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.
Voter Registration Deadline for November Election Nears
Voter registration deadline for the November uniform election is Monday, Oct. 6.
On the ballot will be 17 Texas constitutional amendments, or propositions, including property tax cuts for homeowners and businesses.
Also on the ballot for voters who live within certain boundaries are the Socorro and Tornillo independent school districts’ voter approval tax ratification elections, or VATRE, which ask voters whether the districts can increase the property tax rate above what’s allowed by law without voter approval.
The Town of Clint, City of Socorro and Village of Vinton have elections to fill seats on their local councils, while residents in the Hunt Properties Defined Area under the Horizon Regional Municipal Utility District have a bond and tax election on the ballot.
To register to vote, you must be 18 years old by Election Day, Nov. 4. Voter registration applications are available at the El Paso County Elections website, at any U.S. Post Office branch, the Department of Public Safety and El Paso Public Library branches.
You can also fill out and print the application through the Texas Secretary of State, or request one be mailed to you. In-person applications are also available at the El Paso County Elections Department, 500 E. San Antonio Ave., Suite 315, inside the Enrique Moreno County Courthouse. You can fax your application to 915-546-2220.
You’ll be asked to provide a Texas driver’s license number or personal identification number issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety. You can also provide the last four digits of your Social Security number.
Early voting will run Oct. 20-31 and Election Day is Nov. 4.
Information: epcountyvotes.com
Sun Metro Seeks Community Input Ahead of Major Route Changes
Sun Metro, the city of El Paso’s public transit system, is hosting a series of community meetings to inform the public about upcoming changes, including routes and route frequencies officials say will reduce travel times.
The changes, set to begin in 2026, include streamlining existing routes, introducing new ones and discontinuing routes with low or no ridership. The updates come following a comprehensive study titled “Sun Metro Rising” that looked at ridership numbers, rider characteristics, routes, development patterns citywide and more.
The open-house public meetings will allow residents to meet with study consultants, review the data behind the updates, and learn more about how the new system will work, according to a city news release. The meetings are at Sun Metro’s transit centers.
- 7-9 a.m. Monday, Oct. 6: Downtown Transit Center, 601 Santa Fe St.
- 4:30-6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 6: Cielo Vista Transit Center, 1165 Sunmount Drive
- 7-9 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 7: Mission Valley Transit Center, 9065 Alameda Ave.
- 4:30-6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 7: Five Points Transit Center, 2830 Montana Ave.
- 7-9 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 9: Cielo Vista Transit Center, 1165 Sunmount Drive
- 4:30-6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 9: Westside Transit Center, 7535 Remcon Cir.
- 7-9 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 9: Glory Road Transit Center, 100 E Glory Road
- 4:30-6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 9: Northgate Transit Center, 9348 Dyer St.
- 7-9 a.m. Friday, Oct. 10: Upper Eastside Transit Center, 12781 Edgemere Blvd.
- 4:30-6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 10: Downtown Transit Center 601 Santa Fe St.
Information: SunMetroRising.com or 915-212-3333.
El Paso Electric Adds New Solar Farm Near Sunland Park
A bigger portion of the electricity El Paso Electric customers use is now coming from zero-carbon solar panels after the 150-megawatt Milagro solar farm near Sunland Park, New Mexico, started operating in mid-September.
El Paso Electric signed a deal with the solar farm’s owner, EDF Renewables, to purchase power from the site for 20 years. It features 282,000 solar panels, as well as 75 megawatts of battery storage capacity. El Paso Electric has increasingly included battery storage arrays in new solar fields, in order to capture solar energy during the day and discharge it onto the grid later when customers need the power.
The solar farm will have the capacity to supply about 60,000 homes with electricity. And it sits near the Santa Teresa Port of Entry, just south of where the Project Jupiter data center campus will be located. El Paso Electric has said the campus won’t connect into the utility’s system because it will have its own power generation facility. .
El Paso Electric also owns the 120-megawatt Buena Vista solar farm near Chaparral, New Mexico, and is developing at least four other major solar projects. A solar and battery storage facility is under construction near the Milagro site, and the 130-megawatt Carne solar farm is under construction in Deming, New Mexico. Both facilities are expected to begin generating electricity next year.
El Paso Electric is also building a 150-megawatt solar farm in Fabens in far East El Paso County and is seeking approval from regulators to build a solar farm and battery array adjacent to its Newman power station in far Northeast El Paso.
In 2024, less than 5% of the electricity El Paso Electric sold to customers came from carbon-free solar farms, while the utility’s natural gas power plants supplied 42% of the region’s energy. By comparison, solar farms this year have produced nearly 14% of the electricity generated throughout the power grid that covers most of the rest of Texas – more than nuclear and coal power plants in Texas.
Canutillo ISD Breaks Ground on New $30M Northwest Early College High School
About 200 well-wishers with ties to the Canutillo Independent School District and El Paso Community College attended the Wednesday morning groundbreaking for the new $30 million Northwest Early College High School, which should open in fall 2027.
The 53,000-square-foot, two-story building will be the first stand-alone, brick-and-mortar early college high school in the El Paso area. It will include classrooms, labs, administrative offices, meeting spaces and covered breezeways.
The total $40.5 million project cost includes architectural design and the land lease with EPCC. The money is part of the $387 million bond issue that district voters approved in May 2024.
The EPCC Board of Trustees approved an agreement with CISD of $1 per year for 50 years for 12 acres during a July 30 meeting. The land is part of the college’s Northwest Campus, 6701 S. Desert Blvd.
During the ceremony, EPCC President William Serrata talked about the benefits of the Early College High School model that allows students to earn a high school diploma and two-year college degree at the same time.
“With increased access to higher education, we’re not just helping individual students – we’re lifting up families and communities,” Serrata said.
The school’s Principal Frank Clark said that this day showed his students, teachers and staff that hard work pays off. The school comprises 385 students and 40 teachers and staff. The new building will have a capacity for 600 students.
“This will be an environment that they deserve,” he said, adding that the school recently graduated four students who are attending Ivy League schools.
CISD board President Armando Rodriguez said that the current campus, which opened in 2008, uses portables, and that many of them are in disrepair. The district decided that it was more cost effective to replace the current buildings with a permanent structure.
“Portables were not the quality that we wanted,” Rodriguez said after the hour-long ceremony.
Students will attend classes in the portables until the new building is ready. Once construction is completed, the portables will be removed and the land will be landscaped. The campus’ existing multipurpose center, which serves as a cafeteria and auditorium, will remain.
Portions of Airport’s Short-term Parking to Close Through Holiday Travel Season
El Paso International Airport will close a section of its short-term parking lot during the busy holiday travel season to build a solar covered parking area.
The construction will require the closure of the premium reserved parking lot and the east portion of the short-term lot beginning Oct. 5, the city said in a news release this week.
Once completed, the $3.8 million solar covered parking area will have 2,286 solar panels, each rated at 585 watts, on new shade canopies. The system is anticipated to generate 1.33 megawatts of renewable energy to offset airport energy costs while providing shaded parking, the city said.
A portion of the cost – $1.75 million – is being funded by a federal grant from the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022. The construction must be completed by February 2026, according to grant requirements.
While construction is underway, the airport will expand access to the West Lot, located along Convair Road across from the rental car facility, ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday travel period. The Park Air Express lot has options for reserved parking, daily rates and a 24-hour courtesy shuttle to and from the terminal.
Passengers who typically use the Premium Reserved Parking lot are encouraged to use the Park Air Express lot, which offers reserved parking, daily rates and a 24-hour courtesy shuttle to the terminal.
Information: FlyElPaso.com
The post Register to vote by Oct. 6, weigh in on Sun Metro’s future appeared first on El Paso Matters.
Read: Read More