As the city of El Paso prepares to issue another multimillion dollar round of non-voter approved debt, experts say the practice raises red flags and will have long-term impacts for generations of taxpayers. The El ...
City and county leaders urged more El Pasoans to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as cases climb and the threat of the latest variant of the disease looms. Of the 251 positive cases reported from July ...
City Manager Tommy Gonzalez and City Attorney Karla Nieman received pay raises following their annual performance evaluations, but the city is trying to withhold details of the decision for the second year in a row. ...
While the El Paso City Council moves forward with discussions ahead of adopting next year’s proposed $473 million budget, it’s clear some departments will see funding increases above 2020’s pre-pandemic levels while others will fall ...
Local hospitals are seeing a spike in patients who delayed getting treatment for illnesses during the COVID-19 pandemic as cases of the coronavirus in El Paso have declined and more El Pasoans have been vaccinated. ...
Amid the rubble of the dilapidated buildings where the city plans to build a downtown arena a pack of dogs and litter of puppies roam the fenced-in, city-owned site. A group of residents, including former ...
Despite assertions from state leadership that Texas is again open for business, delayed access to public records through the Texas Public Information Act from some local governments will continue indefinitely while the use of “skeleton ...
As the number of cases of COVID-19 in El Paso continues to decline and the number of people vaccinated increases, the city and county are preparing to get employees back to work in person. El ...
Multiple bills aimed at police reform introduced during Texas’ 87th Legislature failed to gain traction. while bills aimed to maintain police funding and to protect officers were signed into law. An El Paso City Council ...
The El Paso City Council will begin reviewing possible changes to the City Charter in an November 2022 amendment election after a city representative said voters should decide on whether to switch back to a ...
Following a drop in the city’s budget last year due to impacts of COVID-19, city officials are looking at increasing the budget for the 2022 fiscal year by about $33 million — a move that ...
The El Paso County Commissioners Court and the El Paso City Council are gearing up for the decennial task of redistricting political boundaries based on U.S. Census data — a move that could impact who ...
In the aftermath of the August 2019 shooting that left 23 people in El Paso dead, area lawmakers were cautiously optimistic that the rampage, one of the worst in Texas history, would spur Texas Republicans ...
For years, Areli Rosales has struggled with depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder after she was sexually assaulted at age 11. Now 17, Rosales said she managed to keep the worst of her anxiety at ...
An “emergency response team” of law enforcement officers from smaller agencies in El Paso County is raising questions about need and liability from the El Paso County Sheriff’s Department and a national law enforcement organization. ...
Houston preservationist J.P. Bryan has funded a legal battle against the city’s Downtown multipurpose arena and donated tens of thousands of dollars to El Paso City Council candidates in the last two elections. In March, ...
As more El Pasoans receive their COVID-19 vaccines, questions remain about what activities are safe to participate in following the two-week waiting period after the second doses. El Paso Matters asked local infectious disease experts ...
The El Paso County Sheriff’s Department has established three crisis intervention teams to help keep El Pasoans dealing with mental health emergencies away from jail. Crisis intervention teams are designed to improve law enforcement officers’ ...
Child advocates have seen changes in the ways cases of abuse have been reported to authorities during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when the majority of children haven’t returned to schools for in-person learning — ...
A controversial bill designed to redistrict and reduce the courts of appeals in Texas has been withdrawn after it drew sharp criticism during a public hearing in Austin last week. Senate Bill 11, filed by ...
Many El Paso homeowners are seeing a significant spike in their property appraisals, pushed upward by a hot real-estate market during the pandemic, Central Appraisal District officials said. The average home valuation in El Paso ...
When COVID-19 reached the Southwest last March, library systems faced multiple challenges. The impact on Texas and New Mexico libraries has varied when it comes to budget cuts, furloughs and the level of services provided. ...
Before COVID-19 reached the Borderland and El Pasoans’ lives were turned upside down, mental health providers began anticipating what the pandemic’s impacts for the community could be. El Paso mental health experts braced for how ...
With two full years in operation, the El Paso Police Department’s Crisis Intervention Team has helped divert hundreds of El Pasoans dealing with a mental health crisis away from jail, but officials say gaps in ...
A lawsuit by former state Rep. Joe Pickett alleges the city of El Paso is hiding tax increases in water bills, using a fee that purportedly is to pay for damages to streets caused by ...
Some El Paso librarians have been reinstated to their jobs, two days after the city sparked public outrage by sending them layoff notices. Sue Barnum, a longtime librarian who received a layoff notice on Wednesday ...
Five city leadership executives received higher pay rates in October, triggering concerns among some city representatives who said they were not advised ahead of the changes. City executive pay raise data from March through January ...
The city of El Paso on Wednesday informed 75 furloughed employees — mostly library workers — that their jobs are being permanently eliminated. Officials said the employees would be offered other jobs in the city, ...
The El Paso Police Department can’t account for more than half the internal reports it says are regularly conducted to track performance, according to documents obtained by El Paso Matters through the Texas Public Information ...
An effort to redistrict and reduce courts of appeals in Texas could have major implications for El Pasoans. Texas currently has 14 courts of appeals throughout the state, including the 8th Court of Appeals that ...
Binational News Partnership
A unique binational news collaboration publishing stories about significant issues facing El Paso and Ciudad Juárez.The Puente News Collaborative is: La Verdad in Ciudad Juárez; and ABC 7, El Paso Inc., El Paso Matters, El Paso Times, Univision 26, KTEP public radio and Borderzine.com as part of the multimedia journalism program at UT El Paso.
Migration at the border: Reporting that covers the complex reasons that people migrate, and how governments respond.
Pandemic at the border: In-depth reporting that looks at how the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the resulting restrictions on border crossings has affected life in our region this year.
Borderland Coronavirus Updates
Become a Supporting Member
El Paso needs a nonprofit, member-supported digital news organization that dives into the complex issues shaping our region – and serves as a catalyst for solutions-oriented conversations. You can help by becoming a member of El Paso Matters today.
To donate, go to epcf.org/epmatters.
Tips, Submissions
Do you have a story tip you’d like El Paso Matters to pursue? A press release you’d like to share? A commentary you’d like us to publish? Send your ideas or submissions to news@elpasomatters.org.
Follow updates on Social Media