El Paso Electric seeks rate increase, Chamber gets new CEO, cartel trial moved
El Paso Electric to seek rate hike, new CEO at El Paso Chamber, Sinaloa cartel leader’s trial moved, and other El Paso news.
Days after major NSF grant announcement, project leaders feared UTEP planned to oust them
Emails obtained by El Paso Matters show that Ahsan Choudhuri and Ryan Wicker, the leaders on a potentially transformative grant award, feared UTEP leaders were trying to drive them out and take control of the grant.
Abbott orders UMC, other Texas public hospitals to report health care costs for undocumented immigrants
Critics say the executive order could prevent undocumented immigrants from seeking health care.
This week
El Paso events: La Nube opens, El Fresco series concludes
Explore El Paso’s vibrant culture this week with La Nube’s grand opening, El Fresco Music Series’ Rock Night, the Woofstock pet adoption event, Zapateados and more.
Opinion: Don’t let naysayers hold El Paso back
The Downtown deck plaza is the newest point of contention for those that wish for El Paso to stick with the status quo.
Sign up for our free newsletter
Get critical news about El Paso city government, public schools, immigration, and more. Delivered Monday and Thursday mornings.
El Paso Matters: your local nonprofit newsroom
El Paso Matters is dedicated to providing our community with the information to make educated, informed decisions. Please consider making a donation today so we can cover the stories that matter most.
Will you support El Paso Matters with a donation today?
Government
Amid drought and climate change, El Paso Water poised to end reliance on Rio Grande for drinking water
El Pasoans may not have to rely on the Rio Grande for drinking water much longer. Here’s why.
El Paso Bangladeshis condemn government attacks on students in their homeland
Hundreds of people, many students, have been killed in a government crackdown against dissent in Bangladesh.
A deck park in Downtown El Paso could cost hundreds of millions. Who will pay for it?
The $207 million plaza could feature a dog park, gardens, performance stages and a sports fieldhouse. But at what cost to other essential projects – and the environment?
Election
El Paso County mum on cash assistance program to give families $500 monthly
Here’s why a Texas attorney general lawsuit in Harris County may have put a hold on El Paso County’s plan to give some low-income families $500 a month starting this summer.
Texas’ DNC delegates vote 260-6 to back Kamala Harris
Biden’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris could sway some Texas delegates to shift their support to her, but none of them are bound to do so.
Escobar endorses Kamala Harris; other El Paso leaders react to Biden leaving presidential race
El Paso’s congresswoman, who was Biden’s national co-chair backs Vice President Kamala Harris
Education
EPCC, HOME promote higher ed to residents of low-income housing community
El Paso Community College and the city’s housing authority, HOME, are collaborating in recruitment events to encourage low-income residents to pursue higher education and break the cycle of poverty.
Stage production gives El Pasoans a voice after 2019 Walmart mass shooting
Playwright Greg Ramos interviewed about 100 borderland residents and created a play that depicts the community’s anger, sadness and resilience following the 2019 mass shooting in El Paso.
County issues disaster declaration to tap into state funds; first day of school countywide
The county says its spending millions to jail migrants arrested by state troopers; plus, the city’s Climate Action Plan fails to get federal funding, and first day of school nears
Canutillo ISD to create nonprofit corporation to build administrative offices
Creating a public facility corporation – a nonprofit with the power to finance and construct or renovate public buildings – allows the district to issue debt without voter approval.
Immigration
President Biden, VP Harris send messages to El Paso on 5th anniversary of mass shooting
Read the letters to El Paso from the White House
5 years after El Paso Walmart shooting, gunman’s once-extremist language has gone mainstream
As the victims and survivors are remembered on the 5th anniversary of the shooting, community leaders, human rights groups and political experts say the gunman’s words are also not to be forgotten.
Women survivors of Juárez detention center fire seek recognition as victims
Almost 16 months after a fire that killed 40 men at a Juárez migrant detention center, surviving women demand that Mexican authorities recognize them as victims of the tragedy.
Special project
Death Trap: Juárez migrant detention center fire a year later
Previously undisclosed security camera footage – as well as court documents and exclusive interviews with survivors – show a number of safety failures and oversights that created a death trap at a Juárez migrant detention center fire a year ago this month. Read our three-part series and watch exclusive videos in our binational/bilingual collaborative investigation…
Culture
Between the lines: El Paso artist Christin Apodaca’s simple lines tell complex narratives
Her work can be seen on walls across the Borderland – from an abandoned warehouse in Segundo Barrio to the Outlet Shoppes of El Paso on the Westside and soon,…
El Paso to unveil new memorial on 5-year Walmart shooting anniversary
El Paso honors the five-year anniversary of the Walmart mass shooting with a new memorial by local artist Tino Ortega, unveiled at Jim Crouch Park.
15 years after near-fatal accident, Commissioner Carlos Leon meets deputy who helped saved his life
How a friend’s car shopping connected El Paso’s former police chief to the New Mexico deputy who responded to his near-fatal motorcycle wreck.
book club
Q&A with ‘Retablos’ author Octavio Solis
The El Paso native talks about his book, the impact of faith, rites of passage and the “mysteries” and “mythology” of living along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Submit your news
Do you have a story tip you’d like El Paso Matters to pursue? A press release you’d like to share? Send your ideas or submissions to news@elpasomatters.org.
Submit your commentary
El Paso Matters welcomes commentary pieces about local, regional, state, national and global issues. Please send your commentary to bmoore@elpasomatters.org.