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.
Judge Delays Hearings for El Paso Death Row Inmate David Leonard Wood
Hearings on the future of El Paso death row inmate David Leonard Wood won’t begin until September at the earliest, a judge ruled this week.
Wood, 68, was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in 1992 in connection with the deaths of six girls and young women whose bodies were found buried in the Northeast El Paso desert in 1987.
READ MORE: Texas appeals court blocks scheduled execution of David Leonard Wood
He has had two execution dates stopped by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals,most recently in March 2025, two days before he was scheduled to die. The court didn’t provide any reasons for its decision and sent the case back to a visiting judge in El Paso, Dick Alcalá, for further action.
At a procedural hearing Tuesday, Alcalá granted a defense motion to conduct 14 depositions of potential witnesses over the next 90 days. The judge said that time frame meant that he couldn’t begin hearings in El Paso until September.
SEE ALSO: After 4 decades, El Paso mom prepares to watch daughter’s killer die
Alcalá also heard a defense motion for additional DNA testing, and said he would rule later.
The hearing was conducted virtually, with Wood appearing via video from the state’s death row in Livingston, Texas. He didn’t address the court during the hearing. Alcalá said he would not bring Wood back to El Paso when hearings begin.
Texas Tech Regents OK El Paso Dental Grad Degree, Orthodontics Certificate
The Texas Tech University System Board of Regents approved a proposal from its El Paso campus to launch a Master of Science in Dentistry along with a Certificate in Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics during its quarterly meeting Thursday in Lubbock.
The Texas Tech Health El Paso Woody L. Hunt School of Dental Medicine plans to launch the degree plan in summer 2027. It expects to admit three students annually and have a maximum of nine students as of its third year.
The curriculum will include advanced biomedical sciences such as genetics, biostatistics and oral biology. In-person classes will be conducted at the Hunt School of Dental Medicine learning center and the institution’s Oral Health Clinic.
The program promotes interdisciplinary collaboration with the campus’ Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery residency program for cases of severe deformities of the jaw, face and skull that cannot solely be corrected by braces.
The degree plan, which should be completed in 34 months, includes research projects that should lead to publication-quality manuscripts or a thesis as well as an oral defense. Graduates will be ready for careers in academia and private practice.
TTHEP President Richard Lange reminded the board that there is a shortage of dental health professionals in the region to include a critical deficiency of orthodontic specialists. A 2025 study by Dentagraphics showed that El Paso has a ratio of one dental specialist for every 12,010 residents. The state’s ratio was one-to-6,052, and the nation’s ratio was one-to-6,766.
Lange told the regents that the program is compliant with the Commission on Dental Accreditation. The board’s decision also authorized the degree plan be sent to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for its consideration, and to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), TTHEP’s accrediting agency, for its review.
A THECB spokeswoman said that its review process generally takes three to six months.
The program’s five-year budget will be a little more than $5.8 million and its five-year revenue should exceed $7.5 million. Officials expect the program to be self-sustaining by its third year.
Sun Metro Hosts Community Meetings Ahead of Route Changes
The city’s Sun Metro public transportation service is hosting another set of meetings through May 22 before it changes its bus routes in the summer.
The changes are a result of a transit system study called Sun Metro Rising. Dozens of existing routes are being reduced or eliminated, according to the Sun Metro Rising plan map and deactivation list. The changes will go into effect June 14.
The city in a news release said the changes aim to increase route frequency, reduce travel time, create new routes, streamline existing routes and discontinue routes with low ridership.
Residents spoke out against some of the proposed changes near North Loop Drive during the April 28 City Council meeting, citing new stops were too far for senior citizens to carry groceries or walk an extra 15 minutes.
City officials did not say whether they will make any further changes to the updated routes based on the upcoming round of community meetings.
Community pop-up meetings will be held at Sun Metro transit centers on the following dates:
Friday, May 8
- 6:30-9:30 a.m.: Cielo Vista, 1165 Sunmount Drive
- 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.: Northgate, 9348 Dyer St.
- 4-7 p.m.: Downtown, 601. S. Santa Fe St.
Monday, May 18
- 6:30-9:30 a.m.: Northgate, 9348 Dyer St.
- 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.: Cielo Vista, 1165 Sunmount Drive
- 4-7 p.m.: Downtown, 601. S. Santa Fe St.
Tuesday, May 19
- 6:30-9:30 a.m.: Cielo Vista, 1165 Sunmount Drive
- 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.: Five Points, 2830 Montana Ave., and Glory Road, 100 E. Glory Road
- 4-7 p.m.: Westside, 7535 Remcon Circle
Wednesday, May 20
- 6:30-9:30 a.m.: Downtown, 601. S. Santa Fe St.
- 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.: Northgate, 9348 Dyer St.
- 4-7 p.m.: Mission Valley, 9056 Alameda Ave.
Thursday, May 21
- 6:30-9:30 a.m.: Five Points, 2830 Montana Ave., and Glory Road, 100 E. Glory Road
- 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.: Westside, 7535 Remcon Circle
- 4-7 p.m.: Upper Eastside, 12781 Edgemere Blvd.
Friday, May 22
- 6:30-9:30 a.m.: Mission Valley, 9056 Alameda Ave.
- 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.: Downtown, 601. S. Santa Fe St.
- 4-7 p.m.: Cielo Vista, 1165 Sunmount Drive
Information: Sun Metro or call 915-212-3333
Abara House Develops Master Plan to Restore Hacienda House, Old Fort Bliss
The Abara House nonprofit that formed in 2019 to reduce polarization around immigration has developed a master plan to renovate the 5.5-acre site where the former historic Hacienda restaurant and Fort Bliss barracks stand.
The nonprofit’s goal for the site at 1820 W. Paisano Drive is to build a peace center and restore the area and buildings as a global hub for learning, advocacy and hospitality.
The master plan includes spaces for a café, artisan market, event venue, training spaces, desert chapel, contemplative gardens and immersive exhibits exploring migration and justice with a goal to be largely financially sustainable through revenue from hospitality, events and programming.
The nonprofit is nearing the close of the first phase of its capital campaign. A family anonymously offered a $150,000 dollar-for-dollar matching challenge for Abara House. The immediate spring goal is to raise the final $390,000 to complete acquisition of the Historic Hacienda and surrounding property.
Abara House now offers a variety of interactive opportunities at the site such as daily visits and three-day workshops about global migration, displacement, immigration enforcement and border education.
Information: abara.org or 915-282-2515.
UTEP Study Links Valley Fever Rise to Extreme Wind, Dust
Researchers at the University of Texas at El Paso found a connection between the rise in Valley fever cases in El Paso and severe weather events, such as dust storms.
Valley fever, or coccidioidomycosis, infects people who inhale fungal spores that cause the disease. The illness can lead to mild respiratory symptoms or no symptoms at best. At worst, it can lead to serious complications, including brain swelling and death.
The study, published recently in the International Journal of Biometeorology, found a higher incidence of Valley fever reported when temperatures exceeded 102 degrees Fahrenheit the previous month, peak wind gusts hit above 64 miles per hour several months earlier and when there were high concentrations of dust particles in the air.
“These results suggest that it’s not just typical dusty conditions driving infections, but more intense and episodic environmental events,” said Thomas Gill, an environmental scientist and co-author of the study. “Extreme wind and dust events may disturb soils in ways that release larger amounts of the fungus into the air.”
The El Paso Department of Public Health recorded more than 360 Valley fever cases between January 2013 and March of this year, according to its notifiable conditions reports. Incidence rates tripled between 2013 and 2022, which is the time period researchers analyzed.
Texas does not require counties to report Valley fever cases, despite being in the endemic region for Coccidioides spores. El Paso County is the only county in the state that voluntarily reports cases.
Still, Valley fever cases are likely an undercount in El Paso as symptoms may appear similar to pneumonia and other illnesses, which can delay diagnosis and treatment. As Valley fever is a fungal disease, treatment is antifungal medication, not antibiotics as sometimes prescribed with a misdiagnosis.
“By recognizing the conditions that precede increases in cases, health officials and clinicians can be better prepared to detect, diagnose and respond to this disease,” said Dr. Gabriel Ibarra-Mejia, lead co-author of the study.
The post David Leonard Wood hearings delayed; Texas Tech regents approve dental degree appeared first on El Paso Matters.
Read: Read More