World-Wide Attention, But on the Ground, Femicides Continue
Posted on May 16, 2008
No contemporary human rights crisis in Mexico has moved world public opinion more than the rapes and murders of young women in Ciudad Juarez and the state of Chihuahua. Despite the international outcry, scores—perhaps hundreds—of murders and disappearances of young women remain unsolved.
The Inner Loop: Marquez, Moody/Margo, Morris, Montes
Posted on May 16, 2008
Four pieces of silver for a Friday morning.
Checking Citizenship of Natural Disaster Evacuees? Lame-Brained
Posted on May 16, 2008
Imagine how much worse Hurricane Katrina would have been for the residents of New Orleans if ICE agents had set up immigration roadblocks. Or, in 1998, when Del Rio residents had to escape the sudden killer flood caused by Tropical Storm Charley. This new policy is more lame-brained than the Department of Homeland Security building a wall through people’s property along the border.
Giving Thanks to Our Police and Law Enforcement
Posted on May 15, 2008
As first responders, law enforcement personnel not only respond to the needs of our local communities but also to the needs of our country. I say thank you from the bottom of my heart for your bravery and for keeping us safe.
Profile: Victor Cobos
Posted on February 6, 2006
" . . . one day, back in the seventies, I woke up with a hangover and I thought, 'God damn, what am I good for?' It was one of those religious experiences."
Bush and the Appeasement Comment
Posted on May 15, 2008
Mark Twain, the wonderful humorist and American icon once penned, “All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence and then success is sure.” Has Mr. Bush ever read Samuel Clemens' “Tom Sawyer" or "Huckleberry Finn"?
Dining Out For Life
Posted on May 15, 2008
Today, 19 El Paso area restaurants are participating in the Dining Out For Life initiative and will donate 25 percent of all dining tabs to International AIDS Empowerment, a nonprofit organization providing nutritious food and emergency financial assistance to people living with HIV/AIDS in and around the city.
In Juarez, One Man's Mission to Protect the Children
Posted on May 13, 2008
Mario Manriquez has helped make a change in one corner of Juarez that is home to about 70,000 people. His work has caught the attention of city leaders and Mexico's national media.
The Inner Loop: Two Tons of Trouble
Posted on May 14, 2008
Two e-mails by concept-man Morris Pittle describe a process by which the city is developing a contract for an ad campaign.
Making Sense of the Shooting
Posted on May 13, 2008
I turned to my new companion, the one following me like a dog after an ambulance. Were you here Thursday? For the shootout?
The Inner Loop: Dee-B-Q, as Moody and Margo Roll On
Posted on May 14, 2008
A fund-raiser coming. Plenty of water under the bridge already. What will the next months hold?
Stormwater Debate Drains Council, Public; Utility, and Fees, Stay
Posted on May 13, 2008
The stormwater utility will continue, although it will take another look at its rates in three months. The council, yet again, affirms the utility.
Readers Respond: Dude, Where's My Housing Market?
Posted on May 14, 2008
From the responses: "Just take the Southwest flight from San Diego back to El Paso on a Monday morning. You'll see where the developers actually prefer to live (e.g., La Jolla) because the plane is full of them. They're not trekking to work from Lee Trevino and, if they vote with their money, they prefer to live in places that place a high value on 'connectivity.' "
UPDATED: Newly Elected Socorro Trustee Cannot Take Office and Keep City Job
Posted on May 13, 2008
Joe Sarabia, elected Saturday to the Socorro Independent School District, was told Tuesday he had to choose between his job as a lieutenant with the El Paso Fire Department and the elected position. Wednesday, city officials were trying to pull together a Civil Service Commission meeting for next week.
The Progression of "Progressive"
Posted on May 13, 2008
The word "progressive" is omnipresent, used variously to describe certain elected officials, an RMA, the Downtown Plan, and many other movements in our city. Being for "progress," however, is about as specific as being for "good things" — for children, for health, for education — and therefore is fairly meaningless. As in a progressive disease, talking points have the tendency to overtake precision in language.
Progress, Risk, and the 3 Percent City Council District
Posted on May 13, 2008
It could be a really good race, with important themes, if anyone was paying attention. But so few people cast ballots that it's hard to draw any real conclusions about what the race means, other than a vote on City Council.
Dude, Where's my Housing Market?
Posted on May 13, 2008
Developers develop land and sell the lots for a profit. Builders buy lots and build houses for a profit. Both developers and builders will cease doing what they do when they can no longer make a profit. Nobody works for the fun of it these days.
Western Refining Reports First Quarter 2008 Financial Results
Posted on May 13, 2008
The financial information for the first quarter of 2008 includes the results of the three refineries and the wholesale and retail operations acquired from Giant on May 31, 2007.
Stormy Waters Over Drainage Fees at City Council
Posted on May 12, 2008
Lowering the fees didn't turn down the heat. Castro wants to abolish the stormwater district, Gilbert says that the fee reduction was illegal (and he still believes the utility itself was formed illegally), and the El Paso Apartment Association still has a lawsuit pending.
On the Agenda: May 12-16
Posted on May 12, 2008
City Council agenda is packed for tomorrow. Look at some of the highlights here, including a move to rescind the stormwater district, some board appointments, and the return of the Austin Terrace neighborhood building dispute.
No Country for Good Men: Drugs, Violence and Repression in Chihuahua
Posted on May 12, 2008
The criminalization of social protest, persecution of social leaders, and simultaneously, the impossibility of combating drug cartels with an honest, professional, and effective police and having to resort to the army, shows in depth the great weakness of the Mexican state, epitomized by some as "too strong with the weak; too weak with the strong."
Two Thoughts on Fort Bliss Growth
Posted on May 12, 2008
On the one hand: "Fort Bliss and BRAC stand as the greatest success story of political and civic cooperation in El Paso's history." On the other: "EPWU has raised the price of water by 93 percent and is using the money to subsidize growth."
Public Corruption, Closed Courts
Posted on May 12, 2008
Keeping dockets secret and hearings closed have proven to be controversial practices nationally, but in El Paso, it has become standard procedure for the wide-ranging FBI public corruption investigation.
Public Corruption 101
Posted on May 12, 2008
Get up to date on the FBI public corruption investigation, with a summary of events and links to source documents. Also included are archives and links to public corruption cases from around the country for perspective.
