The public school system in El Paso was shaken in 2009 and 2010 when allegations of public corruption by superintendent Lorenzo Garcia came to light at El Paso Independent School District or EPISD. The former superintendent plead guilty and was sentenced to prison in 2012 for orchestrating a years-long cheating scandal that intentionally kept low-performing students from taking state and federal mandated performance tests. More...
Arts & Culture
The “First Thanksgiving”: Can a little myth reveal a big truth?
by Mark Cioc-Ortega // November 27, 2013
San Elizario has been commemorating the “First Thanksgiving” every April since 1989. This celebration is the brainchild of Sheldon Hall, who was then the president of the El Paso Mission Trail Association, and a handful of local historians who wanted to draw attention to an important, but neglected event in American history: the arrival of Juan de Oñate and his entourage of Spanish-speaking explorers and priests in April 1598 near the present-day town of San Elizario.
Arts & Culture
El Paso’s Creative Kids recognized at White House
by Andrés Rodríguez, Scripps Howard Foundation Wire // November 25, 2013
A UPS “sorry, we missed you” notice was sitting in front of Andrea Gates-Ingle’s art gallery in downtown El Paso one Monday in June when the gallery was closed. When she picked up the letter from the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, she assumed it was a rejection letter.
But it wasn’t. More...
From the Tree
From the Tree: Systemic failures at TEA worked as designed
by Emanuel Anthony Martinez // November 28, 2013
What we do know is that public school accountability in Texas at EPISD worked as intended. School board trustees were put in charge of themselves. TEA conducted “desk audits” based on information received from the school districts. And a Texas superintendent stole and cheated. Sure, Texas school children were denied a fair education. Sure, it’s been a long and difficult process, one still not completed, cleaning up this mess. But, Texas taxpayers saved their money—and that was the point.
More...
Government
Border fence to be built at Juan de Oñate crossing, site of Hart’s Mill and the first Fort Bliss
Federal and local officials cite historical and environmental concerns
by Alberto Tomas Halpern // November 22, 2013
The Department of Homeland Security or DHS, which oversees the U.S. Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection or CBP, will build approximately 0.6 miles of additional border fencing near the historic Hart’s Mill area of El Paso.
Federal and local officials oppose the fencing, citing historical and environmental concerns. More...
Government
Three Stories One Juárez: an evening with Corchado, O’Neil and Ainslie
Noted authors discuss Mexico’s drug violence, raise funds for Villas de Salvarcar
by Alberto Tomas Halpern // November 22, 2013
Three authors on drug cartel violence in Mexico discussed on Wednesday El Paso’s neighboring city, Ciudad Juárez, and their views on a country mired in organized crime, public corruption and a weak rule of law. More...
Government
High stakes, low turnout elections
by Kent Paterson, Frontera NorteSur // November 22, 2013
Local politics was overshadowed by non-stop Washington dramas this fall, but important trends emerged and decisions were made in New Mexico and the Paso del Norte borderland that will chart the identity and destiny of the region for years to come. Yet in various contests, it was a distinct minority of the electorate that shaped future courses. More...
Neighborhoods
El Paso organizations provide Thanksgiving meals for the less fortunate
by Natassia Bonyanpour // November 22, 2013
Thanksgiving is a day deeply rooted in tradition, where families unite at the dinner table to give thanks and enjoy a customary Thanksgiving meal. And while many will celebrate the festivities from within their homes, volunteers from numerous organizations will be out, contributing their time to help those in need. More...
