Month: December 2014

El Paso City Council on Tuesday approved amending the contract of previous city manager Joyce Wilson. Council members Carl Robinson, Eddie Holguin and Lily Limon voted not to amend to contract, with the final vote being 4-3. Wilson is now allowed to work for Upper Rio Grande Workforce Solutions and continue being a consultant with

El Paso Fire Dept. Lt. Rafael Navarrete has been released from the hospital and is home. Navarrete was injured June 2, 2014 while working a crash on Loop 375. Navarrete was responding to a rollover when he fell through an opening in the guardrail barrier on the loop. The El Paso Fire Department tweeted Tuesday

It’s been just a little over a month since the Chihuahuas began playing at Southwest University Park and the accolades continue for the ballpark. This time they’re coming from a writer for baseballparks.com. Joe Mock visited the ballpark during a homestand and calls the ballpark a masterpiece. Read his full review of the ballpark at

Four medical centers serving veterans in Texas have some of the nation’s worst wait times for new patients, according to a report in the Austin American-Statesman. A federal audit report released Monday shows that centers in Amarillo, El Paso and Dallas ranked in the top 10 longest waits for new patients seeking mental health care.

An audit of hundreds of Veterans Affairs facilities released Monday found that more than 63,000 veterans were waiting to be scheduled for care nationwide, and the Department of Veterans Affairs announced it was scrapping performance bonuses for all senior management in 2014 as part of its response to the review. The internal VA audit provides

Shelters in El Paso mobilized to receive immigrants from Central America after the Border Patrol in the Rio Grande Valley was overwhelmed by a huge influx of women and children. “It is a crisis so many people coming in,” said Ruben Garcia, director of Annunciation House in El Paso. Garcia who runs an organization that

Traffic is backing up at I-10 East near Buena Vista and I-10 West near Executive. Traffic originally became congested at I-10 West near Schuster due to an accident several hours ago. Find an alternate route if possible.

About 700 unaccompanied minors mostly from Central America were sleeping on plastic boards at a Border Patrol warehouse in Nogales, Arizona, this weekend, the vast majority flown from South Texas. It is the latest illustration of how a wave of immigrants from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala has overwhelmed U.S. border authorities. President Barack Obama

The 31 people who were stuck at the Wyler Aerial Tramway at Franklin Mountains State Park were all successfully rescued by 10:22 p.m., according to El Paso Fire Department, and there were no injuries. EPFD (@EPTXFire) tweeted on Sunday evening that the Wyler Aerial Tramway broke down around 6 p.m., and 31 people had to

Rachel Alexander contacted ABC-7 to tell us, she’s almost gone a week without water. Alexandersaid, “we called somebody out here to find out why our pump quit working, because we have our own water. he said the water level dropped so much it wasn’t going to work.” She and her husband have had to haul

The El Paso Police Department has been investigating the death of 90-year-old Paul Gregg since he was found inside his home on Lomaland on the night of May 27, 2014. The case began as a suspicious death report but has evolved to what appears, at this time, to be a medically related death, according to

As the world prepares to mark the 70th anniversary of D-Day on Friday, June 6, El Paso Inc. shares a rare first-person account of the Allied invasion that changed the world. It comes from the late Ellis Mayfield, an El Paso native who was a 29-year-old captain in the U.S. Army that summer of 1944.

Click on links for schedules of free entertainment in the El Paso area for the next few months. Thursdays – Cool Canyon Nights Fridays – Alfresco! Fridays Different days – Movies in the Canyon Different days – Movies on the Lawn at UTEP Saturdays- Dancing in the City Saturdays – Movies in the Park in

A complaint affidavit reveals the details of the alleged relationship between a former Irvin High School theater teacher and one of her male students. Cecilia Schlesinger was charged with Improper Relationship Between Educator and Student on May 27 and turned herself in on May 29. According to the affidavit, the 16-year-old student told El Paso

City officials said Thursday new City Manager Tommy Gonzalez’s contract was stamped by the city clerk days before it was signed because it’s a standard procedure. Gonzalez’s contract says it’s effective May 20, the day City Council publicly voted to offer Gonzalez the job and he accepted. The final signed copy of the contract indicates

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operation officers eized 323 pounds of marijuana in four seizures Wednesday. Area CBP officers also nabbed four fugitives, seized prohibited agricultural products, confiscated counterfeit goods and stopped an outbound smuggling attempt. “CBP officers remain focused and committed to the mission even as the area is experiencing unprecedented

Carlsbad Caverns National Park is under a Stage I Fire Restriction due tohigh temperatures, low relative humidity, and extremely dry vegetation, according to park officials. Stage I fire restrictions include: No open flames, campfires, charcoal, gas or wood barbecues allowed in the park (to include Rattlesnake Springs Picnic Area). Smoking is allowed only within an

Canutillo Independent School District wants the area it shares with multiple other schools to be connected to the new Spur 16, so that drivers have more options for getting in and out. Canutillo High School opened off Interstate 10 between Artcraft and Transmountain in 2006. Since then, drivers have only had one side to get

Our StormTrack first alert has been in effect since Sunday. On Wednesday, city officials warned El Pasosans of the dangers, by declaring a heat emergency. Overnight lows in the upper 70s means the borderland isn’t getting much relief from the heat. The three groups to always keep in mind during extreme temps are: elderly, children

In a seemingly unexpected and swift move, Upper Rio Grande Workforce Solutions’ board voted Wednesday to offer the interim Chief Executive Officer position to Joyce Wilson, after unanimously voting to accept the resignation of their now former CEO. The board voted to accept the resignations of now former CEO Lorenzo Reyes Jr. and Chief Operating

El Paso Police do not know how an 18-year-old Fort Bliss soldier was able to get on a completely closed portion of I-10 and collided into construction workers working on Spur 1966. According to the police report obtained by the ABC-7 I-Team, Jan Michael Nieves was traveling eastbound on I-10 at 2:27 a.m. on May

The City of El Paso Department of Public Health on Wednesday morning declared a heat emergency in El Paso. The announcement came after a recommendation by the Extreme Weather Task Force (EWTF) which is comprised of various City departments, and local agencies. Dr. Hector Ocaranza, El Paso City/County Health Authority, said the declaration is important

El Paso Electric will be servicing two pieces of equipment now and through the night. “El Paso Electric (EPE) is constantly monitoring our equipment and usage. In doing so, EPE has identified two pieces of equipment that need to be serviced. We are taking proactive steps as crews work around the clock. We are beginning

Attorney General Gary King has won New Mexico’s Democratic gubernatorial nomination and will face incumbent Republican Susana Martinez in the general election. King defeated four other candidates in a quiet primary in which Democrats avoided attacking each other and focused their criticisms on Martinez. Martinez is a rising star in national GOP circles as the

A federal mandate to slash carbon emissions nationwide could result in another lengthy legal battle in Texas after the front-runner to become the state’s next governor said Monday he will fight the effort. Greg Abbott, the Texas attorney general and Republican nominee for governor, said requirements to cut emissions by 39 percent in Texas would

Downtown El Paso became full of dust Tuesday night with the demolition of buildings in the 200 block of San Antonio. Historic preservationists have been angry in recent days that the property owner – River Oaks – had plans to raze the entire block of five buildings at the corner of San Antonio and Mesa.

Dr. Damon Murphy has voluntarily surrendered his Texas educator certificate according to the State Board for Educator Certification website. A voluntary surrender of a certificate occurs as a result of an educator’s voluntary relinquishment of a certificate, in lieu of disciplinary proceedings, and renders that certificate permanently invalid. The voluntary sanction by Murphy took effect

While some city representatives question the viability of the business plan submitted by the group trying to reopen the Lincoln Center, others have said the plan is not final. “What I’ve seen, I’m not impressed. I think it’s a little vague,” said City Rep. Ann Morgan Lilly in an interview Tuesday. Lilly is concerned the

El Paso Chihuahuas left-handed pitcher Jason Lane has been called up by the San Diego Padres. Lane and Jeff Francoeur were featured in a New York Times article this week about the two players trying to get back to the majors. In other Chihuahuas transaction news, right-handed pitcher Jorge Reyes was traded to the Atlanta

Border Patrol agents spotted a body floating in the canal parallel to the Rio Grande near 2 nd Street and Cesar Chavez Highway around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, fire department and Border Patrol officials confirmed. The body has not been recovered since it once again disappeared inside the canal. A dive team has not been called