Month: August 2026

Olivia Vara

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Restaurants across Texas are facing higher costs for food, labor, insurance, utilities and payment processing, according to the Texas Restaurant Association’s second-quarter 2026 Economics Report.

Raul Gonzalez, co-owner and executive chef of Starlite Gastropub, says higher gas and grocery costs are leaving El Pasoans with less money to spend on dining out.

“The percentages that are being taken up of people’s paychecks—it’s just simple math. We need prices to come down,” Gonzalez said.

“A bigger portion of people’s paychecks is going to gas their cars. And so there’s going to be less money available for other things. The cost of groceries is higher,” he said.

Gonzalez said he started seeing the impact of inflation in 2024.

“The market has, has definitely changed,” he said.

The Texas Restaurant Association report says some restaurant operators now rank insurance premiums among their three largest expenses. It also says many consumers remain price-sensitive and are less willing to pay higher menu prices.

The report identifies immigration enforcement as another factor affecting restaurant staffing. A majority of operators surveyed reported some immigration-related impact on their employees.

Gonzalez said rising costs contributed to the closure of his second restaurant, which was located next door to Starlite Gastropub.

“That definitely played a part into it. In years past, the, you know, the businesses that were here were all flourishing,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez said restaurant owners and customers need relief from rising costs. Industry leaders are expected to discuss potential relief during the upcoming Texas legislative session.

For now, Gonzalez said he remains focused on serving the community through food.

“We’re providing good food, but we’re also providing a story and we’re providing a connection…you can’t really market for that, you know, but that’s just kind of what we do. And that’s what makes us different,” said Chef Raul “Rulis” Gonzalez.

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Gabrielle Lopez

SANTA FE, N.M. (KVIA) — Sunday, the New Mexico Supreme Court unanimously paused an air permit proceeding and water use from a new well for the Project Jupiter data center in Santa Teresa.

Documents said the court granted a stay in an Oct. 23, 2025, emergency drilling authorization permitting water use from a new well to construct Project Jupiter.

By granting a stay, the court temporarily froze the water use from the well. The Center for Biological Diversity against the New Mexico State Engineer and Santa Teresa Capital, LLC, filed the request for stay.

in a separate order, the court paused an air quality permit proceeding, documents said. This request for stay was granted in New Energy Economy against the New Mexico Environment Department.

The New Mexico Supreme Court further said a response should be filed by Sept. 2 in both orders.

The NMED said it’s preparing to file a response.

“In the meantime, the Department is releasing a draft version of its administrative record, which it already intended to file today as part of the administrative proceedings prior to the Supreme Court’s action. This will allow the public ample time to review, regardless of how the timeline moves forward,” NMED said in a statement.

In June, software company Oracle announced a new energy plan for Project Jupiter. It filed an application to use Bloom Energy fuel cell technology, replacing the original gas turbine and diesel generator design.

Oracle said the change would lower water use and emissions.

The software company also announced a new initiative to save more water than the data center uses. It said its initiative is expected to save 21 million gallons of water a year, or 20 times the amount needed to run cooling and power systems at Project Jupiter.

July 9, the New Mexico Department of Justice announced an investigation into allegations of fake public comments submitted during a public review period for the air quality permit.

NMDOJ said it would investigate Yucca Growth Infrastructure, which applied for the permit. The department said people alleged fake comments submitted under their names.

ABC-7 reached out to Oracle for comment. It provided the following statements:

“Oracle and its project partners remain committed to developing Project Jupiter responsibly.  We are committed to protecting New Mexico’s resources, are abiding by every applicable regulatory process and public review period, and have complied with every required timeline along the way. The New Mexico Environment Department’s air-permitting process includes a thorough technical review, with many opportunities for public input at every stage in the process. Project Jupiter is meeting applicable permitting requirements, stands ready to proceed with the department’s public hearing process, and is engaging with the community as that review moves forward.

The effort to bypass the department’s established procedural deadlines is unwarranted, but we will continue to share facts about the project transparently and are confident the regulatory process will prevail. The facts already demonstrate the significant and growing economic benefits of this responsible data center project: nearly $80 million in state and county tax revenue delivered to date; more than $4.7 billion in projected long-term economic impact; 2,700 workers employed to date, including nearly 700 New Mexico residents; more than 7,000 expected construction jobs and 1,500 ongoing project-supported jobs; and $50 million committed to local water infrastructure. Project Jupiter is also designed to avoid potable water use for cooling, conserve more water than it uses through a partnership with Arable, reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by approximately 92% compared with the prior design, and match its electricity use with 100% carbon-free energy by 2031.”

We are deeply saddened that this order impacts a local small business. The immediate impact of this order falls on the region’s only commercial sod farm and the fourteen Santa Teresa residents whose jobs depend on its operations. 

We will of course comply with the order and remain focused on long-term water stewardship. This includes a responsible, carefully developed plan that protects water as a valuable resource through closed-loop cooling, minimal ongoing use of non-potable water, and a recently announced partnership with Arable to conserve more water in the Rio Grande-Bravo watershed than Project Jupiter uses.”

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Gabrielle Lopez

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Two people were hospitalized after a crash in Northeast El Paso Monday, according to the El Paso Fire Department. The El Paso Independent School District said the crash involved a district police officer.

See the moment the crash happened in the video above.

The Fire Department said it happened just before 8 a.m. near Sean Haggerty Drive and the U.S. 54 highway.

According to EPFD, one person has minor injuries after the crash.

“The officer did not suffer any serious injuries, and the investigation is ongoing,” EPISD told ABC-7.

Multiple vehicles crashed, according to El Paso Fire.

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Olivia Vara

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — For one California transplant, Round Table Pizza’s arrival in El Paso is serving up more than just a meal—it’s bringing back memories of home.

“If you’ve grown up in California or if you’ve lived in California, you know, Round Table Pizza,” Papool said.

Papool said the restaurant was a familiar gathering place during his childhood.

“It’s the local pizza joint. It’s the joint where you go after a Little League baseball games. It’s the joint where you go for, birthday parties, that sort of thing,” Papool said.

Round Table Pizza has more than 350 locations, most of them in California. Before the Fort Bliss location opened, the closest restaurants were hundreds of miles away.

“Ever since I moved here, I’ve really been wanting a round table pizza, in El Paso,” Papool said.

“I’ve contacted corporate many times to ask them to bring us one, and they never did until they brought one unexpectedly at Fort Bliss back in June,” Papool said.

Papool and his wife applied for Community Access Passes so they could visit the first Round Table Pizza location on a military base.

The restaurant is located at the Global Reach Express Shopette on Fort Bliss.

“Eating the pizza tastes like home, if that makes sense. You know, it reminds me of the pizza that I had growing up. And it’s just bringing a little piece of California to the Borderland,” Papool said.

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