This is your weekly update, which takes a quick look at the week ahead and some developments that El Paso Matters is following.
Assistant DA Overseeing Walmart Case Resigns: Loretta Lyn Hewitt, an El Paso assistant district attorney who was hired about a year ago as the lead prosecutor overseeing the Walmart shooting case, has resigned, multiple sources told El Paso Matters. The sources asked not to be identified because they’re not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. Neither Hewitt nor District Attorney Bill Hicks could be reached for comment. Hewitt becomes the ninth state prosecutor assigned to the Walmart case to resign or be taken off the case, which has been pending since 2019.
The city of El Paso had planned to buy this apartment complex at 323 Chihuahua Street in the Duranguito neighborhood. With the arena no longer planned for the area, the City Council ended a 2017 purchase contract it never completed. (Ramon Bracamontes/El Paso Matters)
City Ends Plan to Buy Duranguito Building: The City Council voted on Monday to terminate a contract to buy a small apartment building at 323 Chihuahua Street, one of the properties in the Duranguito neighborhood where the Downtown arena was going to be built. The city entered into a contract to purchase the residential building in 2017 for about $230,000. Lawsuits held up the sale of the building and the construction of the arena in the neighborhood. The city has since settled the litigation and no longer plans to build the multipurpose cultural and performing arts center at the site.
SISD Superintendent Finalist for Job in Phoenix: Nate Carman, who was named the Socorro Independent School District superintendent in 2022, is one of three finalists for superintendent of the Peoria Unified School District in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. The Peoria school district, which has more than 35,000 students and 44 campuses, will select its superintendent on Nov. 29. The previous superintendent was paid $232,000 a year. SISD has more than 48,000 students and 49 campuses. Carman’s salary is $335,00 a year.
El Pasoan Elected Texas State University Vice Chair: The Texas State University System Board of Regents selected Dionicio “Don” Flores as its vice chairman during the board’s quarterly meeting on Nov. 17. Flores, a longtime journalist and newspaper executive, retired in 2008 as vice president and editor of the El Paso Times. He later formed Flores Media Consulting. Flores is an alumnus of Texas State University in San Marcos.
The post The Week Ahead: Lead prosecutor overseeing Walmart mass shooting case resigns appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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