This is your weekly news roundup, which takes a quick look at some developments in government, politics, education, environment and other topics across El Paso.
El Pasoans to Honor Martin Luther King Jr. with Events, Service Projects
El Pasoans will honor American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. with a series of events, observations and service projects this weekend and through the official Monday holiday.
MLK Day of Service: 10 a.m.-noon, Saturday, Jan. 17, Esperanza Acosta Moreno Library, 12480 Pebble Hills Drive. The community is invited to participate in painting kindness rocks, writing MLK quotes on the sidewalk and creating a book display, among other activities.
MLK Committee of El Paso Celebration and Observance: 3-5 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 18, Praise Temple Full Gospel Baptist Church, 6230 Dyer St., featuring keynote speakers, musical tributes and more. The event, billed as an observance of unity, justice and nonviolence, serves as a call to action for the city to continue amplifying the legacy of the civil rights leader through community solidarity and service.
Day of Service at El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank: 8 a.m.-noon, Monday, Jan. 19, at the food bank, 9541 Plaza Circle. The MLK Day of Service coincides with the organization’s 10th anniversary as an independent food bank and invites community members to volunteer to sort, pack and prepare food for distribution across El Paso, Hudspeth and Culberson counties. Advance registration is required, sign up here: https://givepul.se/x98mu8.
MLK Jr. Pantry Drive: Normal business hoursnow through Jan. 30 at all El Paso Public Library branches. The city’s public libraries, in partnership with the local nonprofit kitchen Mustard Seed Café, are accepting new and unopened pantry staples that have not expired, kitchen supplies and food service items. Aside from the staple canned and boxed goods, the wish list includes balsamic vinegar, cooking oils, nonstick spray, honey, seasoning packets, sweetener packets, as well as resealable bags, hair nets, food handler gloves, heavy duty foil and cleaning supplies.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day Holiday Trash PickUp, Office Closures
The city of El Paso’s administrative offices, libraries and museums, senior and recreation centers and the WIC and community clinics will be closed Monday, Jan. 19, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The City Council won’t hold its Monday work session, but will hold its regular meeting Tuesday.
Trash and recycling isn’t regularly collected Mondays so those services won’t be impacted, but the citizen collection stations and the landfill will be closed.
Animal Services and its adoption centers will be open, as well as the El Paso Zoo. Sun Metro will run on a regular schedule.
El Paso County offices will also be closed Monday in observance of the holiday. County Commissioners Court meetings will resume Jan. 26.
El Paso Senior Games Registration Opens for 43rd Season
Registration is now open for the upcoming El Paso Senior Games hosted by the city’s Parks and Recreation Department. The 2026 games are scheduled from Feb. 21 through Sept. 12 and are open for adults ages 50 and older.
The Olympic-style games, now in their 43rd season, aim to promote physical activity, sportsmanship and healthy lifestyles with events for teams and individuals, including basketball, swimming, table tennis, golf, and track and field.
“We invite older adults to take part in this platform where they can showcase their athleticism, resilience, and passion,” Parks and Recreation Department Director Pablo Caballero said in a news release.
Participants can register in person at the Officer David Ortiz Recreation Center, 563 N. Carolina Drive, or the Nations Tobin Sports Center, 8831 Railroad Drive.
Registration fees:
- Individual events: $5 per event
- All-individual events entry: $45 total for seniors registering for nine or more individual events
- Team sports for softball and basketball: $60 per team
- T-shirts: One free T-shirt per participant; additional T-shirts are $10 each
Information and registration: Parks and Recreation. Participants can also register at QuickScores.
Blood-Feeding Insects Infected by Parasites Found in El Paso
Researchers at the University of Texas at El Paso found “unusually high levels” of parasitic infection in kissing bugs in the borderland, raising concerns about transmission to humans.
The parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, or T. cruzi, causes Chagas disease, which spreads through blood-feeding kissing bugs, insects also known as chinches or vinchucas in Spanish. People can become infected with Chagas through contact with the insect’s feces, as well as through contaminated food or drink and congenitally from mother to baby. Pets can also become infected.
While mild, acute symptoms include fever and rash, many people show no symptoms and the infection can persist for decades in the chronic phase, eventually leading to severe heart and gastrointestinal problems.
UTEP researchers tested 26 kissing bugs collected from natural and residential areas including Franklin Mountains State Park and near homes in El Paso and Las Cruces. Almost 89% of the insects tested positive for T. cruzi. A similar study conducted in 2021 found only 66% of kissing bugs were infected with the parasite.
In residential areas, researchers gathered the bugs from yards, under garden furniture and firewood. In the coming year the team plans to conduct a study to see if El Pasoans are already carrying the disease, according to a news release.
While kissing bugs are primarily found in rural areas in Latin America, the insects may be expanding their geographic range under climate change. Rosa Maldonado, UTEP professor of biological sciences who led the study, recommends residents:
- Seal cracks and gaps in their homes that may allow kissing bugs to enter.
- Keep pets indoors when possible.
- Remove debris and woodpiles near houses where kissing bugs can take shelter.
- Install insect screens on windows.
- Turn off outdoor lights at night because light can attract bugs.
Day After Easter to be New YISD School Holiday Next Year
In an effort to improve attendance rates, Ysleta Independent School District students and staff will get the Monday after Easter off next school year.
District leaders said they hope this change will bring in additional state revenue, which is based on average daily attendance.
The YISD Board of Trustees voted 4-1 Wednesday to approve the calendar for the 2026-27 school year, setting March 29, 2027, as a holiday for the district.
Trustee Shane Haggerty cast the lone vote against the motion. Trustee Cruz Ochoa was absent.
The board initially considered making the day after the Super Bowl a school holiday as well, but the motion failed 2-3 after trustees raised concerns about how it would affect the rest of the school year.
Trustee Chris Hernandez, who has been vocal about his support for the change, said he hopes the board will reconsider making the day after the Super Bowl a school holiday in future years.
“Those days we have very high absences among students and we have a high number of call-ins with teachers,” Hernandez said. “This is one of the very few areas where we as a board can make a decision without state interference and be strategic to help increase our funding.”
UTEP Opens Texas Western Hall in Time for Spring 2026 Semester
The University of Texas at El Paso this week celebrated the opening of the $110 million Texas Western Hall, a multiuse facility that can accommodate 1,700 students in its high-tech classrooms. It opens for classes Jan. 20.
A crowd of about 200 university students, faculty, staff and administrators, elected officials and business leaders attended the ribbon cutting Thursday.
The building, at almost 125,000 gross square feet, will be home to the College of Liberal Arts. It includes 30 classrooms, more than 20 collaboration spaces, three computer rooms, a large conference room, offices and faculty support areas.
The technology includes 64 digital screens that range from 136 inches to 217 inches. There will be at least one in each classroom, and, where possible, each wall will have some kind of interactive screen. About 120 interactive 75-inch televisions will be in classrooms and small conference rooms.
Several speakers and guests mentioned the shaded rooftop terrace that will have a view of Centennial Plaza and the Texas Western Café.
“This is a new place for a new generation of Miners,” said Ryan Boatright, a junior political science major and president of the UTEP Student Government Association.
Boatright admitted that he would miss the old Liberal Arts Building, where he took his first class as a Miner. He also joked that he would miss that building’s distinctive smell.
The new building follows the university’s distinctive Bhutanese architecture. It is made up of a five-story east wing connected to a three-story west wing.
In 2023, the University of Texas System Board of Regents approved $57.1 million for the project to go along with the $52.4 million allocated by the Texas Legislature in 2021.
Texas Western Hall is named after one of the university’s previous incarnations between 1949 and 1967. It replaces the Liberal Arts Building, which will be razed later this year. The plan is to restore the arroyo that ran under the Liberal Arts Building.
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