The more contagious variant of COVID-19 will likely reach El Paso — which could send the city toward another deadly surge in cases and hospitalizations, medical experts say. More contagious COVID-19 variants, while not proven ...
Texas became the first state Jan. 14 to administer more than 1 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine, one month after it received its first vaccine shipment. Despite the milestone, it will be months before ...
The number of COVID-19 infections shot up sharply in El Paso County last week, likely the leading edge of a storm of new cases triggered in large part by holiday gatherings. The number of infections ...
Nine months into disruptions to education caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, rural schools along the U.S.-Mexico border are seeing uneven impacts to student learning. “Before this, we used to have maybe one big assignment per ...
In 2020, almost 99,000 El Paso County residents — 12% of our population — tested positive for COVID-19. More than 2,000 of our family members and neighbors died because of the novel coronavirus. Fall was ...
The events of 2020 have undeniably reshaped our world. Through the tumult of a global pandemic, a historic grassroots movement for racial justice, and a volatile election season, we have changed. Our families, our communities, ...
El Paso districts could lose millions of dollars next year if the Texas Education Agency starts funding them based on current attendance levels, which are far below those seen last school year. The TEA funded ...
Editor’s note: This story has been edited to reflect updated testing numbers. El Paso will head into 2021 with continuing high levels of COVID-19 infections, with much risk ahead until vaccines become widely available in ...
With the onset of winter and cooler weather driving many El Pasoans indoors amid the COVID-19 pandemic, an infectious disease expert answers key Q:s about what people should keep in mind to protect themselves from ...
Miguel Reveles, a 26-year-old critical care nurse at University Medical Center’s intensive care unit, looks forward to working on the holidays. He worked on Thanksgiving this year, and is scheduled to work on Christmas too. ...
The phone is ringing off the hook and people are lined up outside of Bowie Bakery in West El Paso. The shop is only allowing three customers inside at a time as a COVID-19 precaution. ...
By Minerva Morales Minerva Morales’ son, Daniel Morales, was an El Paso nurse who died of COVID-19 on Aug. 4, 17 days before his 40th birthday. He left behind a wife and four children, and ...
Twinkling holiday lights cast a warm glow and Christmas carols blare from speakers at the Outlet Shoppes of El Paso. But in these pandemic times, something is missing from the traditional holiday scene on the ...
Nine of every 10 El Pasoans who have died of COVID-19 are Hispanic, a disproportionately high rate even for a predominantly Hispanic community. From the earliest days of the pandemic, Blacks and Hispanics have borne ...
As we near the end of this historic and tumultuous year, El Paso Matters would like to hear from you, our readers, about the lessons of 2020 for El Pasoans. How has this year changed ...
Three El Paso nonprofit organizations are receiving $34 million from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, part of $4.2 billion she is giving to 384 groups nationally. El Pasoans Fighting Hunger, the United Way of El Paso County ...
Lorena Montoya, like thousands of El Pasoans facing financial hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic, has been relying on the El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank to help feed her family. Montoya, who cleans houses for ...
El Paso’s COVID-19 trends this past week were the most encouraging our community has seen since this summer. The most important metrics — new cases, hospitalizations and deaths — all showed declines. The key now ...
More than 1,200 COVID-19 cases in El Paso can be attributed to community spread caused by ICE’s failure to contain COVID-19 at its facilities, a new study says. Published this month by Detention Watch Network, ...
Students at UTEP will present their documentary photography projects to the public virtually on Wednesday evening. Working all semester, students in Corrie Boudreaux’s digital photography class visually documented the impact of the pandemic in the ...
Small businesses have borne the economic brunt of the pandemic, with revenue streams dried up and a shifting terrain of shutdown orders. This holiday season, the question of whether El Pasoans shop local may determine ...
Dec. 12 update: Lillian Blancas won the runoff election for Municipal Court 4. City Council will appoint someone to fill out her four-year term. Lillian Blancas, an El Paso attorney who is in a runoff ...
The holidays during the pandemic are filled with anxiety and heartache that extends to both sides of the border. In Juárez, the Castillo family is in mourning confronting the first Christmas without their patriarch. “He ...
We have focused on health numbers in our weekly COVID-19 data reports, but this week we want to turn our attention to economic indicators. After a sharp loss of jobs at the outset of the ...
An El Paso immigrant detention facility has the largest current detainee COVID-19 outbreak of any Immigrations and Customs Enforcement facility in the United States. As of Nov. 30, 44 detainees at El Paso Service Processing ...
El Paso’s low-income neighborhoods bore a disproportionate share of El Paso’s fall COVID-19 explosion, an El Paso Matters analysis shows. Advocates for low-income families said a variety of challenges face those areas, including many essential ...
El Paso County’s number of new COVID-19 cases declined for a third straight week, and the number of hospitalizations has consistently stayed below 1,000 for the first time since the beginning of November. The trend ...
The Lopez family always gets together to celebrate holidays and important events. They are a big family, and on a typical Thanksgiving day, cousins cross over from Juárez, kids fly in from out of state, ...
By Peter Svarzbein Note: City Rep. Peter Svarzbein originally made this statement at the opening of Monday’s City Council work session. As COVID-19 spread like wildfire across American cities, I have researched what others have ...
El Paso Matters Voters Guide
Your guide for the Nov. 3, 2020, General Election in El Paso. It includes:
- How candidates responded to our questionnaires on key issues
- Where to find sample ballots
- Voting locations and methods
- Important dates
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.
Messages for Graduates
Graduation Video Special: Notable El Pasoans and Juarenses salute our community graduates
As El Paso children prepare to head back to classrooms for the first time in months, they account for one of every five new COVID-19 infections so far this month, the highest proportion since the ...