Month: January 2014

It’s been all over the media for days now. The Carnival cruise liner Truimph was stranded off the Gulf of Mexico for more than 4 days after a fire in the engine room caused it to lose electricity. It has been reported passengers and crew members had to deal with no power, no running water,

Proponents and activists gathered in Las Cruces today to rally fora hike in minimum wages. It’s been almost four years since New Mexico has seen a raise in their minimum wage. Back in 2009 the minimum was raised to $7.50 an hour. Las Cruces elected officials are saying a dollar raise to $8.50 an hour,

El Paso Fire Department: At around 3:51 p.m. today, fire crews were dispatched to a water retention site off of I-10 and Resler Drive near Doniphan and Frontera Road after reports were made to 9-1-1 that two children were stuck inside a water reserve pipe. Upon arrival, fire crews were able to make visual and

El Paso County commissioners say talks between them and Socorro city leaders are positive, but litigation will be pursued nonetheless because of a continued push to annex county land. County Attorney Joanne Bernal, and other attorneys, spoke with commissioners for more than an hour behind closed doors. The executive session covered a number of lawsuits,

The complaint affidvait against Lisbeth Ann Garrett reveals that a relative had a hand in helping authorities break the 36-year-old cold case homicide of her estranged husband, Army Maj. Chester Garrett. The 74-year-old and the victim’s stepson, Roger Garrett, are accused of beating and stabbing to death Chester Garrett and leaving his body inside his

On Feb, 10, 1990, two gunmen entered theLas Cruces Bowl and killedthree children and a father. The shooters also critically injured three others. According to the Las Cruces Police Deparment,the victims were shot execution-style. Friends and family of those killed toldABC-7 they find it hard to heal old wounds. Melissa Repass was only 12-years-old at

Feb. 11, 2013 Update: El Paso Police have identified the man killed in a car wreck on Saturday as 29-year-old James Anthony Beck of Valdosta, Georgia. He was stationed at Fort Bliss, according to post officials. Valdosta was a passenger in the vehicle. Feb. 9, 2013 Article: Fort Bliss spokesman Maj. Joe Buccino confirmed the

With nearly 2 million illegal immigrants and a 1,200-mile border with Mexico, Texas has more at stake than most states in the renewed push to overhaul the nation’s immigration system. Yet so far, Gov. Rick Perry and Republicans who control the Legislature have been sitting this debate out. They’re not resurrecting dozens of contentious immigration

The 1977 murder of Major Chester Garrett went unsolved for more than 35 years. His body was found in a far East El Paso desert with a fractured skull and 10 stab wounds. Friday night, two arrests were made. Gareett’s wife, Lisbeth Ann Garrett, and his stepson, Roger Evan Garrett, were charged in the murder

El Paso Independent School District Board of Trustees were informed Feb. 8 that the U.S. Department of Justice has notified Texas Education Agency (TEA) that it would be inappropriate for the Attorney General to make a ruling at this time on the TEA’s request for pre-clearance under the Voting Rights Act to make a temporary

El Paso County Sheriff’s deputies on Friday searched the home of Lisbeth Ann Garrett, the woman charged this week in the 1977 murder of her husband, Army Maj. Chester Garrett. Sheriff’s deputies entered the home on Friday afternoon in haz-mat-type suits. A total of 10 officials were at the house, including 7 vehicles, one crime

Friends and family are in shock following a murder-suicide involving a mother and her children. Denver Police confirmed 23-year-old Myra Perez of Canutillo shot her three children before turning the gun on herself. 6-year-old Nivek and 2-year-old Eric died. Perez’s 3-year-old Isabel remains in critical condition at a Denver hospital. According to an ABC News

Socorro held a special meeting Saturday evening in light of El Paso District Attorney Jaime Esparza filing a petition forthe court to review Socorro City Council’s termlimits. In a surprising turn of events, council members Jesse Gandara and Willie Madrid resigned from their positions. The unexpected move didn’t come beforeGandara made a motion to hold

District Attorney Jaime Esparza announced he’s asking a court to question the authority that allowed the city of Socorro council members and the mayor to extend their own terms of office. Acity’s charter is pretty much a rule book for the city, and the Texas Constitution says no city charter shall be altered, amended or

Socorro City Council member Jesse Gandara Jr. is being accused of offering a bribe to the owners of a prominent San Elizario business in exchange for their support in the community’s annexation. ABC-7 obtained a recorded conversation where a man purported to be Gandara allegedly offered the Licon family $40,000 if they would drop their

El Pasoan and former NASA astronaut Danny Olivas had an important role following the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster 10 years ago today. Columbia disintegrated on re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere after a heat-resistant tile was struck by a piece of foam during launch. Olivas was part of the team that investigated the Columbia disaster and

The City of Socorro is looking for solutions to make sure three of its council members do not violate the Texas Constitution. The problem unraveled Tuesday after the opinion from the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, said some decisions they made were against the law. County Commissioner Vince Perez also questioned the terms of Jesse

Juan Olivas was shot by federal officers around2Wednesday afternoon at the Casa Barranca Apartments on Resler Drive. His wife, who witnessed his death with their one-year-old daughter, blamed the officers when she described the scene. “I was getting in the car and they just started shooting at him, they didn’t tell us who they were,”

ABC-7 Sports Director Paul Cicala volunteered his time to give a 2-hour lecture and discussion on football and the Superbowl’s influence on North American society to dozens ofESL students in south El Paso. The class is for English Language Learners at the San Jacinto Adult Education Learning Center. Most of the students are recent-arrivals from

Travis County District Court Judge Tim Sulak on Thursday granted the City of El Paso’s motion to consolidate two lawsuits pending in El Paso into the City’s bond validation lawsuit pending before the Travis County District Court. The bond validation action seeks to confirm the City’s authority to construct the Downtown Ballpark at the site

ABCNews The pharmaceutical company that makes Triaminic and Theraflu recalled 2.3 million units of cold and cough syrups after four children opened the child-resistant caps and accidentally poisoned themselves. The child-resistant caps don’t work in some cases, and a child can remove them even with the tamper-evident plastic seal still in place, according to a

One of New Mexico State University’s star basketball players has been suspended after allegations surfaced that he beat up another student at a party. Senior forward Tyrone Watson is listed as a suspect on a Las Cruces police report dated Jan. 26. A Las Cruces police officer wrote in the report he was at Memorial

Good Morning El Paso anchor Hillary Floren delivered her fifth childThursday morning. Presley Taylor Floren was born at 2:52 a.m. The baby girl weighs 6 pounds and 11 ounces and was born healthy and without complications. Coincidentally, Jan. 31 also marks Hillary’s birthday. Congratulations from the ABC-7 family to Hillary, husband Tom, and children Shea,

U.S. Marshals, FBIand El Paso Police spent several hours at the scene of a law enforcement-involved shooting in West El Paso. It occurred in the 100 block of Resler Wednesday afternoon. FBI spokesman, Mike Martinez confirmed one man was killed, but did not release his name. ABC-7 spoke with a woman who said she was

The Texas Attorney General has rendered an opinion stating that the City of Socorro’s extension of city council terms is not in compliance with the Texas Constitution. “Under article XI, section ll(a) of the Texas Constitution, a court would likely conclude that a home-rule municipality may not change its city council terms from three years

El Paso City Council will consider changes to the city charter that will impact the way the city is governed. A city’s charter is the municipal constitution, a guiding light to set policy. Currently, most city charters are general, but El Paso’s is incredibly specific, said Leila Melendez, the Executive Assistant to the City Manager.

The El Paso County Commissioners court hearing was unusually packed on Monday morning. More than 50 people who reside in east El Paso County gathered to ask County Commissioners to get involved with their fight against a proposed power plant in Montana. The homeowners came with small stars reading “Say no,” attached to necklaces, each

Former radio and television reporter John Garmon was struck and killed by a vehicle Saturday evening. Garmon touched many during his decades-long tenure at KVIA and KDBC, and KTSM radio. “El Paso has lost a tremendous journalism icon, he taught a lot of people, he inspired a lot of people,” said former television anchor Felipa

A man was struck and killed by a vehicle while crossing a street, police said. Police have identified the man as 72-year-old John Garmon, a former El Paso media personality. Garmon is remembered as a KVIA newsman, who worked at the station in the ’80s. ABC-7’s Round the Clock news team saw special traffic investigators

A Dona Ana Community College nursing instructor who was hit by a campus vehicle on the New Mexico State University campus died Friday night, according to family members. Lucy Montes-Sandoval, 53, was hit by a woman driving an NMSU Ford Taurus on Jan. 17. NMSU police said Catherine Parra, 22, was turning left onto Stewart