Well our school situation has hit a new low.

It looks like some of our school district superintendents and some of their board members attended training sessions held in San Antonio last month (June).

According to articles in the El Paso Times two of our local superintendents got into an altercation at 1 AM on Thursday, June 13 that ended up with one superintendent being flattened to the ground and the police ultimately handcuffing the one on the ground.

Also according to the Times a San Antonio police officer’s report indicates that the fallen superintendent appeared to be intoxicated.

It also seems as though some school board members witnessed the event.

What happens in San Antonio stays in San Antonio

The Times also reported that one of the school board members said:

” We took off as quick as we can get the hell out of there because I knew that both you guys were going to be charged. Let’s go. That’s all I wanted. That was my objective. That was my objective. Don’t bring this back to El Paso. We swore that us guys over there, we said we were going to let it stay there, and for the most part it did stay there.”

A school board member’s goal was to see to it that the folks in El Paso did not learn about their behavior.

So much for the idea of public service.

Party time

According to the Texas Association of School Boards’ web site registration for the conference was to begin at 7 AM that same morning.

What were these public servants doing out at that hour, especially when their meeting was to begin is less than six hours?

Are the taxpayers going to pay for their late night activities?  Where had they been before the incident?

If we have to pay for these people to go to out of town events shouldn’t we expect that they show up to the meetings ready to do their jobs?

Even if you could still manage to be out and about at 1 AM on a Thursday morning wouldn’t you think that you owed the taxpayers better performance?

The poor example that these people (superintendents and board members) have set for their students is shameful.

We deserve better

Brutus

There were two things last week that clearly showcases how the U.S. immigration legal system is designed to […]

By Sophia Navarro

El Paso Independent School District students will have to show proof
they’ve taken both doses of the measles vaccine, or they won’t be allowed
to attend school in the fall, a spokesman said.

The move comes after the six cases of measles have been confirmed in
the El Paso area as of early July, said Gustavo Reveles, a district
spokesman.

“Students must provide proof of immunization compliance upon
registration,” Reveles said. “At this moment, whatever is set in place for
now for the 2019-2020 school year is the procedure we are following.”
The district expects parents to comply and does not anticipate a drop in
attendance due to the new requirement, Reveles said.

The district will comply with a recommendation from the El Paso
Department of Public Health to drop its provisional enrollment policy and
require all students to show proof of both doses of the MMR (mumps,
measles, and rubella) vaccine before being able to attend school, Reveles
said.

The El Paso Department of Public Health, 5115 El Paso Drive, is one of three clinics offering low-cost MMR vaccines with extended hours as the school year approaches. El Paso Independent School District is requiring all students to have both doses of the vaccine prior to the start of the 2019-2020 school year.

It was not a surprise that after 25 years measles have returned to El Paso
since other states have seen a return as well, said Dr. Fernando Gonzalez,
lead epidemiologist at the El Paso Department of Public Health.
More than 1,148 cases of measles have been confirmed in 30 states since
January, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Prior to this school year, the district allowed students to enroll with only one
dose of each state-required vaccine with an agreement that the subsequent
doses be completed as soon as possible. Due to the current
circumstances, that provision has been eliminated for the 2019-2020
academic year.

Exception forms allowing students to attend classes without immunization
will still be accepted for religious and personal beliefs. Exemptions are
verified and allocated by the state, Reveles said.

The city is urging everyone to get vaccinated and look into their current
vaccination status to be sure they are protected, Gonzalez said.

Immunizations are being offered at three city clinics at $10 per child for one
vaccine and $15 per child for two or more vaccines under the Texas
Vaccine for Children program and Adult Safety Net according to a news
release from the city of El Paso. The clinics will have extended hours, from
7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and remaining open during lunch hour, in order to make
vaccines more convenient.

A sign at the Henderson Health Clinic shows the recommended vaccines for young children. The El Paso Department of Public Health is urging area school superintendents to require both doses of the MMR vaccine prior to the start of the school year, and to remove the provisional enrollment policy for the 2019-2020 school year.

Measles is an aggressive disease that happens mostly in youth, but also in
adolescents and adults and can pose a serious health threat, Gonzalez
said.

To prevent measles, the two-shot immunization MMR is required by the
state to enroll in school. The first shot has a 94 percent effectiveness
rating, according to Gonzalez. Combined with the second dose, the
effectiveness climbs to 97 percent.

The first dose is recommended at a year old. The second dose is
recommended after the age of four.

There is no scientific evidence that MMR vaccine causes autism or poses
any serious threat to an individual.

A young boy shows off his Band-Aid after receiving a shot at the Henderson Health Clinic on July 25, 2019.

People who don’t have access to the MMR vaccine and to protect children
too young to receive the vaccine, people should wash their hands often and
avoid areas where measles cases have been reported, said Registered
Nurse Jaimi Zona at the El Paso Public Health Department’s Henderson
Health Clinic.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 90 percent
of people not MMR-vaccinated will become infected. Symptoms appear
seven-14 days after contracted and infected people can spread measles to
others from four days before through four days after the rash appears.

Measles is spread through coughing and sneezing and the disease usually begins with fever, cough, runny nose and red eyes. Measles can live in an airspace where an infected was, for up to two hours.

If showing signs and symptoms of a measles infection, people should visit
their medical care provider or call 2-1-1 to receive further instruction.

This story was produced as part of the Journalism in July 2019 workshop for high school students at UT El Paso.

Click hear to read EPISD will require measles immunization proof before school begins

By Triniti Faulks

People often find it amazing that at 45 years old, Robin Crociata, a mother
of five, is as fit as a 20-year-old. Several times a week she leads students who
are spread out on purple, blue, and grey mats as they reach for their toes and lift
their chins up to the sky.

“I feel that the one thing yoga does do is it gives somebody that inner
strength,” said Crociata, a yoga instructor and owner of Aloha Yoga and
Wellness Studio on the far west side of El Paso.

She came to El Paso nine years ago from Hawaii, after graduating with a
psychology degree from Chaminade University in Honolulu, and has been
teaching yoga for five years.

”Make sure you’re going to a teacher that actually is certified,” Crociata
said. She explains that when practicing yoga with someone who is uncertified
you might get hurt.

She started yoga while she was pregnant with her second child 21 years
ago. “I was very athletic and I was looking for something that’s still engaging with
the body.” she said.

She thought it wouldn’t be as hard as working out in the gym. “But I
learned otherwise.”

Robin Crociata, yoga instructor and owner of Aloha Yoga and Wellness, helps her younger class of yoga students plant flower seeds on July 24, 2019,

Yoga is a great way to improve endurance, it isn’t just sitting on a mat, her
website explains. Yoga will help your body relax while stretching, strengthening,
and lengthening the muscles you were just working on.

Yoga is a process of moving the body, finding the proper breathing
exercise, and meditation. “I want people to enjoy this moment and then feel good
about it when they leave the mat.” Crociata said. “It really doesn’t matter what
age you are.”

Crociata has worked with all age groups, from toddlers to senior citizens.
“It doesn’t matter if you can take your foot and touch your head or you just move
your arms slightly,” she said.

Her five kids from ages eight to 24 all do yoga, not as frequently as
Crociata but yoga is an impact in her family’s life. “They’re all very independent
and very kind,” Crociata said.

She believes, yoga helps the soul in a way that eases tension, and
promotes the health and well being. Practicing yoga often will help improve and
perfect posture and outlook on life, she said.

Yoga students stretch into child’s pose as instructed by Robin Crociata at Aloha Yoga and Wellness July, 24, 2019 during an afternoon class.

Yoga not only helps improve the body and its condition, but also helps with
mindfulness and meditation, her website explains. It is important to take a break
from daily life and technology in order to focus on yourself.

Focusing on your breath during practice is key to staying in tune with mind
and body, she said.

Crociata teaches a form of yoga called Hatha, which means sun and
moon. When practicing Hatha it’s a full rounded practice which focuses on
breathing, meditation, and engaging the body.

“It’s one of the most traditional practices we have in yoga,” Crociata said.
As the yoga class comes to an end, everyone rolls up their mats, stands
up gently, and leaves with a smile on their face.

This story was produced as part of the Journalism in July 2019 workshop for high school students at UT El Paso.

Click hear to read Yoga health benefits for all ages

By Angelina Steel

El Paso has substantially less than the doctors it needs for a city its size, limiting patient’s choices for specialists and lengthening waiting times for patients as doctors are accepting jobs in higher-paying markets, two medical professionals said.

“El Paso has 128 physicians per 100,000 per capita.” said Dr. Luis Urrea, an orthopedic surgeon. “The state level is 184 doctors per 100,000 per capita. That gives you an idea on how far we’re behind. The national is 208.”

The United States is expected to be short 122,000 physicians by 2013, according to a recent study.

“Right now we have about 24 providers. We’re short about two providers. We could use a couple of more. In fact we just lost another dentist,” said Robert Gonzales, chief operating officer of Centro de Salud Familiar La Fe Inc.

Robert Gonzales, chief operating officer at Centro de Salud Familiar La Fe Inc, smiles as he explains his job.

One reason behind these staggering statistics is that the city can’t compete with larger cities that have higher salaries, Urrea said. Physicians in El Paso can make up to $342,000 annually, according to ZipRecruiter.com, but Dallas physicians can make up to $402,000.

Additionally, potential recruits sometimes believe El Paso is not a safe city because of violence across the border. However, El Paso is ranked the second safest city in the nation according to Austin’s KVUE. El Paso’s border city – Ciudad Juarez – is ranked the fifth most dangerous city in the world, according to the Washington Post.

Juarez, Mexico, with a population of 1.3 million, and El Paso with about 800,000, makes it by the biggest border area in Texas.

Luis Urrea an Orthopedic Surgery surgeon at El Paso Orthopaedic surgery group, discusses the shortage of doctors in El Paso.

“It’s difficult to recruit people here on the border, particularly the last 10 years or so with the things that have occurred in Mexico, and the stories that you hear today,” Urrea said.

“This is the biggest border area there is,” he said. “El Paso and Juarez are bigger than anything else in Texas. So a lot of our problems are expanded because of our size, and Juarez’s size.”

Some doctors are signing contracts to work in El Paso, and back out at the last minute, Gonzales said. “The issue of moving to the border has become a problem. We had one guy that signed a contract once,” Urrea said, and the doctor backed out shortly before he was scheduled to start.

“Then he got married and his wife said ‘I’m not going there. We’re not going there.’ Because she heard about what’s going on in Juarez. Politicians always talk about how dangerous it is, but the truth is we’re the second safest city in the nation. I’ve always been safe here.” 

With the shortage of doctors, it becomes harder for patients to see doctors. Lines become longer, and it becomes harder to find a specialist that they’re in need of. They may have to go to another city to see a specialist, Urrea said.

Gonzales said: “We see people here at La Fe that have such chronic diseases that are hard to treat because there may not only be one issue that they have. They might have high blood pressure, with obesity, with diabetes. Those are chronic conditions that all need to be addressed separately. So it does make it difficult.”

In addition to patients being widely affected, doctors are impacted by this concern as well.

“If you’re a PCP (primary care physician) it’s a little more difficult to find somebody who’s a specialist to take care of your patients in a timely manner.” Urrea said. “It’s overwhelming the amount of people that need to be seen. It’s also a silver lining because there’s a lot of people that need to be taken care of. Which is what I signed up to do. But it does make it more difficult.” 

Officials at Centro de Salud Familiar La Fe, and Texas Tech are utilizing more physician assistants and registered nurses who can see patients on their own.
“The recruitment of our providers is a tough deal to address. We work with Texas Tech to establish a core of providers here in the border area. Because we have different issues than what Dallas, or Austin might have,” Gonzales said.

This story was produced as part of the Journalism in July 2019 workshop for high school students at UT El Paso.

Click hear to read Pay, misinformation about city’s safety makes recruiting doctors to El Paso difficult

Grossman sends out an email and the subject of it is something I thought we all came to an agreement on - you know the code of conduct document the city created??? Yes, I thought that was settled. Some of... Brad Kanus

By Jennifer Weeks, The Conversation

Heat waves can be deadly, especially when they combine high temperatures with elevated humidity levels that make the air feel even hotter. The impacts can be especially strong in cities, which often are several degrees warmer than nearby rural areas due to the urban heat island effect. These three articles from The Conversation’s archives describe steps that communities can take to adapt as climate change makes heat waves more frequent and intense.

1. Offer many cooling options

Emergency cooling centers are one way to mitigate the effects of heat waves, but cities need to do more. Nick Rajkovich, assistant professor of architecture at the University at Buffalo, has worked with planners around Cleveland to understand how they prepare for hot weather. Strategies there include planting more trees and shrubs, which provide shade and cool the air; weatherizing buildings with window shades and light-colored, reflective materials; and preparing emergency kits for power outages that include food, water and radios.

Most importantly, in Rajkovich’s view, different agencies and organizations need to talk to each other and plan together so they can take complementary steps.

“In Cleveland, preparing for extreme heat events has brought professionals together and encouraged overlapping approaches because no single strategy is foolproof,” he observes. Officials “should pursue multiple solutions rather than looking for one ‘best’ option.”

  2. Focus upgrades on vulnerable neighborhoods

Many types of green infrastructure can help neighborhoods withstand the impacts of severe weather. For example, permeable paving and rainwater harvesting are two tools for managing flooding and reducing stormwater runoff.

Notre Dame University climate scientist Ashish Sharma has researched use of green roofs, covered with drought-resistant plants, to cool hot urban areas. In a study in Chicago, Sharma and his team determined that low-income neighborhoods on the city’s south and west sides would benefit most from installing green roofs because doing so would make them less vulnerable during blackouts:

“When temperatures spike in cities, electricity use rises sharply making it hard for utilities susceptible to power outages. When the lights go out, critical services such as drinking water, transportation and health care can be jeopardized. And poorer people, whose neighborhoods tend to be the hottest, can be the most at risk.”

By lowering rooftop surface temperatures, green roofs keep buildings cooler. This would enable residents to reduce their use of air conditioning, saving them money and easing strain on the local power grid during peak demand periods.

Green roofs can help solve many problems, including stormwater runoff, climate control and energy consumption. 3. Design streets for a changing climate

Most U.S. city streets are designed with a focus on the needs of drivers, and sometimes far in second place, pedestrians. But Anne Lusk, a research scientist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, calls for “designing green streets for bicyclists, pedestrians, bus riders and residents who live on transit routes, as well as for drivers.”

Trees and cycle tracks would be central features of these streets, configured in ways that make pedestrians and cyclists feel safe from automobile traffic. The trees would serve as barriers while cooling neighborhoods and absorbing air pollutants. And well-designed bike paths would remove cars from the road, reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

In surveys, respondents told Lusk that designs with trees and bushes between cycle tracks and the street best blocked their view of traffic, lessened their feeling of being exposed to pollution and made them feel cooler. Lusk also spotlights ways to offset climate-related stresses on trees, such as redesigning street drainage systems to direct water to trees’ roots.

Editor’s note: This story is a roundup of articles from The Conversation’s archives.

Jennifer Weeks, Environment + Energy Editor, The Conversation

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Click hear to read Adapting cities to a hotter world: 3 essential reads

By Juan Pablo Garnham, The Texas Tribune

DALLAS — During this year’s legislative session, Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price was among scores of city leaders who actively opposed yet another series of attempts by state officials to limit how much money local governments collect. But with lawmakers determined to reform the local property tax process, she and other mayors had little luck fighting off what many city officials considered attacks on local control.

By the time the Legislature adjourned in May, lawmakers had passed bills that limit how much property tax revenues local governments can collect without voter approval, prohibit the use of revenue-generating red-light cameras and eliminate some fees telecommunications companies pay to local entities.

“We have actually worked on this for the last three or four sessions, but it really feels like it escalated this session,” Price told The Texas Tribune. “They don’t have a full grasp of cities, our spending and what we do.”

That’s left many local officials scrambling to calculate how much money cities will forgo in coming years as many city councils prepare their budgets for the next fiscal year.

One of the most impactful pieces of legislation is Senate Bill 2, which established that starting next year, cities, counties and other taxing units need voter approval before levying 3.5% more property tax revenue than the previous year. In May, Moody’s published a report warning that the homeowner savings would be minimal “but budgetary impact on governments would be significant.”

But two other laws might also impact local budgets. Cities are already planning to sue the state to stop Senate Bill 1125, which bans cities from charging telecommunications companies a right-of-way fee. And there’s also the ban on red-light cameras, devices that Austin, Dallas, El Paso and Fort Worth were quick to take down after the bill prohibiting them passed.

“Obviously the major problem for us is the 3.5% cap, and we will have to live with that or call for an election,” Price said. But she’s also worried about the other two new laws. “They are a double whammy; we lost over $10 million from the red-light camera ban and the telecommunications fee,” she said.

This is what Fort Worth and other cities are considering as they prepare their new budgets and get ready for the new property tax collection cap that goes into effect next year.

Austin

In the state capital, the city government is projecting a budget shortfall of $52.6 million by 2023-24, due to property tax reform. To get a reference, the general fund budget for the 2018 fiscal year was $1 billion. But city officials still say that the tax reform will be felt.

“The 3.5% cap will make it more difficult for the city to fund the priorities of the Austin community,” said Ed Van Eenoo, deputy chief financial officer for the city’s budget office. “It will make it harder for us to hire additional police, fire and other personnel as the city continues to grow, and tougher to absorb annual cost increases in wages, rents and insurance premiums.”

In terms of the telecommunications franchise fee, Austin expects to see a reduction of $4 million in revenue next year and $5.6 million each year after that.

Finally, it is not clear yet how much the ban on red-light cameras will affect the city’s budget, but most of the revenue coming from the devices doesn’t end up in the hands of the city. In the 2018 fiscal year, Austin ended up getting $83,698 of the $777,516 collected. The city’s share was used for street safety projects. Seventy-eight percent of the revenue went to the lease and operation of the equipment and the state comptroller took a cut of $83,698.

Although the city’s contract with a vendor was supposed to last until 2023, the city stopped issuing tickets June 1.

Dallas

According to the latest budget overview presented to the City Council last month, if SB 2’s property tax reform had been in effect in September 2018, Dallas would have needed $25.1 million more in revenue or expense reductions to balance its budget for this year.

In the same presentation, city officials said the loss of the telecommunications franchise fee will cost $6.6 million next year and $9 million for the 2021 fiscal year. While that sounds small considering the city has about a $3.6 billion budget, Dallas needs the money to fund already approved raises for police and firefighters, which will create $5.3 million in new expenses next year, according to The Dallas Morning News.

The ban on red-light cameras will force another $1 million loss this year. For next year, the loss is estimated to be $2.4 million.

El Paso

The border city’s officials estimate that if property tax reform had been in place this year, it would have cost $7 million. To put that in context, El Paso’s general fund for 2019 was $428.6 million.

Before the new legislation passed, the city collected about $3.8 million from the telecommunications franchise fee, according to a city spokesperson. Officials estimate the new law will cost them about $2.7 million.

Finally, El Paso’s red-light cameras used to bring in about $1 million, but only half of that would stay in the city to pay for administrative costs and street safety measures. The rest would go to the state. The cameras were turned off June 2, though people fined before that are still required to pay their fees.

El Paso estimated the total cost of all these reforms is $10.2 million, an amount that could fund 170 police officers, the entire library system, or the entire public health and museum departments of the city.

Fort Worth

If the property tax reform bill had been in effect this year, the city would have forgone $4.5 million, according to officials’ assessment. To put this in context, the general fund budget is more than $731 million.

This year, Fort Worth collected $6.3 million in cable franchise fees and $7 million in telephone fees. The city projects a loss of $4 million based on the new telecommunications franchise fee law.

The ban on red-light cameras will cost an estimated $4 million, typically used for traffic safety. All of the cameras were disconnected after the signing of the bill.

 

Houston

In the last four years, Houston’s property tax revenue increase has averaged 2.48% annually, and officials say that the new mandated cap is unlikely to affect the city. Houston has had a voter-approved cap since 2006, which relies on a formula that factors in population change and the consumer price index. If SB 2’s property tax reform measures had been applied previously, it would have affected Houston only in two of the last five years.

With the telecommunications franchise fee, on the other hand, the city stands to lose between $17 and $27 million each year. Officials argue the law violates the Texas Constitution, which “expressly prohibits public property from use by private entities for less than market value,” according to a statement.

The ban on red-light cameras won’t impact Houston. City officials got rid of their cameras in 2011, after a voter referendum banned them.

San Antonio

According to Jeff Coyle, San Antonio’s director of government and public affairs, if the property tax reform cap had existed in the last decade, it would have cost the city $81 million.

“The current year, our general fund revenue would have been $37 million smaller than it is,” Coyle said. To put that in context, for fiscal year 2019, the general fund was $1.26 billion. San Antonio has not raised its property tax rate in 27 years.

The telecommunications franchise fee law will cost the city around $7.3 million.

But, like Houston, San Antonio doesn’t have to worry about the ban on red-light cameras; the city didn’t use the devices.

Carla Astudillo contributed to this story.

Read related Tribune coverage

• Gov. Greg Abbott signs bill designed to limit property tax growth
• Are the billions Texas lawmakers committed for schools and lower property taxes sustainable?

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2019/07/18/houston-dallas-and-other-big-texas-cities-see-budget-hit-after-session/.

This article was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues

Click hear to read El Paso, other top Texas cities scramble to figure out what the 2019 legislative session will cost them

Dark Sky advocates say that El Paso’s 14-year-old light pollution ordinance has made a difference for stargazing in the Sun City.

“I’m happy to say that the light pollution in El Paso is practically gone,” said Marcia Turner, a community activist who helped push for the 2005 city ordinance that required changes in municipal and business lighting practices to help keep the stars visible in the night sky.

Before the Dark Sky ordinance, Turner said stores would often compete for business by using bright lights which not only added a heavy amount of light pollution but made it difficult for people’s eyes to adjust.

“Notice the stars that you can see now, that you couldn’t before,” Turner said.

In 2003, scientists at the McDonald Observatory in Fort Davis, Texas, reported that they could see El Paso’s light pollution even though they were 200 miles away. Things are different now, said Bill Wren, an astronomer with McDonald Observatory.

“From personal observation, driving in and around El Paso and flying into El Paso, I noticed that much of the new lighting – and I can’t say most, I don’t really know how to quantify it – but much of the new lighting that has been installed in El Paso since the ordinance has been good,” Wren said.

The worst light pollution in the area is now coming from the Permian Basin oil field around Midland and Odessa, Wren said.

The Dark Sky ordinance gave El Paso businesses 10 years to comply with the new lighting requirements, meaning by 2015. That goal still hasn’t been met.

An example of a covered street light on the UTEP campus.

 

“There’s still a lot of light being installed that’s not compliant, so I don’t believe there’s much in the way of enforcement going on, but much of the light that’s going in is good,” Wren said.

Joel Candelaria, an electrical plans examiner for the city of El Paso, said during the field inspection of new construction, electrical inspectors are responsible for verifying that proper light fixtures are installed. The biggest issue is that despite the city ordinance requiring existing lighting on older buildings to be updated by 2015, not everyone has made the change.

When buildings are found that do not adhere to the requirements set up by the Dark Sky ordinance, the situation is handed over to code enforcement. Violators can be charged with a Class C misdemeanor, which carries a fine of up to $2,000. They can subsequently be charged with a separate offense each day they are out of compliance.

UTEP’s Centennial Plaza uses covered and downward lights.

There are exceptions to lighting restrictions. For instance, airports and recreational areas follow their own set of light regulations. Flood lights that are firm and grounded also are allowed. But residential lighting must be shielded to minimize stray light “trespassing” across property boundaries.

In some areas in El Paso, decorative lights may not be allowed, with the exception of lighting sculptures or flags. Candelaria said that the Dark Sky ordinance restrictions are heavily affected by the area people live in.

“You kind of have to go through it page by page, and scenario per scenario.”

The city does allow an exception for seasonal decorations using low-wattage incandescent lights, but only from November 15 to January 15.

Candelaria said LED lights are now more common as more businesses are starting to switch to them for energy efficiency.

“The LED lights are a lot brighter. So obviously you’re getting more of a halo affect. So I can’t really say that it’s mission accomplished,” Candelaria said.

How residents can reduce light pollution

The International Dark Sky Association offers the following advice on how residents can reduce light pollution:

• LEDs and compact fluorescents (CFLs) can help reduce energy use and
  protect the environment, but only warm-colored bulbs should be used.
• Dimmers, motion sensors and timers can help to reduce average illumination levels and save even more energy.
• Outdoor lighting fixtures that shield the light source to minimize
  glare and light trespass help prevent light pollution. Illustrated guide
  to the acceptable vs unacceptable types of light fixtures: https://imgur.com/a/x84vq
• Turn off unnecessary indoor lighting – particularly in empty office buildings at night.
• Avoid blue lights at night. Blue-rich white light sources are also known to increase glare and compromise human vision.

 

 

Click hear to read Light pollution improved in El Paso, but more can be still be done

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