Month: January 2015

The Defense Department announced Thursday it’s cutting the number of furlough days for civilian employees from 22 to 14, somewhat softening the blow from the automatic budget cuts. “The civilian workforce is critical to our capabilities here at Fort Bliss,” said Major Joe Bucinno, Fort Bliss Public Affairs Officer. “We’ll see less an impact I

“The reason thatI feelI need to run right now is because the county lacks leadership, it lacks representation towards it’s citizens, andI want to give the taxpayers a voice,” said District 6 city representativeEddie Holguinafter makinghiscandidacy for the El Paso County judge’s seat official early Sunday. Holguin will be campaigning against current county Judge Veronica

A crash involving multiple vehicles Friday morning left eight students from the Clint Independent School District hospitalized. Investigators with the Horizon City Police Department said the injuries were minor. The crash happened at 7:45 a.m. at 14521 Horizon Blvd. in Horizon City. Police said a CISD school bus was stopped at a stoplight, with a

A Libertarian, Republican and Democrat attempt to distinguish themselves at the Coronado High debate. But the incumbent will be tough to beat. Beto O’Rourke, a Democrat, is life-long El Pasoan, former councilman and has been working in Washington since 2012. His top priorities are border opportunities, a commitment to veterans, and being accessible and accountable.

The brothers killed after a suspected drunk driver hit them on Christmas eve will be laid to rest this weekend. Isaiah and Joshua Deal’s funeral is at 2 p.m. Saturday at Cielo Vista Church. Isaiah, 19, and Joshua, 23, had just left their father’s home where they celebrated an early Christmas and were on their

ABC-7 is learning more about the deadly shooting involving New Mexico State Police, that happened a week ago in Las Cruces. Police have identified the officer who shot U.S. Army Sergeant William Smith as Officer Michael Williams. Smith’s family says smith suffered from post traumatic stress disorder, after serving overseas. The family alleges police knew

Update: The armed robbery suspect who was shot and killed Sunday by a smoke shop employee has been identified as 24-year-old Luciano Acuna, according to Las Cruces Police. Las Cruces Police say that shortly befor e 9 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 14, Acuna had his face partially covered with a mask and was armed with a

The family of an El Paso man who was shot and killed by a police officer has filed a lawsuit against the city of El Paso, the officer and 20 city employees. Bernardo Gutierrez Morales, 56, was shot and killed by officer Albert Gomez on June 15th, 2012. The lawsuit alleges Morales’ death has yet

Police in the Lower Valley are tying to find the driver involved in a deadly hit and run. It happened just before 8 p.m. Friday night on the 7300 Blk. of North Loop. Police say a man was crossing North Loop when he was hit. The man, who has not been identified, died at the

Nearly three-dozen people were arrested this week in connection with prescription-drug rings in the El Paso area. The DEA, DPS and numerous other government agencies had been working the case for more than two years. It culminated with the arrests Monday night. The 33 defendants are accused of falsely obtaining, stealing and altering prescriptions, said

Darren Wilson will not receive any further pay or benefits after resigning from the Ferguson, Missouri Police Force. The city’s Mayor, James Knowles, made the announcement Sunday. “There is no severance agreement with officer Wilson and the city of Ferguson,” Knowles said. “The city of Ferguson will not be making severance payment to officer Wilson.

The district attorney in Las Cruces is accusing his predecessor of deleting emails and trying to prevent his office from getting federal funding. ABC-7 spoke with both current DA Mark D’Antonio and former DA Amy Orlando Wednesday about these allegations and their merits. D’Antonio said he only found about the deleted emails and their recovered

A man riding his bicycle ran a stop sign and was then hit by an SUV. Las Cruces Police said the accident occurred in Las Cruces as the 60-year old was riding on Maese Street and North Motel Boulevard. Police said the man crossed the path of an oncoming SUV and was hit. The man

Sixteen schools, 31 teams, their staff, their family, friends and fans — all coming to El Paso Conference USA “This is a win-win for everybody,” said President of the Hotel-Motel Association Rick LaFleur. LaFleur expects to see big dollars generated this week. “I checked in some teams Sunday night, checked in some more on Monday,

A wildfire has broken out in the Lincoln National Forest. It’s being called the Curtis Fire. This started Wednesday evening near Mayhill, New Mexico, just east of Cloudcroft and Alamogordo. Officials say 20 homes had been evacuated but as of Thursday morning, all evacuations have been lifted. The fire is estimated to be about 109

President Barack Obama announced Wednesday he plans to normalize diplomatic relations with Cuba and ease economic restrictions on trade with the island nation. The announcement comes on the heels of a prisoner swap today between the two nations that freed American Alan Gross from a Cuban prison. Some are upset about the announcement saying the

A hit and run incident involving Las Cruces twin sisters, is shedding light on the dangerous situation pedestrians face daily. Our New Mexico Mobile Newsroom demonstrated the difficulties when crossing the crosswalk on Picacho Avenue near Melendres Street-where Anabel and Alejandra Dorado were struck Monday afternoon. “Its a daily occurrence,” Tom Conner, who owns a

Dec. 5 afternoon update: El Paso Police have identified the woman killed in an early Friday morning crash as 59-year old Elizabeth Smoka-Korems of Mohave Valley, Arizona. Original story: One person is dead after a crash in Far East El Paso early Friday morning. It happened around 12:30 a.m. at the intersection of Loop 375

El Paso County on Thursday voted to ban aerial fireworks through July 5. On Monday, County Judge Veronica Escobar plans to make a disaster declaration. The county will vote on whether to ask Gov. Rick Perry to allow the county to ban all fireworks in unincorporated areas for the fourth straight year. Perry recently decided

El Paso County paid nearly $20,000 recently to replace a water pump at Ascarate Lake that helps replace the lake’s evaporated water. But lake visitors said the water level is still alarmingly low. A viewer wrote in recently, explaining that the lake’s single pump wasn’t strong enough to keep up with evaporation. But the County

Elected officials in El Paso County could now face serious financial consequences if they fire someone without cause and the county gets sued. That’s according to a new policy Commissioner’s Court approved unanimously Monday. Much of this is aimed at elected officials who take office and want to hire all-new people. County Judge Veronica Escobar

We now know what you could be paying in taxes to the county next year. Monday, county commissioners voted to approve the 2015 tax rate and finalize the budget. The county’s $252 million total general fund budget will be finalized over the next week by county staff, and county commissioners voted on the tax rate

County Commissioners approved the employment contract for new County Administrator Steven Norwood. Although the administrator position is similar to a city manager position, county commissioners must still approve major spending decisions. “I think it’s a step in making it more effective year after year,” said newly-elected County Commissioner, Andrew Haggerty, who said he looks forward

Drivers in El Paso’s Upper Valley say the area’s ongoing road-construction project has become a traffic nightmare and at least one business claims it is costing them lots of money in lost revenue. The El Paso Country Club says its catering business has taken a hit to the tune of $150,000 in lost revenue since

Many drivers are hitting a new level of frustration with construction on Country Club Road in El Paso’s Upper Valley. A new road closure at Montoya Drive and Country Club took effect Monday. Drivers complained to ABC-7 that there aren’t enough signs indicating the intersection is closed, causing a lot of confusion. “I wasn’t expecting

Tensions are brewing over the complete closure of Country Club Road. Beginning next Monday, Country Club will be completely closed from Doniphan to Love Road. Country club road is currently down to one lane as crews replace old water and sewage lines. At a meeting Monday night, city representatives Cortney Niland and Ann Morgan Lilly

A program meant to reduce wait times at the international bridges was renewed by City Council for another year Tuesday. But do the results justify the renewal? The public private partnership pilot program lets the city raise bridge fees to help fund Customs and Border Protection officer overtime to have more lanes open more often,

El Paso City Council on Tuesday committed to assuming responsibility for the Lincoln Center, if the Texas Department of Transportation, who owns the building, agrees to negotiate in good faith. The Council specifically wants TxDOT to remove a reversion clause that would allow the state agency to take the building back within 30 days’ notice

Now that Texas Gas Service has split into two companies, the El Paso City Council wants to see if there’s an opportunity to lower gas rates. Texas Gas is divided into One Gas Inc.One gas will focus on the retail side of the business.Council members said at Tuesday’s meeting, they want to analyze how the

El Paso City Council voted on Tuesday to rescind the flow control policy that was approved by a previous council in 2010. Flow control means that the trash collected in El Paso would end up in El Paso’s landfills. Now, part of the trash goes to the Camino Real Landfill in Sunland Park. City leaders