When schools in McAllen moved online last spring, it became harder for Tiffany Torres-Gonzalez to attend class, even though her bedroom was now her classroom. She didn’t have internet at home and a district-issued mobile ...
Legislation that would categorize gender-affirming care for trans children as “child abuse” was discussed in a Texas Senate committee hearing Monday, drawing a sharp rebuke from an El Pasoan parent. “I’m not an abuser, I’m ...
A controversial bill designed to redistrict and reduce the courts of appeals in Texas has been withdrawn after it drew sharp criticism during a public hearing in Austin last week.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 ...
Homeowners have begun receiving their 2021 property valuations from the Central Appraisal District. Some homeowners are reporting significant increases in valuation, which could result in higher property tax bills. As we report on the impact ...
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. ...
An El Paso rabbi’s campaign to make people aware of the importance of charity was on display Wednesday in the Texas House of Representatives. Plastic yellow arks — charity boxes provided by the Chabad Lubavitch ...
El Paso’s COVID-19 vaccination effort is marked by glaring inequality, with about one in five first vaccines going to people in wealthier West El Paso ZIP codes, according to an El Paso Matters analysis of ...
By Patrick Svitek/Texas Tribune Gov. Greg Abbott announced Tuesday that he is ending Texas’ statewide mask mandate next week and will allowall businesses to operate at full capacity. “It is now time to open Texas 100%,” Abbott ...
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 ...
El Paso Independent School District trustees on Tuesday narrowly rejected a move to switch school board elections from majority to plurality vote. The change would have done away with runoff elections, which trustees Daniel Call ...
I feel fortunate to be among the El Pasoans who have received both the COVID-19 vaccines. But the process being used by the city at its vaccination hub near the airport is deeply flawed and ...
The Georgia runoffs were a must-win for President-elect Joe Biden. In a speech in Atlanta the day before the Jan. 5 election, Biden spoke with passion, noting that “unlike any time in (his) career one ...
By Kelley Shannon Bold steps nearly 50 years ago created a landmark protection for the people’s right to know in Texas. Lawmakers approved the state’s open records law, now known as the Texas Public Information ...
This story has been updated. Mexico’s reported decision to no longer allow the United States to return some Central American families back across the border could quickly strain El Paso’s capacity to shelter migrants, the ...
The race and ethnicity of 90.6% of the people inoculated in El Paso County is unknown to the Texas Department of State Health Services, the state agency tasked with distributing the COVID-19 vaccine. The lack ...
Multiple city employees who have been furloughed since May said they are in the dark on whether they will have a job to return to, or when they may be able to return to work. ...
The city announced Wednesday that it would be resuming library curbside book pickups, which had been suspended since November of last year. Despite closing these outdoor services, the city’s librarians (at least the ones who ...
By Susan M. Redford Every day, all 254 Texas counties deliver essential taxpayer services vital to the lives of 29 million Texans. They build and maintain roads and bridges, protect the public’s safety and health, ...
The Texas Legislature on Monday will begin an every-10-year redistricting process that could diminish El Paso’s representation in the state House of Representatives. Census estimates through 2019 show that El Paso’s population has stagnated since ...
When Joe Biden asked Rep. Veronica Escobar to endorse him last year, the El Paso Democrat said she put a condition on her support. “I told him I needed him to commit to coming to ...
El Paso is resuming curbside recycling service, suspended since Dec. 1, starting next week. But the re-start is being phased in, so some households won’t have recycling again until next month. The city’s Environmental Services ...
By David C. Stout This week, our lawmakers in Austin gaveled in another legislative session, a 140-day event certain to be even more unpredictable because of the pandemic. However, counties and cities across Texas can ...
An El Paso federal judge ruled Tuesday that U.S. Customs and Border Protection has failed to comply with the Freedom of Information Act and that the federal agency has made no effort to produce records ...
Public education funding will be one of the major issues Texas lawmakers tackle during the 2021 legislative session, which starts Tuesday. The state faces a nearly $1 billion shortfall for the current two-year budget, which ...
Binational News Partnership
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.
Pandemic at the border: Indepth 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.
2021 School Board Election info
The first day of early voting for the 2021 EPISD and SISD school board elections is April 19. Election day is May 1. We have you covered with info on how to vote and answers from the candidates
Borderland Coronavirus Updates
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By Robert Storch The failure of local leaders to adopt a comprehensive strategy for implementing long-range urban plans will result in permanent damage to the quality of life in Downtown El Paso and surrounding neighborhoods. ...