Category: kvia-local-news

Max Zepeda

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — The Public Service Board highlighted two of El Paso Water’s originnaly proposed budgets to discuss in further meetings, after they held their second workshop discussing options for the 2027-28 fiscal year budget.

The meeting comes more than a month after EP Water’s original proposals to the PSB for the budget of the upcoming year back on Sept. 30.

The budgets selected by the PSB for water and wastewater services were the Accelerated reliability and strategic options, while the first was also highlighted solely by the board in regards to stormwater services.

In that previous meeting, EPWater presented four budget scenarios to the PSB. Each had different investment levels, service impacts and monthly rate and fee increases for customers.

Wednesday, the PSB is expected to narrow the four budget scenarios or identify a preferred scenario for the budget.

Budget Scenario Projected Outcome Rate and Fee Changes Accelerated reliability Largest capital investment. Faster pipeline replacement to reduce the risk of breaks and outages. Increase of $7/month Strategic Prioritize the highest-needed capital projects while balancing the system’s reliability, affordability and financial risk. Increase of $5/month Lean Reduces capital and operating expenses by delaying 21 projects and eliminating 140 positions. Increase of less than $4/month High-risk Lowest capital investment. Significantly defer or cancel capital projects at four treatment plants, including the Pure Water Center, and two other locations and eliminate 300 positions. Increase of less than $2/month

According to the utility, at the lowest end, the combined water, wastewater and stormwater budget is 27% lower than the current year’s $1.2 billion budget.

EPWater said the high-risk scenario would put $31 million in grants at risk and create potential regulatory violations and contractual risks. 

It also said the lean approach would trigger a slower incident response and put $8 million in grants at risk.

The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday at 6 p.m. at EPWater’s headquarters in East El Paso (1154 Hawkins Blvd.). EPWater confirmed that the meeting is open to the public.

After Wednesday’s meeting, three regular PSB meetings will take place leading up to Jan. 13, 2027. The PSB is scheduled to vote on the 2027-28 budget during the January meeting. If approved, it will take effect March 1. 

Click here to follow the original article.

Gabrielle Lopez

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KVIA) — On Wednesday, authorities arrested and charged a 31-year-old man with first-degree murder after a 2024 shooting in Las Cruces.

Luis Molina Vides is accused of Octavio Villa’s murder. Documents said Vides shot the victim after accusing him of stealing his scooter and BB guns.

Jorge Luis Molina Vides’ mugshot.(Courtesy: DACDC)

A Las Cruces Police Department Officer did a follow-up investigation into a shooting that happened in May 2024. It happened on East May Avenue in Las Cruces.

During the follow-up investigation, the officer met with Villa, who was in critical but stable condition at an El Paso hospital.

Villa said he walked on the avenue when two people holding guns walked up to him, documents said. They allegedly pointed the guns at him.

Out of fear, Villa ran away, investigators wrote. He told the officer he heard gunshots but kept running until he fell to the ground.

LCPD received a call about the fired shots. When officers arrived, they found Villa with a gunshot wound to his lower back, documents said. He was sent to an El Paso hospital for treatment.

At the scene, officers found spent bullet casings and a duffle bag with two BB funs, documents said.

During a separate investigation, Vides became a possible suspect when LCPD recovered a handgun believed to belong to him, documents said. During this investigation, Vides allegedly threatened a man whom police later interviewed. He allegedly said he would harm the man the same way he did to Villa.

Documents said Vides matched the description Villa gave officers about the suspected shooter.

Villa’s condition worsened from the day of the shooting, May 2, 2024, to June, documents said. He died to his injuries on June 17, 2024.

A week before Villa died, the Department of Homeland Security Investigations arrested Vides on federal charges. An LCPD officer interviewed him at the Dona Ana County Detention Center.

Vides allegedly said he was angry at Villa because he stole a scooter and BB guns that belonged to him. He found Villa on San Pedro Street near Downtown Las Cruces, documents said.

The encounter turned into an angry confrontation about the allegedly stolen property, documents said. Vides allegedly admitted to pointing a handgun at Villa and shot three times.

Vides said he didn’t believe he shot the victim because he ran away, documents said.

The officer interviewed a man who allegedly said he gave Vides a ride to the area where the shooting happened. Vides later called the man and said he shot Villa, documents said.

The man gave LCPD a handgun that Vides left in his truck, documents said. Forensic testing showed the gun possibly matched the spent casings found at the scene of the shooting.

Court documents said Vides was in custody in California in October of this year. Wednesday, the Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office arrested him at the El Paso County Jail and booked him into the Dona Ana County Detention Center without bond.

Click here to follow the original article.

Armando Ramirez

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — On Sunday, the El Paso Motorcycle Coalition held its 44th annual Toy Runt to gather toys and donations for children in El Paso and the surrounding community.

Local bikers gathered and registered at Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino before heading to the El Paso County Coliseum to drop off donations.

Organizers said more than 1,200 bikers met with vendors, music and food.

“I just want to say thank you to the clubs, thank you to the independent writers. Volunteers that give a lot of their time to make this happen because we work on it all here, but this is the end, and this end is the beginning to distribute the toys,” said Gracie Martinez with the motorcycle coalition.

Everyone who attended had to take a toy and a $15 donation. All toys and money will go to the El Paso Children’s Hospital and shelter.

Click here to follow the original article.

Nina Gallegos

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) – Three incumbent candidates for El Paso City Council are facing runoff elections after Tuesday’s election results.

Incumbent District 8 Representative Chris Canales led 34% of the vote with 5,715 votes. He’ll face Matthew Guzman, who reached 25% of the vote, in a runoff.

El Paso City Council – Dist. 8

24/24 | 100% Precincts Candidate Party Votes % Chris Canales (i) NON 5,715 34%

Matthew Guzman NON 4,174 25%

Laura Ochoa-Todd NON 3,436 21%

Arturo_R. Alluin NON 2,026 12%

Johnny_J. Gonzalez NON 1,294 8%

16,645 total votes Updated: 2026-11-05 01:44:36 pm

66% of District 8 voters voted against the incumbent. Guzman said he knows incumbents are tough to beat, so it was a race for second.

ABC-7 asked Guzman what the biggest issues for District 8 voters are.

“I think everybody across the board is feeling the pinch of taxes and our utility costs and housing prices. Young people are finding it very difficult to get into their first time homes. So that’s been the number one thing I’ve heard along the campaign trail. And second has just been a lack of communication from the incumbent,” Guzman said.

Rep. Canales did not respond to a request for an interview. During his watch party Tuesday night he said he will be focused on a packed city council schedule for the rest of the year.

“We’ll be considering, for example, a really comprehensive housing plan in the next couple of weeks. So that is very important to me. It’s been one of the top issues I’ve worked on for the entire time I’ve been in office, and so I really want to get that over the line,” Canales said.

Incumbent District 6 Rep. Art Fierro won 34% of the vote. Fierro will face candidate Jesse Moreno. Moreno won 27% of the vote, with 5,681 votes.

El Paso City Council – Dist. 6

20/20 | 100% Precincts Candidate Party Votes % Art Fierro (i) NON 7,191 34%

Jesse Moreno NON 5,681 27%

Claudia Contreras_Siller NON 4,668 22%

Pedro Fernandez_Jr. NON 1,784 9%

Hector Alba NON 1,632 8%

20,956 total votes Updated: 2026-11-05 01:44:36 pm

Moreno said the biggest issue for voters in District 6 are utility bills, the Meta data center, basic infrastructure and closing the information gap between City hall and their neighborhoods.

“65% of constituents voted against this incumbent. They’ve been wanting change. They’re upset. We’ve had these conversations. One on one. There are plenty of negative issues that they have with this leadership. Look upon their history, their voting record. We’ve seen that they’re consistently voting against what constituents are asking for,” Moreno said.

Rep. Fierro did not respond to a request for an interview.

In District 1, incumbent Rep. Alejandra Chavez won 47% of the vote with 12,053 votes. She’ll face Sam Armjio in a runoff election. Armijo won 20% of the vote.

El Paso City Council – Dist. 1

20/20 | 100% Precincts Candidate Party Votes % Alejandra_’Ale’ Chávez (i) NON 12,053 47%

Sam Armijo NON 5,070 20%

‘MJK’_Matthew James_Kozik NON 5,005 20%

Daniela Garcia NON 3,372 13%

25,500 total votes Updated: 2026-11-05 01:44:36 pm

Armijo denied a request for an interview, but he sent ABC-7 the following statement:

First, I want to acknowledge the challengers in the race for District 1 Representative and their supporters. They were professional, worked hard and presented their views and plans to solve El Paso’s many serious problems. I respect and admire Matthew Kozik’s and Daniela Garcia’s courage to take on the El Paso political machine and wish them well. We all opposed the city council’s policy of raising El Paso’s already crushing property taxes at every opportunity, while ignoring the conditions of our streets, and the chronic flooding of our neighborhoods . The voters have spoken, and I will now focus on winning the race for District 1 Representative in the upcoming runoff.

Rep. Chavez said the biggest issue in District 1 is affordability. She says voters are facing higher grocery prices, higher gasoline prices, higher insurance costs and higher utility costs.

“We have advocated for and I have advocated specifically for bigger reliefs for people that have disabilities and people that are living off of fixed income, 65 plus. And when the city came forward and proposed the highest rate possible for taxes before going to a vote, I voted against that three times because I wanted to make sure that I reduced the property tax as much as possible, while still meeting the city essential services that we have to provide for our community,” Rep. Chavez said.

The runoff election is December 12.

Click here to follow the original article.

Mia Tricarico

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — For the first time in more than three decades, Democrats secured major victories in Texas statewide races while taking control of the U.S. House and Senate. Voters in El Paso County contributed significantly to the historic outcome.

All eyes were on Texas’ Senate and gubernatorial races, which both resulted in Democratic victories. James Talarico defeated Ken Paxton, and Gina Hinojosa unseated Governor Greg Abbott.

As of Wednesday, with an estimated 99% of votes counted for locally, Talarico led Paxton in El Paso County with more than 100,000 votes.

Talarico held 159,272 votes to Paxton’s 54,576 a stark difference reflecting strong local turnout.

His victory marked the first time Texas sent a Democrat to the Senate since 1988.

El Paso County Elections Department reported that, according to its unofficial results, 153,639 voters elected Hinojosa, giving her 70.14% of the total vote. Abbott earned 61,410 votes.

The department’s unofficial results show that the county saw a 41% voter turnout. Out of 540,641 registered voters, 221,709 ballots were cast.

Click here to follow the original article.

Rosemary Garcia

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Students at Libertas Academy at Americas High School took an active role in democracy by speaking with candidates running in local races. The academy hosted city council candidate debates, and students spoke directly to candidates and asked questions.

Local teenagers took a deeper look into the electoral process and gained knowledge of the importance of informed participation and civic engagement.

Libertas Academy is a one-of-a-kind program at Socorro Independent School District for students who want to pursue careers in public administration, law and government.

The academy is one of only four in Texas. The highly competitive program accepts nearly 130 students every year.

Amanda Zubiate Stevens, a Libertas Academy coordinator, told ABC-7 that students from various corners of the Borderland attend the distinct’s academy.

“It’s great to be a trailblazer. We love to make sure that we are leading the way in all things law and government. One of the things that’s foundational about our program is that we have real leaders,” she said.

Students enrolled in the academy also gain real-world knowledge as they learn about the role of public service and the democratic process. Students learn the basics of the judicial system, how to write legal papers, and how federal and state courts operate.

“It’s a great opportunity for students to get involved, to learn the legal system, practice the skills that normally students only would get in law school,” said David Carrasco, a Libertas law instructor.

“They’ve had so many opportunities of not just being in class and us just instructing them with lessons, but they actually get to meet people involved in government, in law. They get hands-on experience,” Gustavo Rodriguez, a government instructor, said.

Zubiate Stevens said she’s thrilled to know that her students are eager to be informed citizens.

“They are part of what is happening in their future,” she said. “Even if they’re not a voting age, they know someone that’s a voting age. So it’s really fundamental for our students to have that engagement. We love the fact that our students are out there.”

Sophomore Diego Serrato said he’s interested in a career in criminal defense or prosecution. He noted that the academy has provided him with many opportunities already.

“It’s been an awesome experience. It’s opened a lot of doors for me, and I’ve gained a lot of knowledge in the legal field,” Serrato said.

Last week, Libertas Academy hosted an El Paso City Council debate featuring candidates running for City Council District 5 and District 6. Students acted as moderators.

“A really cool experience to be a part of, and especially to see a lot of our students show up and show that civic engagement,” one student said.

We are the future of our country, our county and our city. And it’s really important that we as youth gain knowledge,” said Serrato.

“We love that our students are getting their voice heard, and we want to continue to give them those opportunities,” Zubiate Stevens added.

To learn more about the Libertas Academy, click here.

Click here to follow the original article.

Mikey Tongko

Las Cruces, New Mexico (KVIA) — District Court Judge Richard M. Jacquez granted a motion filed by the Doña Ana District Attorney requesting the man charged in connection of a 2013 rape of a teen girl be held without bond until his trial.

Jacquez found Juan Pablo Delgado-Palma, 53, posed a danger to the community and there were no conditions that could be imposed that would guarantee the safety of those in the community.

Juan Pablo Delgado-Palma’s mugshot.(Courtesy: DACDC)

Delgado-Palma was arrested on Oct. 29 after his DNA matched a rape case from Dec. 25, 2013. A 16-year-old girl reported she had been sexually assaulted at a park on Doña Ana Road. She told Las Cruces Police that she went wallking in the park after fighting with her boyfriend at the time. She stated she woke up in a ditch with a man on top of her, then fainted. When she woke up again she was able to walk to her parent’s home and then called police to file a report.

The teen described the man as being Hispanic, in his 30s and with a “lazy eye”. DNA was collected as part of a sexual assault examination and submitted to CODIS or the Combined DNA Index System. There was no immediate match on file at the time.

Delgado-Palma was detained at an ICE facility in Albuquerque in 2025 at which time a DNA sample was obtained by authorities. The sample was entered into CODIS and it matched the sample from the 2013 sexual assault case.

During the detention hearing in Judge Jacquez’ court, a Las Cruces Police Detective testified Delgado-Palma’s physical description that was on the 2013 report matched his photo ID.

Delgado-Palma was arrested on October 29, 2026 and charged with a single count of criminial sexual penetration of a minor charge.

“The defendant has a pattern of violating the law and violating orders of the court,” said Chief Deputy District Attorney Heather Chavez. “The evidence presented in court, supported by the victim’s testimony, proves he is a danger to the community.”

Delgado-Palma is being held at the Doña Ana County Detention Center pending his trial.

Click here to follow the original article.

Gabrielle Lopez

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — On Tuesday, voters rejected three tax-increase proposals tied to El Paso County school districts. One district said the funding would have provided air conditioning for its students.

Results show that voters in the Ysleta, Socorro and Tornillo independent school districts rejected the voter-approval tax rate elections (VATRE), with a majority voting against each.

The YISD Board of Trustees unanimously approved the voter-approval tax rate election (VATRE) in August. It would have generated up to $5.5 million a year by moving some property tax revenue toward daily operations.

Superintendent Xavier De La Torre said the proposal could help the district address a multi-million-dollar deficit. The VATRE failed with 56% of voters voting against it.

Ysleta ISD Tax Rate Election

58/58 | 100% Precincts Candidate Party Votes % Against 22,786 56%

For 17,608 44%

40,394 total votes Updated: 2026-11-05 01:44:36 pm

SISD ‘s VATRE aimed to generate about $49 million annually to address rising costs and state funding gaps, supporting teacher pay, student programs and school safety, its superintendent said.

If approved, the average SISD homeowner would have had to pay roughly $10 more per month in taxes, though seniors and disabled homeowners with exemptions would not see an increase.

It failed with 57% of voters voting against it.

Socorro ISD Tax Rate Election

61/61 | 100% Precincts Candidate Party Votes % Against 33,761 57%

For 25,191 43%

58,952 total votes Updated: 2026-11-05 01:44:36 pm

SISD issued the following statement Wednesday morning about the VATRE failing:

“To everyone in our community who took the time to cast a ballot, thank you,” Superintendent James Vasquez said. “This isn’t the result we were hoping for, but we will use this time to start planning our next steps.”

Prop A would have provided $49.2 million of new funding in the current fiscal year to support the district’s Maintenance & Operations instructional budget to fund teacher and staff compensation, student programs, safety and security, technology, and HVAC and bus replacements.

Without the additional funding, Socorro ISD will begin the process to identify more budget reductions while working to protect classroom instruction and student programs.

The cost-saving measures we’ve put in place so far aren’t enough, and we must now consider larger reductions,” Vasquez said. “We’ve managed our funds conservatively, passing two balanced budgets, but we will have to make some more difficult choices.”

Lastly, Tornillo ISD said its VATRE aimed to collect funds to support daily operations as well. The proposal said it would generate roughly $237,000. It failed, with 70% of voters voting against it.

Tornillo ISD Tax Rate Election

1/1 | 100% Precincts Candidate Party Votes % Against 313 70%

For 132 30%

445 total votes Updated: 2026-11-05 01:44:36 pm

Find the full results on the Nov. 3 elections here.

Click here to follow the original article.

Nichole Gomez

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA-TV) — The University of Texas at El Paso is preparing to celebrate both Veterans Day and the nation’s upcoming 250th anniversary with a special musical event featuring military and university ensembles.

“Sound of Service” will take place Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m. inside Magoffin Auditorium on the UTEP campus. The concert will feature performances by the UTEP Symphonic Band, the 1st Armored Division Band, and the historic 369th Infantry Regiment Band. Grammy Award-winning cellist Zuill Bailey will also perform.

According to organizers, the event highlights UTEP’s participation in America250, the nationwide commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the United States. The concert also serves as a tribute to military veterans and their service to the country.

The project is being led by Dr. Brandon Houghtalen, Director of Athletic Bands at UTEP, who secured a prestigious National Endowment for the Arts grant to support the production. Organizers say planning for the event has been underway for more than a year.

Several members of UTEP’s Department of Music are also expected to participate in the performance, creating a collaboration between academic musicians and military bands.

Admission is free. Tickets are available through UTEP’s music department website. https://www.utep.edu/liberalarts/music/events/

Click here to follow the original article.

Hillary Floren

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Emotions have been high this election season, and the results can have a profound affect on mental health. The reason? They touch on deeply held values, identity and our future.

Research shows that political outcomes can cause uncertainty, loss of control, and information overload.

People may worry about the future, or feel powerless. Some coping strategies include staying engaged without sacrificing well-being.

Focus on what you control. Set news and social media boundaries, and unfollow accounts that increase stress. Protect relationships, and set boundaries on political discussions. Practice self-care, sleep, and get plenty of exercise.

Finally, accept all outcomes. Recognize that results are part of the democratic process. Don’t be afraid to seek support if the stress feels unmanageable. Call or text 9-8-8 for free, confidential help.

Isidro Torres, Executive Director of NAMI El Paso, says that counselors are not there to judge based on political affiliation; they are strictly there to help.

Find more local resources on ABC-7’s Be Mindful page.

Click here to follow the original article.