Category: kvia-local-news

Gabrielle Lopez

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Starting Wednesday, people can tour the Magoffin Home amid its restoration.

The Magoffin Home in Downtown El Paso “tells the stories of a multicultural family that influenced the development of the Southwest borderlands,” the Texas Historical Commission said.

The mansion has been closed as crews repair the 150-year-old adobe bricks, but tourists will have a chance to watch experts at work. The historical commission said tourists can even see parts of the building not visible since the walls first went up in the 1870s.

Hard hat tours will be available on some Wednesdays and Saturdays through July, with more dates to be added. Tours start June 10.

Tourists have to be at least 6 years old, according to the historical commission. To take the tour, you have to wear a hard hat (provided at the tour), close-toed shoes and long pants.

Tourists wear hard hats as they tour the Magoffin Home.(Courtesy: Texas Historical Commission)

Adult admission is $7, senior admission is $6 and students can get in for $4.

The historical commission recommended making a reservation, which you can do through this website.

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Nicole Ardila

Update (8:15 p.m.) — The majority of El Paso City Council members voted against the possibility of canceling the tax incentive agreement with Meta for the data center in Northeast El Paso.

The votes were as follows:

FOR: Dr. Josh Acevedo, Lily Limón, Chris Canales

AGAINST: Alejandra Chávez, Ivan Niño, Art Fierro, Deanna Maldonado-Rocha, Cynthia Boyar Trejo

UPDATE (6 p.m.) — Public speaking continues into the afternoon as council makes their way through a list of 183 speakers. Earlier in the day, council was dealing with overflow because council chambers reached capacity at over 220 people.

There are many people both in support of the Meta data center and against it. One side says Meta is going to drain resources and cost El Pasoans. The other says the data center will provide jobs for working class laborers and prevent them from leaving the city to find a job somewhere else.

Tensions between the two sides remain high. Mayor Renard Johnson has had to reiterate the guidelines for both speakers and observers in council chambers multiple times. Several pro-data center speakers were booed and interrupted while at the podium.

One pro-data speaker who was booed said, “They were very rude. It’s a group of rude individuals that have a lot of misinformation, and they’ve been saying it for months, and now I’m happy to see the unions and people that are actually out on the front lines, actually building this with accurate information, come out and speak in support of their community.”

A speaker against the Meta data center said, “It will be a tragedy. There will be nothing left of El Paso. Nothing. Can you not see it? Because I can. And as you can tell, I’m not even from here. But my family is here.” Supporters of Item 37 in chambers cheered for her as she spoke.

There are still several hours of public comment left before council reaches a decision.

UPDATE (12 p.m.) — For the public speaking session, 183 people signed up. The city called up people in groups of five to allow them to have time to have their say.

Each person is provided three minutes to address the council. That means there is just more than nine hours of public speakers signed up.

ABC-7 is at the meeting and will provide updates.

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — During Tuesday’s city council meeting, residents will have a chance to share concerns about the Meta data center to possibly cancel the contract..

Item 37 on Tuesday’s agenda was introduced by City Rep. Lily Limón and Rep. Josh Acevedo, who are directing the city manager and attorney to negotiate and terminate the contract, after hearing from a majority of residents who are against it.

Mayor Renard Johnson told ABC-7 last week that the agreement can’t be terminated. He told abc-7 why it could come at a cost for the tax payer. 

“If you were to enter into any litigation with that particular company, and if El Paso was to lose, we would also have to pay their attorney fees. So that would be a significant amount of money that would be based on the taxpayers,” he said.

He also shares that it makes a bad impression on other companies for future negotiations.

Organizations like Amanecer People’s Project, who fights for clean resources, says this meeting is a huge step to reduce any environmental and financial harms from this project.

Co-founder Matthew Rodriguez says the city might have not been well aware of the scale of damage a center like this can cause to the borderland, and calls Mayor Johnson’s argument to not cancel, a “scare tactic.”

“This talk about ‘trust’ and ‘we need to honor our word’ and ‘this will hurt our reputation,’ these things just aren’t fit to this situation,” says Rodriguez. “Meta is is trying to extract from us, people don’t want that to happen, it’s very clear that people don’t want it.”

The meeting begins at 9 a.m. but public comment begins at 10 a.m.

You can call in at 915-212-0049 or sign up to speak in-person on Item 37 by 9 a.m.

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Mia Okubo

(KVIA) — Monday, Doña Ana County announced a new online Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan (ICIP) website where residents can review proposed infrastructure projects and give feedback on through a questionnaire.

The project page provides information about the County’s proposed 2028–2032 ICIP projects. The page serves as a tool to assist in local governments funding for capital projects and help prioritize which projects are needed most for the local community, the county said.

Many of the projects in the ICIP involve transportation, public safety, park, community facilities, utilities, and other public infrastructure improvements.

County Manager Scott Andrews said, “Public input is an important part of planning for the future of Doña Ana County, we encourage residents to review the proposed projects and complete the questionnaire so we can better understand the needs and priorities of the communities we serve.”

The public comment period will close at 11:59 p.m. June 17.

The ICIP project page and public feedback questionnaire can be accessed here.

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Gabrielle Lopez

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — After two El Paso Independent School District board members resigned after the board voted to declare financial exigency Thursday.

Financial exigency is similar to bankruptcy for educational institutions. The board voted 5-1 to declare it amid financial obstacles and a multi-million dollar deficit.

Trustee Daniel Call voted against the motion and Trustee Valerie Beals was absent. They each had about a year left in their terms.

State law requires the school board to accept their resignations and declare their seats vacant. To fill those seats, the board has to decide between appointing new members or hold a special election.

Community members could apply for the open seats if the board decides to choose appointments. Other board members would review those applications and vote on who will serve until the next election.

If the board calls for a special election, EPISD would have to cover the cost.

County election officials say the tag could reach hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on when the election is held.

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Gabrielle Lopez

CIUDAD JUÁREZ, Chihuahua (KVIA) — Officers in Juárez rescued four children found without an adult in a home in south Juárez, the city’s municipal government said Monday.

Officials said officers found the children overnight after someone reported a possible abandonment at the intersection of Palacio de Monte Alban and Privada Azteca.

At the neighborhood, officers questioned a neighbor who claimed the children were seen alone in the morning.

One child, a 6-year-old, said his parents left that morning and was looking after his siblings. He also said he was trying to make food because they were hungry, according to officials.

A neighbor then helped officers enter the property using a ladder since the front door was locked, officials said. Inside, they found two boys and two girls, aged 3 to 6 years old, according to officials.

Courtesy: SSPM Juárez

The children went to the social work department for care and shelter.

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Gabrielle Lopez

UPDATE (June 12, 2026) — The City of Las Cruces expanded cooling station availability ahead of Saturday’s high heat, it said Friday.

Here are the cooling stations open this weekend, according to the city:

Thomas Branigan Memorial Library, 200 E. Picacho Ave.

Open Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Mesilla Valley Intermodal Transit Terminal, 300 W. Lohman Ave.

Open Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Open Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Meerscheidt Recreation Center, 1600 E. Hadley Ave.

Open Friday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Open Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

ABC-7’s StormTrack Weather team issued a First Alert for high temperatures and rain chances this weekend. Las Cruces is expected to stay shy of triple-digit heat, but stay high at 99.

For a list of cooling centers in El Paso County, click here.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KVIA) — Cooling centers in Las Cruces will open Tuesday — just in time as the area prepares for possible triple-digit temperatures in its forecast.

From June 9 to June 11, some community centers, libraries and other buildings across Las Cruces will be available for a break from the heat.

These locations are open June 9-11 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to the city:

Frank O’Brien Papen Community Center, 304 W. Bell Ave.

Henry R. Benavidez Community Center, 1045 McClure Rd.

Munson Center, 975 S. Mesquite St.

Sage Café, 6121 Reynolds Dr.

The Thomas Branigan Memorial Library is open Monday-Thursday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. From Friday-Saturday, the library will open 10 a.m. and close 6 p.m. Sunday, the library is open 1-5 p.m., the city said. Its address is 200 E. Picacho Ave.

The Mesilla Valley Intermodal Terminal (300 W. Lohman Ave.) is available as a cooling station from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. weekdays and 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, the city said.

Lastly, the Meerscheidt Recreation Center (1600 E. Hadley Ave.) will be available from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. The city said the facility is under construction, but designated areas will stay open for the public to cool off in.

For a list of cooling centers in El Paso, click here.

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Rishi Oza

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — El Paso District 2 City Representative Josh Acevedo is hosting a community meeting at Austin High School to discuss the Meta Data Center contract Monday. The contract will be discussed during city council’s meeting tomorrow.

The meeting is open to the public and starts at 5:30 p.m. Monday.

Rep. Acevedo introduced the item last week, aiming to get the contract that Meta has with the city cancelled. The data center began construction last year and is expected to cost over $10 billion.

Acevedo cited concerns from the community about resources that would be needed and potentially putting financial strain on taxpayers.

The city has said that it’s hard to cancel a contract like that because it could lead to litigation and financial issues for taxpayers.

ABC-7 will have a full report on the meeting tonight on ABC-7 after the game.

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Gabrielle Lopez

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KVIA) — Las Cruces’ annual Jazz Arts Festival is changing up its June lineup through a collaboration with the Mesilla Valley Jazz and Blues Society. The jazz society will perform a free Juneteenth concert at the Rio Grande theater.

Juneteenth, which takes place June 21, is a federal holiday celebrated to commemorate the end of slavery in the U.S.

El Paso-based musician David Rodriguez will lead the Havana Quintet, a Cuban music group. They’ll play a mix of traditional and contemporary Cuban rhythms like bolero, mambo and Latin jazz, according to MVJBS.

The Havana Quintet is part of the Team Havana project working to share Cuban and Latin music around the world. Rodriguez was born in Havana, the MVJBS said.

The free concert is on Sunday, June 21 at 2 p.m. at the Rio Grande Theatre (211 N Main St.).

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Gabrielle Lopez

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Monday, the FBI Albuquerque Division said a man with ties to Juárez, Mexico, is wanted for alleged drug-related crimes in New Mexico.

According to the FBI Albuquerque Division, law enforcement stopped 61-year-old Raymond Lawrence Gonzales’ car April 17, 2024. He drove from Arizona to Albuquerque and had 72 kilograms of fentanyl pills.

On June 24, 2024, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Gonzales after he was charged with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

He has ties to Mazatlán and Juárez, according to the FBI. His wanted poster said he is “known to have violent tendencies.”

According to Gonzales’ wanted poster, he is 5’6″ with brown hair, brown eyes and weights 220 lbs. He also has a tattoo on his right shoulder and a scar near his right eye, the FBI said.

He also may go by Mark Zamora Lawrence, according to the wanted poster.

Any information about Gonzales can contact the Albuquerque Field Office at 505-889-1300, or 1-800-CALL-FBI or online at tips.fbi.gov.

Below is his wanted poster from the FBI.

6.8.26 Wanted Poster GonzalesRLDownload

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Nicole Ardila

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Illegal dumping is an issue across El Paso County, but many El Pasoans might not have seen it hidden along Transmountain Road — especially below the westside overlooks.

For more than a year now, ABC-7’s Nicole Ardila has been finding out who’s responsible for picking up this trash from what could be illegal dumping.

The piles of garbage range from bottles and cans of alcohol to tires and construction materials, something the wind is not solely responsible for. 

Wondering who is supposed to clean this up, Ardila met with the Franklin Mountains State Park officials to find out how they play a role, and what their priorities are.

She also met with clean-up organizations who are determined to finding a solution and one wildlife expert is sounding the alarm on how this will continue to affect the borderland’s plants and animals if nothing is done.

Watch Nicole’s special report, “Trash Mountain,” Wednesday, June 10 at 10 p.m. only on ABC-7.

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