Category: kvia-local-news

Nichole Gomez

El Paso, TX (KVIA-TV) — Wet N’ Wild Waterworld is opening its first-ever Haunted Scaregrounds this fall. The event will feature activities, roaming scare actors, specialty food items, and an all-new haunted house. The Haunted Scaregrounds opens on October 3 and will be open select nights through November 1. Tickets are on sale now, starting at $ 9.99 + tax when purchased online in advance at https://wetnwildwaterworld.com/.

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Heriberto Perez Lara

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Leadership for the Border Patrol El Paso Sector says they are still seeing properties being used by Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) as stash houses. Agents have found more than 158 so far in the 2025 fiscal year, which ends in October.

For comparison, Border Patrol agents in the sector found more than 280 stash houses in fiscal year 2024. The El Paso Sector covers El Paso and Hudspeth counties and all of New Mexico, 125,500 square miles in total.

As ABC-7 reported, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said federal agencies in the sector arrested 35 migrants along with their smugglers in a human smuggling scheme in Chaparral, New Mexico, at the start of the month.

Watch ABC-7 for more details in our upcoming newscasts.

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Heriberto Perez Lara

JUÁREZ, Chihuahua (KVIA) — The Mexican National Association of Importers and Exporters (ANIERM) in Juárez reports that the Transformation Sector (manufacturing side) continues its downward trend of job losses, with 834 eliminated in August alone.

According to the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), Ciudad Juárez lost 155 jobs last month, dropping from 488,368 in July to 488,213 in August.

The city has already seen a total decrease of 27,420 jobs over the past two and a half years, when it topped out at 515,633 positions registered with the IMSS in March 2023.

Compared to August of last year, 7,038 jobs have been lost, based on IMSS data.

ANIERM states that social services gained 504 jobs, business services added 214, commerce increased by 30, the electrical industry added 26, and the agricultural sector increased by 4. Other sectors that shed jobs included transportation, losing 61, and construction, which lost 37.

“The pillar of the economy, manufacturing, has lost nearly 28,000 jobs, accounting for almost all of the losses,” said Marcelo Vázquez, Chihuahua Delegate for ANIERM. “This is serious because when manufacturing declines, other sectors of the economy also begin to contract.”

So far, construction is the sector that has lost the most jobs, with 1,441 fewer positions over the past year, according to ANIERM.

“Much of this is due to the uncertainty caused by tariffs, and another part of this trend is because wages in Juárez are 50% higher than in the rest of the country,” added Delegate Vázquez.

ANIERM states that Maquiladoras are hesitant to invest and expand on the border because labor costs have become too high. Other factors of uncertainty include labor reforms, the threat of reduced working hours, double bonuses, and other issues that could further increase labor expenses.

Additional concerns involve reciprocal tariffs imposed by President Trump on several Central American countries, which prevent maquiladoras from relocating.

“Right now, the business sector and the government must prioritize improving conditions for companies and work to attract and develop new Mexican businesses,” Vázquez also said.

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Olivia Vara

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — The Texas Education Agency (TEA) released a letter addressing social media content from some public school educators related to the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

The agency states that these posts do no reflect the vast majority of Texas teachers who work with millions of students.

TEA says it will refer documentation of misconduct to its Educator Investigations Division for review.

The letter says these posts could violate the Educators’ Code of Ethics and will be examined for sanctionable conduct.

The letter adds that while free speech is a right, it does not “give carte blanche authority to celebrate or sow violence against those that share differing beliefs and perspectives.”

The statement from the TEA urges educators to report additional instances through TEA’s Misconduct Reporting Portal.

Texas AFT responded by condemning the online harassment campaigns aimed at Texas educators and reaffirmed its commitment to protecting teachers’ professional integrity.

In their statement, the union emphasized that teachers’ professional conduct must be judged by state ethics standards, not by partisan online campaigns.

Texas AFT says administrators need to uphold due-process protections while evaluating any educator conduct tied to social media posts.

Texas State Board of Education Member Gustavo Reveles also issues a statement on social media today in response to the TEA.

Reveles wrote on social media, in part, “I urge the Commissioner to redirect the Texas Education Agency’s energy and resources towards addressing the large backlog of open investigations into educator misconduct that already existed, rather than threatening the certification of teachers for expressing their views in a private setting.”

KVIA reached out to the Texas Education Agency for a response but has not yet heard back.

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Heriberto Perez Lara

SANTA TERESA, New Mexico (KVIA) — The Department of Homeland Security approved several projects for the border wall, specifically in the El Paso Sector.

ABC-7 reported in July that a secondary wall project was set to be completed in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem also confirmed that the border wall would be painted black to reduce illegal crossings.

Border Patrol says the black paint will help prevent the border wall from rusting and also protect it from the high temperatures in El Paso, which could lead to fewer migrants attempting to climb the wall.

“You’re only putting yourself and your family in danger when you believe in the misinformation and the lies from criminal organizations,” said Agent Claudio Herrera, Border Patrol El Paso Sector spokesman.

According to Agent Herrera, infrastructure is crucial for their daily operations and is part of the efforts to close the existing gaps.

“It’s vital for the United States Water Patrol (construction of a secondary wall) because it gives our agents time to respond to illegal activity in those areas,” Agent Herrera added. “And it helps us as a deterrent (black painting) and because the properties of these walls tend to get really hot.”

There is no timeline for completing these projects in the El Paso Sector.

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Rosemary Garcia

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — A 22-year-old from El Paso traveled to Turin, Italy, in March for the Special Olympics World Winter Games.

Karla Alvarez was selected to be a part of the floorball team. The team ultimately came in 4th place.

But Alvarez is a passionate and dedicated athlete who is involved in more than one sport. She has competed in basketball, cheerleading, football, golf, swimming, tennis and cross-country.

Alvarez began competing in the Special Olympics at the age of five. Her family said she has always been competitive.

Her coaches, Ricardo Rodriguez and Aira Dolz, both met her when she was a freshman in high school.

“She’s the type of athlete that us coaches love,” Rodriguez said.

They said she is tenacious and a go-getter.

“She has that confidence that. Yes, we wish we all had. She goes up to anyone and says, ‘Hey, I’m Karla, and this is me.’ And it’s, it’s really awesome. And she just goes up there, and it’s like she owns it.” Dolz said.

ABC-7 asked Alvarez how she felt representing the U.S.A. and El Paso. She said she “feels good. Proud of myself.”

Her family had been abroad, and it was Karla who made that possible.

Alvarez’s mother, Veronica Mares, said it was a proud moment seeing her daughter at the Special Olympics.

“During the opening ceremonies and just seeing the team came in and come out and look at her just waving and being happy and being somebody that had achieved such a milestone in her life. It was just such a great, great feeling.”

Mares said Karla thrives in the world of sports, but she representing El Paso at the global competition will be hard to beat.

“She was so happy to accomplish, so she felt like, like she had done what she wanted. And she was so happy about it.”

Karla said she loves being active, but right now she is mostly focused on cheerleading and golf.

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Nicole Ardila

The El Paso community is honoring the fallen from the 9/11 terrorist attack with their annual 9/11 stair climb memorial.

Nearly 2,000 people are expected to join the event at the Sun Bowl Stadium, and that includes Army ROTC, Fort Bliss, El Paso law enforcement and first responders, and community members.

People will be climbing the stadium stairs to complete the same number of flights that the first responders climbed in the Twin Towers, honoring those who died in the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

Gates open at 6 a.m. and an opening ceremony for the event will take place at 6:10 a.m.

The event runs until 9 a.m.

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Nichole Gomez

El Paso, TX (KVIA-TV)-El Paso Community College will participate in activities and competitions with more than 200 other institutions across the nation sanctioned by the National Junior College Athletic Association Esports. According to EPCC the program will help build a well-rounded experience for students, better preparing them for their future career.

https://www.epcc.edu/Services/Athletics/esports

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Nichole Gomez

El Paso, TX (KVIA-TV)– September 2nd, 2025 – Get ready to raise your glasses! The 7th Annual Horizon City Wine Festival returns to Horizon City September 13th.Tickets are on sale now at www.horizoncitywinefestival.com

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Nicole Ardila

The Mesilla Valley Regional Dispatch Authority and the Doña Ana County Office of Emergency Management are urging all residents to sign up for CodeRED alerts, to keep them informed and prevent tragedies and loss.

Local public safety officials would quickly send time-sensitive alerts directly to residents through phone calls and texts, email, and social media. 

Notifications may include:

Severe weather warnings

Evacuation notices

Hazardous materials incidents

Missing persons

ABC-7 spoke with the MVRDA’s Executive Director Jennifer Gorham, and she says the system has been underutilized.

“There’s an opportunity for some preventative. As for instance, this month being National Preparedness Month, this is a great time for us to kind of reunite this application to our community,” said Gorham. “Because, again, being prepared in many cases can save lives or save property as well.”

You can start on their website, here, or text “Alert me 911” to 99411 — or download the app on your phone’s app store.

You’ll then insert basic contact and location information so you’ll get notifications based on your area.

Then you can select if you want weather notifications, but MVRDA highly suggests you keep them on….

They also send notifications after a major event such as how to receive resources…

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