Month: March 2015

Republican Gov. Susana Martinez says she was disappointed with the leadership of the Senate during this year’s legislative session. Martinez told attendees at a real estate luncheon Monday in Albuquerque that her call before the session for lawmakers to embrace reform and to put partisan differences aside went unheeded in the upper chamber. She says

A Texas Senate panel has approved a bill to decriminalize truancy, advancing it after hearing an endorsement from the state’s Supreme Court chief justice. Chief Justice Nathan Hecht said he supports the idea since Texas has “a real problem with keeping kids in school.” The committee later voted unanimously to recommend it to the full

El Paso,Texas- There’s a smell in an east side neighborhood, residents; say it’s from trash that has been piling up for days. That stench has the residents up in arms, on day number five from its scheduled collection last Friday, residents want answers. We found trash overflowing, bags stacked on the sides of these houses,

El Paso County Sheriff’s deputies have arrested a 24-year-old man and charged him with indecency with a child (exposure). Ricardo Rodriguez, who lives in the Horizon City area, was charged and booked into the El Paso County Jail with a $20,000 bond. According to the sheriff’s office, deputies were sent to a residential area in

The UTEP chapter of Iota, Iota, Iota (Triota), a national Women’s Studies Honor Society, will present its 5th Annual Women’s History Month conference on April 1-2, 2015. Nearly 450 people have pre-registered for the free, public conference. Anyone interested in registering can do so athttp://whm.iss.utep.edu/. The 2015 conference theme is “Weaving the Stories of Women’s

The possible creation of a county pretrial office has some local bondsmen up in arms. The office is meant to reduce the county’s jail costs by releasing low-risk offenders instead of leaving them behind bars. While the program might save the county money, bondsmen say it will take a bite out of their wallet. Right

As the city continues to expand, so does the Socorro Independent School District. The district’s latest addition is Purple Heart Elementary School, located at 1440 CR Campuzano in far east El Paso, near Montana Avenue and Rich Beem Boulevard. Monday night, future students and parents attended a community meeting hosted by SISD to inform them

Students at Lamar Elementary in Central El Paso won’t have to go to school Tuesday, as school employees have to clean up damage caused by a fire, said a school district spokesman. The fire broke out in a classroom Monday afternoon. How the fire started remains under investigation. EPISD Spokesman Gustavo Reveles-Acosta said the class

The immigration debate continues across the country, from Austin to Washington, D.C. and now here in El Paso. The county voted 4 to 1 to sign a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the federal government in the case of State of Texas et al v. United States of America et al. It centers around President Obama’s controversial

When you want your children to have healthful snacks you may give them some apple slices or some berries but what about hot cheetos? In the eyes of the federal government, hot cheetos are now a smart snack for your children. The Obama administration rolled out new guidelines last year to make sure children ate

At approximately 10:47 a.m. on Monday March 30, the El Paso Fire Department was dispatched to Country Club Rd and Meadow Lark Dr. when construction workers reported a natural gas leak. The first unit arrived on the scene at 10:53 a.m. After mitigating the flammability of the natural gas, Texas Gas employees began to dig

The Texas Senate has given preliminary approval to rating public schools statewide by letter grades A through F. The proposal passed 20-10 Monday would issue grades based on student standardized test scores. A floor change, however, means the bill won’t take effect until the 2017-2018 academic year. It now needs only a final, procedural vote

The Texas Senate has approved a plan to revoke licenses of nursing homes authorities cite for resident abuse or neglect violations three times in a two-year period. The so-called “3 strikes” proposal by Republican Sen. Charles Schwertner of Georgetown passed 30-0 Monday. It now heads to the House. Schwertner drafted the bill after a state

One of the last things El Paso businessman William “Billy” Abraham did before he was sentenced to prison two weeks ago was buy a key piece of Downtown property from the University of Texas System. The sale of the old Walgreens building is likely to raise some eyebrows in El Paso where Abraham has been

Work began last week on a new apartment project in Downtown El Paso, the Savoy Loft Apartments, where investors are testing El Pasoans’ appetite for Downtown living, building some of the first new housing the area has seen in years. The highly anticipated deal has been in the works for more than three years and

A person discovered a man’s body under a bridge in West El Paso. The person saw the body Saturday afternoon underneath South Desert Boulevard before Mesa. Police said the man was found laying next to a book and some food. Police also said he is believed to be homeless. The El Paso Police Department is

Hundreds of people turned out to honor New Mexico Vietnam Veterans, during the dedication ceremony for the new Vietnam War Memorial in Las Cruces Saturday. Veterans were emotional as the monument was unveiled. “it feels good, it feels real good,” Vietnam Veteran Claude Gomez said. The memorial is titled ‘Heroes Never Thanked,’ because those who

Tickets are now on sale for the Gildan Triple-A Baseball National Championship Game, Sept. 22, 2015 at Southwest University Park. It features the champions of the Pacific Coast League and the International League in a winner-take-all game. Reserve tickets are available starting at $12. Southwest University Park expects tickets to go quickly. “We are thrilled

Two separate vehicle accidents occurred Friday night into Saturday morning in El Paso. In Northeast El Paso, two women walked away from a rollover accident according to officials. The rollover happened shortly before 9 p.m. Friday evening at Loop 375 and the Liberty Expressway. The two women were inside of a white SUV when it

Several police units, including members of the SWAT team, responded to a situation Friday afternoon. More than fifteen police cars responded to a home near Balboa Road and Cabrillo Street. A helicopter was also seen circling the area. El Paso Police tell ABC-7 that the call came in just before 1:30 p.m. in the 6000

Police say the man responsible for a SWAT situation on the West Side is armed and on the loose. Jesus Marrufo, 23, may be suicidal, according to investigators. Marrufo allegedly assaulted a relative Thursday morning on the 300 block of Olivia. The victim told police Marrufo choked her. Friday afternoon, the victim told police Marrufo

The construction will continue at El Paso International Airport. A new plan is calling for even more work, this time on the smaller American Airlines side of the concourse. A city bid request call for to expand Concourse A and and the back lot leading to the baggage claim area. The project could start this

Las Cruces Police have arrested three juveniles for allegedly vandalizing several vehicles early Friday morning in Las Cruces’ Bellamah neighborhood. Blas Ramon Tarango, 16, Anthony Gonzalez, 17, and a 13-year-old girl have been detained and charged for their part in this morning’s vandalism spree. At around 4:40 a.m. Friday, March 27, Las Cruces Police were

Get ready for your water bill to go up again. Next month, residential customers will pay an $1.94 more every month. That’s to help pay for the $3.5 million bill the City gave the Public Service Board for street repairs. Since September, only non-residential water users were paying that bill, so they may be getting

March 27 Update: The Tornillo Water District on Friday morning lifted its boil-water advisory for drinking or cooking with its water. The bacteriological sample results came back negative for coliform organisms. Original Story: Tornillo residents are being told to boil their water before drinking or cooking with it until further notice. Francelia Vega with the

The National Transportation Safety Board has released a preliminary report on the plane crash that killed a borderland pilot last week — and weather appears to be a factor in the crash. Waldo Emerson Cavender was conducting aerial pipeline patrols for Brentco aerial patrols out of Ohio. He died when the Cessna single-engine plane he

The Franklin boys soccer team started their run to state with a 3-0 blanking of Lubbock Monterey. On the girl’s side, Andress beat Bel Air 3-1. Jefferson outlasted Del Valle in a double overtime thriller, 2-1. Eastlake edged El Paso 2-1 to advance to the area round. Coronado and El Dorado saw their seasons come

The house has just passed a major change for the future of Medicare. It could also have big impacts for doctors in the Borderland. In an unusual bi-partisan move, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a $241 billion measure permanently blocking cuts in Medicare reimbursement payments for physicians in a 392-to-37 vote. Experts say this

El Paso was recently named a 2014 Tree City by the Arbor Day Foundation. City officials said the recognitions affirms its commitment to planting and care of trees. More than 300 trees have been added in about the past two years around downtown El Paso, according to city spokesman Martin Bartlett. An additional 780 trees