Nichole Gomez
El Paso, TX (KVIA-TV)—The El Paso Passport Agency will host “Passport Day” on Saturday, April 26, 2025, from 7:30 AM to 1 PM. According to Santiago Burciaga, the passport agency’s director, this event is for the local and surrounding communities and will accept first-time, renewal, and child passport applications. No appointments are needed.
The agency is located at 303 N. Oregon St. in downtown El Paso.
Paul Cicala
EL PASO (KVIA) – Patrick Crusius, the gunman of the Walmart shooting in El Paso that claimed the lives of 23 people from both Texas, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Now that victim impact statements have ended, and Crucius is being sent to state prison for the mass shooting in El Paso on August 3, 2019, ABC-7’s Paul Cicala was able to sit down, 1-on-1, with District Attorney James Montoya.
The sit down interview with El Paso’s DA James Montoya touched on everything from whether or not he feels justice was served… to the decision to not pursue the death penalty … to treatment of the case with past District Attorneys… to the reaction in court when one of the family members of a victim hugged the shooter Patrick Crucius in court.
Jazsmin Halliburton
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Columbia Board of Education met on Thursday to discuss multiple items, including workplace conditions for teachers.
A presentation was given that went over a report about specific constructs of teacher working conditions at Columbia Public Schools.
CPS was the second school district to do this study which will look at baseline working conditions across Missouri. This was funded by a three-year NEA Great Public Schools Funding Grant that the Missouri National Education Association received in 2024.
“We decided that with the leadership of CPS leaving in December, that early in January would be a great time to find out what teacher perceptions were and educator perceptions were about the working conditions here, to kind of give a foundation, a framework for the new superintendent to have moving forward,” CMNEA president Noelle Gilzow told ABC 17 News.
There were 13 areas of construct, including retention, community support & involvement, equity and district leadership.
The construct with the highest average was teacher leadership and the lowest was district leadership.
The report included four recommendations, including prioritize adjustments in response to the lowest scoring construct.
“As seen across both quantitative and qualitative data, most teachers do not trust district leadership,” the report states. “They feel like district decisions are making their working conditions worse and although teachers try to share these concerns, they do not feel like they are taken seriously.”
It included the recommendation that leadership nd school board “take advantage” of the change in leadership and make actionable steps to rebuild trust.
The full report is 44 pages long.
The board also discussed looking into a strategic approach to address student meal debt. A presentation discussed the impact of unpaid meal balances, the importance of a layered debt recovery approach, and how these factors contribute to financial sustainability while supporting its dedication to students’ well-being.
The presentation states that the current student meal debt is over $125,000 so far in the 2024-2025 school year. The board will be looking into a debt collection service providers and receive community support.
The board discussed safety and security goals from this year and how to improve the district’s practices and procedures related to weapons detection systems in CPS high schools.
The board went over the strengths of this year’s first-time use weapons detection system, such as students going through efficiently and effectively and an increase in peace of mind for students, staff and parents. They will also be going over weaknesses that were found, such as before school activities needing new protocols to get students through before school starts for the day.
A review of discipline statistics from across the district and a workplace conditions survey will also be items of discussion at the meeting, according to the agenda.
The district also said the weapon detection systems will be used a graduations this Spring.
Ryan Shiner
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Severe storms this past Sunday resulted in multiple tornado touchdowns in the area, including an EF-1 that was reported in Columbia.
A lot of power outages were reported around Mid-Missouri, with some lasting days. Columbia’s recycling facility was destroyed in the storm, prompting the city to pause curbside pickup and close its drop-off locations. The county also closed its drop-off sites.
Have you been directly impacted by this past weekend’s storms? Let us know in the poll and in the comments.
News-Press NOW
DAVIESS COUNTY, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — A Gallatin, Missouri woman suffered serious injuries in a one-car Daviess County crash Wednesday.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports the accident occurred around 2 p.m. at the intersection of Missouri Route 6 and 252nd Street, east of Gallatin.
A 30-year-old woman driving east on the former lost control, traveling off the road and hit a rock embankment.
First responders took her to Mosaic Life Care in St. Joseph by ambulance for serious injuries.
She was not wearing a seat belt, according to the crash report.
Mike Klan
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Royals had the finishing touch.
San Marcos High School edged Oaks Christian 3-2 in a CIF-Southern Section Division 1 first round playoff match.
Tied at 2 the Royals #3 team of Charlotte Hastings and Paige Hoadley won the decisive match 21-16, 24-22.
The San Marcos #1 duo of Josie Gamberdella and Cora Loomer won their match in straight sets 22-20 and 21-18 against a team of Jade Mape and Hailey Wilson.
The Royals first win of the day came from the #4 pairing of Lila Westmacott and Isla McClintock.
They outlasted the Lions team of Paige Hansen and Ellie Hallinan 23-21, 19-21, 15-8.
The Royals move into the quarterfinals on April 29th against either Redondo Union/Newport Harbor.
Cynthia White
IMPERIAL, Calif. (KESQ) – For those Imperial Irrigation District customers who are worried they may soon be in the dark, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) may offer help through the CARE Program.
IID is letting its income-qualified customers with overdue bills know that they may be able to get assistance through the CARE Program once they have signed up for IID’s “Residential Energy Assistance Designed for You” (READY) plan. The READY plan provides a discount to qualified customers.
IID says that if a qualified customer has received a final notice and needs financial help to keep the power on, assistance from CARE is up to $125 per quarter, or even up to $450 for the third quarter (July, August, and September).
For more information on the READY plan, visit iid.com/customer-service/payment-assistance. IID provides a link to the “IID Residential Energy Assistance Designed for You Flyer.”
Cynthia White
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Some Coachella Valley students are being recognized with this month’s “Do the Right Thing” award, which is a partnership between Palm Springs Police Department and News Channel 3.
Congratulations to the April 2025 students who “Do the Right Thing:”
Anthony Perez Mora – Agua Caliente Elementary School
Jonathan Velasquez – Palm Springs High School
Ashley Gutierrez – Rancho Mirage High School
Karime Mejia – Desert Mirage High School
Alexander Hernandez – Saul Martinez Elementary School
Matthew Gomez – West Shores High School
Benjamin Foreman – George Washington Charter School
Belina Zamora Rodarte – Martin Van Buren Elementary School
Jimena Ochoa – Benjamin Franklin Elementary School
These outstanding students were chosen for their positive attitudes and contributions to the community.
If you know of a deserving student, you can nominate them at kesq.com/do-the-right-thing/.
Sam Ross
POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI)-Irving Middle School in Pocatello is celebrating a major milestone, an entire century of serving students.
Irving Middle School saw its first students all the way back in 1925.
Since then, thousands of young people have passed through the doors of the now historic building.
Irving Middle School’s Principal says this year is a time for students and staff of past and present to reflect on all the lives touched by the school.
“100 years of 700 kids a year. Man, that’s, that’s a lot of kids that have come through these halls and have been impacted by teachers, administrators, coaches,” Stuart Johnson said. “I really love just the thought of of 100 years of kids coming through here and to know the stories of some of those kids.”
Irving Middle School hosted a ‘100 year celebration open house’ on Wednesday night.
The open house included school tours, stories from former staff and alumni, and student made displays explaining the school’s history through the decades.
Ashley Chilcutt
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — The Idaho Department of Education is hosting a series of educator career fairs throughout the state, and they were in Idaho Falls Wednesday night.
People from the department were on hand to answer applicant questions about certifications and among other requirements.
School Principal Bryan Jensen said it was nice to meet with applicants and help them learn about what makes their district a good place to work.
“We take every opportunity we can to brag about our town and try to attract people there, because it’s a wonderful place to live,” he said. “I originally came thinking i would teach here a year or two, and I’ve been in Caribou County for 29 years now.”
There are a few more career fairs happening around the state. If you didn’t get a chance to attend the fair you can always check with the school districts to learn how to apply.
