Month: January 2014

The Environmental Protection Agency released a statement on Thursday morning stating it was satisfied with the precautions being taken by the ASARCO trust regarding with the smokestacks demolition on Saturday. El Paso’s ASARCO facility operated as a lead smelter and refinery from 1887 to the late 1990s. The smelter has been inoperative for several years,

El Pasoans are expected to be out in force early Saturday and Sunday morning to watch the City Hall and Asarco smokestacks demolitions. But where are the best spots to watch? It really depends on whether you want to fight the traffic downtown and get a closeup view or stay out of the mess and

New Mexico State University is one step closer to finding a new president. The search started with 57 applicants from all over the country, a number officials said is more than the last time they searched for a new NMSU president. “We’re looking for leadership qualities as you would expect. Someone who could help us

Every city representative who ABC-7 spoke with Tuesday said they would not agree to have the City pay for Mayor John Cook’s legal bills. Cook said he owes about $570,000 in legal fees. The fees stem from a lawsuit he filed against petitioners who tried to recall him. The petitioners tried to oust him from

Once again, City Council found itself Tuesday discussing at length the $270 million shortfall in the El Paso Firemen and Policemen’s pension fund, two years after a $210 million fix had to be made. In the end, City Council remained split on the possible solutions. Council was divided on whether to push forward with proposed

A family from Anthony, NM is without a place to stay after a fire ripped through their carport Monday night. The incident happened just after 10:30 p.m. on the 5300 block of Mace Street, which is off of the 1400 block of Lincoln Street. The fire captain at the scene told us that the fire

Monday’s windy weather may be a pain for folks dealing with blowing dust and sand, but it’s not affecting the preparations for two massive demolition projects planned for El Paso this weekend. According to city engineer Alan Shubert, strong winds will not impact the preparation or the actual demolition of El Paso City Hall. Shubert

After Mexican authorities decided not to evacuate two neighborhoods directly across the border from the ASARCO smokestacks, some Juarez residents are concerned about the Saturday demolition. “We are scared, but what’s the point of evacuating if there’s long term damage?,” Gerardo Luna said in Spanish. The 20-year-old has lived all of his life in the

UPDATE April 8, 2013 6:38 p.m. El Paso County Commissioners approved $152 million worth of bonds on Monday by a vote of 3-to-1. The bonds will help University Medical Center build new clinics, and renovate their current buildings. Commissioner Dan Haggerty didn’t vote. He left the meeting after more than seven hours of discussion. Before

Several 911 calls of heavy smoke and fire were made by people in the Coronado Towers Saturday night. Firefighters arrived to find a fire on the second floor and immediately began to evacuate tenants. Fireinvestigators tell ABC-7 21-year-old Kevin Rodriguez intentionally set the fire. Two witnesses detained Rodriguez until police arrived and placed him under

El Paso Fire Department officials confirmed Sunday morning the arrest of a man in connection with a fire sparked at the Coronado Tower on the 6000 block of North Mesa Saturday evening. Kevin Rodriguez, a 21-year-old man, was arrested and charged with arson, fire officials said. Officials said the fire was started on the second

This past year, the El Paso County Water Improvement District started several new projects. Those projects ranged from new water gates to concrete-lining long stretches of canal. “Every time we concrete-line a canal, not only does it conserve water but it saves money for our district,” said Jesus Reyes, the head of the Water Improvement

World champion boxer Austin “No Doubt” Trout got in the ring on Friday with one of his toughest challengers: an elementary school principal. Trout said the match was one of the most important fights of his career. “I pledged to the students if we could raise $2,000 I would get in the ring with Austin

Investigators are at the scene of a deputy-involved shooting in front of East Picacho Elementary in Las Cruces. A Dona Ana County official told ABC-7 that at around 3:30 a.m. Friday, a Dona Ana County Sheriff’ss deputy driving near Valley and Westwind Road was flagged down by a man claiming he had car troubles. Officials

A man was sent to the hospital Friday morning after crashing his car into a street sweeper. The incident happened around 1:45 a.m. on US 54 on the Diana overpass heading north. Police say the street sweeper was not in service and was returning with its load when the car crashed into it from behind.

The Village of Ruidoso is still suffering from last year’s devastating Little Bear fire. The fire, combined with three years of drought, has nearly dried out the village’s water reservoirs. Village officials are launching an aggressive water conservation campaign while they fix the problem. Officials told ABC-7 Grindstone Reservoir is at 15 percent capacity, but

Oscar Leeser says he’s not trying to be mayor, he just wants to make a difference. “If we keep doing the same thing over and over again, we don’t have change,” said Leeser. Leeser is one of eight men in the running to be El Paso’s mayor. He has no history in politics, but said

One of the reinstated El Paso ISD principals told ABC-7 former Interim Superintendent Terri Jordan was “in a difficult position” when auditors allege she covered up a systematic cheating scheme. Jordan was the Chief of Staff of former Superintendent Lorenzo Garcia, now a convicted felon serving a three and a half year prison sentence for

Having trouble with your cell phone signal? Sprint has been receiving a lot of complaints from its customers about issues around El Paso, especially over the past several days Downtown. A frustrated ABC-7’s Darren Hunt, who uses a Sprint phone, looked into the situation Wednesday and had no trouble finding several Sprint customers with signal

Fort Bliss officials confirm to ABC-7 that a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System battery from the post will be deploying to Guam. The Department of Defense in a news release states this is a precautionary move to strengthen the U.S.’s regional d efense posture against the North Korean regional ballistic missile threat. The THAAD

The El Paso Independent School board after an emotional and long meeting, reinstated all but one of the administrators who were up for termination. Board members heard passionate pleas from more than 100 speakers; the overwhelming majority spoke in favor the principals and assistant principals. Parents, students and teachers implored the district to “reinstate the

During a lively El Paso Independent School District school board meeting Tuesday afternoon, board president Isela Castanon-Williams said that the board would be replaced by the board of managers on Thursday. Two members of the board of managers – Dee Margo and Ed Archuleta – seemed surprised by the supposed Thursday start date when informed

An alleged drunk driver nearly crashed into a west El Paso home before he reportedly tried to run away Tuesday morning. The incident happened around 2:45 a.m. on the 3900 block of Stanton, which is near Mission Hills Park. When our Round the Clock crew arrived, we found tire marks ending just a few feet

2013 DIABLOS PROMOTION SCHEDULE SET The Diablos are excited to announce their 2013 Promotion Schedule. As always, the Diablos are providing the Sun City with entertaining, affordable family fare. The Diablos 2013 season starts May 16 th, which doubles as their first $1 Beer Thursday and College Night at Cohen Stadium. Baseball and cheap beer?

Last year, an external auditor for the district was brought in to figure out how the cheating scheme survived. The Austin-based Weaver firm was contracted to do the investigation. Now the firm’s the one being scrutinized. “Removal of these principles has been really a cause for chaos and alarm on the campuses,” said County Judge

EPISD’s removal of four principals has led to more backlash. Students, parents and teachers protested theremoval of Austin High School principal John Tannerearlier this week. Saturday eveningCounty Judge Veronica Escobarsent a letter to the district’s interim superintendent Vernon Butler criticizing the recent actions. Onemight think parents, teachers and students would be happy theEPISD school board

A blimp flying over El Paso on Saturday got a lot of attention. Twitter exploded Saturday with chatter of a blimp dubbed “DespicaBlimp.” The blimp is part of a promotional campaign for Universal Studio’s sequel to the 2010 movie that is prepping for a new release. The blimp started garnering attention in the early morning

Las Cruces is consistently ranked as one of the top places to retire. Many attribute it to the variety of senior programs the city offers. Recent federal budget cuts are creating uncertainty for the future of some senior programs. Each year the Meals on Wheels program delivers more than 130,000 meals to seniors. Seniors who

At least 100 students and parents gathered outside Austin High School Friday morning to protest the removal of principal John Tanner. They brought signs and gave speeches at the emotional rally, telling the ABC-7 crew they don’t believe Tanner cheated willingly. Tanner and seven other administrators are facing termination. The El Paso Independent School district

A four-legged fugitive gave Horizon City Police a run for their money Thursday. A javelina led multiple officers on a chase Thursday, and the incident was captured on video. The three-minute clip produced by SigFilmsPhoto starts off with the words COPS, a tip to the popular TV show, and displays the officers’ best efforts to