Opinion: In Duranguito, city should prioritize ending longstanding neglect of the neighborhood
By Carmen Rodriguez
1/2/2025
I attended one of the forums held by El Paso Water Utilities this week to explain the logic of Impact (connection) Fees. These are fees charged to developers to extend water and sewer service to new projects, based on a projection of how many new meters will be installed. There are three areas affected by these fees – WEST that seems to be primarily the Hunt development west of Artcraft Road; NE that looks like TIRZ 13, the land that the city gave to Paul Foster with a 75% tax waiver in exchange for his acreage on I-10 for the Great Wolf Resort that never happened; EAST mainly from HY375 that is largely held by Hunt and Southwest Land Development Services, i.e., Doug Schwartz.
Will Proposition C End Up On A Shelf Asks Jerry Kurtyka
By Jerry Kurtyka
1/8/2024
When Proposition C was passed by El Paso voters in 2022, they expected to see the results promised on the ballot. The proposition’s $5.2 million bond issue was to construct, improve, renovate, expand, and enhance City facilities for renewable energy and other improvements. Instead, the City came back to us last week with a proposal to spend $1.2 million dollars of the bond money for a study conducted by a Chicago engineering firm. It was a last-minute drama too, with the implied threat that, if Council did not approve the expenditure, the City risked losing access to $500 million in Federal funds.
Guess Who Wants You To Pay For Connecting Water And Sewer To Their Developments?
By Jerry Kurtyka
4/18/2024
I attended one of the forums held by El Paso Water Utilities this week to explain the logic of Impact (connection) Fees. These are fees charged to developers to extend water and sewer service to new projects, based on a projection of how many new meters will be installed. There are three areas affected by these fees – WEST that seems to be primarily the Hunt development west of Artcraft Road; NE that looks like TIRZ 13, the land that the city gave to Paul Foster with a 75% tax waiver in exchange for his acreage on I-10 for the Great Wolf Resort that never happened; EAST mainly from HY375 that is largely held by Hunt and Southwest Land Development Services, i.e., Doug Schwartz.
Proposition 11 On The El Paso November Ballot Looks Harmless, But Is It?
By Jerry Kurtyka
10/13/2023
Authored by Sen. Blanco and sponsored in the House by Rep. Moody, Proposition 11 look harmless, but is it? On November 2, we will be voting on this and other propositions, but Proposition 11 should be understood by voters.
Put people’s health before truck traffic expansion through El Paso: Quirino Villa, Kathleen Staudt
By Quirino Villa & Kathy Staudt
10/13/2023
South-Central neighborhood leaders and a broad-based community coalition engaged with expert panelists to learn about the planned expansion of the Bridge of the Americas (BOTA). We represent the Washington-Delta Neighborhood Association (WDNA) and the all-citywide Community First Coalition (CFC). Our major point is this: People’s health should not be sacrificed to add more trucks and pollution through the center of El Paso.
Opinion: Climate change demands action now
By Jose Rodriguez
4/25/2023
As we approach the May 6 municipal election on various charter amendments, the debate over the proposed Climate Charter Amendment (Proposition K) has raised the temperature and summer is still a few months away.
Opinion: Pause The Downtown + Uptown Plan
By Jerry Kurtyka
4/6/2023
The proposed Downtown + Uptown Master Plan is now set for adoption by the City. I want to point out some of the problems with this Plan, actually, more the process of the Plan, and I am asking that you as a reader communicate with your own City rep as I did and ask them to PAUSE this Plan until there is more input from the affected communities.
El Paso Times Op Ed 12.18.22 What Hunt’s $25M gift mean for UTEP?
By Oscar J. Martinez & Carmen E. Rodriguez
12/17/2022
Woody L. Hunt, whose philanthropic largesse is well known, is to be commended for his recent $25 million gift to UTEP. The money will benefit the School of Business.
City Manager’s Contract Extension is Not Sound Governance
5/17/2022
The El Paso City Council’s action to extend the City Manager’s contract showed utmost disregard, not only for its citizens, but also for its obligation to be transparent and accountable to the public.
Opinion: New alliance seeks accountability for El Paso’s public schools
By Diego Carlos, Kathy Staudt, & Aaron Waggoner
3/17/2021
Public education is one of America’s most enduring investments in itself, a keystone for our country’s development. In Texas, it was considered so essential that taxpayer funded, universally available education was written into the state Constitution.
Opinion: Stop wage theft and other exploitive labor practices in El Paso
By Kathy Staudt & Sarahi Soto-Talavera
7/2/2021
All of a sudden, people are talking about extremely low wages and unfilled employee vacancies in our region. Why? At one of the Corralito restaurants in El Paso, customers saw a big sign blaming unemployment benefits and supposedly lazy workers for their short-staffed restaurant.
Community First Coalition 