Good Morning El Paso weekend 04.23.16

the hunt continues this morning for a suspect… after a string of murders apparently all targeting members of one family. a different gunman now dead after five people were killed in two separate shootings in the south. and more controversey in the race for the el paso county tax assessor-collector. were ethics violated? and in stormtrack weather, iris! this is all the news you need to start your saturday, april 23rd. abc-7’s “good morning el paso weekend” starts right now! good morning and thank you for joing us and happy passover … i’m andrew j. polk. an ohio community is in shock after good morning and thank you for joing us and happy passover … i’m andrew j. polk. an ohio community is in shock after eight members of one family were gunned down… the family members were shot at four different properties. the victims include seven adults and a 16-year-old boy. they were found in homes near piketon, about 60 miles south of columbus. authorities say all were shot in the head and that it appeared some were killed as they slept, including a mother in bed with her 4-day- old baby nearby. the infant and two other small children were not harmed. authorities say the victims are members of one family. investigators say none of the deaths appeared self- inflicted, so they believe at least one assailant is on the run. law enforcement officials say whoever is responsible should be considered armed and dangerous. a gunman in georgia is now dead after five people were killed in 2 separate shoootings. georgia authorities say the man suspected was found with an apparent self- inflicted gunshot wound. columbia county sheriff’s office says 50-year- old wayne anthony hawes’ body was recovered today by authorities in his northeastern georgia home. authorities say the friday night shootings stem from a domestic dispute that left three men and two females dead. police say three people were shot at one location in appling and two others were shot dead at another location about a mile away and believe some of the victims were related to the suspect’s wife. in las cruces– a father is accused of beating his 3 year old son after he broke some x-box games. this after he was out on bond for murder charges against him in 20-14. detectives say 20- year-old lawrence “josh” lucero was watching h son while the mother was at work. according to police he picked up the boy’s mother about 30 minutes late.. and told her it was because he had to spank the child. when the mother got home she said the boy had bruises and swollen lips. he was taken to memorial medical center with non-life threatening injuries. lucero is charged with one count intentional child abuse– which is a third degree felony. he is also accused of second-degree murder in the stabbing death of 17-year-old david escamilla. lucero is now behind bars and prosecutors are expected to request that lucero’s bond be increased. “bag pipes..” border patrol agents, family and friends said their last goodbyes as jose barranza was laid to rest yesterday. barraza was killed in a car crash monday after he worked an overnight shift. the crash involved a semi-truck near fort hancock. his wife donna told us barraza was quote an “amazing father, husband son, brother and friend.” we talked to a hudspeth county sheriff’s lieutenant at the funeral — who told us barraza could be always be counted on in an emergency: lt. lasaro salgado: “he was always there. he was always there to help someone in need.. someone who was hurt. and he was one of the first ones to try and save someone’s life. ” barraza leaves behind a wife and two young sons. the cause of the crash is still under investigation. some controversy in the race for el paso county tax assessor. it’s a runoff between incumbent ruben gonzalez and former chief deputy tax assessor- collector siria rocha. rocha is accusing gonzalez of unethical leadership. on the day of the march 1st primary election — one of rocha’s campaign workers saw gonzalez’s chief deputy campaigning for him. that’s him, in the chair at the polling station. suspicious — rocha filed a public information request, asking for his time card that day. abc- 7’s ashlie rodriguez picks up the story: he was paid for that day like he had been in the office. this is the timesheet siria rocha received. it says chief deputy arturo pastrana– who earns $80,000 per year with benefits — worked 8 hours. but rocha says— it should say he was either on vacation, or using personal leave to campaign. i believe in my opinion that he was caught. there wasn’t any leave available for him to take so he decided the taxpayers money would pay for that one day of campaigning. i think she’s incorrect in her interpretation. county tax assessor ruben gonzalez says his deputy is salaried– on call 24-7, and classifed as an exempt employee. his time was his own time on that particular day and he can do anything he wants to do on his own time. gonzalez said he keeps track of his employees hours. if they work over 40 hours in a week — he’ll track the additional hours— and let them take it off at a later time. he says that was what pastrana was doing on march 1st and that an automated program records 8 hours on the timesheet, whether he works more or less than that. you are not allowed to campaign during regular working hours, unless you do take a very specific type of leave. she points to the texas ethics commission code which says– “d not use state time or state equipment to work on an individual’s political campaign .” she knows what the rules are, she being an exempt employee should know better, that this is a 24-7 position. arod — abc7. gonzalez said he also checked with the county’s hr department which agreed with his interpretation. we wanted to confirm that. the hr department is telling us a different story. this matter was not discussed with this office prior to the… approval, nor does this office routinely provide such approval or clearance. however, we requested the hours worked by pastrana for the month of february and records show he worked more than 12 extra hours, so he was able to take a day off without short changing taxpayers. the runoff election is may 24th. early voting starts on the 16th. …stormtrack weather now! let’s get your first forecast with stormtracker iris lopez we will see a slight chance for rain today east of the rio grande…otherwise it will be mostly sunny and warm. for sunday through thursday we will see breezy to windy afternoon conditions with high temperatures running a few degrees above normal under mostly sunny skies. for friday and saturday we will see a slight chance for rain in area mountains. a city leader and one organization are taking heed to ubers latest threat. uber –an app that puts those looking for a latest threat. uber –an app that puts those looking for a ride in touch with drivers –tells city leaders in a letter it will cease to operate in el paso if city council passes an ordinance that puts them in the same category with taxis. abc-7’s jerry najera has the story … the app has not only gained popularity since it started in 2014 but it’s also provided employment for hundreds of drivers. taxi drivers across the nation have argued that uber drivers don’t have pay to get costly permits and it puts them at an unfair advantage but the idea of losing uber in el paso has some concerned. “th ordinance was to level the playing field with the taxi drivers here so they can compete better with companies like uber” district one city rep peter svarsbein is talking about the vehicle for hire ordinance. the ordinance will go before city council in may. an ordinance uber tells city leaders “would require driver to complete unecessary and and duplicative steps that make it difficult for them to earn extra money and hurt our ability to ensure that riders have access to reliable and affordable transportation” “ub is a wonderful tool that enhances the quality of life of many different el pasoans from the east side to the west side from downtown to central to the northeast” svarbein tells me he understands arguments of taxi companies need to be heard. “i think it comes down to a balance other cities have lost uber there we can a system that’s in place where it’s fair to the rights of el pasoans but also make sure that uber stays here in el paso” svarsbein feels uber in el paso can be an advantage for many. “it’s the kind of amenity that keeps drunks off the road that allows citizens of el paso who might be in between jobs or want to supplement income the ability to do so” and speaking of drunk driving “we are able to do everything through our telephone now so i see a lot of individuals that are in their youth that are young adults that do take uber as an option rather than getting behind the wheel” mothers against drunk driving program manager vanessa marquez says the organization does have a partnership with uber but wants to keep all options open. “wether it is a shared ride lik uber or taxis as many options as we have that’s better for our community because it makes our streets safer” uber has ceased operation in galveston midland and corpus christi this year. city council will vote on a new version of the vehicle for hire ordinance on may 17. how did you celebrate earth day? yesterday the el paso catholic diocese celebrated it by planting trees and starting a community garden. the diocese teamed up with the organization “make el pas green”. the organization both grows and donates tree around the el paso area and has already planted over 14 hundred trees. they help educate el pasoans how to take care of their trees and encourage the community to be more active in the environment: “that trees are very importan for mitigating the current global climate crisis and situation we have, that’s the alternative. it’s important to have tree’s in your life and in your house and there’s just so much that they do for el paso.” “th event shows one little step that anybody can take. plant a tree, find ways to use your water more efficiently, think about recycling and so on. we all can do our part and care for this beautiful creation of god that he’s entrusted to us.” if you would like to visit the garden it’s located at 4-9 saint matthews street. el pasoans fighting hunger also celbrated earth day but it a different way. yesterday they teamed up with the san vicente food bank and gave food to about 250 families. according to feeding america, 1 in 6 el pasoans are food insecure. the san vicente family health center helps provide community- based primary healthcare with particular concern for the poor and needy. and the celebrations for earth day don’t stop just yet today the el paso zoo is holding a “party for the planet’ th celebration includes the orangutan baby khlaeesi’s first birthday along with live entertainment, pi?atas, games and much more. it starts this morning from 10 to 4 in the afternoon and will be held again tomorrow morning. downtown building owner william d. “billy” abraham could face penalty up to 2 point 6 million dollars. according to our news partners at the el paso inc. city documents show abraham faces 1 thousand dollars a day for the 2 thousand 1 hundred 58 days he has not complied with a city order. an examination of some downtown buildings revealed the conditions have become increasingly dangerous. the buildings include the american furniture co. the richard caples building and the kress building all owned by abraham. the city’s building and standards commission will hold a public hearing this week to determine if the american furniture co. building is in compliance with city orders. the meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. wednesday at el paso city council chambers. for more on this story and more pick up your copy of the el paso inc with stories like: what you need to know about the new alamo drafthouse cinema and how to get inside before it officially opens. how much the city says it will fine the owner of a downtown building, if he doesn’t make it secure. and why uber is threatening to pull out of el paso, if has to go along with new regulations being considered. el paso inc. is online at elpasoinc.com, and available for home and business delivery. call 534- 4422 to subscribe. there has been some interesting weather in the borderland heading into the weekend… but coming up on good morning el paso weekend – spring snow hitting the sierras… causing some big surprises for commuters there. it is , right now we’ll take a live look at traffic this morning: and in stormtrack weather, iris! stormtrack weather is next! you’re watching abc-7… where news comes first!