debate that split the highest court

The hot weather is just starting to roll in. With that dry heat comes fire danger. The Las Cruces City Council unanimously passed fireworks restrictions for the next 30 days. Under the new restriction, fireworks will be banned from areas with brush, grass or timber. “Just one spark in these types of conditions can set

June 4, 2013 Update: El Paso Police say that the 35-year-old man who collapsed at Newman Park in Central El Paso on June 3 died shortly after being taken to University Medical Center. Police said it is possible that the man, whose name has not been released, could have had a medical condition. Previous story:

Bishop Mark J. Seitz, who will be installed in early July as bishop of the Catholic Diocese of El Paso, has joined Twitter and has announced his coat of arms. Follow him on Twitter @ BishopSeitz . “When a priest is named to the office of Bishop he is given a number of tasks that

An investigation continues after three teens, all students at Riverside High School, were reportedly found foaming at the mouth and having seizures in a parking lot. All three students were hospitalized. One of them is in critical condition, according to the El Paso Fire Dept. The condition of the other two was not immediately known.

Anewly-released death report on the shooting of bodybuilder and former Mr. El Paso Daniel Saenz shows he was shot and killed while he was handcuffed. His death is sparking controversy andsome are calling it an injustice. On Saturdaythe Coalition for Justice gathered to rally against the shooting. Friends of Saenz say it’s just hard to

Water released from New Mexico is expected to make its way to El Paso within the week. While the water is drastically needed by farmers in the Borderland, it won’t fill the need. Farmers like Ramon Tirres tell ABC-7 that they’ve been waiting for more water for months. “It’s a great relief,” said TIrres in

As water slowly makes it’s way to El Paso, farmers are waiting eagerly. This morning marked the long awaited release of water from Percha Dam at Caballo Lake, where up to 22-hundred cubic feet per second are gushing out making their way south to Texas and Mexico. The El Paso County Water Improvement District reports

ABC-7 has obtained new information on a man who died while in police custody. The city released a custodial death report for Daniel Saenz, a bodybuilder and former Mr. El Paso. The3 pagereport indicates that Daniel Saenz displayed aggressive behavior and was killed by a gunshot to the left shoulder through his chest and heart.