Remember when Donald Trump told everyone that México sends “rapists” to the US? As a Mexican immigrant I […]

This slide shows what the recent bond issue looked like when it first was being discussed:

City council thought that was too much so they lowered their bond request to $413 million to fund the police and fire projects and eliminated the streets, public health, and animal services portions.

Gosh that was thoughtful of them.

One week after the voters passed the $413 million bond city staff brought council a request for $100 million in certificates of obligation to fund projects that were already being built but that most citizens did not know were not paid for yet.

They probably thought they would not get their $413 million if the public knew about the $100 million.

Now less than two weeks after springing the $100 million problem on us they are at it again.

In the Monday, December 9, 2019 special city council meeting they are going to ask for yet another $46 million in certificates of obligation.

What for?

Do you remember the $10.9 million they dropped from the July 22, 2019 plan?  That was for animal services.

Guess what?  It’s back:

They did not want us to vote on this so they will just issue certificates of obligation.

We deserve better

Brutus

We wrote about Pearl Harbor in yesterday’s post so we missed open line Saturday.

What’s on your mind?

We deserve better

Brutus

I hope you enjoy RumpToons No: 162!

Our entry into world war two came after a Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on this day (December 7) 1941.

On August 12, 1941 congress approved an extension of the selective service act by one vote.  The country was certainly divided on that issue and on the idea of intervention in the war that was going on in other parts of the world.

A short four months later, after the Japanese attack,  the pendulum of public opinion shifted and men and women voluntarily entered the military service by the millions.

Brutus

Let’s look at the position summary for the city attorney’s department according to the fiscal year 2020 budget.

They have:

• a city attorney
• a deputy city attorney
• a legislative attorney
• four senior assistant city attorneys
• a trial section supervisor
• fifteen assistant city attorneys

Compare that with EPISD that has a general counsel and an assistant general counsel.

We deserve better

Brutus

 

For many years I carried the hidden secret that people in the U.S. would make fun of my […]

It was the end of the Vietnam War and many soldiers were on their way back home. Many were coming back with the after effects of war – PTSD, depression and physical disabilities – to a country that didn’t yet understand how to address such things.

Spec. Rafael Hernando III said he was advised not to wear his uniform as he returned home to El Paso, but he refused to do so. He thought about how much it meant for him to serve, and the price he paid for it with the loss of his legs from a landmine. Hernando spent his early years in South El Paso, then he moved to Ysleta where he went to middle and high school. Hernando, 18 and just graduated from high school volunteered to go to Vietnam. Coming back into the city without his uniform on was not an option.

He knew life would be different, and he was ready for a whole new fight back at home.

Spec. Hernando was not only readjusting to living with a physical disability but also with post-traumatic stress disorder. As life restarted in El Paso, Spec. Hernando learned that the city had much to improve on for accessibility and services for people with disabilities. He felt he could advocate change for these problems while dealing with his own.

“I got involved with the city in the late 70’s early 80’s with their parks and recreation. I became a member of their advisory committee, in getting their recreation centers more accessible for the disabled” Hernando says.

He was surprised to find resistance to the idea of improving accessibility.

“You would think that everyone was just going to jump in and say “Oh yeah, were going to do this.’ No, it wasn’t the case.”

While persisting in pushing for El Paso recreation centers to become more accessible, Hernando realized many of the wheelchair users in the area were also Vietnam Veterans.

“At the same time I started a wheelchair sports association. The first wheelchair association in El Paso was Vietnam vets, and I think that’s what changed the minds of people and what we were trying to do” Hernando says.

Elias Camacho is president of the Vietnam Veterans chapter 844 in El Paso, which has more than 110 members. He said most of them who volunteered to serve.

Camacho says PTSD it was something that wasn’t really understood.

“At the time people didn’t really know what it was…a lot of the people didn’t want to say ‘I don’t feel right, I’m seeing things, I keep feeling things.’ There’s still a lot of Vietnam Veterans with PTSD that have never gone to get mental help and they’ve dealt with it the best they can” Camacho says.

Hernando had his own way of trying to manage his PTSD. He started doing volunteer work talking to children in schools in El Paso.

“I would go to the schools and talk to the kids about the Vietnam War, why it is important because if I didn’t tell them, then who would? I also tell them why its up to them to grow up and make difference in the world and community” Hernando says.

Hernando says he found comfort in the presence of the students. After witnessing the atrocities of war, the children gave him a fresh outlook on life.

“Working with kids, they don’t judge you like adults do. They just look at you and if your real, they’re going to know it. Kids just take you for who you are right instantly after you meet them” Hernando says.

In August of 2009, Socorro Independent School District named a school in his honor – Spec. Rafael Hernando III Middle School. After the school opened, Spec. Hernando found himself doing more public speaking events and spending time talking with even more students.

Daniel Gurany, now principal at Riverside High School, was principal at Spec. Rafael Hernando III schoool when it opened.

“He was picked because of his service and his service in the community,” Gurany says.

To this day, Spec. Hernando can’t believe he received such an honor, but is thankful for the SISD board of trustees for choosing him.

“It was a unanimous vote and I thought ‘Wow, how did I get to impress people like that?’ Never realizing that maybe as you go in life people are noticing what you’re doing,” Hernando says.

Spec. Hernando now spends majority of his time now at home with his wife and visiting with his daughter, who teaches on the West side.

According to the U.S. Census, 17% of El Pasos’ population is made up of Vietnam Veterans and 36% of the city’s population are disabled veterans.

Click hear to read The man behind the school: Vietnam vet known for advocating for disabled in El Paso

Click HERE to see the ballot. I don't know any of the people. However, one of them will eventually vote repeatedly to raise your taxes while you blame the guy who vetoed such tax raises. It's important you pick someone... Brad Kanus

Did you know that the city operates a 211 center that refers those in need of services to agencies that can help?

You can learn more about the center here:

https://www.elpasotexas.gov/public-health/services/211-call-center

This is better

Brutus

Unless U.S. voters are living under a rock, (I would not be surprise of there are a few […]

I have said before that Joe Moody does not have a shot at being Speaker should the Texas House turn blue. But I might need to adjust that statement. He is still a long shot, but his odds have improved. Why? Beto O'Rourke. Look, Beto does not want to be... Max Powers

UPDATE - DAVID K SAYS CLAUDIA DID NOT CALL HIM BECAUSE PEOPLE THINK SHE RIPPED OFF FINE MEXICAN CUISINE ESTABLISHMENT LOGO. Back in late October, I joked that Claudia Ordaz Perez's campaign logo looks a lot like the Taco Bell logo. Again, late October. And the only reason I even... Max Powers

It seems that senior city staff and our mayor don’t want to appoint a committee to oversee the use of the $413 million public safety bond.

You should recall that the city added this footnote to their bond literature:

Actual use of any approved bond funds will be determined by subsequent action by City Council.

Why don’t they want a committee of citizens to oversee the spending?

Could it be that they plan to divert the money away from police and fire needs?

City council is not managing the city manager well.  They need to exert their authority.

We deserve better

Brutus

Representative John Yarmuth, a Democrat, had an interesting theory on CNN on Monday night on what could happen […]

The El Paso port of entry ranks among the busiest in the nation – second to only the San Diego/Tijuana port of entry – with inbound crossings into the United States. In 2018, 12.4 million personal vehicles carrying more than 22 million passengers crossed over into the United States using the El Paso port of entry.

The El Paso – Ciudad Juarez port of entry has seen an increase of trade crossings every year for the past 10 years. In 2018 the port of entry was responsible for $81.9 billion crossing. That amount is 103% more than the $40.5 billion it was responsible for in 2000, according to recent statistics.

“El Paso’s shared border with Ciudad Juárez unites our families and our values and it promotes commerce and trade,” U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, said in her first address to Congress.

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The sister cities of El Paso and Juarez coexist gracefully, contributing to each other’s economy. Crossing the border to shop, eat or for entertainment, the people of El Paso and Juarez have a great advantage of being able to take the best from both worlds.

Diligent shoppers can save a great deal of money is they know where to shop for a variety of products, including medicine. Drug prices, for example, are less expensive than they are in El Paso, said Margarito Fernandez, owner of two pharmacies in Juarez.

“The markup on medication is crazy in El Paso,” he said. The product is the same in both the United States and Mexico, same manufacturer, same potency, only difference is the price that it is sold for, he said.

“If both the El Paso and Juarez pharmacies get a product for $1, the pharmacy in Juarez will sell it for about $5, but in El Paso, the markup will be as high as $50,” he said.

Fernandez, owner of Farmacia Erick II for 25 years, said some customers only go to Juarez for their medication needs.

Some businesses operate in El Paso and Juarez. Robert Reyna is owner of the Royal Marketing Group LLC located in El Paso, but serves clients from Juarez. The Royal Marketing Group, Reyna said, “is a marketing service, doing all types of marketing from traditional marketing to digital marketing.” Digital marketing is when services are offered and suggested through people’s cell phones, computers and other digital devices.

Although a low percentage of Royal Marketing Group’s clients are from Mexico, Reyna said: “Being so close to the border, it was an immediate decision to include Juarez in offering their services.” The proximity is an advantage because they are able to cross the border and meet with new potential clients in their own city, Juarez, make them feel at ease.

Businesses that have thrived in this area quickly learned the importance of being able to serve both El Paso and Juarez. For the community, those that have learned to take advantage of this, are better off because they are able to expand their options and get the best bang for their buck, when it comes to food, shopping and/or medical needs.

 

Click hear to read Cross Border businesses offer the best of both worlds

Had a little break there. Between hunting and National Eating Day, I was booked. So what happened while I was gone? Looks like your congressperson wants the city to buy El Paso Electric... The same city that has to grab... Brad Kanus

Dear friend,

I write today to personally request your continued support for Borderzine by participating in our year-end NewsMatch campaign that doubles your contributions to support student-produced border journalism. I’d also like to share a bit of personal news.

Some of our recent journalism graduates already are making a difference, thanks to your support over the years. You may have seen them or read their bylines at news outlets like The Washington Post, ESPN, Texas Monthly, Dallas Morning News, Al Dia, Politico and Univision, among other notable media outlets.

Last summer during the horrific mass shooting at an El Paso Walmart, it was gratifying to watch some recent journalism graduates and current students on the ground in the parking lot asking questions and reporting alongside the pros from CNN, Telemundo, The New York Times, and Washington Post.

They produced great journalism and made us proud.

And they are the reason we appeal to you today, Giving Tuesday, for a contribution which will expand the solid work we do to train and place student journalists from the border, many of them bilingual, in newsrooms across the country. Last year, for example, NewsMatch support made it possible to place four journalism students in paid summer internships. Next summer we’d like to place five, or more.

For example, a $25-a-month recurring contribution for a year, matched 1:1 by NewsMatch, yields $600 – several weeks of summer salary for a student intern. NewsMatch will also match dollar for dollar your one-time donation up to $1,000 – two-months of an intern’s summer salary.  No matter the amount, Borderzine promises to maximize the impact of your dollar one student at a time.

On to the personal. After nearly two productive and challenging decades at UTEP, I will step down from teaching at the end of this year. It’s time to move on to other endeavors:  I have a book to finish and another to write.  New projects involving Latinos and journalism beckon because I remain committed to the goal of transforming newsrooms so they reflect the true face of America.  And more. Travels to India, Cuba, Tibet, Costa Rica also beckon. I daydream of a leisurely cruise along the rivers of Eastern Europe with David, my husband and life’s partner. No stories to edit or grade. Just flowing with the current.

Begun 10 years ago as a paper dream that came true with financial support from two major media foundations, Ford and Knight, Borderzine has matured and remains in the steady hands of two trusted and experienced journalism professor/colleagues, Executive Editor Dino Chiecchi and Digital Editor Kate Gannon. My advice is available to them at no cost should they require it. Although in truth, I don’t think they will.

Created as a classroom/newsroom and capstone for our multimedia journalism major, Borderzine remains embedded in the journalism curriculum and enjoys the support of our new Communication Department Chair Dr. Richard Pineda. Other ongoing programs are the yearly Journalism in July high school program going on its 18th year and the annual Dow Jones Multimedia Journalism Academy that trains journalism professors from other Hispanic Serving Institutions.  Borderzine is now one of more than 200 nonprofit newsrooms that belong to the Institute for Non-Profit News and is proud to be a second-year participant in the organization’s NewsMatch campaign.

Soon we will wrap up and unveil a grant-funded two-year-old cross border reporting project that includes an ebook, “True Border: 100 Questions and Answers about the U.S.-Mexico Frontera,” a series of podcasts called “Our Border Life,” multiple photo galleries and multimedia stories produced by students from UTEP and UACJ.

An adios isn’t complete without thanking the many smart, talented, dedicated former colleagues and others connected to UTEP who added their unique grain of sand to building a  border journalism program of substance, among them Dr. Stacey Sowards, Dr. Frank Perez, Dr. Tom Ruggiero, Lourdes Cueva Chacon, Dr. Irasema Coronado, Esther Barragan, Angel Cancino, Dr. Cheryl Howard, and the many, many UTEP students became better writers and reporters as a result of what they learned in the Borderzine newsroom and in the UTEP journalism program.

Adelante to you all,

Zita Arocha

Click hear to read A Borderzine appeal, a so long, but not a final adios as other newsroom causes beckon

JerryK posted this comment the other day.

I believe that it deserves some attention.

The purpose of education is not to produce a workforce. It is to create educated, responsible citizens capable of thinking for themselves.

The Duluth News Tribune printed this the other day:

Communism is soaring in popularity. More than one-in-three millennials view communism favorably. So does nearly 30% of Generation Z. Millennials’ support for communism grew by nearly 10 percentage points over the past year.

 

We deserve better

Brutus

Last Sunday was the one-year anniversary for Andrés Manuel López Obrador, also known as AMLO, as Mexico’s current […]